Quebec

Quebec votes as separatist surge poses test for Canada PM

BY FANNY ALARCON

  • But in addition to the possible return of separatist governance in Quebec, voters in the oil-rich province of Alberta will hold a non-binding vote this month on whether they want independence.
  • Quebec separatists eyed a return to power in Canada's majority French-speaking province Monday in an election that could test Prime Minister Mark Carney's message of national unity to confront the United States.
  • But in addition to the possible return of separatist governance in Quebec, voters in the oil-rich province of Alberta will hold a non-binding vote this month on whether they want independence.
Quebec separatists eyed a return to power in Canada's majority French-speaking province Monday in an election that could test Prime Minister Mark Carney's message of national unity to confront the United States.
Carney is popular in Quebec, and the possible success of the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) is not seen as a repudiation of his stance toward President Donald Trump, whose trade war and annexation threats have infuriated Canadians.
Instead, the PQ's rise after 12 years in opposition has been tied to frustration over affordability, and an enduring desire to protect the French language in an increasingly anglophone country.
"I want Quebec to still be speaking French in 100 years," PQ voter Francis Chalifour, a 49-year-old teacher, told AFP after voting in Montreal.
A PQ victory would make its leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, a 49-year-old lawyer known by his initials as PSPP, the province's next premier.
He said he was feeling both "on edge and serene" after voting in Montreal.
Results in the province of roughly 9 million people should be known a few hours after polls close at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT).
Pre-election polls had given PQ about 30 percent support, but in the province's first-past-the-post electoral system that could be enough to secure a majority in the 127-member assembly, with vote-splitting expected among several federalist parties.

Independence after Trump?

PSPP has maintained he will call a referendum on leaving Canada if elected, just not while Trump is in office.
He has said a decision on Quebec's independence "requires conditions that allow for an informed and calm debate."
That shouldn't be "hijacked by the theatrics of an unpredictable president," he added, ruling out a referendum until at least 2029.
First-time voter Alexia Gomez, 19, invoked the current "preoccupying" relationship between the United States and Canada when she told AFP she would be against an independence referendum.
"If Quebec becomes independent it would make us politically, economically and militarily vulnerable," she said.
Quebec has held two previous votes on leaving Canada. Federalists won comfortably in 1980, but the 1995 result was excruciatingly close, with just 50.58 percent voting to stay in Canada.
Outgoing premier Christine Frechette made a last-ditch appeal to voters on Monday asking if "they want a government that will take us into a referendum campaign where everything will be turned upside down or do they want government that will focus on bringing a stable economy." 
Polls show support collapsing in recent weeks for her Coalition Avenir Quebec party, which has been in power since 2018. 
For Carney, the Quebec vote comes amid a fraught political season.
His Liberal government enjoys broad support, and many Canadians credit him with leading national, and at times international, opposition to Trump.
But in addition to the possible return of separatist governance in Quebec, voters in the oil-rich province of Alberta will hold a non-binding vote this month on whether they want independence.
Nevertheless, before entering Parliament in Ottawa on Monday, Carney told reporters he will work with whatever government is elected in Quebec.

'Abolish the monarchy?'

PSPP may not have majority backing for an independent Quebec, but his plans to target the British monarchy appear far more popular.
Canada is part of the British Commonwealth. King Charles III, Canada's head of state, is represented in Ottawa by the governor general. Lieutenant governors represent the monarchy in the provinces, including Quebec.
In a 2025 Leger poll, 87 percent of Quebecers said they felt no attachment to the British monarchy, and only 31 percent expressed a favorable view of King Charles.
"There is nothing preventing (Quebec's) National Assembly from acting as a sovereign parliament and passing a law that abolishes the activities of the lieutenant governor and no longer allocates a budget to this masquerade that wastes money," said PSPP.
He has proposed reallocating the lieutenant governor's budget to combat homelessness.
Pasquale Zgambatte, an 80-year-old Montreal voter, told AFP he doesn't support another independence referendum, but wanted British royals out of Canadian life.
"If we're a country, Canada, then we have nothing to do with England," he said. 
fa-mg-bs-gr/sla

accident

Military plane crash kills 32 in Nigeria

  • Tinubu's spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a later statement that the president "has declared a three-day national mourning for Air Force personnel who died in the crash".
  • A Nigerian Air Force plane crashed on Monday in the country's southwest, killing all 32 people on board, President Bola Tinubu said, declaring three days of national mourning.
  • Tinubu's spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a later statement that the president "has declared a three-day national mourning for Air Force personnel who died in the crash".
A Nigerian Air Force plane crashed on Monday in the country's southwest, killing all 32 people on board, President Bola Tinubu said, declaring three days of national mourning.
It is one the worst air disasters in recent years in Africa's most populous country.
The passenger aircraft was on a "routine mission" from Benin City in southern Nigeria to the economic hub of Lagos when it went down at Igbokoda in southwestern Ondo state shortly after 9:00am (0800 GMT), the president and the air force said.
"The president extends his deepest condolences to the family of the 25 passengers and seven crew members involved," Tinubu's office said in a statement. 
"This is a painful moment for our armed forces and for the entire nation," he said. 
Tinubu's spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a later statement that the president "has declared a three-day national mourning for Air Force personnel who died in the crash".
He also directed that flags be flown at half-staff across the country to pay respect to the officers.
The Air Force will release the identities of the victims after notifying their families, the presidency said.
The plane crashed near a naval base, according to the presidency and the Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo.
Both described it as an ATR-42 -- a twin-engine turboprop that the manufacturers say can carry between 30 and 50 passengers
A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river while rescuers searched the area by boat.
The president said he had "directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences".

Noise like thunder

Dayo Akinte, 39, a firewood hawker who lives about a kilometre from where the accident occurred, described to AFP hearing a sound she thought was "thunder" at the time she believed the plane went down.
Since the crash, "three aircraft have also been flying over the scene", she said by phone.
She said someone who went fishing in the swamp alerted the nearby naval base and people in the town about the crash.
Airforce spokesman Ehimen Ejodame earlier said "search and rescue operations" were ongoing "in coordination with relevant authorities and emergency response agencies".
Police also confirmed the accident but provided no details.
Igbokoda is located in Ilaje, an oil-producing region in southern Nigeria.
In May 2021, Nigeria's top-ranking army commander, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other officers were killed when their plane crashed in bad weather while trying to land at northern Kaduna state airport. 
Seven people died when a military plane crashed into a house in northern Nigeria killing everyone on board in August 2015.
Earlier that same month, a helicopter crashed into a lagoon in Lagos, killing six, including the American pilot.
bur-sn/pdw

schools

Teenager loses hand picking up grenade in France school protests

  • The 15-year-old lost his hand in the northern town of Lens when he picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police and it exploded, according to a police union source.
  • A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday in the latest round of French high school protests that have erupted into clashes with police, with more than 200 students injured in the violence.
  • The 15-year-old lost his hand in the northern town of Lens when he picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police and it exploded, according to a police union source.
A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday in the latest round of French high school protests that have erupted into clashes with police, with more than 200 students injured in the violence.
France has been shaken by a wave of demonstrations by teenage students at high schools, or lycees, since late September demanding better classroom conditions. 
More than 500 of France's 3,700 lycees were fully or partially closed on Monday, and bigger demonstrations dubbed "Act III" by a secondary school students' union are expected on Tuesday as social media calls mount for a "black week" of protests.
The 15-year-old lost his hand in the northern town of Lens when he picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police and it exploded, according to a police union source.
The teenager, hospitalised in Lille, is "out of danger", said Francois-Xavier Lauch, the prefect for the northern Pas-de-Calais region.
Another protester, aged 16, who suffered serious head injuries at a protest in the central city of Tours last week has lost the use of one eye, prosecutors said.
The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the protest movement began, while 10 investigations have been opened by the police watchdog.
The protests have seen students block the entrances to hundreds of schools around the country, complaining of teacher absences, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings ill-adapted to rising temperatures, among other grievances.
"It's clear the education system isn't working," Alma, a pupil at the Lycee Charlemagne in central Paris, told AFP.
The unrest ignited just months before the 2027 election that will determine the successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
The government has sought to address the grievances, while accusing hard-left activists of having hijacked the protest movement.
"They think that just because they're letting us express ourselves on a platform, on the internet, we'll stop blocking access and being angry, but this anger has been here for years," said Simon, a pupil also at the Lycee Charlemagne.
The French Human Rights League (LDH) on Monday accused security forces of using disproportionate methods against protesters, many of whom are legally minors.

24 schools damaged

In central Paris, dozens of teenage students demonstrated outside a school while passing cars honked their horns. Some classmates made their way inside to attend lessons.
Some protesters outside the Gustave Eiffel high school set off fireworks in the direction of police, who responded with tear gas, but overall the situation remained calm, AFP reporters said.
The movement started on September 17 at a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, in support of teachers striking over a lack of staff and resources.
It gained momentum and spread across France, at times spiralling into vandalism, including the destruction of bus shelters, the burning of school entrances and clashes between protesters and security forces.
Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister.
More than 5,000 people, 87 percent of them minors, have been arrested.

'Parental responsibility'

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Sunday urged local authorities to prioritise filling gaps left by long-term teacher absences and unfilled posts.
He called a meeting for Tuesday with regional presidents to discuss overhauling the country's often-dilapidated school buildings. 
The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of drawing on public funds. 
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the bill.
"When you have 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds who, at 9 am, are burning bus shelters or -- perhaps even more seriously -- the high school where they study, that raises the question of parental responsibility," she told the Europe1/CNews broadcaster.
bur-pdw/ 

plague

Russia downplays plague reports as Trump offers US help

  • "We're looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked what Washington was going to do about the risk of plague coming from Russia.
  • Russia on Monday sought to downplay reports that a laboratory technician had died of plague, even as President Donald Trump said Washington was closely monitoring the situation and offered US help.
  • "We're looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked what Washington was going to do about the risk of plague coming from Russia.
Russia on Monday sought to downplay reports that a laboratory technician had died of plague, even as President Donald Trump said Washington was closely monitoring the situation and offered US help.
Reports on Friday that pneumonic plague had killed a 28-year-old woman named Darya Shipilova, who had been working for the anti-plague institute in Siberia's Irkutsk region, sparked alarm.
"We're looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked what Washington was going to do about the risk of plague coming from Russia.
"We'll help them, we'll help them as much as we can."
The Russian news outlet People of Baikal, citing unnamed sources close to the regional security services, said the dead woman may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.
Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.
As many as 200 people with whom she may have had contact were under quarantine, the People of Baikal outlet added, without elaborating.
But Russian officials stressed that postmortem tests had not detected the disease.
Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said Monday that a special expert commission inspection in the region had found that "the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined aetiology". 
He said on Telegram that Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor had determined, following tests, that "no microorganisms linked to the young woman's professional work were found in her biological samples".
He added that there had been "no new cases of staff from the anti-plague institute seeking medical attention" since the woman's death.
Kobzev said the sanitary-epidemiological situation in Irkutsk was "stable".
"The situation remains under our control and that of the experts."

'Rumours and speculations'

Asked about the situation on Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to "rely on Rospotrebnadzor's official statements rather than... rumours and speculations".
Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.
Pneumonic plague can be fatal if not treated early, according to the World Health Organization.
The reports will be closely watched in Washington, where memories of the Covid-19 pandemic that started in Trump's first term are still fresh. 
Trump has strongly backed the theory that the disease was due to a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country was monitoring the Russia situation but saw no "cause for alarm".
"There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread," Rubio told reporters before taking off for a visit to Iceland.
"So we're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we're doing that."
Experts said the reported response in Russia appeared "proportionate".
"It appears that measures are being implemented to quarantine any potential contacts and prevent any onward transmission," Malick Gibani, clinical associate professor in bacterial vaccinology, Imperial College London, said in a commentary.
dk/pnb

Global Edition

Bolsonaro rides right-wing surge into Brazil's election runoff

BY FACUNDO FERNANDEZ BARRIO WITH FRAN BLANDY IN RIO DE JANEIRO

  • "It's a big victory -- close, but very, very big victory.
  • Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro heads to a runoff election buoyed by sweeping gains in Congress, after a shock first-place poll finish hailed by US President Donald Trump as a "big victory".
  • "It's a big victory -- close, but very, very big victory.
Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro heads to a runoff election buoyed by sweeping gains in Congress, after a shock first-place poll finish hailed by US President Donald Trump as a "big victory".
The right-wing senator finished two percentage points ahead of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who faces an uphill battle to secure a fourth term win on October 25, and cement his legacy.
The 45-year-old Bolsonaro, who was little known until a few months ago, outperformed the first-round election results of his father, the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro in 2018 and 2022 elections.
The result pushed the Sao Paulo stock market up almost nine percent at midday, as the Ibovespa index reached an all-time high of almost 210,000.
Jerson Zanlorenzi, head of the equities and derivatives desk at BTG Pactual, told AFP the market saw Bolsonaro as "more aligned with Brazil's economic and fiscal needs."
Bolsonaro has promised fiscal austerity in the face of rising public debt, plus a smaller state, lower taxes and a tougher crackdown on crime.
Bolsonaro's pitch to Brazilians echoes those that have won over voters in Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Colombia, among others, who have elected right-wing presidents in recent years.
"It's a big victory -- close, but very, very big victory. Amazing," said Trump, who has championed the rightward swing.

'Tsunami' against Lula

Since Brazil's first direct presidential election in 1989 after a 21-year military dictatorship, every first-round leader has gone on to win the presidency.
Flavio Bolsonaro has pitched himself as more moderate than his firebrand father, who is still revered among many on the right and whose legacy loomed large over the campaign.
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup to prevent Lula from taking power in 2023. 
His family and supporters believe he is the victim of political persecution and Flavio Bolsonaro has said he will seek an amnesty for him if elected.
The coup bid and a corruption probe against Flavio Bolsonaro did little to sway voters fed up with crime, violence and the battle to make ends meet in Latin America's biggest economy.
Political analyst Thomas Traumann told AFP the election Sunday had shown a "tsunami of anti-PT sentiment," referring to Lula's Worker's Party, which has governed for much of the past two decades.
This has made Bolsonaro "the favorite to win the presidency, and it could leave him in an even stronger position to govern than his father," he said.

Campaign misfire

Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) nearly doubled its seats in the Senate and surged in the Chamber of Deputies.
Former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro won a place in the upper house of Congress and two other sons of Jair Bolsonaro won legislative seats.
"The end of the era of Lula's Workers' Party has been decreed," a triumphant Bolsonaro declared on Sunday in Brasilia.
Lula will have to woo those who cast blank votes and the 33 million people who abstained -- representing 21 percent of registered voters.
Lesser candidates who garnered almost eight percent of the vote are mostly right-leaning.
While Lula is revered for social programs that have lifted millions out of poverty, he and the party remain haunted by massive corruption scandals. And promises to tackle problems like violence and organized crime, which have grown in recent years, fell flat among jaded voters.
During Lula's third term in office, inflation has come under control and unemployment fell to historic lows.
However, Brazilians complain about a loss of purchasing power and authorities are concerned about rising household debt.
"I admit I was convinced I would win in the first round. The game is about to start. In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people," Lula said Sunday.
Lula's campaign focused heavily on his historical legacy.
He also honed in on the theme of Brazilian sovereignty in the face of pressure from Trump, who has imposed steep tariffs on the country and sanctioned officials.
Analysts say this may have been a miscalculation.
"Brazilians are concerned with concrete matters, such as supermarket prices, the fear of being mugged, and credit card debt, rather than abstract concepts like sovereignty or Lula's historical significance," said Traumann.
bur-fb/dw 

defense

Trump says US moved bombers from UK base after 'threats'

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "We actually know the people that made the threat," said Trump, adding: "They would be linked to Iran."
  • President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from a British airbase because of unspecified threats that he believed were linked to Iran.
  • "We actually know the people that made the threat," said Trump, adding: "They would be linked to Iran."
President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from a British airbase because of unspecified threats that he believed were linked to Iran.
Washington confirmed earlier that the bombers had left the RAF Fairford airbase -- used by the United States to launch strikes on Tehran -- even as the British government insisted the site was safe.
"There were some threats," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"And rather than tempting the enemy -- we'll capture the enemy and beat the enemy, but why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit, not very far."
Speculation has swirled about the incident since police were called to the base in southwest England on September 27 after a local farmer reported a group of men with several vans engaged in "suspicious" activity.
Despite a major counter-terrorism probe, five suspects arrested at the time and a British-Iranian national detained afterwards have all since been released on bail.
Investigators did not find any explosives in the vans, but "a quantity of petrol was recovered," according to counter-terrorism police.
Trump would not comment on a report that the threat involved attack drones, saying: "I can't tell you that but if they did they'll suffer greatly."
"We actually know the people that made the threat," said Trump, adding: "They would be linked to Iran."
 

UK insists base safe

 
The Pentagon confirmed the redeployment on Sunday.
"We can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States," it said in a statement.
The statement noted that "operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday expressed "confidence in the security of all of our bases."
American facilities "theoretically could be threatened at any moment, and that's why there's so much security built around them," Rubio said, adding that Washington had worked with London on the investigation and "they couldn't be more cooperative."
Two US officials told the New York Times that the bombers were moved after commanders received new threats about an Iran-backed plot. One US official said the new information was part of the same threat warnings that surfaced three weeks ago, but the situation became urgent in the past 24 hours, the Times reported.
Asked whether the base was safe, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's official spokesman said: "Yes."
"We have tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world," he told reporters.
 

Heightened security

 
Speculation about the motives behind the incident ranged from terror threat to fuel theft, as energy prices in the UK hit record highs this week.
Burnham has said there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the incident, a charge rejected by Tehran.
Trump had previously rebuked British authorities for releasing the arrested men -- all in their mid-20s -- on bail.
Iran's embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" speculation that Tehran was involved.
Adding to the mystery, British media reported that officers were alerted to the incident by one of the initial suspects, but police have not commented on the reports.
Security at the base had reportedly been heightened.
Britain gave Washington permission in March to use Fairford for "specific defensive operations into Iran," and US bombers and other planes have since been seen taking off and landing at the base.
Fairford is the only airbase on Britain's mainland used for this purpose.
The incident came after a farmer living in the village of Whelford, near the airbase, called the police after seeing three vans blocking a road and a group of masked men fleeing the scene.
burs-dk/mjf

war

Clashes erupt outside Kosovo parliament over war crimes court

  • Several hundred protesters spent most of the day outside parliament, pledging to blockade the building until lawmakers passed a law aimed at curbing the court's powers.
  • Police clashed with demonstrators outside Kosovo's parliament on Monday, as protesters demanded the passage of a bill that would curb the powers of the country's war crimes court.
  • Several hundred protesters spent most of the day outside parliament, pledging to blockade the building until lawmakers passed a law aimed at curbing the court's powers.
Police clashed with demonstrators outside Kosovo's parliament on Monday, as protesters demanded the passage of a bill that would curb the powers of the country's war crimes court.
The hours-long stand-off escalated on Monday night as demonstrators decried the sentencing of Kosovo's former president, Hashim Thaci, who was last month sentenced to war crimes committed during the 1990s war for independence against Serbia.
Thaci and three other senior guerrilla figures were handed hefty sentences after being found criminally responsible for murders, illegal arrests, torture and cruel treatment committed by Kosovo Liberation Army fighters.
The verdict sparked outrage and rallies in the Balkan nation where the men are largely regarded as heroes of Kosovo's independence struggle.
Several hundred protesters spent most of the day outside parliament, pledging to blockade the building until lawmakers passed a law aimed at curbing the court's powers.
But as the session ended in the evening without the bill's passage, demonstrators approached police lines in an attempt to stop lawmakers from leaving.
AFP journalists saw riot police use tear gas on the crowd, with some in the group throwing firecrackers at police lines.
Bins were also set alight near the parliament as projectiles were thrown at officers who responded with a water cannon and armoured vehicles.
Opposition parties and war veteran organisations have long criticised the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), which is established under Kosovo law but based in The Hague.
Under the proposed law change, which passed its first reading on Monday, the KSC would no longer be able to try war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serb armed forces.
Instead, its jurisdiction would be limited to crimes committed inside Kosovo in the immediate aftermath of the war.
- 'Hasty' - 
The proposal would also allow convicts to serve their terms in Kosovo, limit sentences to 15 years and clear the way for presidential pardons.
It will now face parliamentary review before it can return to parliament for a second reading.
The court was established in 2015 under heavy international pressure from the European Union and the United States to investigate crimes committed by guerrilla fighters during the war.
Although it is part of the Kosovo judicial system, the hybrid court is seated abroad -- largely to prevent political pressure and threats to witnesses.
Speaking to parliament, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said his government supported the initial reading but said the proposed law was "hasty" and not properly "thought through".
Even if passed, the law would not affect the current sentences for Thaci and the other men, who have already said they will appeal through the established process at the KSC.
ih/al/pdw

security

Rubio arrives in Iceland to push for greater US presence in Arctic

BY LéON BRUNEAU

  • The lightning visit, as symbolic as it is political, comes after the US signed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Iceland late Monday at the start of a three-nation European tour to push for greater US influence in the Arctic after Washington sealed a pact on Greenland.
  • The lightning visit, as symbolic as it is political, comes after the US signed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Iceland late Monday at the start of a three-nation European tour to push for greater US influence in the Arctic after Washington sealed a pact on Greenland.
Rubio will meet with officials in Reykjavik "to discuss economic and security collaboration," the US State Department said in a statement announcing the trip.
The lightning visit, as symbolic as it is political, comes after the US signed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The agreement has apparently put an end to President Donald Trump's threats to buy or even annex Greenland, which soured relations with the European Union.
Before taking off, Rubio described Iceland as "a good friend of the United States." 
"So it's an opportunity to stop there and meet with them... it really is a result of a conversation I had with their leaders at the NATO summit with the leaders earlier this year, and with their foreign minister, so I'm looking forward to it," he said.
Under the pact, Washington plans to establish two new military bases on Greenland, drawing the autonomous Danish territory further into US orbit.
With competition on the rise in the Arctic, Iceland has regained status as a strategic player, even as the island continues to rely heavily on the United States for security.
At the start of September, Trump sparked new controversy by sharing an AI-generated map that appeared to show all of North America, the Caribbean, Greenland and Iceland as "the United States of America."
In response, Reykjavik summoned the US ambassador "to convey a clear message that the image was wholly inappropriate," Iceland's foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP.
Icelanders had voted in late August 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent against resuming negotiations on joining the EU, which have been frozen since 2013.
The last US secretary of state to visit Iceland was Antony Blinken in 2021.
Since gaining independence in 1944, Iceland has never had a military. It relies on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for its security and on a bilateral defense pact signed with the United States in 1951.
Washington does not have a permanent base in Iceland, but is looking to consolidate its control over Arctic access routes coveted by Russia and China.
Trump again signaled his obsession with Greenland on Sunday, posting on his Truth Social platform an AI-generated image of his face looming over what appears to be its landscape, accompanied by the words "Hello, Greenland!"
 

Greece, Portugal

 
After Iceland, Rubio continues to Athens to participate in a "strategic dialogue" with NATO member Greece on regional and energy security, the State Department said. 
The wars in Iran and Ukraine have laid bare the fragility of energy supply chains, and Greece is positioning itself to become a key hub in southeastern Europe for natural gas transport.
The visit follows media reports about possible conflicts of interest involving the US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former fiancee of Donald Trump Jr. and ex-wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In a letter addressed to Rubio, Congressman Gregory Meeks sought clarification of a Wall Street Journal report alleging she had stated the United States could create "political change" in European countries.
Rubio later wraps up his European tour with a brief stop in Lisbon.
bur-ft/ach/gv

conflict

Ukraine blames Russia for deadly sinking of Turkish ship in Black Sea

BY ANI SANDU

  • Romanian authorities said two crew members had died and 11 were rescued after the 139-metre (455 foot) long Royad Mammadov caught fire in the Black Sea, an increasing battlefield for drone attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.
  • Russian drones struck a grain ship in the Black Sea on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after Romania reported a ship had caught fire and sunk near its coast with two crew members killed.
  • Romanian authorities said two crew members had died and 11 were rescued after the 139-metre (455 foot) long Royad Mammadov caught fire in the Black Sea, an increasing battlefield for drone attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russian drones struck a grain ship in the Black Sea on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after Romania reported a ship had caught fire and sunk near its coast with two crew members killed.
"A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn," Zelensky said in a post on X, adding that the ship was Turkish-owned and that Azerbaijani and Indian nationals were on board.
Romanian authorities said two crew members had died and 11 were rescued after the 139-metre (455 foot) long Royad Mammadov caught fire in the Black Sea, an increasing battlefield for drone attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The interior ministry said it sank about 30 nautical miles south of the fishing port of Sfantu Gheorghe.
"At around 11:00 am, Coast Guard border police officers were informed that a fire had broken out on board a commercial vessel located within Romania's exclusive economic zone," the ministry said in a statement.
It said 11 crew members were rescued and two bodies recovered.
Zelensky said the ship's captain was killed in the strike.
Three crew members suffered injuries and eight were unharmed, Romanian Naval Authority spokesperson Irina Puscasu told AFP. The injured were evacuated by helicopter.
Romanian authorities did not immediately attribute a cause for the incident.
Drone activity has become increasingly frequent across eastern Europe as Ukraine, which borders NATO member Romania, fights off a Russian invasion launched in 2022. Both countries increasingly rely on drone warfare.
Turkey has expressed concern over the attacks on Black Sea shipping and Turkish seafarers have staged protests over deaths suffered in the attacks.
Turkey's Chamber of Maritime Commerce (IMEAK) said last month that since the start of the war, 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been attacked in the Black Sea, the vast majority this year.
Turkey has expressed frustration to both sides and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN General Assembly the attacks were "unacceptable".

Increased risk

"Ukraine has repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea," Zelensky said on Monday, adding that "pressure is needed to restore global food security".
The injured from the Royad Mammadov were rescued by a helicopter, authorities said.
Tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed the ship's last port of call appeared to have been Izmail, in southern Ukraine, which it left on September 18 fully laden. It had been headed to Ravenna, in Italy.
War-related objects found in the Black Sea have more than doubled in six months amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, maritime risk expert Ambrey said last month in a report.
At least a third of them carried live payloads. The objects include unexploded ordnance, drones and other unmanned vehicles found washed ashore or floating at sea, it said.
The increase has been concentrated in Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish waters, with the trend expected to continue.
In August, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed a marine drone near an offshore gas project in the Black Sea, with Romanian President Nicusor Dan blaming Russia for the incident.
In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties. 
Kyiv said the drone had been knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.
bur-ani-fec/jza/rmb/ach

conflict

Ukraine says using AI robot guns to shoot down new Russian drones

  • Russia's newer jet-powered drones move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.
  • Ukraine has begun using artificial intelligence-enabled robot guns to take down Russia's new and fast-moving jet-powered drones, the Ukrainian air force said Monday.
  • Russia's newer jet-powered drones move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.
Ukraine has begun using artificial intelligence-enabled robot guns to take down Russia's new and fast-moving jet-powered drones, the Ukrainian air force said Monday.
For months, Kyiv has been seeking new ways to intercept the new Russian drones pounding the Ukrainian capital as it faces a dire lack of suitable ammunition to take them out.
Russia's newer jet-powered drones move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.
As part of Ukraine's efforts to respond, "robotic turrets are now being installed on bridges", air force spokesman colonel Yuri Ignat told national television.
"There have already been shoot-downs" of the drones, including the bigger, faster and more powerful Geran-5 version, he told national television.
Speaking to AFP, Ignat explained that the new turrets, which have been seen by AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital, use "optical vision and artificial intelligence to eliminate the human factor and deliver strikes".
Sergiy Beskrestnov, a technology adviser to the Ukrainian president, explained on Telegram over the weekend that the new automated turrets were "an innovative Ukrainian solution that shoots down (drones) using machine guns controlled by artificial intelligence".
He said that 12 of the turrets had been installed in Kyiv, adding that "more turrets will be installed in the future".
 

Not a panacea

 
Ignat acknowledged that the new system had a small operating radius.
"It can operate at about one kilometre plus. And it works when conditions are favourable, when the attack approach angle is suitable," he told AFP.
"This is not some kind of panacea," he said, stressing that the turrets were part of "an integrated air defence system that provides engagement of these targets at different tiers".
"Of course we rely on all available assets."
Ignat said that currently, most of the work against jet-powered drones "is actually done by aviation".
"Because they fly high, they fly fast, it's the fighters that can catch them, especially the F-16s," he explained, adding that some pilots could "sometimes shoot down more than 10 Shaheds in a single sortie".
But the pilots were often forced to use aircraft cannons against drones, "because there are no missiles, (or) there are very, very few", he lamented.
Ukraine, which has repeatedly sought more support to fend off Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, has been accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence into its defence capabilities.
It is already using the technology on the frontlines to guide drones, detect targets for strikes and coordinate large-scale operations.
bur-nl/jc/gv

trade

EU, China to hold Beijing talks to avert trade war

BY RAZIYE AKKOC WITH SAM DAVIES IN BEIJING

  • Zhu Tian, economics professor at Shanghai's China Europe International Business School, said the talks could yield agreements "on some specific issues" but were likely to result in a "broad settlement of the trade relationship".
  • EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will travel to Beijing Thursday for two days of high-stakes talks aimed at staving off a trade war with China.
  • Zhu Tian, economics professor at Shanghai's China Europe International Business School, said the talks could yield agreements "on some specific issues" but were likely to result in a "broad settlement of the trade relationship".
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will travel to Beijing Thursday for two days of high-stakes talks aimed at staving off a trade war with China.
The trip comes as the European Union has toughened its stance towards Beijing to defend businesses against what it believes is unfair competition in sectors ranging from cars to industrial goods.
Increasingly European leaders and observers warn of a "China Shock 2.0", used to describe Chinese firms' expansion into more advanced industries.
Policymakers argue the trend could threaten many traditional EU sectors, echoing the impact of a wave of low-cost Chinese imports in the early 2000s.
EU and Chinese officials have been negotiating since June over Brussels' concerns about the growing trade imbalance between the two economies.
At the same time, the bloc is preparing additional trade-defence measures, while Beijing has warned it could retaliate.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have urged the EU to strengthen its legal tools to respond more quickly to trade disputes with China, according to a letter seen by AFP on Monday, including the ability to cut off access to the European market if necessary.
Sefcovic raised expectations earlier this year when he warned the EU wanted "tangible results by October". Analysts, however, are cautious.
"There may be a few crumbs, but I would not expect any kind of major breakthrough," said Penny Naas, of the German Marshall Fund.
Zhu Tian, economics professor at Shanghai's China Europe International Business School, said the talks could yield agreements "on some specific issues" but were likely to result in a "broad settlement of the trade relationship".
Brussels appears to share that assessment. The European Commission is continuing work on new instruments designed to protect key industries, with proposals expected to be presented to EU leaders in December.
 

'Worrying trends'

 
According to EU figures, the deficit with China reached about 360 billion euros ($400 billion) in 2025. Chinese figures place the imbalance lower, at around $292 billion.
The EU's trade enforcement chief, Denis Redonnet, told the European Parliament last week that machinery, textiles, metals and chemicals were among the sectors experiencing "sustained and abnormal" import increases.
He said there were "potentially worrying trends" affecting almost a quarter of all EU imports, driven largely by Chinese products.
Sefcovic has identified three priorities: addressing surging imports in strategically important sectors, increasing European exports to China, and improving access to critical raw materials.
The EU is also seeking clearer export-licensing arrangements for rare earths and other materials after China introduced restrictions last year.
Brussels hopes to manage Chinese exports through voluntary limits, for example on hybrid cars shipped to the bloc. Beijing, though, firmly opposes import quotas.
Many economists say weak domestic demand has made exports increasingly important to China's growth model, potentially limiting Beijing's flexibility in the talks.
 

How far will Europe go?

 
With expectations for major concessions low, an EU official speaking on condition of anonymity said work was continuing on new trade instruments. 
Several member states, including France, have advocated a European version of Section 301, the US mechanism used to investigate alleged discriminatory foreign trade practices and impose retaliatory measures.
Responding to reports last week about such a tool, Beijing warned it would respond strongly to "discriminatory restrictive measures".
The warning carries weight. Beijing has previously responded to EU trade-defence actions with duties on European cognac and investigations into pork and dairy imports.
It is unclear how far the EU as a whole would be willing to escalate tensions with China.
Germany, whose largest trading partner is China, has been especially cautious. However, Berlin has adopted a firmer stance amid concerns Chinese industrial overcapacity is hurting parts of its export-driven economy.
Europe has "the ability to do something more aggressive to stem this China 2.0 shock", GMF's Naas said. "The question is, will they?"
burs-raz/rmb

Tigray

Drone hits Ethiopia IDP camp as fears grow of regional war

  • - Mekelle patrols - Fighting was continuing in Tigray, with an aid worker and a witness reporting a fatal drone strike on civilians in a camp for displaced people.
  • A drone strike in Ethiopia's Tigray region killed several people in a displacement camp, sources said on Monday, as the government pressed north into rebel territory after almost two weeks of internal conflict that threatens a wider regional war.
  • - Mekelle patrols - Fighting was continuing in Tigray, with an aid worker and a witness reporting a fatal drone strike on civilians in a camp for displaced people.
A drone strike in Ethiopia's Tigray region killed several people in a displacement camp, sources said on Monday, as the government pressed north into rebel territory after almost two weeks of internal conflict that threatens a wider regional war.
Fighting broke out between the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022.
Federal forces have pushed back the rebel offensive and this weekend seized the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, after TPLF leaders and troops abandoned the city.
On Sunday, witnesses reported a drone strike on an IDP camp in Sheraro, western Tigray -- home to thousands displaced during the last war.
It killed eight civilians, including a child, and seriously wounded at least six others, an aid worker and witness told AFP.
There are fears the fighting could spark a wider war, especially if the TPLF retreats across the border into Eritrea, which the Ethiopian government accuses of supporting the rebels.
"The continued northward advance of Ethiopian troops and drone strikes in northern Tigray suggest that Ethiopian forces are preparing conditions for a conflict with Eritrea," Edward Bach, of risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said in a briefing note.

Sea access

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed -- who parliament appointed to a new term on Monday -- has repeatedly insisted that landlocked Ethiopia has a right to direct sea access.
Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, fears he plans to invade and seize its port at Assab.
Abiy reiterated the claim on Monday, telling parliament: "The loss of our access to the sea was not voluntary. It was something imposed on us through external pressure".
"Ethiopia's modernisation cannot be fully realised without access to the sea," he continued, although he added that this would only be pursued through "peaceful" means.
Parliament re-appointed Abiy as premier following his party's emphatic victory in June elections.

Mekelle patrols

Fighting was continuing in Tigray, with an aid worker and a witness reporting a fatal drone strike on civilians in a camp for displaced people.
Verification is difficult as media are prevented from travelling to affected areas and there are significant communication disruptions.
In the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, banks and petrol stations remained closed, two days after TPLF leaders and troops abandoned the city to federal forces.
Public transport was operating and a few shops were open, while pro-government forces patrolled the streets. 
A major difference from the last civil war is that the government has been able to mobilise Tigrayans who oppose the TPLF's control of the state. 
A militia called the Tigray Peace Force has been a leading ally for the government as it pushes into rebel territory. 
The leaders of Ethiopia's regional rivals -- Eritrea, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan -- met in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein on Sunday to discuss the conflict. 
str-er/rbu/gil

crime

Disgraced former US House speaker dies at 84

  • At his sentencing the following year, Hastert admitted for the first time that he had sexually abused boys while teaching and coaching wrestling at Yorkville High School in Illinois from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
  • Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives whose career ended in disgrace after he admitted sexually abusing teenage boys he had coached, has died aged 84, officials said Monday.
  • At his sentencing the following year, Hastert admitted for the first time that he had sexually abused boys while teaching and coaching wrestling at Yorkville High School in Illinois from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives whose career ended in disgrace after he admitted sexually abusing teenage boys he had coached, has died aged 84, officials said Monday.
The Kendall County Coroner's Office in Illinois said Hastert died at his home Saturday night while under hospice care.
Hastert was one of Washington's most powerful politicians during eight years as House speaker from 1999 to 2007, a position that placed him second in the line of succession to the presidency.
But his reputation collapsed years after he left Congress when a federal investigation into suspicious bank withdrawals exposed payments intended to conceal sexual abuse dating back to his years as a high school wrestling coach.
Hastert pleaded guilty in 2015 to illegally structuring cash withdrawals to avoid bank reporting requirements as part of a $3.5 million agreement with one of his victims.
At his sentencing the following year, Hastert admitted for the first time that he had sexually abused boys while teaching and coaching wrestling at Yorkville High School in Illinois from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
"They looked to me and I took advantage of them," Hastert said in court.
Prosecutors detailed abuse involving at least five boys, some as young as 14.
He could not be prosecuted for the sexual offenses because the statutes of limitations had expired, and was instead sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for violating banking laws.
US District Judge Thomas Durkin described Hastert at sentencing as a "serial child molester."
Hastert served in the House from 1987 until 2007 and became speaker after the turbulent departure of fellow Republican Newt Gingrich and the withdrawal of Gingrich's intended successor, Bob Livingston.
He remained speaker until Democrats regained control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections.
Hastert was released from federal prison in 2017 after serving most of his sentence.
ft/msp

conflict

At Oct 7 memorial, Netanyahu says will be no Hamas rule in Gaza

  • "There will be no Hamas rule in Gaza," he added, vowing to continue targeting anyone who was involved in the attack or who held hostages.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza as he attended a memorial event marking three years since the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack.
  • "There will be no Hamas rule in Gaza," he added, vowing to continue targeting anyone who was involved in the attack or who held hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza as he attended a memorial event marking three years since the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack.
Monday is a national day of remembrance for the deadliest day in Israel's history, with flags lowered to half-mast on public buildings from 6:29 am, the time the attack began.
Speaking during a state ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said "we have achieved enormous accomplishments, but there are still missions ahead of us, and we intend to complete them".
"There will be no Hamas rule in Gaza," he added, vowing to continue targeting anyone who was involved in the attack or who held hostages.
In a separate speech later on Monday, Netanyahu said he stood with victims' families and the nation shared their grief.
"There is no forgiveness for the murderers, the torturers, the arsonists. There is no forgiveness for the destroyers, the looters, the kidnappers," he said.
Later in the speech, a heckler shouted: "You didn't protect my son and 1,200 others killed on October 7 -- shame!" leading Netanyahu to briefly pause the address.
The Hamas-led attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also dragged 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of them already dead.
In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has killed more than 74,200 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Since a ceasefire was declared last October, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people in Gaza, according to the ministry.
Plans for Gaza's post-war governance have begun to take shape, but the issue remains largely unresolved in practice.
Since Hamas's October 2023 attack, Israel has fought wars on several fronts, including against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. 
During his speech on Monday, Netanyahu also vowed to keep striking Hezbollah to "create an opportunity for peace with a country whose people, for the most part, want peace with us".
Netanyahu also hit out at the clerical leadership in Iran, where Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on February 28, triggering the Middle East war.
"We will not allow the ayatollah regime in Tehran to threaten our existence," Netanyahu said, adding the Iranian leadership was "weaker than it has been since its establishment".
acc/dcp

housing

Spain's PM calls snap election after housing bill defeat

BY DANIEL SILVA

  • The government's proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties in Spain's parliament.
  • Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government amid nationwide protests.
  • The government's proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties in Spain's parliament.
Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government amid nationwide protests.
The defeat on Friday was just the latest political setback for Sanchez, one of the few left-leaning government leaders still in power in Europe.
"To do more, we need to renew and broaden the support of the people," Sanchez said in a televised address, adding that his aim was "to secure a much broader, progressive majority in parliament".
The next general election was scheduled to take place by August 2027.
His announcement came after tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid and other cities on Saturday demanding action on housing affordability.
The government's proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties in Spain's parliament.
The defeat infuriated the protesters and underscored the difficulties Sanchez's minority coalition government faces in passing legislation.
The protests were fuelled by the eviction last month of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from the Madrid flat where she had lived for decades.
Hundreds of demonstrators have occupied a tent camp in central Madrid for more than a week, demanding housing reforms.
One of them, 19-year-old student Sara Prieto Aparicio, told AFP that she believed that calling the snap election "was the best thing to do".
"There is a big mobilisation by citizens and I think this favours elections," she said.
 

'Unstoppable' protests

 
"This wave of indignation is unstoppable and we are not going to stop," Alicia del Rio, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, one of the protest leaders, said while renewing a call for a general strike.
Recent opinion polls have generally put the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) ahead of the Socialists.
The PP would likely need to partner with the far-right Vox to form a government however.
Making housing the central campaign issue "could mobilise left-leaning voters", said Federico Santi, a Europe analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
He said an early election could help limit further erosion of support for the Socialists, amid resurgent inflation, legislative deadlock and corruption scandals.
Housing has become one of Spain's main political issues as supply lags demand. Average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade while asking prices have risen about 90 percent, according to property website Idealista.
Abascal's eviction catalysed long-running anger about runaway housing costs.
The backlash led the new corporate owners of the building that includes her flat to reach a deal allowing her to return at a low rent.
The housing bills were rejected in parliament on Friday after the Catalan separatist party Junts, whose support is crucial to the government, voted against them, arguing they would worsen the housing crisis.
 

Sanchez defends record

 
Sanchez, in office since 2018, defended his record, saying Spain's economy had grown faster than many European countries and unemployment had fallen. He remains under pressure over corruption scandals involving people close to him, including his wife and senior Socialist Party figures.
Many ordinary Spaniards say they have not felt the benefits of the country's economic growth, with inflation outpacing wage growth and rent taking up an increasing share of household incomes.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo welcomed the election announcement. "If eight years have not been enough, why would four more be?" he said.
bur-ds/rmb/tw

Afghanistan

UN rights council slams Taliban's 'oppression' of women

  • The council urged the Taliban to repeal "all policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls", including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, to education, to work and to vote.
  • The UN Human Rights Council on Monday unanimously urged the Taliban to repeal all practices restricting the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, saying Afghanistan's institutionalised discrimination should shock humanity.
  • The council urged the Taliban to repeal "all policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls", including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, to education, to work and to vote.
The UN Human Rights Council on Monday unanimously urged the Taliban to repeal all practices restricting the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, saying Afghanistan's institutionalised discrimination should shock humanity.
The United Nations' 47-country rights body adopted the resolution without a vote.
The council said human rights in Afghanistan were deteriorating and voiced serious concern about the "grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban".
The council "deplores the Taliban's institutionalisation of its system of discrimination, segregation, domination, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls, and the harms that it has entrenched, which are unbearable, unjustifiable and should shock the conscience of humanity", it said.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law.
The Taliban government remains largely excluded from the international community, which criticises it its repressive measures.
Women have been particularly affected by Taliban government measures. They are banned from public places including parks and from most jobs, while education for girls beyond age 12 is outlawed.
 

'Conformity, fear and exclusion'

 
The UN council said it was deeply concerned about the "continuing, systematic, systemic and all-encompassing erosion" of respect for women's rights by the Taliban.
The council said many human rights had been "under concerted attack in Afghanistan in the past five years", while the Taliban "have enforced a growing web of edicts and institutional controls that has reshaped nearly every aspect of public and private life, engineering a society founded on ideological conformity, fear and exclusion".
The council urged the Taliban to repeal "all policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls", including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, to education, to work and to vote.
The council urged the international community to "adjust further its engagement with any stakeholders in Afghanistan" with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Afghans.
It condemned all forms of discrimination against women and girls, and reiterated that sexual slavery of boys, and child marriages and forced forced marriages constituted human rights abuses.
The council deplored the suffering of Afghans and voiced deep concern about deeply entrenched impunity in the country.
The resolution was brought forward by 37 European countries, plus Canada and Chile. The council extended the mandate of its independent special rapporteur on rights in Afghanistan for another year.
rjm/ag/tw

children

Alleged Indian leader of neo-Nazi child abuse ring goes on trial in Paris

BY NICOLAS GAUDICHET

  • - Closed-door trial - The Paris criminal court on Monday ordered the trial be held behind closed doors. 
  • An Indian man went on trial in Paris on Monday, accused of running a neo-Nazi child exploitation ring in which young girls were allegedly coerced into performing sexual acts online and engaging in self-harm.
  • - Closed-door trial - The Paris criminal court on Monday ordered the trial be held behind closed doors. 
An Indian man went on trial in Paris on Monday, accused of running a neo-Nazi child exploitation ring in which young girls were allegedly coerced into performing sexual acts online and engaging in self-harm.
The group is believed to have abused numerous young girls, most of them minors, in countries including the United States, the Netherlands, Britain and Estonia.
Investigators say the victims were targeted by a group of men from Germany, New Zealand and the United States who communicated on the popular messaging platform Discord. They espoused racist and anti-Semitic views and expressed hostility toward feminists and the LGBT+ community.
Rohan Rane, a 29-year-old Indian national who came to France to study at a business school in the southeastern city of Antibes before becoming a fitness coach, is described by investigators as the group's leader.
He is being tried on charges including torture or acts of barbarity against minors, organised extortion and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
The case was triggered in November 2020 by a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The US child protection organisation discovered online images of a 12-year-old girl with her chest exposed while another user encouraged her to carve the name "Rohan" into her body.
Five American women, aged 18 to 21, have joined the case as civil parties and were expected to testify by video link this week.
According to a court document released by the US Department of Justice, the internet-based group dubbed CVLT espoused "neo-Nazism, nihilism, and paedophilia as its core principles."

Closed-door trial

The Paris criminal court on Monday ordered the trial be held behind closed doors. 
The decision was made despite a request for an open trial by Hippolyte Marquetty, a lawyer for the five American victims, and followed a request from US authorities. 
According to the ruling read out by the presiding judge, the group allegedly led by Rane, which was particularly active in the United States, had already sought to intimidate victims and witnesses and had threatened US prosecutors.
The court also cited the risk of offending public morality, noting that videos showing the torture and humiliation of victims, often under the age of 15, were expected to be screened during proceedings scheduled to run until Friday.
Backed by child protection groups, Marquetty unsuccessfully opposed the closed-door proceedings, arguing that it was "paradoxical" for a defendant accused of isolating his victims to be tried behind closed doors.
He said his clients believed it was important to raise awareness of the dangers teenage girls face on social media.
Noting what he described as "absolutely exemplary cooperation with the United States", the prosecutor had recommended granting the request for closed-door proceedings so as not to jeopardise that cooperation.
Rane declined to comment on the request for a closed-door trial.
ng-as/ekf/cw

climate

Intense heat puts births in jeopardy, UN tells Fiji talks

BY BEN STRANG

  • "Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is increasingly linked to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications," he said.
  • Extreme heat is increasingly linked to problems such as premature births or underweight babies, the UN climate chief warned on Monday as Fiji hosted talks ahead of a major summit.
  • "Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is increasingly linked to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications," he said.
Extreme heat is increasingly linked to problems such as premature births or underweight babies, the UN climate chief warned on Monday as Fiji hosted talks ahead of a major summit.
This week's meetings in the city of Nadi and on the atoll nation of Tuvalu are aimed at drawing the world's attention to life on the frontline of climate change in the Pacific.
They are a precursor to the larger UN-sponsored global climate summit -- known as COP31 -- to be held in Turkey next month.
Highlighting the need for urgent action, United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell cited a new survey showing more than two-thirds of health professionals across five continents had seen complications caused by intense heat in the past five years.
"Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is increasingly linked to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications," he said.
The Plan International charity said in a separate report on Monday that climate disasters were also increasing the risk of child marriage and teen pregnancies, in part through their impact on the health and education services on which girls depend.
The South Pacific is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to global warming -- from rising sea waters jeopardising homes to increasing temperatures causing coral bleaching.
Fiji's climate minister Lynda Tabuya called for commitments from developing nations to a "just transition", with support for "countries in the world that suffer the most".
A UN report released in August found developing countries needed $310 billion-$365 billion to adapt, yet had only $26 billion in adaptation finance available in 2023.
"We rely on and we appeal to countries to commit to climate finance," Tabuya said.
Australia -- the head of this year's climate negotiations and a major coal exporter -- faces accusations of hypocrisy. Its sales of the fossil fuel have boomed on the back of demand caused by the Middle East conflict.
Tabuya told journalists there had been "frank discussion" on Monday with Australian counterpart Chris Bowen and Pacific officials.
"Yes, we have sentiments expressed from certain countries," she said, when asked if she backed calls from other Pacific leaders for Australia to halt expansion of coal and gas projects.
"But for the Pacific, it's important at this pre-COP that we find common ground. There will be things that we disagree on, but we can agree to disagree," Tabuya said.
 

Focus on 1.5 degrees

 
Also high on the agenda is a push by Pacific leaders for the world to stick to a target of limiting global warming to 1.5C and give more attention to the impact on oceans.
"Keeping 1.5 alive means hope -- hope for Tuvalu, hope for Kiribati, hope for small island atolls around the world," Bowen told journalists.
"We can actually come to this conversation and say, 'as a fossil-fuel exporting nation, we can bring something different to the table'," he said.
Sea levels are also rising at a record pace, driven by warming oceans and glacier melt, according to the August UN report.
Up to 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050, with Pacific island countries experiencing sea level rise at twice the global average, it said.
Regional leaders have pitched the pre-COP as a chance to bring the world to the Pacific and they are keen to show the impact climate change is having on the region.
 

'Don't forget'

 
In Naidiri Village, a marine protected area an hour's drive south of Nadi, locals described efforts to combat coral bleaching and improve ocean health.
"Countries that don't cause climate change are being affected," Joseva Kunagado, 21, told AFP.
Manoa Duwai, who set up Naidiri Village's marine protected area more than a decade ago after realising the damage wrought by overfishing, said they were experiencing climate change "every day".
"The sea level is rising, and a heat wave earlier this year," he said.
"A message to the developed countries: do remember, don't forget."
Delegates will also take a one-day trip on Tuesday to low-lying Tuvalu, which is already laying plans to relocate its population if it is consumed by the ocean.
Bowen confirmed on Monday that 14 leaders -- the majority from the Pacific -- would make the trip.
Tuvalu is one of the world's least visited countries and the highest point in its capital, Funafuti, is just two metres (6.6 feet) above sea level.
bes-oho/jm/lga/pbt

housing

Spain PM calls early election after housing crisis defeat

BY DANIEL SILVA

  • His party has repeatedly called for an early election.
  • Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government.
  • His party has repeatedly called for an early election.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government.
The defeat on Friday was just the latest political setback for the Socialist premier, one of the few European prime ministers from the left still in power.
"To do more, we need to renew and broaden the support of the people," Sanchez, in office since 2018, said in a televised address, adding his aim was "to secure a much broader, progressive majority in parliament".
The next general election was due by August 2027.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other cities in Spain on Saturday to demand affordable housing.
The government's proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties in Spain's parliament.
The defeat infuriated those protesting the country's increasingly expensive housing market and underscored the difficulties his minority coalition government faces in passing legislation.
Spain has been operating under its 2023 budget, the last national spending plan passed by Sanchez's government, for several years.
The demonstrations extended a crisis that has gone on for more than a week, triggered by the eviction last month of  87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid flat where she had lived for decades.
Hundreds of protesters have been occupying a tent city for more than a week in the heart of Madrid to press for reforms.
Recent opinion polls have generally placed the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) ahead of the Socialists.

Soaring prices

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 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 were hastily drawn up and would make the housing crisis worse.
 

Mixed record

Sanchez defended his government's record in his address, pointing out that under his leadership Spain's economy has grown faster than those of its main European peers, while unemployment has fallen.
But after eight years in power, Sanchez is also under pressure over corruption scandals involving people close to him, including his wife and top figures in his Socialist Party.
Sanchez -- one of Europe's chief critics of US President Donald Trump -- has also faced widespread criticism over his handling of the crisis in the North African territory of Ceuta, where thousands of migrants from Morocco entered in late July.
The situation at Europe's land border with Africa has gradually deteriorated, with many migrants still sleeping in makeshift camps.
Many ordinary Spaniards are not feeling the benefits of the country's strong economic growth, with inflation outpacing wage growth and rent taking up an increasing share of household incomes.
"If eight years have not been enough, why would four more be?" PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said, welcoming the fact that Spaniards would "finally" get the chance to have their say.
His party has repeatedly called for an early election.
While polls put the PP ahead, they suggest the party would fall short of an absolute majority in parliament and would need the support of far-right Vox to govern.
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espionage

US arrests woman accused of spying for China on Taiwan leader's family

  • Wanying Zhang, 34, is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China and spying on a "close relative of a Taiwanese government official" in the United States, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday in a post on X. The woman allegedly surveilled Lai's "son and his family -- filming their home, vehicles, and reporting information back to (People's Republic of China) handlers", the FBI said on its rapid response account on X.  Lai's office confirmed Zhang's actions had targeted the president's family and said it was a case of "transnational repression."
  • A woman accused of spying for China on Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's son and his family in the United States was arrested Sunday, US and Taiwanese officials said.
  • Wanying Zhang, 34, is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China and spying on a "close relative of a Taiwanese government official" in the United States, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday in a post on X. The woman allegedly surveilled Lai's "son and his family -- filming their home, vehicles, and reporting information back to (People's Republic of China) handlers", the FBI said on its rapid response account on X.  Lai's office confirmed Zhang's actions had targeted the president's family and said it was a case of "transnational repression."
A woman accused of spying for China on Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's son and his family in the United States was arrested Sunday, US and Taiwanese officials said.
Wanying Zhang, 34, is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China and spying on a "close relative of a Taiwanese government official" in the United States, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday in a post on X.
The woman allegedly surveilled Lai's "son and his family -- filming their home, vehicles, and reporting information back to (People's Republic of China) handlers", the FBI said on its rapid response account on X. 
Lai's office confirmed Zhang's actions had targeted the president's family and said it was a case of "transnational repression."
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex the island.
Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, acting at the direction of Chinese officials, sent "photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials", Essayli said.
She was detained by the FBI at Los Angeles International Airport "attempting to depart for China" on Sunday, he said.
FBI Director Kash Patel cheered the arrest in an X post, warning foreign adversaries that "America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations."
"Allegedly surveil a foreign leader's family on US soil for the PRC -- and try to catch a flight back to Shanghai? Not happening," Patel said.
Lai, who was elected president in January 2024, has been an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and is detested by Chinese leaders.
Lai's office condemned the "barbaric acts," confirming they had targeted the president's family.
"Such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world," Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking US judicial authorities for "their assistance and protection of our citizens." 
- 'Tradecraft' - 
Zhang, who resides in Irvine, California, "coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection," Essayli said.
She allegedly flew to Seattle on September 1, 2025, rented a black Nissan and drove to Lai's son's home, according to a court document seen by AFP.
Images from a neighbor's security camera included in the complaint allegedly show Zhang and her associate "appearing to film" the family as they arrived home one evening, CBS News said.
Zhang is expected to make her initial appearance in federal court on Monday.
Taiwan's government has warned Taiwanese people of growing risks to their safety in China and elsewhere after Beijing's ethnic unity law took effect in July.
The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress aims to forge a "shared" national identity among ethnic groups.
But overseas campaigners have argued it will further degrade the rights of ethnic minorities, like Uyghurs and Tibetans, that Beijing is accused of persecuting.
They also point to a clause stating that people can be held liable for violating the law even when outside China, saying it gives the Chinese government more justification for targeting its opponents abroad.
Zhang's arrest comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington, during which Xi told US President Donald Trump to show "prudence" over Taiwan and urged the US to oppose the island's independence.
The US paused a $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan in May, with Trump calling it a "very good negotiating chip" in dealings with China, which raised fears that Taiwan's security could be traded away.
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