Global Edition

Bosnian Serb strongman claims election win, thanks Trump and Putin

BY RUSMIR SMAJILHODZIC

  • Dodik's party was also projected to retain power in the Serb entity's parliament and local presidency by a large margin.
  • The former president of Bosnia's Serb statelet, Milorad Dodik, said his party had retained power in the entity and its seat on the shared presidency, as preliminary results showed a drop in turnout for Bosnia's general elections.
  • Dodik's party was also projected to retain power in the Serb entity's parliament and local presidency by a large margin.
The former president of Bosnia's Serb statelet, Milorad Dodik, said his party had retained power in the entity and its seat on the shared presidency, as preliminary results showed a drop in turnout for Bosnia's general elections.
Dodik led the declarations for a dizzying number of posts to be decided in the general elections in a complex system that has held the partitioned Balkan country together since the 1995 peace deal.
The key race was for the tripartite presidency, split between Bosnian Muslims or Bosniaks, and the Serb and Croat ethnic groups. Dodik's Serb nationalists ran on a platform of greater autonomy and secessionist rhetoric.
"If it had not been for Donald Trump's magnificent victory... we would probably be political corpses today," he told supporters in Banja Luka, in a speech that also thanked his close ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"But now, thanks to the new environment, we are political winners," he added.
The 67-year-old was not on the ballot after being convicted of overstepping his powers and banned from the presidency for six years.
But he remains a central figure in the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska entity.
With 95 percent of the ballots counted, according to electoral officials, his candidate, Zeljka Cvijanovic, was firmly on track to retain her spot in the presidency. 
Meanwhile, Bosniak presidential incumbent Denis Becirovic also claimed victory after results showed him leading a tighter race for his seat.
"A freedom-loving, anti-fascist and civic Bosnia and Herzegovina is alive," Becirovic, from the Social Democrats party, told supporters in Sarajevo.
Bosnian Croat nationalist candidate Darijana Filipovic also claimed victory in her bid for the Croat presidential seat.
Dodik's party was also projected to retain power in the Serb entity's parliament and local presidency by a large margin.
The US-brokered Dayton agreement ended the 1992-1995 conflict but entrenched divisions that often paralyse decision-making.
It divided Bosnia into two semi-autonomous entities -- the Serb-run RS and a Muslim-Croat federation -- linked by a weak central government.

Low turnout

The major parties' repeated focus on war-era rhetoric of ethnic division frustrated some voters, who hoped for candidates to address economic concerns in one of Europe's poorest countries.
Economist Merima Cerim Karisik, voting in a northern Sarajevo suburb, told AFP she hoped for change and a turn away from the tired politics of the past.
"That what we have seen over the past 30 years will finally come to an end," she said.
Amela Hadzic, after casting her ballot at the same polling station, said it felt like the country had gone backwards recently.
"I hope people have seen that things cannot go on like this. I doubt there will be any major changes, but hopefully things will at least get better, however little," Hadzic said.
With the debut of biometric identification and the scanning of paper ballots at thousands of polling stations, authorities said technical issues had caused voting to be extended at some stations, but there were no reports of major incidents.
Turnout dropped nearly 10 percentage points from the last election in 2022, to around 42 percent, according to official figures.
- No progress on EU goals - 
In the Muslim-Croat federation, Becirovic advocates a path toward the European Union and NATO.
But if Dodik's party returns to the presidency, it would almost certainly mean the political deadlock that has blocked the necessary reforms for years would remain.
After two decades in power, Dodik and his party have repeatedly clashed with the country's central authorities and vocally oppose EU membership.
Croat nationalist parties are also pushing for electoral reform. They want a greater say in choosing the Croat member of the presidency in the entity they share with the more numerous Bosniaks.
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demonstration

Indians protest election chief ahead of top court hearing

  • They have said they will march to the Election Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and hold "Save Democracy" rallies countrywide afterwards.
  • Indian opposition activists rallied for a third day on Sunday to demand the election commission chief's resignation, alleging wrongdoing during a large-scale revision of voter rolls in the world's largest democracy.
  • They have said they will march to the Election Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and hold "Save Democracy" rallies countrywide afterwards.
Indian opposition activists rallied for a third day on Sunday to demand the election commission chief's resignation, alleging wrongdoing during a large-scale revision of voter rolls in the world's largest democracy.
Protests began Friday demanding the Election Commission of India chief Gyanesh Kumar step down after concerns at the revision that has removed millions of names from voter lists.
The ECI has rejected allegations of wrongdoing. Kumar himself has not commented. 
The Supreme Court is expected to hear petitions concerning key voter-list decisions on Monday, Indian media reported.
Thousands marched in Mumbai on Sunday, waving Indian flags and anti-Kumar placards as they called on him to resign.
Protesters have included supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) -- which began in May as a satirical online movement, and succeeded in its campaign to oust the then education minister.
"Mumbai is out on the streets again for free and fair elections!" CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke said in a social media post Sunday. 
In New Delhi, large numbers of police deployed around India Gate, barring protesters. 
A few dozen activists, including key CJP supporters, gathered outside a police station after sexual harassment allegations were made against officers during protests in the capital on Saturday.
Delhi police launched an investigation into the allegations against officers during protests in New Delhi a day earlier.
The harassment allegations were made after police detained scores of protesters around the government-designated protest site of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday.
"Allegations of sexual harassment were made by three female journalists against police officers," Delhi police said in a statement, promising "a fair and impartial enquiry".
Dipke said that the accused officer "must be arrested immediately".

'Whataboutery'

The Press Club of India said it was "shocked and dismayed" at the treatment of journalists during the protests, adding that the media "must be allowed to work freely, without fear".
Opposition politicians have accused the ECI of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
They have said they will march to the Election Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and hold "Save Democracy" rallies countrywide afterwards.
The CJP has called for a "massive mobilisation of young Indians" in New Delhi on October 10.
A day before the Supreme Court hearing, one apex court judge criticised the ECI's voter-roll deletions according to a report in Bar and Bench legal news website. 
"If any process results in disenfranchising millions and millions of Indian citizens making them second class citizens in their own country in the sense of being citizens without voting rights, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary," Judge Ujjal Bhuyan said in a speech at a university. 
"No amount of whataboutery can justify it," Bhuyan added, according to the report. 
bb/mlm

US

Iran tells US there is no military solution to Middle East war

BY SEBASTIEN RICCI

  • "There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.
  • Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.
  • "There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.
Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.
A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure.
The main point of contention remains Iran's attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile.
"If our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors. 
"There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.
The two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations.
Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorisation.
The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports, and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it.
On Sunday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a tanker in the Hormuz "reported being struck by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the engine room", though the crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was recorded.
The agency did not specify the date of the incident, the vessel's origin or destination, or whether it was an oil tanker or LNG carrier. 
In Iran, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, the president's office said on Sunday, as the US maintains a blockade on the country's oil exports.
In a news bulletin on the minister's resignation, state television ran an interview with an official from the Iranian presidential office who said Paknejad initially offered to quit a while ago "due to personal issues" but this was rejected.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked Paknejad to continue in his post but was now accepting his departure as the minister had insisted on leaving, the official added.
Paknejad has been replaced by Hamid Bovard, the chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company, the presidency said.

Focused on Hormuz

Iranian and US officials last week held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Tehran saying it presented seven conditions for reopening the strait.
Iran has demanded, among other things, a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.
Trump, however, rejected the proposal, while leaving the door open both to further talks or renewed military operations.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Sunday that the US had expressed its views on the proposal and said they were being reviewed.
"The Americans, through intermediaries, have also conveyed their views on this proposal, and these views are currently being examined inside the country through the relevant channels and procedures," he told reporters, according to state news agency IRNA.
"Whenever the final position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready, appropriate steps will be taken accordingly. At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran is also preparing itself for any other possible scenario."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday characterised the latest US counterproposal as being "in line with their previous proposals concerning nuclear issues".
"We have clearly indicated that we are focusing on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz," he said, adding that reopening the waterway required "an end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctions".
The United States and Israel have said the war is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- a goal it has long denied pursuing -- though the focus soon shifted to reopening the Hormuz after its closure sent shockwaves through world energy markets.
The United States has not struck Iran since September 1, but it has recently pursued a fresh military buildup in the region.
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Tigray

'I fear it could drag on': anxiety takes hold in Ethiopian city wrested from rebels

  • "There is fear that it could turn into a wider regional conflict," he said.  bur-ayv/sbk/jj
  • As federal Ethiopian troops patrolled the streets of Mekelle on Sunday, a day after having seized the regional capital from Tigrayan rebels, Tewodros found himself torn between cautious optimism and the fear of further fighting. 
  • "There is fear that it could turn into a wider regional conflict," he said.  bur-ayv/sbk/jj
As federal Ethiopian troops patrolled the streets of Mekelle on Sunday, a day after having seized the regional capital from Tigrayan rebels, Tewodros found himself torn between cautious optimism and the fear of further fighting. 
"The fact that the war is beginning to wind down quickly brings relief," the Mekelle resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
"On the other hand, as it is seems to be becoming regionalised, I fear it could drag on," he added, pointing to widespread fears that neighbouring Eritrea might soon be drawn into the conflict, as it has in the past. 
Since the army retook Mekelle from the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) with the help of an allied militia on Saturday, internet and phone service has finally been restored to the city for the first time since fighting broke out again on September 23.
With it came the return of mobile payment services, while residents are hoping that the banks will open their doors again from Monday.
But no widespread celebrations greeted the Ethiopian soldiers nor their paramilitary allies in the Tigray Peace Force (TPF) as they entered the city aboard trucks on Saturday, a local journalist told AFP. 
Although caution was the order of the day, some residents braved the outside world on Sunday to take stock of the situation.
Conversation flowed freely with their fellow Tigrayans in the TPF, who had taken up positions on the avenues and several key sites, including the northern region's presidency building and the police headquarters.

Call for calm

All, however, steered well clear of the federal Ethiopian soldiers on guard at the university and the Tigray Martyrs Memorial Monument, which commemorates the TPLF's 16 years of struggle against the Marxist-Leninist Derg government. 
After finally toppling the Derg in 1991 following the civil war, the TPLF would go on to lead Ethiopia until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power in 2018. 
Ahmed, who hails from the Oromia region, would go on to sideline the TPLF from Ethiopian politics. Tensions boiled over with the devastating civil war of 2020-2022, whose long shadow looms over the fresh outbreak of fighting. 
Having taken control of a radio station, the TPF's "Public and Military Relations Department" is broadcasting a message on a loop calling on the people of Mekelle to remain calm and united.
The address also urges locals to refrain from attempting to take revenge against those who supported the TPLF or "in connection with past disagreements".
Most of Mekelle's stores remained shuttered on Sunday, with several business owners taking pains to hide their stocks from Thursday as the federal forces drew closer.
Once the TPLF forces left on Saturday, looters took the opportunity to target government offices and several private residences before Mekelle's new masters arrived.
"The lack of security personnel raises serious concerns about safety," Mekelle resident Abreha said. 
"The ongoing conflict is dividing Tigray in two," he said, with the region split between the part controlled by the TPLF and those areas where the pro-government TPF holds sway.
And as the presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea -- all countries with a chequered history with Ethiopia -- met on Sunday to discuss the risk of a wider war, Abreha could not help but worry that the current fighting could spiral. 
"There is fear that it could turn into a wider regional conflict," he said. 
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Tigray

Ethiopia controls Tigray capital as regional rivals meet in Egypt

  • On Sunday, federal troops were patrolling Mekelle and manning key institutions, a local journalist told AFP, as communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.
  • Ethiopian federal forces were in full control of the Tigray rebels' regional capital, a local journalist said on Sunday, while Ethiopia's regional rivals gathered in Egypt to discuss the risk of a wider war.
  • On Sunday, federal troops were patrolling Mekelle and manning key institutions, a local journalist told AFP, as communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.
Ethiopian federal forces were in full control of the Tigray rebels' regional capital, a local journalist said on Sunday, while Ethiopia's regional rivals gathered in Egypt to discuss the risk of a wider war.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces began fighting again on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022.
The presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea -- all of whom have difficult relations with Ethiopia -- met in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday, calling for regional disputes to be settled through "peaceful means", according to an Egyptian presidency statement.
They also stressed "the necessity of respecting the rules of international law, the principles of good neighbourliness, and non-interference in the internal affairs of states" in the Horn of Africa, the statement read.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of directly backing the Tigray rebels, with the added support of Sudan and Egypt, which all three countries deny.
In a counter-offensive, Ethiopian forces have pushed deep into rebel-held territory, entering the regional capital, Mekelle, on Saturday without a fight, as TPLF leaders and troops abandoned the city.
On Sunday, federal troops were patrolling Mekelle and manning key institutions, a local journalist told AFP, as communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.
"We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward," a commander with a pro-government militia told AFP. 

Shops closed

Businesses and shops remained closed. Owners had moved stock to safer locations ahead of time, fearing looting and vandalism.
"There are no police," one resident told AFP, speaking like others on condition of anonymity because of the uncertainty of the situation.
"Last night, we had to organise ourselves and take care of security."
"The fact that the war is beginning to lower in intensity brings some immediate relief," said Tewodros, another resident who did not want to give his full name.
"But as seems to be spreading across the region, I'm scared it will drag on," he added.
There are growing fears the fighting could spill over the border into Eritrea.

Egypt mini-summit

The mini-summit in Alamein -- on the sidelines of an African business forum -- brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Before the talks, Sisi called for dialogue to settle cross-border issues, as concerns grew that Ethiopia's escalating violence could spill across borders.
Eritrea, which shares a long border with the Tigray region, is most directly involved in the conflict. 
It accuses landlocked Ethiopia of planning to invade and seize access to its coastline. Analysts say it has backed the rebels in Ethiopia to try to keep the conflict away from its border.
The TPLF has long been the dominant force in Tigray, ousting a government-appointed administration this year.
The rebels' leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, has implied that the group would continue guerrilla-style attacks, as it did when Mekelle fell to government forces in 2020 during the last war. 
Their insurgent campaign ultimately led to the TPLF retaking the city the following year.
"We operate under a strategy to strike the enemy wherever we choose," said Debretsion.

'Unilateral'

A joint statement released after Sunday's talks in Egypt expressed the countries' "complete rejection of any unilateral measures" that could harm the existing water use of downstream states.
This comes against the backdrop of Egypt's long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
Cairo and Khartoum have for years sought a legally binding agreement governing the dam's operation, citing concerns over water security. Ethiopia says the project is crucial to its economic development and energy needs.
More than a decade of negotiations have failed to yield a settlement.
The TPLF ruled all of Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when it was marginalised with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who hails from the Oromia region. 
The tensions led to a civil war from 2020 to 2022 that killed more than 600,000 people, according to the African Union, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in the world in recent times. 
The Pretoria peace agreement of 2022, brokered by African institutions and Washington, was never fully implemented but still helped keep a degree of peace until last year.
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schools

Hundreds of schools to shut Monday as student protests rock France

  • Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some "400-500" high schools as the security conditions "have not been fulfilled", said Education Minister Edouard Geffray on Sunday, adding that 24 schools had been "burned or ransacked" since the start of the movement.
  • Up to 500 schools across France will be totally or partly closed on Monday because of a wave of student protests that has shaken the country, the education minister said.
  • Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some "400-500" high schools as the security conditions "have not been fulfilled", said Education Minister Edouard Geffray on Sunday, adding that 24 schools had been "burned or ransacked" since the start of the movement.
Up to 500 schools across France will be totally or partly closed on Monday because of a wave of student protests that has shaken the country, the education minister said.
Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some "400-500" high schools as the security conditions "have not been fulfilled", said Education Minister Edouard Geffray on Sunday, adding that 24 schools had been "burned or ransacked" since the start of the movement.
He described the closures as chiefly a security precaution ahead of large-scale protests that the leaders of the movement have called for Tuesday.
The teenagers at French high schools, known as lycees, say that their studies are being ruined by high teacher absence rates, overlong school days and dilapidated facilities, as well as other grievances.
Geffray said the number of schools affected on Monday would be comparable to the figure from Friday but vowed there would be a "partial, progressive return to lessons".
More than a third of the 468 schools in the wider Ile-de-France region surrounding the capital will be shut on Monday as a result of the protests, Valerie Pecresse, the right-wing president of the region, told broadcaster Franceinfo.
The movement began at a Paris school on September 17 but grew last week into nationwide protests marked in places by outbursts of violence involving teenagers and the security forces, which have used tear gas and truncheons against the students.

'Deliberately targeted'

At Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, students took turns expressing their grievances at an open-air meeting Sunday.
When you are a student from one of the deprived districts, said one student, "The violence is unleashed."
She referred in particular to one student who had lost his teeth to a police rubber bullet and another who had been hit in the eye.
One 16-year-old boy, Campion, held a placard that read: "They say they are listening to us but prefer to gas us".
"I don't understand why the government deploys so much force against a case that is valid: our education, our future," he told AFP.
Geffray, in his statement, spoke of far-left infiltrators who had "hijacked' the movement "and engaged in extreme violence".
"Clearly, this poses a risk to both our staff and our students," he said, adding that 78 education staff members had been injured.
"They were deliberately targeted because they were employees of the national education system," Geffray said. 
Organisers have called for the protests to continue on Tuesday, citing a lack of "concrete measures" from the government.
In a bid to address the protesters' concerns, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu set out a timetable on Sunday urging local authorities to prioritise filling gaps left by long-term absences and unfilled posts.
He also called a meeting for Tuesday with regional presidents to discuss overhauling the country's often-dilapidated school buildings. 

Violent incidents

More than 5,000 people, 85 percent of them minors, have been arrested since the start of the movement.
A 16-year-old was detained on Sunday over the assault of a teacher in the southern town of La Ciotat. The teacher, 59, was struck and doused with gasoline on the sidelines of a high school student protest on Friday.
A group of youths were last week filmed beating and kicking a policeman on the ground in Belfort in eastern France in images that caused an outcry among officials.
Two youths, Bulgarian nationals aged 15 and 17, have been arrested and investigated for suspected aggravated violence, the prosecutor said.
One of the youths, whom the policeman had tried to arrest before being beaten, has now filed his own attempted murder complaint, his lawyer said.
The France branch of Amnesty last week slammed "disproportionate police violence" in tackling the demonstrations and said students must be allowed to express their grievances.
"Authorities must allow young people to exercise these rights without fear of being hit by tear gas grenades or batons, or being arbitrarily taken into police custody," said Amnesty France president Anne Savinel-Barras.
But Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that security forces "are not cracking down on young people" but rather "protecting" school and university students wishing to "peacefully voice their demands".
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racism

UK Green party adopts 'Zionism is racism' policy

  • "Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, and it forms the basis for the Jewish people's right to a state and a national home in the Land of Israel," Herzog said on X. Bridget Phillipson, chair of the ruling Labour Party and Minister for Women and Equalities, also condemned the Green Party's conference decision.
  • The UK's left-wing Green party voted Sunday to define Zionism as racism at the party's annual conference, drawing sharp backlash from three British Jewish groups, the ruling Labour Party and Israel's government.
  • "Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, and it forms the basis for the Jewish people's right to a state and a national home in the Land of Israel," Herzog said on X. Bridget Phillipson, chair of the ruling Labour Party and Minister for Women and Equalities, also condemned the Green Party's conference decision.
The UK's left-wing Green party voted Sunday to define Zionism as racism at the party's annual conference, drawing sharp backlash from three British Jewish groups, the ruling Labour Party and Israel's government.
Members of the Green party, which has five MPs in Britain's 650-seat parliament and which enjoyed a boost in recent local and special elections, backed the motion at the party's conference, with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against.
According to the motion, Zionism would be "treated as any other form of racism" and the party supports the establishment of a "single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine".
"This has been a serious and deeply felt debate within our membership," a Green spokesperson said.
The Greens have enjoyed a surge in popularity under the charismatic leadership of Zack Polanski, attracting voters dissatisfied with the centre-left Labour government's stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
However, Polanski's popularity has taken a hit in recent months, polls show, following several missteps.
"This motion would make the Green Party the first electorally significant UK political party in living memory to adopt what appears to be an overtly antisemitic political platform," three Jewish community groups said in a letter to the party ahead of the vote.
"We also emphasised the implications for the safety and welfare of all British Jews," the heads of the Board of Deputies, Community Security Trust and Jewish Leadership Council warned.

Israel's anger

Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, called the Green party's decision "a disgrace".
"Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, and it forms the basis for the Jewish people's right to a state and a national home in the Land of Israel," Herzog said on X.
Bridget Phillipson, chair of the ruling Labour Party and Minister for Women and Equalities, also condemned the Green Party's conference decision.
"It is shameful to vote against a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and to condemn the vast majority of British Jews and Jews around the world as racist for supporting Israel's right to exist," she said in a party statement.
The motion laid bare divisions in the party with Polanski -- who is currently running to become an MP in former prime minister Keir Starmer's London constituency -- skipping the vote.
Despite at least three out of five Green MPs opposing the motion, Polanski said earlier this week that the "displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people" was "clearly racism".
United Nations investigators have accused Israel of committing "genocide" in the war in Gaza, a finding that Israel has rejected.
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conflict

Russian strikes hit Kyiv while Germany's Merz visits

BY MYKOLA ZAVGORODNIY

  • Air raid sirens wailed repeatedly, including as Zelensky showed him the damage to the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Monday, killing two.
  • Ukraine and Germany have signed a $1.5-billion deal to help fight the surge in Russian drone attacks, while fresh strikes and air raid sirens greeted Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a solidarity visit Sunday.
  • Air raid sirens wailed repeatedly, including as Zelensky showed him the damage to the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Monday, killing two.
Ukraine and Germany have signed a $1.5-billion deal to help fight the surge in Russian drone attacks, while fresh strikes and air raid sirens greeted Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a solidarity visit Sunday.
The agreement worth more than 1.3 billion euros includes some 1 billion euros for weapons including combat drones, while 350 billion euros goes towards supporting Ukraine's battered energy sector, which Russia is targeting to cut off heating and power during the freezing winter months.
As the two met, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington had proposed fresh talks with both Ukraine and Russia by the end of the month.
Merz, on a surprise visit to show European support as attacks increase, discovered the new reality of daily life in the Ukrainian capital.
Air raid sirens wailed repeatedly, including as Zelensky showed him the damage to the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Monday, killing two.
"We can see the entire pointlessness of this war at this place," noted Merz.
"These barbarous attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. These are war crimes that are being committed daily here."
One blast that was heard across the city damaged the road surface of the Northern Bridge -- one of several connecting the eastern and western parts of Kyiv over the Dnipro river, which have been struck repeatedly in the last four days.

Round-the-clock attacks

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has said the capital -- largely spared from the devastation wrought near the front line in more than four years of conflict -- should now be on a war footing.
Round-the-clock attacks have hit residential areas, petrol stations, schools, rail and communications infrastructure, while the near-constant air raid sirens disrupt daily life and put people on edge.
As he arrived, Merz said that support for Ukraine was vital for European security.
"If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us," he claimed.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for advanced interceptors to shoot down Russia's new fast-moving, jet-powered drones and powerful ballistic missiles.
The latest deal provides for the joint production of anti-jet drones, Merz told a joint news conference with Zelensky.
"Significant technical breakthroughs have already been achieved in this area in recent weeks," he added.
"Production is now being ramped up. This strengthens Ukrainian air defence quickly and significantly.
"We are supplying standoff weapons, combat drones and satellite technology so that Ukraine can also target Russian launch sites."

Military support

Talks to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II have been at a standstill and both sides have promised to ramp up long-range attacks on military and related targets.
But Zelensky said Sunday that the United States was proposing "technical level" talks with both sides by the end of this month, possibly including UAE mediators.
"We respond positively to negotiations," he added.
Merz called this week for NATO and European unity against Russia, as well as in his own country, where the far-right, Moscow-friendly AfD opposition is on the rise.
There have been increasing fears in Europe that it could find itself in Russia's crosshairs.
Security was a top concern for voters in this weekend's election in NATO member Latvia, which borders Russia.
On Saturday, Moscow warned foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv, saying "massive" new airstrikes would hit the city.
Leaders from countries allied to Ukraine have continued to make visits despite a similar threat made in May.
"The EU Delegation is staying," European Union ambassador Katarina Mathernova wrote on X on Sunday.
"Threatening us will not stop Europe's support for Ukraine," she added. "It only reminds us why that support matters!"
Merz told reporters he was unfazed by the threat but did not know if it had been made to coincide with his visit.
Russia has admitted deliberately targeting Ukraine's energy sector as winter approaches. Last year, similar attacks knocked out power and heating for days on end as temperatures plummeted to minus 20C.
In Kyiv, home to some three million people, residents are mulling what to do if that happens again, and there have been calls for the vulnerable and disabled to consider leaving.
Merz said Berlin's winter support programme will help provide generators, transformer stations and for grid repairs.
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Russia

Pro-Europe Latvian PM wins poll dominated by Russia, social worries

BY DAMIEN SIMONART

  • Kulbergs, a former manager in the telecoms and automotive sectors, took over as prime minister in May at the head of a centre-right coalition.
  • Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' centre-right party emerged as the victor on Sunday from Latvia's parliamentary election, and he will now set about forming a coalition to maintain his pro-European and pro-Ukrainian course.
  • Kulbergs, a former manager in the telecoms and automotive sectors, took over as prime minister in May at the head of a centre-right coalition.
Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' centre-right party emerged as the victor on Sunday from Latvia's parliamentary election, and he will now set about forming a coalition to maintain his pro-European and pro-Ukrainian course.
Populist parties, boosted by support from Latvia's Russian-speaking minority, also had a good night after an election campaign dominated by fears over neighbouring Russia, the cost of living and other social issues.
Kulbergs' United List party won 42 seats in the 100-seat parliament -- an unprecedented result in the former Soviet republic's post-independence history.
After exit polls hinted at the magnitude of his party's victory, Kulbergs said it was a wider margin than he had expected.
"That means people truly want change," he said, which he said meant "economic growth" and a future for the country's children.
Kulbergs, a former manager in the telecoms and automotive sectors, took over as prime minister in May at the head of a centre-right coalition.
He will be forced to change partners after the election, as one of his members failed to clear the five-percent hurdle to get into parliament.

'Strong border'

Security remains central to political debate in Latvia, more than four years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Latvia, a member of NATO and the European Union since 2004, views Russia as its principal security threat and has significantly increased defence spending in response.
"Because we are the external border of Europe, we must have a strong economy... a strong border region," Kulbergs said.
"That is the main task." 
But rising living costs, low wages, strains on the healthcare system and long-term population decline all featured prominently in campaign debates.
While most parties expected to enter parliament back both high military spending and maintaining aid to Kyiv, the right-wing Sovereign Power party has broken ranks.
It has opposed military aid to Ukraine and further increases to defence spending. It looked set for a third-place finish, with 15 MPs, after focusing on cost of living issues.

Right-wing populist parties

Soverign Power has been tarred pro-Russian by its detractors and most major parties have ruled out working with it. 
Latvia First, a conservative party run by a property magnate often compared toh US President Donald Trump, came second in the poll and took 17 seats.
Both populist parties benefitted from changes in voting patterns among the Russian-speaking minority, who make up a third of the population.
They had long rallied around Harmony, which was at one time the country's biggest party.
But Harmony was broadly seen as pro-Kremlin and its support collapsed dramatically in the last election, held shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
bur/cms/jxb/gil

politics

Future of French far-right star in balance after antisemitism claims

BY ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ AND STUART WILLIAMS

  • "Marine Le Pen had to back Jordan Bardella so as not to alienate voters who would not forgive her for abandoning him," said sociologist Erwan Lecoeur, a specialist on the far right.
  • After one of the most meteoric rises in the history of French politics, Jordan Bardella, the 31-year-old top ally of Marine Le Pen, is fighting for his political life after allegations he made antisemitic comments as a teenager in 2013.
  • "Marine Le Pen had to back Jordan Bardella so as not to alienate voters who would not forgive her for abandoning him," said sociologist Erwan Lecoeur, a specialist on the far right.
After one of the most meteoric rises in the history of French politics, Jordan Bardella, the 31-year-old top ally of Marine Le Pen, is fighting for his political life after allegations he made antisemitic comments as a teenager in 2013.
Just a week ago, all was looking rosy for Bardella, with polls predicting Le Pen is on course to win the presidency at the fourth attempt, and the young leader of her National Rally (RN) party subsequently set to take the job of prime minister.
But then came the bombshell allegations published on Monday by the Mediapart website, which accused Bardella of writing a string of antisemitic messages in 2013. On Thursday, it posted screenshots of the messages written on Facebook Messenger.
Bardella chose a strategy of all-out attack to deny the allegations, accusing his opponents of launching a "total war" to derail the RN's rise to the presidency and vowing to take Mediapart to court for publishing what he described as fakes.
Le Pen, addressing party MPs side-by-side with Bardella on Tuesday, echoed his denial.
But she fell into an uncharacteristic silence after the screenshots were published on Thursday, broken only by a brief comment of "I have complete confidence in Jordan" to La Tribune Dimanche newspaper this weekend.
According to the report, Bardella wrote, among other comments, in a chat: "The Jew has to dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them; a Zionist is necessarily a Jew, and fundamentally so."

'Pull the plug' on Bardella?

Bardella's defiance indicated that he hopes to ride out the crisis, with his future depending on whether Mediapart has more allegations in the pipeline and above all, Le Pen herself.
He has been instrumental in implementing her strategy of "de-demonisation" to try and rid the party of the toxic legacy of its founder, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was openly antisemitic. 
Bardella made an unprecedented visit to Israel in 2025, the first by a French far-right leader, in a bid to demonstrate the RN's new credentials.
He was invited by Amichai Chikli, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government, who has cultivated ties with several European far-right parties despite their history of antisemitism.
"Marine Le Pen had to back Jordan Bardella so as not to alienate voters who would not forgive her for abandoning him," said sociologist Erwan Lecoeur, a specialist on the far right.
But he added: "My belief is that Marine Le Pen will pull the plug on" Bardella, arguing that the more Bardella defends himself "the deeper he digs himself into a hole -- taking the RN down with him".
The allegations also surfaced after months of reports of tensions between Bardella and Le Pen -- notably over a policy to ban the Muslim headscarf in public -- even though the tandem maintained an outward united front.
"I don't think she necessarily has to get rid of him," said Marta Lorimer, lecturer in politics at Cardiff University.
"They will try to use whatever they can to defend his position," she told AFP.
"But my suspicion is if we see Bardella ousted it is not going to be because of this but because of possibly broader tensions with Le Pen. For the time being that does not seem to be the case."

'Contaminate the candidate'

There have also been suggestions that some in the RN would like to see Bardella exit and be replaced as Le Pens' de-facto running mate by another figure such as Eric Ciotti, the leader of an allied far-right party, or her niece Marion Marechal, who leads her own extreme-right movement.
Murmurs have also echoed on social media that the allegations could have come from within the RN, sparking a furious hunt for the "taupe" (mole).
Bardella has acknowledged what is at stake, saying that the aim is to "kill my political career".
His strategy of flat-out denial has also left him open to accusations of lying.
"Do we want a prime minister who is not only antisemitic but also lies to the French people in the face of damning evidence?" asked Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.
Socialist leader Olivier Faure said: "We are dealing with two things here -- his antisemitism and lying in politics. Neither is forgivable."
But with the RN lining up to back Bardella, Le Monde daily warned this had risks for Le Pen herself.
"The RN is closing ranks... in the hope that the storm will pass, at the risk of seeing the discredit attached to Jordan Bardella contaminate the presidential candidate," it said.
sjw/gil

conflict

Germany's Merz in Kyiv for talks with Zelensky

  • "I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks," Merz said in a statement issued after his arrival.
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Sunday on an unannounced visit in a show of support for the country in its war with Russia.
  • "I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks," Merz said in a statement issued after his arrival.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Sunday on an unannounced visit in a show of support for the country in its war with Russia.
Kyiv is under increasing attack from Russian missiles and drones, which are targeting key infrastructure including the energy sector vital for power and heating as winter approaches.
"I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks," Merz said in a statement issued after his arrival.
"If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us."
Merz, whose country is among Ukraine's largest supporters, has been joined on the trip by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, according to government sources.
He was met off the train by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who said he would hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky "on all matters of our bilateral, European, and international agenda".
"Ukraine and Germany have built a strong strategic partnership, and we are determined to deepen it further," he wrote on X.
Merz said in his statement that he would tell Ukraine's leader: "You can continue to count on our help."
The statement also touted cooperation between German and Ukrainian companies.
The German chancellor earlier this week called for unity within NATO, Europe and his own country, where the far-right and Moscow-friendly AfD opposition is on the rise.
On Saturday, Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv, saying "massive" new airstrikes would hit the city.
The Russian foreign ministry declared in a statement that "responsibility for any potential negative consequences rests entirely with those who ignore this warning".
Moscow had issued a similar warning in May, but leaders from countries supporting Ukraine have defied the Russian warnings and continued to make visits.
Kyiv has faced heavy airstrikes and has repeatedly pleaded for additional air defence munitions to counter Russian drone and missile attacks.
In recent days, Russia has attacked several bridges across the Dnipro river that divides the city, causing traffic gridlock and transport disruption.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday that the city, which is far from the front line of fighting between soldiers, was in a "very dramatic situation" and should now be on a war footing.
bst-phz/jxb

rivers

Cry for help as French-Swiss lake dries up

BY ELODIE LE MAOU

  •   - 'It's unbearable' -   Every day Yvan Durig, owner and captain of the Lac des Brenets navigation company, measures the level of the remaining basin of water which is shrinking away at the very deepest bit of the lake.
  • The picturesque Lac des Brenets between France and Switzerland has dried up after a record-breaking hot summer, leaving locals crying out for help to save the lake.
  •   - 'It's unbearable' -   Every day Yvan Durig, owner and captain of the Lac des Brenets navigation company, measures the level of the remaining basin of water which is shrinking away at the very deepest bit of the lake.
The picturesque Lac des Brenets between France and Switzerland has dried up after a record-breaking hot summer, leaving locals crying out for help to save the lake.
Indeed, the words "HELP" and "SOS" have been scratched out in the weeds now flourishing on the exposed lake bed.
The drought has ruined pleasure boat tourism, while some question whether the lake will ever return to enduring full health.
"It's absolutely heartbreaking. It really is emotionally devastating, because it's utter despair: no more lake," said amateur local historian David Favre, who lives in the Swiss village of Les Brenets.
"As children, we used to spend all our summers swimming at the beach, having fun by the water, diving, jumping in and sometimes even fishing," the 76-year-old told AFP.
But "since the last drought in 2018, it's been a disaster. Unfortunately, the lake empties out every couple of years, or soon, perhaps every year," he added, saying he felt the authorities have "completely abandoned" the lake.
The Doubs river rises in the French Jura mountains and normally forms a lake at Les Brenets, where it begins to mark the border between France's Franche-Comte region and Switzerland's Neuchatel canton.
 
The lake ends at 27-metre-high waterfall, which has now stopped flowing.
The lake has dried up due to a combination of factors, including geological fissures that drain water underground, below-average rainfall and repeated heatwaves.
The months of June, July and August were each the hottest ever recorded in Switzerland since measurements began in 1864.
 

'It's unbearable'

 
Every day Yvan Durig, owner and captain of the Lac des Brenets navigation company, measures the level of the remaining basin of water which is shrinking away at the very deepest bit of the lake.
 
"Normally, we have 25 or 30 metres of depth here," but now there are only nine metres of water left, and within it "the fish are really chock-a-block", he said.
While locals are used to periods of low water, this particular spell is alarming, with the record low of 1906 set to be surpassed imminently.
A task force was set up by French and Swiss authorities in 2022, notably to explore ways of limiting the water draining into the fissures, but has not resulted in decisive action.
"We had to halt boat operations on July 20," said Durig.
"Just imagine: having to stop right in the middle of the season like that. It's unbearable for a company like ours," he said.
"Normally, these are times when we transport 200 to 300 people a day," said Durig.
Pontoons and dozens of boats lie stranded on the dry lake bed.
 

Losing soul of Les Brenets

 
The water level monitoring station for the lake is now so far out of the remaining basin that Durig does the measurements manually.
The water line is dropping around 20 to 22 centimetres a day.
On October 1, it fell to an elevation of 735.34 metres above sea level -- fully 14.66 metres below where it should be.
Within days, it is expected to surpass the 1906 record drop of 15.35 metres.
A tiny stream now trickles through the weeds on the lake bed.
Maxime Fallet, who works at a Doubs riverboat excursion company, fears the lake is "destined to disappear", for lack of a plan to save it.
"The atmosphere in Les Brenets these days, when talk turns to the Doubs, is often tinged with a certain sadness, a melancholy at the thought that we could lose this lake -- a lake that has been part of the soul of Les Brenets for generations," he told AFP.
Durig feels time is running out.
"We must take action -- indeed, be proactive -- and seal the lakebed," he said.
"But this can no longer take years. That is simply not an option anymore."
elm/rjm-ag/giv

migration

Myanmar migrants returned to war-torn nation from Malaysia

  • Malaysia insists all returnees agreed to voluntary repatriation from detention centres, but the UN and rights groups have raised concerns that Myanmar migrants had little choice.
  • Nearly 1,500 Myanmar migrants from Malaysia returned to their war-ravaged home country on Sunday under an opaque repatriation scheme that rights monitors say cannot assure their safety.
  • Malaysia insists all returnees agreed to voluntary repatriation from detention centres, but the UN and rights groups have raised concerns that Myanmar migrants had little choice.
Nearly 1,500 Myanmar migrants from Malaysia returned to their war-ravaged home country on Sunday under an opaque repatriation scheme that rights monitors say cannot assure their safety.
Dozens of migrants were transported on buses to a Buddhist monastery hall for immigration and health checks, AFP journalists saw, after the returnees arrived by Myanmar Navy ships that docked at the nearby base in Thanlyin.
"I haven't met my family yet," said Kyaw Swar Thein, 53, who worked in a coffee shop in Malaysia before he was arrested there. 
He said he suffered scabies while in detention for a year and eight months -- one reason he wanted to come home. Now his future seemed unclear.
"I do not hope for anything," he said among the rows of men sat cross-legged on the floor, some wearing T-shirts reading "We love Myanmar".
The United Nations has warned conditions in Myanmar, which has been consumed by civil war since a 2021 military coup, mean safe homecomings cannot be guaranteed as required under international law.
Malaysia insists all returnees agreed to voluntary repatriation from detention centres, but the UN and rights groups have raised concerns that Myanmar migrants had little choice.
Hundreds of families with vehicles gathered at dawn to collect their relatives outside the naval base, some holding up paper signs with photographs or the names of their loved ones.
While some were allowed past the base gates to welcome their family members, a naval official dashed hopes of immediate reunions for most.
"You cannot take them right away," he shouted into a megaphone, saying returnees would first be brought to different locations in the Yangon region.
One woman said she was looking for her 19-year-old brother who was arrested in Malaysia soon after he arrived there three months ago.
"We saw his name on the list of returnees but we couldn't go inside to find him," said the woman, who declined to give her name for security reasons.
Kyaw Myint, 55, said he worried his three grandchildren, who were detained in Malaysia for more than a year, could now be conscripted in Myanmar -- "not only by the military but also by ethnic armed groups".
 

Anti-Rohingya sentiment

 
Three Myanmar Navy ships carrying migrants docked at the Thanlyin base early Sunday, said a naval official whom AFP has kept anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to media.
The ships left Malaysia on Tuesday carrying 1,476 migrants, according to the Myanmar government -- the first of 5,000 that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Myanmar agreed to take back.
The arrivals were due to include mostly men, as well as 27 children and 79 women, Malaysian media said.
"Our main concern is his arrival won't be safe," said the sister of one migrant who had told his family he expected to be sent aboard the ships.
There are also concerns members of the persecuted Rohingya are among the returned group after Anwar announced the repatriations in July against a backdrop of rising xenophobia towards refugees, particularly the Rohingya.
Members of the ethnic group fled Myanmar en masse following a military crackdown starting in 2017, which rights experts say amounted to genocide.
Rohingya make up the majority of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur has not responded to an AFP query about the number onboard.
 

'No time to return'

 
Myanmar says the returnees completed sentences for immigration offences in Malaysia.
Monitor organisations such as Fortify Rights report dire conditions in the detention centres.
The UN refugee agency said this past week its staff were not allowed to meet migrants to confirm whether their decisions to return "were genuinely free and informed".
Malaysia is already moving ahead with plans to return a second group of more than 3,500 migrants, saying they have caused financial, social and security burdens.
Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader who was installed as civilian president in April, is expected to visit Malaysia soon to discuss the repatriation scheme.
Myanmar pledged last month that returns will be "safe and dignified".
But Yap Lay Sheng, a senior human rights specialist with Fortify Rights, told AFP: "There's no telling how the regime would treat returnees."
Myanmar's civil war has killed more than 100,000 people since the coup, according to monitor ACLED -- including 50 in a military airstrike late last month.
"This is no time to return anyone forcibly to a country plagued by egregious human rights violations and abuses," UN rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday.
bur-jts/sco/cms

fbl

'Disappointing' as South Korea flag mishap sees Games end on sour note

  • However, footage of the victory ceremony afterwards showed ceremonial officials struggling to raise South Korea's flag on the flagpole, sparking boos from Korean fans.
  • South Korea's Asian Games football captain called it "disappointing" after the country's flag appeared to get stuck during the victory ceremony following their win over hosts Japan.
  • However, footage of the victory ceremony afterwards showed ceremonial officials struggling to raise South Korea's flag on the flagpole, sparking boos from Korean fans.
South Korea's Asian Games football captain called it "disappointing" after the country's flag appeared to get stuck during the victory ceremony following their win over hosts Japan.
Eom Ji-sung scored the only goal as South Korea won a fourth straight title with a 1-0 victory over Japan in the final at Toyota Stadium near Nagoya on Saturday evening.
However, footage of the victory ceremony afterwards showed ceremonial officials struggling to raise South Korea's flag on the flagpole, sparking boos from Korean fans.
"I believe an awards ceremony should be an occasion for celebration," said captain Lee Gi-hyuk, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"We worked so hard to get here, so it was disappointing that they couldn't even properly unfurl the flag.
"I imagine the players, as well as the fans who came all this way to support us, must have been unhappy about it too."
According to South Korean media, the flag was eventually raised properly, but only after the national anthem ended.
The Games in Aichi-Nagoya, which close later Sunday, have been dogged by organisational issues over accommodation and transport.
South Korea were also victims of a mix-up when the national anthem for North Korea was played for the South's hockey team.
South Korean Olympic officials have been outspoken in their criticism of how the Games have been run. 
Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, said during the first week: "If I were to give them a grade, it would be an F."
pst/tc

Australia

Pre-COP host Tuvalu at frontline of climate change

BY BEN STRANG

  • Just a direct result from climate change."
  • When leaders visit the coral atolls that form the Pacific nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday, they will find a once-vibrant ecosystem wiped out due to climate change.
  • Just a direct result from climate change."
When leaders visit the coral atolls that form the Pacific nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday, they will find a once-vibrant ecosystem wiped out due to climate change.
The pre-COP gathering, hosted by Fiji ahead of the annual UN climate conference in Turkey, has been billed as the Pacific's chance to show the world first-hand the damage wrought by climate change in the vast ocean region.
Leaders are also set to spend a day on low-lying Tuvalu -- a remote atoll over 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Fiji.
There, scientists say, a marine heatwave in 2024 wiped out an estimated 99.9 percent of the coral that built theP remote Tuvalu islands.
"You can swim for hours and hours along the reef in the lagoon, just skeleton after skeleton. It's all dead," said marine biologist Austin Bowden-Kerby, who visited last year and documented the devastation.
"The very system that created the islands has died. It wasn't pollution. It wasn't overfishing. Just a direct result from climate change."
Rising sea levels have already largely swamped two of Tuvalu's nine coral atolls -- and scientists fear the entire archipelago could be unliveable by the end of the century.
Speaking at the UN last week, the nation's Prime Minister Feleti Teo warned "sea-level rise is not a future threat, it is a present reality".
Local scientist Rajneel Singh said climate change was already impacting the waters that have long sustained Tuvalu's population of 10,600.
"Elders used to fish for red snappers and other things," he said.
"It's no longer frequent in the catch. And the sizes of the fish has been reduced as well."

'Disbelief'

Bowden-Kerby said the lack of fish and the reduction in size is a serious concern for a country that lives off the sea.
"There are certain groups of fish that are dependent upon live corals," he said. 
"Those fish are basically gone, and that's the foundation of the food chain."
The scientists presented their findings to Tuvalu's fisheries minister in December last year and were met with disbelief.
"They didn't know," Singh said of the meeting.
"It was very difficult for him, to realise, to see photos and to listen about the situation."
A coral nursery is providing a faint glimmer of hope and has even seen the return of plankton-feeding fish.
Bowden-Kerby said they can't replant all the lost reefs of Tuvalu, but they can protect some heat-resistant corals.
That is if they have the money, which ran out at the end of September.
"We need more funds just to sustain these things," Singh said.

Vision of the future

Bleaching events since 2018 have caused widespread coral mortality, with the United Nations' World Ocean Assessment warning that 90 percent of reefs could disappear if global warming tops 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
What has happened to Tuvalu should serve as a lesson to others, scientists say.
Vanuatu and Samoa have moved to protect their corals from imminent bleaching.
Australia is being urged to take urgent action to protect its world-famous Great Barrier Reef.
Bowden-Kerby urged visiting Australians to see the dead reefs for themselves.
"You want to see what it looks like ten years in the future? Tuvalu is a time machine for Australia."
Only a handful of world leaders are expected to come to the pre-COP gathering in Fiji, let alone make the extra trip to Tuvalu.
"It does make you think nobody cares," Singh said. "It's very, very sad."
And those that do come will likely stay for a quick photo-op before jumping back on their planes.
"No one is actually going out getting their feet wet and seeing what's going on," Singh said.
"There's a 10-minute flyover of the lagoon and that's about it. There's no awareness of what's happening."
bes/oho/hol/ceg

Cornell

Cornell president vows review in wake of alleged student gang rape

  • Kotlikoff said in the video the school supported the decision to reopen the criminal investigation, but added that Cornell "will not wait for the investigation or the review to be completed before we act."
  • The president of Cornell University voiced support Saturday for an external review of the institution facing widespread outcry over the alleged gang rape of a student in 2024.
  • Kotlikoff said in the video the school supported the decision to reopen the criminal investigation, but added that Cornell "will not wait for the investigation or the review to be completed before we act."
The president of Cornell University voiced support Saturday for an external review of the institution facing widespread outcry over the alleged gang rape of a student in 2024.
"In conjunction with our board of trustees, I welcome the independent review by an outside law firm into all aspects of Cornell's handling of the 2024 matter," President Michael Kotlikoff said in a video shared on Cornell's website.
The incident was detailed in a graphic lawsuit filed last month, drawing harsh backlash against the Ivy League institution and New York prosecutors for not filing any criminal charges against the accused perpetrators.
The plaintiff claimed in the civil suit that she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.
"This has been one of the most difficult weeks in our history, and I know many of you are angry, saddened, and struggling," Kotlikoff continued. 
"What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come."
The criminal investigation into the gang rape was reopened Monday, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointing the state's top prosecutor, Attorney General Letitia James, to lead the effort.
Hochul slammed how the initial investigation into the complainant's claims unfolded at Cornell, which is located in Ithaca in central New York state.
"She sat for hours and told (police) exactly what happened to her. And according to new reports, she could not have been clearer that she was 100 percent confident that she had been raped," Hochul said.
Kotlikoff said in the video the school supported the decision to reopen the criminal investigation, but added that Cornell "will not wait for the investigation or the review to be completed before we act."
"We will continue taking every step necessary to make Cornell an institution that leads not just in what we say about these issues, but in the work that we do to address them."
jgc/tc

US

Yemen government forces say struck Houthi targets

BY AFP TEAMS IN YEMEN AND SAUDI ARABIA

  • The government, based in the city of Aden, controls much of the country's south and east -- a region that is larger but much less populated.
  • Yemen's government forces said Sunday they had struck Houthi targets around the country, deepening the conflict ravaging one of the world's poorest nations and the wider region.
  • The government, based in the city of Aden, controls much of the country's south and east -- a region that is larger but much less populated.
Yemen's government forces said Sunday they had struck Houthi targets around the country, deepening the conflict ravaging one of the world's poorest nations and the wider region.
The armed forces launched strikes against the Houthis in the capital Sanaa, the northwestern governorate of Saada -- one of the group's strongholds -- and Taiz in the southwest, military spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili said.
Yemen was plunged back into civil war in July after years of calm, pitting the Iran-backed Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen including Sanaa, against Yemen's internationally recognised Saudi-backed government.
The government, based in the city of Aden, controls much of the country's south and east -- a region that is larger but much less populated.
The strikes came hours after the Houthis claimed an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital, where an AFP journalist saw flames and smoke, and accused the Gulf kingdom of striking Sanaa dozens of times. 
The foes have traded strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive last month.
Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting "Saudi aggression" against the Yemeni capital, without providing details on the targets or casualties.
Two correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles at the city.
In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, flames and smoke were seen rising on Saturday afternoon from an Aramco facility south of Riyadh, an AFP journalist said.
While the Saudi authorities are yet to comment, late on Saturday, the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted an oil facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, adding that they sparked fires at the targeted sites.
The AFP journalist reported seeing firefighters scrambling to extinguish a blaze at Aramco's Riyadh refinery, located south of the capital, while ambulances and police vehicles were stationed near the facility.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah channel also reported missile strikes earlier on Saturday on the telecommunications network in Saada.
The Houthis said Saudi Arabia bombed the Yemeni capital on Thursday night for the first time since renewed fighting broke out between the two sides in July.

Hunger warning

Hostilities between the Houthis and Yemen's government had reignited after four years of a fragile truce when Iran sent a plane to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation.
The flight did not seek authorisation from Saudi Arabia, contravening a practice in place for a decade.
Riyadh retaliated with strikes on Sanaa airport, and in response the Houthis attacked Saudi territory for the first time since 2022.
Since then, fighting has intensified with the Houthis launching a lightning offensive in which they seized control of coastal regions along the Bab al-Mandab strait.
They have also struck multiple Saudi targets including oil infrastructure and the capital Riyadh while also announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
The renewed fighting has worsened a humanitarian crisis sweeping Yemen, with the World Food Programme warning on Friday that three-quarters of the population was unable to meet its basic food needs.

Battle for Taiz

Fighting in recent days has centred on Taiz, where dozens of combatants were reported killed on Friday.
The Houthis reported 55 of their fighters had been killed, while government sources told AFP that 26 troops had died.
The battle for Taiz is taking place on several fronts, including highlands overlooking coastal areas recently seized by the Houthis.
While the Houthis have conquered swathes of territory, they have yet to take control of Taiz city, Yemen's third-largest after Sanaa and Aden.
The Houthis also said on Friday that Saudi Arabia had launched 94 strikes against areas under their control in the past 24 hours.
Saudi authorities reported a Houthi projectile had damaged a school in the city of Najran near the Yemen border.
Riyadh has reportedly requested help from the United States, a call so far rebuffed by US President Donald Trump.
ht/dcp/giv/cms/ceg

Global Edition

Lula, Bolsonaro wrap up campaigns ahead of Brazil's knife-edge vote

BY DAVID SALAZAR WITH ESTEBAN ROJAS IN SANTA BARBARA D'OESTE

  • His supporters wore caps and T-shirts declaring: "Make Lula President Again" or "Brazil belongs to Brazilians."
  • Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his challenger Flavio Bolsonaro concluded their election campaigns Saturday with booming rallies and calls for a resounding victory the following day.
  • His supporters wore caps and T-shirts declaring: "Make Lula President Again" or "Brazil belongs to Brazilians."
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his challenger Flavio Bolsonaro concluded their election campaigns Saturday with booming rallies and calls for a resounding victory the following day.
Lula, 80, toured Brazil's economic powerhouse Sao Paulo on the back of a campaign truck, cheered on by a sea of red and vowing to "defeat the far right."
"Tomorrow we're going to win the elections in the first round," he told the crowds.
The veteran leftist is seeking a fourth and final term in office, warning voters that Brazil's sovereignty is at stake in the face of pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Lula is locked in a tight battle against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, a close Trump ally who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after his failed 2022 re-election bid.
Neither candidate is likely to win Sunday's first-round vote, polls show, and the two are in a statistical tie for an October 25 runoff.
Flavio Bolsonaro led a parade of hundreds of motorcycles in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, in the style of his father. Unlike Jair Bolsonaro, he rode on the back of a campaign truck instead of mounting a bike himself.
"Don't vote in installments twice. Do it all at once this Sunday," he said in a video published before the rally.

Trump factor

A Flavio Bolsonaro victory would see Brazil joining a growing number of Latin American nations that have swung to the right in recent months.
Trump has not endorsed the senator, but has said he is "very closely" watching the election.
Lula has warned against "meddling" in Brazil's election.
His supporters wore caps and T-shirts declaring: "Make Lula President Again" or "Brazil belongs to Brazilians."
Adriana Lima, 44, an early childhood educator clad all in red, told AFP that Lula was "the only president who cared about the people."
"We also have an issue with Trump wanting to treat Brazil like their backyard, so we absolutely cannot let that happen. It's a very important election."
Another Lula supporter, accountant Tiago Lorureto, 35, said the election was "a choice between democracy and barbarism."

'Never any money'

The younger Bolsonaro has run on a platform of hardline security policies and fiscal austerity, slamming Lula as "incompetent" and highlighting the high cost of living.
Marcelo Peressim, 50, who owns a packaging company, came out to Flavio Bolsonaro's rally with a portrait of the candidate's father.
"We work almost 24 hours a day to have a good life and provide a good life for our families... yet there's never any money left over for us to do anything," he said.
Homemaker Eliane Boscolo, 47, said Trump would not need to take an interest in Brazil's elections "if the country were doing well."
"We need things to improve here. If his intervention is necessary, I'm all for it," she added.

Scandals, insults

The deeply divided nation has endured a bitter campaign, with policies and promises overshadowed by a barrage of scandals and personal attacks as candidates jockey for every undecided voter.
It emerged during the campaign that Flavio Bolsonaro was under investigation for corruption over the financing of the biopic "Dark Horse" about his father.
The project was bankrolled by jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is under investigation in one of the country's biggest financial scandals that has ensnared many in power.
Massive online operations by both sides saw the rivals seize on every gaffe, accusation and rumor, quickly producing slick videos or AI-generated images for social media.
The stakes are high: In 2022, Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro by only 1.8 percentage points.
While the presidential election is in the spotlight, Brazil's nearly 160 million registered voters are also picking lawmakers, governors and some senators.
das-erc/fb/cc/acb

housing

Protests over housing flare in Spain after relief measures rejected

BY MARTIN DE MONTVALON

  • Valeria Racu, one of the spokespeople of the Tenants' Union organising the protest, said in a statement that the last eight days' protests had shown the effectiveness of people's power.
  • Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other cities in Spain on Saturday to demand affordable housing, a day after lawmakers rejected relief measures for tenants.
  • Valeria Racu, one of the spokespeople of the Tenants' Union organising the protest, said in a statement that the last eight days' protests had shown the effectiveness of people's power.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other cities in Spain on Saturday to demand affordable housing, a day after lawmakers rejected relief measures for tenants.
The demonstrations extended a crisis that has gone on for more than a week, triggered by the eviction last month of a pensioner, 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, from her Madrid flat.
The defeat was another political setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and has renewed questions over whether his minority government can survive until the next scheduled general election in 2027.
His government's proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties on Friday in Spain's parliament.
The defeat infuriated those protesting the country's increasingly expensive housing market.
Hundreds of protesters have been occupying a tent city set up a week ago in the heart of Madrid to press for reforms.
Late on Saturday groups of far-right protesters, some of them performing Nazi salutes, tried to get to the camp but were blocked by police.
One video posted on the website of Spanish daily El Pais showed police chasing some members of the group through the streets and the newspaper also reported that officers had made three arrests.
 
- General strike call - 
 
Earlier Saturday, demonstrators marched through the capital's streets. Authorities said 70,000 people participated, but the organisers put the figure at 500,000.
Smaller demonstrations took place in other cities, including Palma de Mallorca, Santander, Segovia and Toledo. In Valencia, five people were arrested after clashes with police, local media reported.
At the Madrid protest Marcos Sainz, a librarian of 26, said he used to rent a two-bedroom apartment with friends for a total monthly rent of 900 euros ($1,000). Today, a one-bedroom flat often costs 1,000 euros -- or half the median monthly salary in the capital, he told AFP.
He would protest rental spikes "until someone dares to regulate it all as (otherwise) we'll all have to leave Madrid and that would be a shame as I am from Madrid". 
"We are demanding a fundamental right," said Javier, a 31-year-old solar panel installer. "Decent housing, stability and conditions allowing us to construct a decent life project.
"I spend half of my salary on a tiny room," he added.
Valeria Racu, one of the spokespeople of the Tenants' Union organising the protest, said in a statement that the last eight days' protests had shown the effectiveness of people's power.
"Now begins real politics -- politics which has always belonged to the people and which will return once and for all to the streets," she added.
She repeated her union's call for a general strike.
 

Calls for early election

 
Housing has for years been a top concern for Spaniards as supply falls short of demand, with rents and house prices rising as elsewhere in the European Union.
Average rents in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for homes have risen by about 90 percent, according to real estate website Idealista.
Abascal's eviction catalysed long-running anger about runaway housing costs.
The pensioner was forced to leave the Madrid flat where she had lived for more than seven decades after it was acquired by an investment company that sought to increase her rent by 275 percent, say housing campaigners.
The backlash led the property's new owners to reach a deal allowing her to return to the flat at a low rent.
The housing bills Sanchez's leftist coalition had presented to parliament were rejected after the Catalan separatist party Junts -- on whose support the government relies -- voted against them, arguing they lacked rigour.
Junts joined the main opposition Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party in shooting down the measures.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo on Saturday urged Sanchez to call early elections "because the country can't take any more".
Recent opinion polls have generally placed the Popular Party ahead of the Socialists.
bur/jj/giv

conflict

Israel targets top Hamas leader in deadly Gaza strike on anniversary

  • Amoudi is considered Hamas's top person in the Gaza Strip.
  • Israel said on Saturday that it attempted to kill Hamas's top leader in the Gaza Strip in an airstrike on an apartment that local officials said killed five people, four of them women.
  • Amoudi is considered Hamas's top person in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said on Saturday that it attempted to kill Hamas's top leader in the Gaza Strip in an airstrike on an apartment that local officials said killed five people, four of them women.
The pre-dawn strike came on the anniversary according to the Jewish calendar of the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest-ever day for Israel which retaliated with a devastating offensive in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it aimed to kill Ali al-Amoudi, describing him as the "right-hand man" of slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and saying he was involved in planning the October 7 attack.
Israel said it was reviewing whether it killed or injured him. 
It said it targeted him after learning that he was inside an apartment building, saying it showed that Hamas was using civilians as human shields.
"Today, al-Amoudi is the most senior Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip and is directly involved in Hamas's terror activities and in rebuilding the organisation for war. The terrorist was struck in order to remove the threat," a military statement said.
"Steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions," the military said, adding it "regrets any harm caused to uninvolved individuals".
Israel killed Sinwar in Gaza in October 2024, in what many Israelis saw as a major symbolic victory, although Israel has vowed to keep destroying Hamas even since a US-brokered ceasefire was declared a year ago.
Amoudi is considered Hamas's top person in the Gaza Strip. The movement's leader Khalil al-Hayaa lives in Qatar and has tried to manoeuvre diplomatically to Hamas's advantage.
Hayaa agreed in July to a US plan for Hamas to give up its weapons, in what President Donald Trump hailed as a breakthrough but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as insincere.
 

Christians among dead

 
An official at Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital told AFP it received at dawn the bodies of five people and a number of injured following an airstrike in the Rimal neighbourhood.
It said the dead were two women and their daughters, as well as a man.
Mahmoud Bassal, the spokesman for the civil defence agency which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said two missiles directly hit the apartment, causing a fire and damaging the building.
Two of the five victims were Christians, the hospital director said.
Mourners gathered later on Saturday at the small Greek Orthodox church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City for the funeral of the two women, identified as 56-year-old Maysaa Abu Daoud and her 36-year-old daughter Mary Al-Najjar.
Ihab Ayad, a relative of the women, said that they had been "minding their own business" at home when Israel carried out the strike.
"We didn't hurl stones or fire rockets. If any child among us carries a stone, they call him a terrorist, a murderer. But they possess the most powerful arsenal and destroy everything," he said.
Around 1,000 Christians, most of them Orthodox, live in the Palestinian territory. A larger Palestinian Christian community lives in the West Bank, although emigration has increased since the start of the war.
The Hamas-led October 7 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people since the announcement of the ceasefire a year ago, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The Israeli military has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.
az-str-sct/dcp