rape

UK comedian Brand tells rape trial 'consent is fundamental'

Bolsonaro

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

BY YUSSEL GONZALEZ WITH FRAN BLANDY IN RIO DE JANEIRO

  • 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.
  • Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader after arriving in the United States to start a self-imposed exile.
  • 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.
Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader after arriving in the United States to start a self-imposed exile.
Bolsonaro's defiance on fleeing to 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.
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 Flavio Bolsonaro's father and is a controversial figure hated by the Brazilian right.
Flavio Bolsonaro had vowed to seek the justice's impeachment if he were elected -- which up until Lula's comeback in the runoff had looked increasingly likely.

'Shameful' act

Lula, who won the election with 51.8 percent of Sunday's vote, called Flavio 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 Flavio 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 financing of the film, and whether it involved corruption, money laundering or the illegal movement of currency.
Flavio Bolsonaro acknowledged Vorcaro had funded the film, but insisted it was a private business deal that was "completely legal."
In another probe, police are investigating whether Flavio Bolsonaro laundered money and moved funds out of the country in collaboration with his close friend, the lawyer Willer Tomaz.
Flavio's father Jair Bolsonaro also never conceded defeat after losing to Lula and left the country on the eve of his rival's inauguration, before returning to Brazil three months later.
burs-sms/msp

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

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

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."
lis-jb/dga/pnb/bgs

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.
das-app/cc/fb/bgs

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.
tsz-jra/ach/jj

rape

UK comedian Brand tells rape trial 'consent is fundamental'

BY ANNA MALPAS

  • "Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed in many ways more important than sex itself," he said.
  • British comedian and actor Russell Brand told his rape trial on Wednesday he believed consent was "fundamental" to sexual relations, as he gave evidence for the first time.
  • "Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed in many ways more important than sex itself," he said.
British comedian and actor Russell Brand told his rape trial on Wednesday he believed consent was "fundamental" to sexual relations, as he gave evidence for the first time.
Brand, who shot to fame in the 2000s as a television and radio presenter with progressive political views, has reinvented himself as a conservative and faith-based guru for millions of social media followers.
The 51-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the charges he faces, saying "no" loudly when asked by his lawyer if he had committed the three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault.
The jury trial at Southwark Crown Court in London opened two weeks ago and has heard allegations from six women covering a period between 1999 and 2009, when the prosecution described Brand as a "sexual predator".
The maximum sentence for rape in Britain is life in prison.
Brand, who became a household name as a presenter on MTV, Channel 4 and the BBC, told the court his entire life has been "consumed by these events, these allegations, these accusations".
The women came forward after a 2023 documentary making separate allegations against Brand, which he described as "devastating".
He told the court that due to the documentary he had not persuaded anyone to give evidence on his behalf.
Brand, who was accompanied to court on Wednesday by his wife, agreed that at the time of the alleged offences he was "extremely promiscuous" and often had sex in toilets with people he had just met.
"Certainly as I became more and more successful and famous I was very comfortable allowing that to facilitate sexual access, which is, I would agree with you, wrong," he told the prosecutor, Riel Karmy-Jones.
He said by 2004 he was "moderately well known" but by 2009 he was "very famous".
Late that year he began dating pop star Katy Perry, to whom he was briefly married, resulting in "staggering fame", he said.
He made a foray into Hollywood, starring in several hit films.
Now remarried with children and living in Florida, he has gained a new following as a social media influencer with millions of subscribers.
At times Brand paused for a long time before answering questions and spoke quietly, at times using long flowery phrases.
While he earlier told police he did not remember any of the women, he said Wednesday he had "escalating recollection" and recalled some details.
 

'Disgusting behaviour'

 
He recalled meeting the first complainant, who accused him of raping her in 1999 after a cabaret show in the southern city of Bournemouth during the Labour Party Conference.
He said he found the woman attractive and "hoped and thought there was at least a possibility of sex".
He insisted she consented to sex.
"Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed in many ways more important than sex itself," he said.
He said he had used a condom, because "that was the way people had sex in 1999".
He denied grabbing the breast of another woman in a bar in 2004, saying this was "obviously disgusting behaviour".
That woman accused him of then orally raping her in a toilet.
Brand said they did go into a cubicle, where "it's possible I would have taken my penis out of my trousers" but there was "no contact between her mouth and my penis".
Brand said he remembered having anal sex with a 21-year-old woman who claimed he raped her in 2009, but said this was consensual.
He denied asking her to clear up a "mess" afterwards or knowing she was in pain, while saying: "it would be difficult to deny that anal sex involves blood".
He denied remembering three other women, one of whom accused him of fondling her at work, another who said he put his head in her groin after demanding a massage and one who said he tried to drag her into a toilet at MTV's offices.
The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict next week, the judge said.
am/jkb/jj

Palestinians

From Gaza to Ramallah, Palestinians see little hope in Israeli vote

BY AFP TEAM IN GAZA WITH SALEH HAMAD IN RAMALLAH AND ANOUK RIONDET IN JERUSALEM

  • The first election since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack comes after years of right-wing and far-right rule marked by the war in Gaza and rising settler violence in the West Bank.
  • In war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, many Palestinians were less focused on who would win Israel's election than on whether anything would really change.
  • The first election since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack comes after years of right-wing and far-right rule marked by the war in Gaza and rising settler violence in the West Bank.
In war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, many Palestinians were less focused on who would win Israel's election than on whether anything would really change.
Whether Benjamin Netanyahu clings to power with his far-right allies or centrist rival Gadi Eisenkot comes out on top, few see much reason for hope in the Tuesday vote.
"We fear these elections could bring an even worse leader," said Huda al-Houli, a displaced resident of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Such an outcome, she said, would only bring "more destruction and devastation" to the Palestinian territory.
Still, Houli said she hoped a more "human voice" would emerge in Israeli society and demand an end to the conflict, regardless of who forms the next government.
In Ramallah, in the West Bank, Ahmed Awad, 67, was equally sceptical.
"Whatever the result, and even if the politicians change, I don't think there will be any radical or dramatic shift in policies towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," he told AFP.
With 85 percent of ballots counted from Tuesday's vote, Netanyahu's camp remained ahead but without a clear majority, leaving uncertainty over Israel's next government.
The first election since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack comes after years of right-wing and far-right rule marked by the war in Gaza and rising settler violence in the West Bank.
For Netanyahu, fighting for his political survival, several paths remain open: renewing his alliance with the far right, building a broader coalition or facing yet another political deadlock.
Far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has already signalled that, if the current coalition survives, he would seek the defence portfolio and push for the expulsion of Gaza's population.

More of the same

Not everyone has given up hope.
"Whatever happens, it will surely be better than what we've lived through in recent years," said Abdallah Abu Rahma, 54, from Ramallah.
But if Netanyahu remains in office, he added, "any coalition he forms, he will continue down the same path".
A government led by Eisenkot, a former army chief, could rein in the influence of the pro-settlement far right, said researcher Beth Oppenheim of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
It could also ease pressure on the Palestinian Authority and take a more flexible approach on aid and a ceasefire in Gaza.
But she warned against expecting too much.
There would be "nothing transformative", she said, and certainly no major shift on Palestinian statehood or the peace process, issues that have largely disappeared from Israeli political debate since October 7.
A renewed Netanyahu coalition with far-right partners would likely mean more of the same, including settlement expansion and impunity for settler violence, Oppenheim added.
"I think we need to have quite low expectations when it comes to seeing any major changes in policy from a different government," she said.

Fears of escalation

Even a Netanyahu defeat could leave Palestinians worse off in the short term, argued Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel programme at the Arab Center Washington.
"There is every reason for Palestinians to be concerned," he said.
Eisenkot himself served in Israel's wartime cabinet during the Gaza offensive, Munayyer noted.
A fragile alternative coalition under constant attack from Netanyahu and the right could try to prove it was tough enough by taking a harder line on Palestinian issues.
In the West Bank, violence could rise if the far right loses power, with settlers potentially acting out against a new government, he explained.
"It's important to understand that most settler violence in the West Bank is structural. It's not about the government in charge," Munayyer said.
"Settlers live in places that surround the Palestinian population. The Palestinian population is vulnerable to the settlers, who are armed, whereas the Palestinians overwhelmingly are not."
In Gaza, Adnan Al-Assar said he harboured few illusions. 
"Netanyahu may win," he said. "But whatever happens, they all follow the same overarching policy, directed against the Palestinian people."
vid-anr/gkg/rh/amj

economy

UK budget lifts bank tax to offset surging energy bills

BY ALEXANDRA BACON AND BEN PERRY

  • Labour is to double to six percent a surcharge on profits earned by banks operating in the UK. Lasting for 15 months from January, the tax increase will raise £1.5 billion ($2.0 billion), Britain's fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said in an accompanying statement.
  • Britain's Labour government will increase a tax on profits earned by banks to help reduce soaring energy bills for millions of UK households, finance minister John Healey announced in his budget Wednesday.
  • Labour is to double to six percent a surcharge on profits earned by banks operating in the UK. Lasting for 15 months from January, the tax increase will raise £1.5 billion ($2.0 billion), Britain's fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said in an accompanying statement.
Britain's Labour government will increase a tax on profits earned by banks to help reduce soaring energy bills for millions of UK households, finance minister John Healey announced in his budget Wednesday.
The first budget of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's administration was delivered to parliament against a harsh global backdrop of rising inflation and borrowing costs, and the fallout of the Iran war.
Despite the constraints, Healey pledged to raise UK defence spending to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 -- a commitment he had pushed for before resigning as defence secretary over insufficient military funding under previous PM Keir Starmer. 
Britain's economy will grow slightly faster than forecast this year -- by 1.2 percent -- before slowing to a worse-than-expected 1.0 percent in 2027 -- driven by effects of the war in the Middle East, Healey said as he delivered the government's annual budget.
"Fiscal discipline is my first commitment," he added, in comments welcomed by bond markets as UK yields dipped Wednesday.
 

'Economic storms'

 
Healey, whose official title is Chancellor of the Exchequer, promised "immediate" support for households and businesses in the face of "global economic storms".
Labour is to double to six percent a surcharge on profits earned by banks operating in the UK.
Lasting for 15 months from January, the tax increase will raise £1.5 billion ($2.0 billion), Britain's fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said in an accompanying statement.
"This is net of an estimated £190 million reduction in receipts as some banks are assumed to move profits out of the UK in response to the higher tax rate," the OBR said.
Banks had expected to be hit harder, resulting in share prices of most UK lenders, including Barclays and NatWest, rising. 
Oil and gas giants operating in the UK, which are enjoying bumper profits thanks to the US-Iran war, are already subject to a windfall tax.
Healey said a direct payment of £100 will be sent to 20 million households, as gas and electricity prices surge in large part owing to the Middle East conflict.
Further measures to lower energy bills included removing fixed fees on gas bills and extending a freeze on fuel duty. 
Healey's budget plans were constrained by his commitment to abide by predecessor Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules, stating that day-to-day outlay must balance with state tax receipts.
In the runup to the budget, UK media reports suggested government spending cuts could occur next year.
Responding to the budget, the leader of the main opposition Conservatives Kemi Badenoch said: "We all know why he's delayed until tomorrow, difficult (budget) decisions he should have taken today.
"It is because the prime minister wants to keep the option of an early general election, putting his party's interests before the country's."
Since Burnham replaced Starmer as prime minister in July, Labour's support has risen among voters in opinion polls.
Following Badenoch's comments, Burnham again ruled out the prospect of a snap general election in the next year, adding the budget had taken "a very prudent and stable approach". 
 

Defence spending

 
The government's fiscal headroom will be slashed to £15 billion in the 2029-2030 period, compared with £23.6 billion in March, as higher borrowing costs hike its debt repayments.
Government bond yields around the world have struck multi-decade highs in recent weeks as wider inflation stays high.
The chancellor delayed until next year details of how Britain will meet NATO's target of defence spend reaching 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035.
But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the 3.0-percent pledge, saying in a post on X: "Good news on the new budget... with a strong commitment on defence." 
Some relatively low-cost relief measures for households were announced ahead of the budget, including tariffs cuts to imported food products, including gherkins and marmalade, along with measures to reduce "pointless paperwork" for businesses.
A package of investment in artificial intelligence safety was announced by the Treasury over the weekend, amid growing global concerns over the cyber and biological risks posed by AI.
ajb-bcp/jkb/jj

Global Edition

Israel president urges against new vote despite inconclusive result

BY STUART WHITE, SHAUN TANDON AND ALICE CHANCELLOR

  • Both Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is allied with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief leading a broad opposition bloc, said they would seek to form the next government.
  • Israel's president voiced hope Wednesday for avoiding a second election after a hard-fought vote produced no clear winner, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition scrambling for options and making Israeli Arab parties possible kingmakers.
  • Both Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is allied with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief leading a broad opposition bloc, said they would seek to form the next government.
Israel's president voiced hope Wednesday for avoiding a second election after a hard-fought vote produced no clear winner, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition scrambling for options and making Israeli Arab parties possible kingmakers.
With more than 85 percent of ballots counted, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc was slightly ahead but still short of a majority after Tuesday's election, the first since the October 7, 2023 attack that led Israel to wage war in Gaza and across the region.
Both Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is allied with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief leading a broad opposition bloc, said they would seek to form the next government.
But neither looks set to reach the 61-seat threshold, with Netanyahu's bloc projected to win 53 of the 120 seats in parliament and Eisenkot's opposition set for 48.
The final results could still change, but one group which made clear gains was Israeli Arabs, whose seats were set to jump to 19. 
"We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," said President Isaac Herzog, who is tasked with determining which candidate to tap to form a government, urging parties to keep "an open mind".

'Have to talk to us'

Yousef Jabareen, head of the leftist Arab-majority Joint List, said the Israeli public had voted for new leadership and "anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu's blood-soaked government will have to talk to us".
He later told AFP, however, that while he was willing to cooperate with an opposition-led government to unseat Netanyahu, he was not open to joining such a coalition outright.
"We do not see the possibility of being part of an Israeli government coalition under the current political circumstances, particularly given the ongoing war in Gaza, the settlements in the West Bank" and other issues, he said.
The ad hoc support of Arab lawmakers could enable Eisenkot to maintain a minority government, although few observers believe such an arrangement would survive for long. 
Arab voters, descendants of Palestinians who stayed after Israel's creation and who make up around 20 percent of the population, turned out in unprecedented numbers for Tuesday's vote, enraged by the Netanyahu government's ultra-nationalist Jewish vision for the country and the Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu during the campaign relentlessly stoked fears of Arabs in power to motivate his base, and his Likud party on Wednesday accused the Arab lists of having "stolen" the election.
It alleged "corruption, threats, violence, falsehoods and the use of prohibited software" to encourage voter turnout. It did not share evidence but said it would share it with authorities.
Eisenkot and most of his allies have resisted partnering with Arab lawmakers. 
But Yair Golan, the head of Israel's main left-wing party and a member of Eisenkot's camp, became its first to call for such an alliance.
"We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes," Golan said on social media.

Iran conflict

A lack of a clear majority for either camp could mean weeks spent trying to cobble together coalitions, with new elections a possibility if negotiations fail.
"Maybe everybody lost in these elections but the Arab parties. And for the Arab parties, it's unclear that they can make use of their huge success," Hebrew University of Jerusalem political scientist Gideon Rahat said.
A stalemate could in the immediate term benefit Netanyahu, who would remain caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot appeared to indicate another factor was on the horizon: an Israeli attack alongside the United States on Iran.
Netanyahu has ordered two campaigns against Iran, reluctantly stopping the most recent only after US President Donald Trump reached a now-defunct ceasefire.
In the days leading up to the election, Netanyahu repeatedly called for the overthrow of Iran's government. News reports, which Netanyahu denied, said military top brass pushed back on his plans for pre-election action.
Trump has said that the United States is no longer negotiating with Iran but will not attack until after next Tuesday's US midterm elections.
Speaking at a rally, Netanyahu said that Israel had a "unique opportunity" with Trump to "forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran".
Eisenkot in a post-election appearance warned Israel's security chiefs not to let Netanyahu put his political survival over the national interest.
"Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," he said.
Defence Minister Israel Katz lashed out at the remarks on Wednesday, calling them "an anti-democratic statement detached from reality".
All eyes will now be on Herzog, who has reportedly supported a unity government, which could take on more urgency if Netanyahu attacks Iran, although Eisenkot has publicly ruled out serving with him.
bur-smw/sct/amj

minorities

Arab Israelis proud of high election turnout, uncertain for future

BY LOUIS BAUDOIN-LAARMAN

  • But he said he voted mostly due to fear of racism and that the Netanyahu government "will drive Arabs out of Israel".
  • A librarian in an Arab town in northern Israel, Maysa Nasser never thought to vote in national elections.
  • But he said he voted mostly due to fear of racism and that the Netanyahu government "will drive Arabs out of Israel".
A librarian in an Arab town in northern Israel, Maysa Nasser never thought to vote in national elections. But on Tuesday she cast a ballot for the first time, stung by the racism she has felt from the hard-right government.
Many in Israel's Arab minority felt like her, heading in unprecedented numbers to the polls out of fury at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Winning a record number of seats, Arab lawmakers now have the power to unseat him -- but only if the opposition overcomes resistance to allying with them.
Nasser, 50, sees brighter days ahead after the landmark turnout.
"Everything about this election campaign felt different this time. There was unity. In the final hours before the polls closed, there was a kind of happiness that we had previously lost," the librarian from Majd al-Krum, north of Haifa, told AFP.
"I am 50 years old, but I had always boycotted elections and defended the boycott because I had been deeply disappointed by members of the Knesset," she said of Israel's parliament.
Israeli Arabs are forecast to secure around 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, a major gain driven by communities such as Majd al-Krum, where 85 percent of eligible voters turned out.
The community which once often shunned elections is now turning out at rates even beyond Jewish Israelis, in an atmosphere that has become more fraught since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Around 20 percent of Israel's population is Arab -- descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 -- with many of them living in towns and villages of the hilly Galilee region in the north.
Netanyahu's far-right partners including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have called for moving Jewish settlers into the Galilee, following the model of the occupied West Bank where settlers have enjoyed virtual impunity in attacking Palestinians.

'Don't know what comes next'

On the highways leading to Galilee towns such as Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus Christ, Hebrew-language billboards showcase Netanyahu and Ben Gvir before gradually giving way to posters in Arabic encouraging voters to choose Arab lists.
"I'm proud of myself, proud of everyone who voted. Not just the people from my town, but the entire Arab community that voted," Amal Farhan said, recalling the crowds she saw when she cast her ballot.
"My rights in this country should be equal to those of a Jewish student studying alongside me," said the 18-year-old who is preparing for university entrance exams.
Young and old alike in Majd al-Krum, a town of 15,000 nestled between a highway and a mountain, celebrated into the late hours at the election result.
But one day later, as political horsetrading and seat counting began, hope gave way to uncertainty.
"We shouldn't let the celebrations carry on and rejoice too much, because we don't know what comes next," said Mohammed Zarkawi, a 23-year-old student and employee in his father's pizzeria.
"The turnout was high, but the celebrations will only really mean something when there is a change of government, a government that comes and makes peace," he said.
His father Ahmad said that though he voted for an Arab party, many in town including his other son chose The Democrats, a left-wing party led by Jewish Israeli Yair Golan.
"Golan really wants peace between Jews and Arabs," he said.
Golan has urged opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot to form a government with Arab lawmakers and replace the "racism" of Netanyahu.
But other opposition leaders have been hesitant, and Netanyahu has relentlessly attacked the prospect of Arabs in government as a threat to the country.

'Drive the Arabs out'

Residents said they hoped the next government would provide more resources to gang violence within Arab communities that in recent years left hundreds dead.
"There are killings every day. What are they doing about it? Nothing," said Mahmoud Zihon, an 83-year-old activist.
But he said he voted mostly due to fear of racism and that the Netanyahu government "will drive Arabs out of Israel".
He said he feared a new Nakba -- "catastrophe" in Arabic -- referring to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people at the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Those who remained saw some of their lands confiscated, like Samiha Shaaban, who remembers that large tracts of her family's olive tree grove were taken when the Israeli town of Gilon, near Majd al-Krum, was built in 1980.
And yet on election night, "there was a joy that we hadn't seen for 30 or 40 years", the 75-year-old said.
"And if there are more elections -- because there's no agreement between Eisenkot and the Joint List -- then we will get an even stronger result!"
lba/sct/amj

travel

'Cruise for life' strands passengers in Cambodia as operator goes bust

BY SUY SE WITH ALICE RITCHIE IN BANGKOK

  • Despite being left in Cambodia, Cassingham said he had no regrets and would get back onboard if the cruise restarted, telling AFP that "money aside, it was a fantastic adventure".
  • Around 200 passengers who paid to live on a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in Cambodia after the company ran out of money -- but passengers told AFP on Wednesday they had no regrets.
  • Despite being left in Cambodia, Cassingham said he had no regrets and would get back onboard if the cruise restarted, telling AFP that "money aside, it was a fantastic adventure".
Around 200 passengers who paid to live on a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in Cambodia after the company ran out of money -- but passengers told AFP on Wednesday they had no regrets.
US-based operator Villa Vie Residences announced on Tuesday it was suspending operations of the Odyssey, two years after the ship set off, citing "extraordinary increases" in fuel costs following the US-Israel war with Iran.
It had been billed as an affordable, continuous voyage around the world, in which residents could buy or rent rooms for a holiday or for life, some passengers selling everything they had to pay for it.
However, residents were given just seven hours to pack their bags and leave during a scheduled stop in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
American Randy Cassingham and his wife Kit had been on the ship since it left Belfast in October 2024, spending around $1 million on the all-inclusive trip they hoped would last at least 15 years.
"It was great, for a while," he told AFP by phone from his Sihanoukville hotel.
"My wife and I really enjoy travelling. But we really hate airports and airlines. This was a way that you could unpack once, you can sleep in your own bed every night and wake up in a new place every few days."
Despite being left in Cambodia, Cassingham said he had no regrets and would get back onboard if the cruise restarted, telling AFP that "money aside, it was a fantastic adventure".
Operator Villa Vie said in a statement the per-cabin monthly fuel expenses had gone from an average of $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.
"The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure," it said.
Carol Larson, a 69-year-old from California, told AFP that she initially paid $120,000 for her cabin -- not including monthly maintenance fees -- and a voyage that was meant to last 15 years or the life of the ship.
But after just a year and a half, she and a friend were now "stranded" in Sihanoukville.
She faulted the US president and his war in the Middle East, as well as cruise management.
"I put most of the blame on Trump, but there was some probably not financially good bookkeeping," Larson said.
Still, she said, the journey was "well worth it".
"I am so blessed to have been part of the experiment of residential cruising."

'Something going wrong'

The 200-metre (656-foot) ship arrived from Thailand on Friday carrying 203 guests and 156 crew, according to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.
He said in a statement some passengers took flights out while others remained in Sihanoukville, adding that the ship was due to refuel and leave on Saturday.
Barbara Figiel, 62, who says she has been on around 70 cruises, and her husband went aboard the Odyssey in December 2024.
"I've always said, 'Oh, when I retire, I want to live on a cruise ship,'" Figiel told AFP.
The former UN employee said she jumped at the chance to travel at a slow pace and be part of a community at sea.
But in the last four months, she said "we knew something was going wrong because they kept on asking us for more and more and more money".
"But it came to a point that how much money can you give to save a sinking ship?"
"I don't think we've been scammed," she added. "We've been given a great lifestyle, but they underestimated the costs."
Cassingham accused the company of doing "absolutely nothing" to help stranded passengers, saying they were driven into the centre of town and left without even a list of hotels.
Villa Vie did not respond to an AFP request for comment, but said in its statement it was "working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements".
suy-ar/sco/des

assault

UK woman drugged by husband tells rape trial she woke up bound

BY AKSHATA KAPOOR

  • She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
  • A woman who was raped and drugged by her then-husband for years told a UK court Wednesday how she woke to find herself blindfolded and restrained with a stranger in her bedroom.
  • She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
A woman who was raped and drugged by her then-husband for years told a UK court Wednesday how she woke to find herself blindfolded and restrained with a stranger in her bedroom.
Philip Young, 50, has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences including drugging and raping his former wife Joanne Young, who has waived her right to anonymity.
Four men are on trial at a court in southern England accused of abusing Joanne Young after being invited by her husband to have sex with her, without her consent, between 2016 and 2023.
Norman Macksoni, 48, Richard Wilkins, 62, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, are all in the dock at Winchester Crown Court. Two of them face charges of rape and two face lesser sexual assault charges, all of which they deny.
Joanne Young, 49, testified in court for the first time Wednesday, as the four men sat impassively in the dock.
She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
"One was touching my wrist and the other giving me oral sex," said Young. When a defence lawyer suggested the feeling around her wrist could have been twisted bedding, she insisted it was "a hand around my wrist".
Earlier, the court saw two police video interviews Joanne Young gave in 2024 and 2025 in which she described that February 2023 night.
She said that after drinks in the pub with friends she had gone to bed, only to wake up to find another man in the room.
The next morning, her husband was apologetic and said he had been looking on "forums" and had "invited someone around the house to watch us have sex", the mother-of-three said in one video.
"I was really upset, shocked someone had been there," she added. "It was so intrusive, something that I would never ever accept or want."
 

Snoring

 
The jury was also shown videos of three of the defendants allegedly sexually assaulting Joanne Young.
All three videos were filmed by Philip Young at the foot of the bed.
In a 2016 video showing an undressed Wilkins, Joanne Young could be heard snoring at various points.
Hassan does not feature in any of the videos, but the prosecution allege he is the man involved in the February 2023 incident.
In her police interviews, Joanne Young described the "standard pattern" of her sexual relationship with her husband of two decades, with the couple often having sex after going for drinks with friends or following a nightcap.
"More often than not I'd already be fast asleep and he would instigate sex," she said in the video interviews.
"It was almost always when I've been asleep," she said, adding she would wake up "quite dozy".
 

Mutiple sex assault cases

 
Later, when he was arrested, Joanne Young recalled in a video interview that her husband told her he had uploaded intimate images of her online.
"He never asked me if it was something I wanted," she said, adding she was unaware the pictures had being taken. 
"I was just gutted, it was like a kick in the stomach ... I assume I am asleep because when did those images get taken?"
There are multiple cases currently before UK courts of alleged drug-facilitated sexual assault, with awareness of the crime growing following the unrelated high-profile 2024 French trial of Dominique Pelicot.
He was found guilty of secretly drugging his wife, Gisele, for years and inviting scores of men to rape her while she was unconscious.
Gisele Pelicot also waived her right to anonymity in that trial to raise awareness about sexual violence.
aks/am/giv

conflict

Ceasefire in Russia-occupied Ukrainian city holds for second day

BY STANISLAV DOSHCHITSYN

  • Locals in the city of Oleshky, under Russian occupation in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, have faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, caught in the crossfire between both sides.
  • A US-brokered local ceasefire in southern Ukraine was holding for a second day, both sides said on Wednesday, as hopes grew that vital aid would be able to reach stranded residents.
  • Locals in the city of Oleshky, under Russian occupation in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, have faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, caught in the crossfire between both sides.
A US-brokered local ceasefire in southern Ukraine was holding for a second day, both sides said on Wednesday, as hopes grew that vital aid would be able to reach stranded residents.
Locals in the city of Oleshky, under Russian occupation in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, have faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, caught in the crossfire between both sides.
Some of the estimated 2,000 people still there -- out of the pre-war population of 24,000 -- had resorted to hunting and eating pigeons, former residents who are still in touch with those in the city told AFP.
The human rights ombudsmen of both Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday that the truce -- which came into effect early Tuesday morning -- was still holding.
"30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident," said Ukraine's Dmytro Lubinets.
"No incidents have been recorded in the 30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky," Russia's Yana Lantratova said in a similarly worded statement.
The ceasefire will be guaranteed by "the physical presence of both ombudsmen: Ukrainian and Russian" on the ground, Lubinets's office told journalists.
Route demining was "currently underway", Lubinets said on social media, adding this was a "crucial step toward ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and enabling civilians who wish to leave the city to do so".
 

'Biggest de-escalation'

 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that since the ceasefire entered into force, there had been "no massive attacks" on the regional capital of Kherson, where around 280,000 people lived before the invasion.
"We're happy even when we have two, three days for these people. You know, some ceasefire is great, you can see them in the streets," he told reporters in The Hague.
He said the truce would be a "huge success" if the evacuation of Oleshky's citizens went ahead as planned.
It remains unclear how many people will choose to leave, or what route they will have to take.
Crossing the frontline -- marked by the Dnipro river -- is all but impossible, and Russian-installed officials have indicated they could have to travel through Russian-occupied Crimea.
They also said that most of those who wanted to flee had already done so.
A senior Ukrainian official also told AFP that many people in the city wanted to stay, so the ceasefire operation was designed to allow humanitarian supplies into the city.
The planned truce was announced by US First Lady Melania Trump last week after months of mounting international concern over the fate of residents in the city.
Oleshky was captured by Russian forces at the start of their 2022 invasion.
Lubinets said the truce was also bringing respite for the city of Kherson.
"Kherson, which had been under constant shelling, has literally come back to life. There are more people on the streets, and urban life has picked up," Lubinets wrote on social media.
"People are going outside without fear, taking walks and enjoying the autumn sunshine," he added.
He posted pictures of people selling fruit under anti-drone nets on the street and municipal workers mowing lawns amid buildings reduced to rubble.
The city lies on the Dnipro river, directly across from Russian forces on the opposite bank, and has been heavily bombarded throughout the war.
It was occupied by Russian forces at the start of the 2022 invasion, before Ukraine retook it in a counter-offensive later that year.
Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram on Wednesday morning that "no strikes or hits on civilian or critical infrastructure facilities were recorded" over the past 24 hours. 
David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian lawmaker who took part in peace negotiations with Russia in 2022, described the ceasefire as the "biggest de-escalation since 2022".
Previous short-lived truces in the war -- such as to mark Orthodox Easter -- have seen drop-offs in aerial attacks but been marred by accusations of widespread violations by both sides.
bur-mmp/cad/jj

assault

UK woman drugged by husband tells rape trial she woke up bound

  • She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
  • A woman who was raped and drugged by her then-husband for years told a UK court Wednesday how she woke to find herself blindfolded and restrained with a stranger in her bedroom.
  • She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
A woman who was raped and drugged by her then-husband for years told a UK court Wednesday how she woke to find herself blindfolded and restrained with a stranger in her bedroom.
Philip Young, 50, has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences including drugging and raping his former wife Joanne Young, who has waived her right to anonymity.
Four men are on trial at a court in southern England accused of abusing Joanne Young after being invited by her husband to have sex with her, without her consent, between 2016 and 2023.
Norman Macksoni, 48, Richard Wilkins, 62, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, are all in the dock at Winchester Crown Court. Two of them face charges of rape and two face lesser sexual assault charges, all of which they deny.
Joanne Young, 49, testified in court for the first time Wednesday, as the four men sat impassively in the dock.
She recalled during her cross-examination a night in February 2023 when she woke up to find "two people" in her bedroom while she was blindfolded and restrained, believing one of them to be her husband.
"One was touching my wrist and the other giving me oral sex," said Young. When a defence lawyer suggested the feeling around her wrist could have been twisted bedding, she insisted it was "a hand around my wrist".
Earlier, the court saw two police video interviews Joanne Young gave in 2024 and 2025 in which she described that February 2023 night.
She said that after drinks in the pub with friends she had gone to bed, only to be woken up to find another man in the room.
The next morning, her husband was apologetic and said he had been looking on "forums" and had "invited someone around the house to watch us have sex", the mother-of-three said in one video.
"I was really upset, shocked someone had been there," she added. "It was so intrusive, something that I would never ever accept or want."
 

'Fast asleep'

 
Joanne Young also described the "standard pattern" of her sexual relationship with her husband of two decades, with the couple often having sex after going for drinks with friends or following a nightcap.
"More often than not I'd already be fast asleep and he would instigate sex," she said in the video interviews.
"It was almost always when I've been asleep," she said, adding she would wake up "quite dozy".
Later, when he was arrested, Joanne Young recalled in a video interview that her husband told her he had uploaded intimate images of her online.
"He never asked me if it was something I wanted," she said, adding she was unaware the pictures had being taken. 
"I was just gutted, it was like a kick in the stomach ... I assume I am asleep because when did those images get taken?"
 

Mutiple sex assault cases

 
There are multiple cases currently before UK courts of alleged drug-facilitated sexual assault, with awareness of the crime growing following the unrelated high-profile 2024 French trial of Dominique Pelicot.
He was found guilty of secretly drugging his wife, Gisele, for years and inviting scores of men to rape her while she was unconscious.
Gisele Pelicot also waived her right to anonymity in that trial to raise awareness about sexual violence.
aks/jkb/rlp

food

World Bank warns of worsening food insecurity as commodity prices soar

  • Global energy and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, plunging the Middle East into violence.
  • The World Bank on Wednesday warned that global commodity prices were set to increase by 23 percent by the end of 2026, with energy prices at four-year highs due to the war on Iran and food prices driven up by global conflicts and El Nino.
  • Global energy and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, plunging the Middle East into violence.
The World Bank on Wednesday warned that global commodity prices were set to increase by 23 percent by the end of 2026, with energy prices at four-year highs due to the war on Iran and food prices driven up by global conflicts and El Nino.
"Commodity markets are being hit by several major shocks at once," said Ayhan Kose, the World Bank's deputy chief economist, in a statement accompanying the release of the organization's Commodity Markets Outlook report.
"Higher energy costs and trade disruptions are driving up prices across a broad range of commodities, threatening to worsen inflation, food insecurity, and economic growth."
Food prices were expected to rise by 10 percent in 2026 and another seven percent next year, due to conflict-affected grain supply lines, the effects of an extreme El Nino phenomenon and high fuel and fertilizer prices.
El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon that is set to bring higher temperatures to much of the planet this year, with its impact compounding the effects of man-made climate change.
For food producers, it is expected to lead to more flooding, droughts and heat stress across multiple regions.
 

Higher energy prices

 
Energy prices are projected to see an increase of 32 percent this year before moderating in 2027, the World Bank report said, assuming that conflicts in Iran and Ukraine do not intensify.
Global energy and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, plunging the Middle East into violence.
Iran responded with attacks on US allies in the region and virtually choked the Strait of Hormuz -- a key oil, natural gas and fertilizer supply route. 
The World Bank report warned that an especially strong El Nino, intensifying attacks on Black Sea grain shipments during the Russia-Ukraine war or further energy price spikes from the Iran war could lead to a "food crisis."
"In an adverse scenario in which these risks materialize together, Brent could average $105 a barrel in 2027 and food commodity prices could be 12 percent higher than expected in the baseline forecast, surpassing their level in 2022," the report said.
Since the start of the war on Iran, the World Bank has provided $8.7 billion in emergency support for vulnerable countries.
"The priority must be to protect the poorest people and support low-income countries already struggling with heavy debt burdens," said Kose.
Global oil supply is slated to fall by 5.2 percent in 2026 -- the largest decline in more than four decades outside of the pandemic -- due to the effects of wars in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.
The report noted that global oil price forecasts would be higher still if oil consumption were not forecast to fall by 2.5 percent this year, the third-largest such drop after the Covid pandemic and the 1980 oil crisis.
Still, the forecasts for food, energy and overall commodity prices were sharply higher from the Bank's earlier predictions in April. 
aha/des

politics

Clean-up starts as Serbian students movement prepares to govern

  • On Wednesday, the student-led movement called on Belgrade residents to help restore buildings, streets, and parks after two years of "unappealing" changes.
  • Belgrade residents on Wednesday washed away politically charged graffiti that had stained city walls over months of protests, as Serbia's student-led movement prepared to govern after its seismic election victory.
  • On Wednesday, the student-led movement called on Belgrade residents to help restore buildings, streets, and parks after two years of "unappealing" changes.
Belgrade residents on Wednesday washed away politically charged graffiti that had stained city walls over months of protests, as Serbia's student-led movement prepared to govern after its seismic election victory.
A student-backed list defeated the right-wing SNS nationalist party of Aleksandar Vucic in a national election Sunday, ending its 14-year rule in the Balkan nation.
The historic victory came after two years of protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that claimed 16 lives.
As celebrations faded, citizens focused on cleaning up the remnants of a divisive political period.
Directly after the vote on Monday morning, students were joined by other citizens in cleaning a park that a pro-government encampment had illegally occupied for over a year outside the presidency building.
By the afternoon, children were enjoying a freshly scrubbed playground, and all signs of the camp were gone.
On Wednesday, the student-led movement called on Belgrade residents to help restore buildings, streets, and parks after two years of "unappealing" changes. Its social media post said this should include "offensive graffiti ... that have marred building facades for some time".
Dozens of people whitewashed a tunnel in central Belgrade whose walls had become pockmarked with competing graffiti from opposing political sides.
In recent months, the ubiquitous abbreviations, 'FCK BLK' or 'FCK SNS' were tagged across buildings around the city, along with offensive slurs particularly against the student movement.
'BLK' targets the protesters who were labelled blockaders by the government, while the latter was used to target Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
The clean-up came as the student-backed list cemented its position in a nearly complete vote tally.
So far it has won over 52 percent of the vote giving it around 140 of the 250 seats in parliament, enough to comfortably govern alone, according to the central election authority.
Students will have to wait until the final vote count is certified before parliament can be constituted, allowing the leaderless movement to form a government and name a prime minister.
bur-ljv/al/tw

diplomacy

Flavio Bolsonaro: right-wing heir falls from presidential hopeful to exile

BY FRAN BLANDY

  • Bolsonaro has maintained close ties to the administration of US President Donald Trump, an ally of his father who described Sunday's election as "rigged."
  • Just days ago, Flavio Bolsonaro was riding high, convinced he would be Brazil's next president and follow in the footsteps of his far-right father, Jair Bolsonaro.
  • Bolsonaro has maintained close ties to the administration of US President Donald Trump, an ally of his father who described Sunday's election as "rigged."
Just days ago, Flavio Bolsonaro was riding high, convinced he would be Brazil's next president and follow in the footsteps of his far-right father, Jair Bolsonaro.
Now, he has self-exiled to the United States after a stealthy exit from Brazil that took him via Argentina and Ecuador as the whole country wondered where he was.
The right-wing senator's vision of triumph crumbled after his shock loss in Sunday's run-off election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Flavio Bolsonaro had beat Lula in a first-round vote, but Lula pulled off a dramatic comeback to win with 52 percent of the votes to his rival's 48 percent. 
Bolsonaro was defiant: He refused to concede defeat and vowed to fight the result in the courts.
"I will not give up on my Brazil," he said on Sunday.
He vowed he had no intention of leaving the country as authorities demanded he hand over his passports.
Bolsonaro has maintained close ties to the administration of US President Donald Trump, an ally of his father who described Sunday's election as "rigged."
Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Wednesday with his two daughters and his wife Fernanda, a dentist.
 

'Blood of a Bolsonaro'

 
The 45-year-old senator was little known nationally when he was anointed as the heir to the far-right political movement by his father, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after his 2022 election loss to Lula.
But his campaign quickly gained traction, and Flavio, pitching himself as a more jovial, moderate Bolsonaro, fired up his father's base and won over less ideological voters looking for a change.
He never hesitated to remind Brazilians: "I have the blood of a Bolsonaro in my veins."
In the first-round election, he came in ahead of Lula, 47 percent to the incumbent's 45 percent.
No candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the second in Brazil since 1989, the first direct election after the end of the country's military dictatorship.
However, while Lula's loss jolted the left awake, leading to massive mobilization that carried him to victory, critics say Bolsonaro was overly confident and his allies were already publicly jockeying for government positions.
"I think the victory in the first round was poison for the Flavio Bolsonaro campaign because it generated a sense of, you know, that they already won," Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.
Despite his loss, Bolsonaro secured almost 60 million votes in the runoff.
His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is also self-exiled in the United States, said before the election: "If my brother does not win, I am in favor that he would leave the country."
Among other investigations, Brazilian police are probing Flavio Bolsonaro for corruption over the financing of the biopic "Dark Horse" about his father, bankrolled by disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro.
 

Haunted by accusations

 
Born in Rio de Janeiro state, Flavio Bolsonaro is the eldest of the former president's five children and the one who most resembles him.
He was elected to the Rio de Janeiro state legislature at age 21 and became a senator at age 37. He holds a law degree.
On the campaign trail, Bolsonaro displayed the relaxed Carioca style and language that the city of Rio is known for.
But he has been dogged by accusations over his career.
When he was a Rio legislator, he was accused of taking a portion of his aides' salaries in a kickback scheme, but the case was dismissed.
He has also faced scrutiny over alleged ties to Rio de Janeiro's violent and shadowy militia figures. He has denied any wrongdoing.
fb/mjf

vote

Brazil's Bolsonaros: between power, prison, and exile

BY DAVID SALAZAR

  • But then Flavio Bolsonaro lost in the second round and amid accusations of corruption and money laundering fled into self-imposed exile in the United States.
  • The patriarch is under house arrest, his wife is a senator, two sons are in Congress, and a third, who just lost the presidential race, started a self-imposed exile Wednesday in the US. As Brazil's preeminent new political dynasty, the Bolsonaros are serving up the kind of drama, infighting and ambition that would not be out of place in one of the country's beloved telenovelas.
  • But then Flavio Bolsonaro lost in the second round and amid accusations of corruption and money laundering fled into self-imposed exile in the United States.
The patriarch is under house arrest, his wife is a senator, two sons are in Congress, and a third, who just lost the presidential race, started a self-imposed exile Wednesday in the US.
As Brazil's preeminent new political dynasty, the Bolsonaros are serving up the kind of drama, infighting and ambition that would not be out of place in one of the country's beloved telenovelas.
Many had written off Bolsonarism when former president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of mounting a failed coup bid after he lost a 2022 election bid to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
But, family fortunes surged again as Flavio Bolsonaro briefly appeared a shoo-in to become president of Brazil, and four other family members were elected to Congress.
But then Flavio Bolsonaro lost in the second round and amid accusations of corruption and money laundering fled into self-imposed exile in the United States.

The patriarch and the coup

Jair Bolsonaro, 71, won a devoted following for his combative style and defense of "God, Homeland, and Family", while drawing criticism for comments slamming gays and demeaning women.
The former army officer is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for plotting ways to stop Lula from taking power in January 2023.
Flavio had vowed to free his father if he won, leaving the patriarch's future uncertain.

Flavio, the 'moderate' who fled

The eldest of Jair's five children, the 45-year-old fired up his father's conservative base and less ideological voters, pitching himself as more moderate than his father.
He won a first-round vote and was seen as the favorite ahead of the runoff, before being trounced by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Flavio Bolsonaro is being investigated in several cases, including for alleged corruption and money laundering linked to the financing of a biopic, "Dark Horse," about his father, bankrolled by disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro.
Flavio at first denied having contact with Vorcaro, but was forced to backtrack after audio leaked of him imploring the banker to make overdue payments.
He arrived in Florida Wednesday after dodging Brazilian authorities who demanded his passports.
- Michelle, the step-mother - 
Michelle Bolsonaro, 44, is around the same age as three of her stepsons.
A devout evangelical Christian and devoted wife, she has become a political powerhouse in her own right, and was elected senator representing the capital Brasilia.
She grew up in poverty, among drug traffickers, and met Jair Bolsonaro after landing a chance job in Congress.
During the campaign she aired a public feud with Flavio, accusing him of mistreating her.
In February, after another stepson, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused her of not doing enough to support Flavio's campaign, she shared a picture of fried bananas she was making for her husband.
This was perceived as a dig against Eduardo, mockingly nicknamed "little banana."
Eduardo then shared a supporter's post saying she should keep frying bananas while he and Flavio worked to "rescue the country."
- Eduardo: guns and Trump - 
Eduardo, 42, moved to the United States in March 2025 where he has met with President Donald Trump and addressed conservative conferences in his push for US pressure on Brasilia.
He lost his lawmaker seat due to his long absence and was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in absentia in June, for his lobbying for US sanctions and tariffs against Brazil.
Seen as the most radical of the Bolsonaro sons, he has shared videos of rifles and guns he has bought, arguing for relaxed gun laws in Brazil.
- The 'pitbull' and the others - 
Jair calls his second-eldest son Carlos, 43, the "family pitbull".
His entry into politics came at age 17 after his father pushed him to run against his mother Rogeria on the Rio de Janeiro city council, a year after his parents divorced.
He won the seat, in an episode he described as "traumatic" and later became his father's social media strategist.
This year he was elected senator for the southern city of Santa Catarina.
His youngest brother, Jair Renan, 28, was elected a lawmaker for the same city. 
Jair Bolsonaro's brother, 62-year-old Renato Bolsonaro, a retired military officer was elected as a deputy for Sao Paulo state.
das-fb/sms