Global Edition

Djibouti leader claims sixth straight term

Global Edition

Djibouti leader claims sixth straight term

BY DYLAN GAMBA

  • "I'm going to vote for Ismail Omar Guelleh because he has a good programme for young people.
  • Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Saturday claimed victory in an election that secured a sixth straight term in the strategically placed Horn of Africa nation.
  • "I'm going to vote for Ismail Omar Guelleh because he has a good programme for young people.
Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Saturday claimed victory in an election that secured a sixth straight term in the strategically placed Horn of Africa nation.
"Re-elected", the 78-year-old declared in a social media post as early results gave him a huge lead over his little-known opponent in Friday's election.
Guelleh has ruled the tiny nation of one million people for 27 years with an iron grip. He has made his name leveraging Djibouti's key location to turn it into an international military and maritime hub.
Its 23,000 square kilometres (8,900 square miles) hosts military bases and contingents from France, the United States, China, Japan and Italy, generating substantial financial, security and political benefits.
With about six percent of votes counted, an AFP tally of results announced by the election commission gave Guelleh more than 96 percent of the vote, putting him well on course to extend his term.
Mohamed Farah Samatar, leader of the Unified Democratic Centre (CDU), a party with no seats in parliament, had about 3.5 percent.
Guelleh won the last election in 2021, boycotted by most of the opposition, with more than 97 percent of the vote. He had announced he would step down this year but a constitutional amendment in November removed the upper age limit of 75 for presidential candidates.
Some polling stations stayed open an hour later because of delays opening at the start of the day. But few people in Djibouti doubted who would win.
Amid heavy security, Guelleh, widely known by his initials IOG, voted before noon at City Hall alongside his wife, while Samatar cast his ballot earlier.
"By the grace of God, we have arrived here, and we hope that this will end in victory," Guelleh told reporters.
Guelleh has plastered the capital with campaign posters and drew thousands to his rallies, while Samatar has struggled to gain support.
The national broadcaster aired one of Samatar's events, with only a few dozen people present.
"I'm going to vote for Ismail Omar Guelleh because he has a good programme for young people. I don't even know what his opponent looks like," Deka Aden Mohamed, 38, told AFP.

Unemployment and debt

Guelleh has faced little opposition since succeeding the country's first president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He had been Aptidon's chief of staff.
In 2005, Guelleh was re-elected unopposed.
His candidacy is seen by some as offering "stability" in the troubled Horn of Africa region, but analysts say it is driven by the absence of a unanimously accepted successor. 
The health of the president has come under scrutiny.
Despite claims by the Djibouti League of Human Rights that the vote is a "masquerade", people told AFP they were eager to vote.
"It's a duty to go vote," said Yussuf Mohamed Hussein. "I'm going to vote for the president; Samatar, I don't even know him."
Around 70 percent of young Djiboutians are unemployed and the country's development has come at the cost of substantial debt, particularly to China.
Djibouti is situated on the key Bab al-Mandeb strait, which divides the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and is one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
Without agriculture to rely on, the country depends on ports for 70 percent of its gross domestic product, with Ethiopia its main maritime outlet.
The nation is accused by human rights organisations of repressing dissent, while Guelleh faces claims of favouring his own majority Issa ethnic group at the expense of the Afar minority.
dyg/ayv/rh/tw/mlm

Orban

Trump vows to boost Hungary economy if Orban wins vote

  • "Hungary: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBAN...
  • US President Donald Trump made a late intervention in Hungary's bitter election campaign on Friday, as nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban battles for votes against a pro-European opponent leading him in polls.
  • "Hungary: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBAN...
US President Donald Trump made a late intervention in Hungary's bitter election campaign on Friday, as nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban battles for votes against a pro-European opponent leading him in polls.
Trump vowed to bring US "economic might" to Hungary if Orban's party secures a victory over his arch-rival Peter Magyar in Sunday's election.
The comments added late drama to the campaign finale that saw Orban and Magyar trade accusations of dirty dealing. 
Orban, who has run Hungary for 16 years and is close to Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, faces an unprecedented challenge with opinion polls putting Magyar's conservative Tisza party well ahead.
"We are excited to invest in the future prosperity that will be generated by Orban's continued leadership," Trump said on social media.
Trump's administration has embraced the promotion of hard-right forces in Europe -- casting migration and "woke" values as a "civilisational" threat to the continent.
Orban has locked horns with the European Union leadership, which accuses him of quashing dissent and eroding the rule of law, and has frozen billions of euros in funding.
"Our opponents will stop at nothing to seize power," Orban said in a social media video, accusing the opposition of "colluding" with foreign intelligence and threatening his supporters with violence.
"This is an organised attempt to use chaos, pressure, and international vilification to call into question the decision of the Hungarian people," he said.
Magyar fired back with accusations of his own.
"The series of ongoing election fraud carried out for months by the ruling party, Fidesz, along with criminal acts, intelligence operations, disinformation and fake news cannot change the fact that Tisza is going to win this election," he said in a Facebook post.

'Orban will be removed'

"Viktor Orban will be removed by the very same people... he has abandoned and betrayed: millions of Hungariaalm and dignity".
Orban's government has repeatedly made accusations of foreign interference.
Magyar has in turn alleged the same, as US Vice President JD Vance visited the country this week to underline Washington's support of Orban.
The two rivals have also stepped up their campaign appearances, drawing big crowds to rallies.
"We came out here because we have faith in Peter Magyar, and we've had enough of the old system," Attila Jozsa told AFP at the opposition leader's rally before 20,000 people in Gyor, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Budapest, on Thursday.
Around 2,000 Orban supporters gathered in Hungary's second largest city Debrecen, as the nationalist leader appealed to them to "not put everything at risk" and to "protect what we have achieved".
Trump had already hailed Orban as a "truly strong and powerful leader".
"Hungary: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBAN... I AM WITH HIM ALL THE WAY!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
During Orban's tenure, his ruling coalition has used its two-thirds majority in parliament to overhaul the central European country's electoral system and leverage state resources to campaign, while his business allies radically changed the media environment.
burs/ach/tw

space

Artemis astronauts hours away from high-stakes re-entry

BY MOISéS ÁVILA AND MAGGY DONALDSON IN NEW YORK

  • - Vital heat shield - The stakes are particularly high given concerns that arose during Artemis I, a 2022 uncrewed test flight to the Moon and back that saw the Orion heat shield erode in unexpected ways.
  • The Artemis II astronauts were preparing Friday for a high-stakes re-entry and splashdown, the final and perhaps most risky step of their historic 10-day journey around the Moon.
  • - Vital heat shield - The stakes are particularly high given concerns that arose during Artemis I, a 2022 uncrewed test flight to the Moon and back that saw the Orion heat shield erode in unexpected ways.
The Artemis II astronauts were preparing Friday for a high-stakes re-entry and splashdown, the final and perhaps most risky step of their historic 10-day journey around the Moon.
Earlier this week, Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen voyaged further from Earth than any human before in a mission considered a key stepping stone towards eventual crewed lunar landings.
They are scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 pm local time (0007 GMT), after which NASA and the military will help them get out of the capsule and fly them to a recovery ship.
The astronauts awoke Friday to the tunes of Live's "Run to the Water" and "Free" by Zac Brown Band, NASA said.
Their journey has been rich in milestones and already resulted in stunning photographs that have captivated the imaginations of people on Earth.
But until the astronauts are home safe, it's too early to talk about success, NASA's Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya told a briefing Thursday.
"When we can start celebrating is when we have a crew safely in the medbay of the ship," the high-ranking official said. "That's really when we can allow the emotions to take over, and, you know, start talking about success."
"We need to have the crew home before we do that."

Vital heat shield

The stakes are particularly high given concerns that arose during Artemis I, a 2022 uncrewed test flight to the Moon and back that saw the Orion heat shield erode in unexpected ways.
The heat shield is vital: During their re-entry, the spacecraft will reach maximum speeds approaching 35 times the speed of sound, and face searing temperatures around half as hot as the surface of the Sun.
The heat shield is meant to slowly erode -- "ablate," as NASA puts it -- to protect the capsule, a process that during Artemis I was disrupted.
Even NASA concedes the crucial shield remains flawed. But they determined that had astronauts been on board during Artemis I, they would have survived.
To minimize risks this time around, NASA has shifted the re-entry path they had used in that uncrewed test mission, after determining it had played a role in the complications.
The astronauts therefore will come back at a steeper and thus shorter trajectory, which NASA officials in discussion with the astronauts concluded they were comfortable with.
"We have high confidence in the system and the heat shield and the parachutes and the recovery systems we put together," Kshatriya said. "The engineering supports it, the Artemis I flight data supports it. All of our ground test supports it. Our analysis supports it."
"The crew is going to put their lives behind that confidence."
Still, the heat shield situation has drawn uneasy comparisons to the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003 respectively, when astronauts died after warning signs were set aside.
Asked later about stress levels on the ground, NASA's associate administrator said "it's impossible to say you don't have any irrational fears left."
"But I would tell you, I don't have any rational fears about what's going to happen."

Joy and anxiety

NASA said loved ones of the astronauts will be watching the return from Houston's mission control.
Catherine Hansen, the wife of astronaut Jeremy, told AFP that "it has been a very emotional week."
"There's been a lot of happiness and excitement, a lot of joy," she said, but also "some anxiety and some wanting to get him home safely."
The second phase of the Artemis program was a test mission to verify the reliability of the Orion capsule, which before now had not carried humans.
It was also a voyage marked by historic achievements: Glover was the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Koch was the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.
The crew have reported in vivid detail features of the lunar surface and later witnessed a solar eclipse as well as meteorite impacts.
Mission commander Wiseman reflected that "what we really hoped in our soul is that we could, for just a moment, have the world pause -- and remember that this is a beautiful planet in a very special place in our universe."
"We should all cherish what we have been gifted."
mdo/md

US

Iranian delegation in Pakistan for talks with US, Vance on his way

BY AFP TEAMS IN ISLAMABAD, TEHRAN, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT AND WASHINGTON

  • Iranian state television said the delegation was led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and reiterated Iran's position that talks would only begin if Washington accepts its preconditions -- a Lebanon ceasefire and the unfreezing of Iran's assets.
  • Iran's delegation arrived in Pakistan on Friday for ceasefire negotiations with the United States as Tehran insisted on a truce in Lebanon and release of its blocked assets for the talks to go ahead.
  • Iranian state television said the delegation was led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and reiterated Iran's position that talks would only begin if Washington accepts its preconditions -- a Lebanon ceasefire and the unfreezing of Iran's assets.
Iran's delegation arrived in Pakistan on Friday for ceasefire negotiations with the United States as Tehran insisted on a truce in Lebanon and release of its blocked assets for the talks to go ahead.
US Vice President JD Vance warned Iran meanwhile not to try to "play" Washington as he headed to Islamabad to represent the United States.
Despite the temporary truce struck between the foes, deep disagreements remain as to the way forward in talks aimed at transforming the fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace deal.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said making progress would be hard work.
"A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations," he said. "This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of 'make or break.'"
Iranian state television said the delegation was led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and reiterated Iran's position that talks would only begin if Washington accepts its preconditions -- a Lebanon ceasefire and the unfreezing of Iran's assets.
Israel continued to carry out air strikes in Lebanon on Friday and Lebanon's State Security agency said an attack on the southern city of Nabatiyeh had killed 13 of its personnel.
Lebanon's health ministry meanwhile raised the provisional death toll from massive Israeli strikes across the country on Wednesday to 357 dead and 1,223 wounded.
Lebanon's presidency said a meeting would be held with Israel in Washington next week to discuss a ceasefire in the Israeli war against Iran-backed Hezbollah and the potential start of negotiations between the neighbours.

'Open hand'

Vance, speaking to reporters before taking off for Islamabad, said "if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand."
But "if they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive," he said.
Official sources say the talks in Islamabad will cover several sensitive points, including Iran's nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the crucial oil conduit, the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the ceasefire took effect, President Donald Trump has voiced displeasure at Iran's handling of the strait, which was meant to be reopened, while Tehran has reacted angrily to the continuing Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Trump posted on his Truth Social network on Friday that Iran has "no cards" in the talks "other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways."
In Islamabad, all routes leading to the Serena Hotel, the expected venue for the talks, were blocked off with heavy security, while a large banner and digital signs along the expressway heralded the "Islamabad Talks."

'Pure noise'

One 30-year-old resident of Tehran told AFP he was skeptical negotiations would be successful, describing most of what Trump says as "pure noise and nonsense."
"He wants to manipulate the Islamic republic into getting a deal. I think that was his intention, if you can say there is an intention."
A fifth of the world's oil and vast quantities of natural gas and fertilizer pass through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime, but only a small number of vessels have crossed since the truce was announced earlier this week.
The two-week ceasefire was agreed to allow time for negotiations aimed at ending a conflict that has already killed thousands and plunged the global economy into turmoil.
"I am scared of the war starting again, and at the same time I'm scared of the regime staying," Tehran resident Sheida told AFP, withholding her last name out of concern for her safety.
As Israel continued to carry out air strikes in Lebanon, the Israeli military said Hezbollah had fired around 30 projectiles from Lebanon into its territory on Friday.
Hezbollah said it had targeted Israel's Ashdod naval base with missiles "in response to the enemy's violation of the ceasefire and its repeated attacks on Beirut."
Trump told NBC News on Thursday that Israel was "scaling back" strikes in Lebanon and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured him its attacks would become more "low-key."
A Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity that there was ongoing "pressure from European states, Gulf states and Egypt on Israel to prevent renewed Israeli airstrikes on Beirut after 'Black Wednesday.'"
burs/cl/md

US

Lebanon says Israel talks set for Tuesday in US

  • "During the call, it was agreed to hold the first meeting next Tuesday at the State Department to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices," the presidency statement said.
  • Lebanon's presidency said Friday that a meeting would be held with Israel in Washington next week to discuss a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and the start of negotiations between the neighbours.
  • "During the call, it was agreed to hold the first meeting next Tuesday at the State Department to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices," the presidency statement said.
Lebanon's presidency said Friday that a meeting would be held with Israel in Washington next week to discuss a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and the start of negotiations between the neighbours.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly expressed readiness for direct talks with Israel since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran, sparking massive Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.
After a ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran this week, Washington and Tehran have been at odds over whether it also applies to Lebanon, as Israel has kept up heavy strikes on the country and Hezbollah has responded with its own attacks.
A statement from Aoun's office said that a first telephone call was held on Friday between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington and the US ambassador to Lebanon, who was also in the American city.
"During the call, it was agreed to hold the first meeting next Tuesday at the State Department to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices," the presidency statement said.
A Lebanese government official told AFP on Thursday that Lebanon wants a ceasefire before starting any negotiations with Israel.
But Israel said Friday it will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Meeting with his Lebanese counterpart to set up the talks, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter "refused to discuss a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terrorist organization," he said in a statement afterward.

Security forces killed

Earlier Friday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged the Lebanese government to stop giving "free concessions" to Israel and vowed that "the resistance will continue until the last breath".
Hezbollah has rejected direct talks between the two countries, instead calling for Israel's army to withdraw from Lebanon.
Late Friday near Beirut's seaside promenade, an AFP photographer saw dozens of people, some riding mopeds or brandishing Hezbollah or Iranian flags, protesting against the authorities and negotiations with Israel, after a similar gatherings elsewhere in the capital earlier in the evening.
Lebanese authorities say the weeks of hostilities have killed more than 1,950 people, while the provisional toll of massive Israeli strikes across the country on Wednesday alone has risen to 357 dead.
Israel's military said it "eliminated more than 180 militants" from Hezbollah in Wednesday's strikes, which came hours after the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, adding that "the count is still ongoing".
It also said it had "dismantled" more than 4,300 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon and killed "more than 1,400" Hezbollah fighters since the war erupted.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on south Lebanon on Friday, saying that "enemy warplanes launched a series of heavy strikes" on Nabatiyeh, hitting a State Security office near the government headquarters in the city.
An AFP photographer saw extensive damage and a fire still raging at the site, where State Security said 13 of its personnel were killed.

Beirut threat

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the "painful loss only strengthens our determination to achieve a ceasefire", while Aoun urged the international community to "assume its responsibilities in putting an end to the repeated Israeli aggressions".
Hezbollah also claimed dozens of attacks on Israeli targets, including cross-border rocket barrages in retaliation for the Nabatiyeh strikes, and a missile attack on a naval base in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, far from the border.
On Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military issued a warning of incoming strikes for large, densely populated areas of southern Beirut home to major hospitals and the road to the airport, so far without carrying out the threat.
A Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that "there is ongoing diplomatic pressure... to prevent renewed Israeli airstrikes on Beirut after 'Black Wednesday'".
Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny has said he had "received assurances" from foreign diplomats that the airport and the road there would be spared.
Mohammad Zaatari, director of the country's largest public medical facility, Rafic Hariri Hospital, told AFP: "We have received assurances, including from the International Committee of the Red Cross that the hospital would not be targeted." 
at-lk-ris-lg/ach 

inflation

US inflation surges to 3.3% as Iran war impact bites

BY MYRIAM LEMETAYER

  • But experts predicted more economic pain ahead due to the war in Iran, especially for middle and lower-income households already squeezed by rising energy and airfare prices.
  • Inflation in the United States rose sharply in March, government data showed Friday, as higher energy prices due to the war in the Middle East hit Americans hard.
  • But experts predicted more economic pain ahead due to the war in Iran, especially for middle and lower-income households already squeezed by rising energy and airfare prices.
Inflation in the United States rose sharply in March, government data showed Friday, as higher energy prices due to the war in the Middle East hit Americans hard.
The nationwide sticker shock put pressure on President Donald Trump, who has ordered peace talks with Iran and faces mid-term elections in November.
The rate of inflation rose to 3.3 percent year-on-year in March, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). By comparison, this same consumer price index (CPI) was 2.4 percent year-on-year a month earlier.
Gasoline prices surged by 21.2 percent between February and March -- the largest monthly increase since the government began publishing a related index in 1967, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.
Markets had anticipated the surge, according to the consensus published by MarketWatch.
The United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 and Tehran retaliated by blocking traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway used to carry a fifth of the world's oil and gas deliveries.
Despite being the world's top producer of crude oil, the United States also felt the pain, as prices at the gas pump shot up. 
A gallon (3.78 liters) of regular gasoline currently costs an average of $4.15 in the United States, compared to approximately $3 just before the war.
The Trump administration -- elected in part on a promise to quash inflation -- maintains that the war's economic disruptions will be temporary.

More price pain ahead

Reacting to the data, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the US economy "remains on a solid trajectory." 
Economic advisor Kevin Hassett claimed some wins for the White House, citing drops in the price of eggs, beef and concert tickets on Fox News.
US Vice President JD Vance said he hoped for a "positive" outcome as he departed Washington for US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan this weekend.
But experts predicted more economic pain ahead due to the war in Iran, especially for middle and lower-income households already squeezed by rising energy and airfare prices.
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said that inflation soared in March to the highest level in almost two years.
"This is only the beginning. Food prices, travel and shipping costs are all going up in April and will exacerbate the pain," she said.
"March CPI was as expected, so no surprises. But there is a huge increase in fuel prices, boosting inflation," Christopher Low of FHN Financial told AFP.
"And we got the news last night that the ceasefire is not being honored by either side, apparently," he said. "There's still very little traffic through the Strait of Hormuz."
Some economists calculate the oil price surge will cost each US household at least $350 per household.
Consumer sentiment also dipped sharply -- 11 percent -- this month, according to a University of Michigan survey.
During the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting in mid-March, Chairman Jerome Powell said that the war risked delaying efforts to bring inflation under control in the United States. 
The US central bank's target for inflation is two percent -- an objective it has not met in five years due to the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and tariffs.
myl-ksb/bgs

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Iran demands Lebanon ceasefire - Iran's parliament speaker demanded a truce in Lebanon and the release of his country's blocked assets on Friday as US Vice President JD Vance warned Tehran not to "play" Washington in talks scheduled to start in Pakistan.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Lebanon-Israel talks - Lebanon's presidency said Friday a meeting will be held at the US State Department on Tuesday "to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices," according to a statement.
  • - Iran demands Lebanon ceasefire - Iran's parliament speaker demanded a truce in Lebanon and the release of his country's blocked assets on Friday as US Vice President JD Vance warned Tehran not to "play" Washington in talks scheduled to start in Pakistan.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Lebanon-Israel talks

Lebanon's presidency said Friday a meeting will be held at the US State Department on Tuesday "to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices," according to a statement.
The statement said the date was agreed to during a first telephone call on Friday evening between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, and the US ambassador to Lebanon.

Iran arrives for talks

Iran's delegation of top officials, led by Iranian Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived in Islamabad for ceasefire talks with the United States, Iranian state television reported Friday.
Official sources say the Islamabad talks will cover sensitive points, including Iran's nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran demands Lebanon ceasefire

Iran's parliament speaker demanded a truce in Lebanon and the release of his country's blocked assets on Friday as US Vice President JD Vance warned Tehran not to "play" Washington in talks scheduled to start in Pakistan.
"We're going to try to have a positive negotiation," Vance told reporters as he left for Pakistan where he is expected to arrive Saturday.

Lebanon toll mounts

Lebanon's health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes across the country on Wednesday had risen from 303 to 357, with 1,223 people wounded.
It said the figure was not final and raised the overall toll in Lebanon since war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2 to 1,953 dead and 6,303 wounded.
Lebanon's State Security agency said that one Israeli strike in the southern city of Nabatiyeh had killed 13 of its personnel. Israel said it had killed 180 Hezbollah militants in Wednesday's strikes, while the Lebanese health ministry said that day's attacks alone killed 357 and wounded 1,223 more, noting the count was still provisional as rubble is still being removed.

Trump warning

President Donald Trump said that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States, apart from its effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.
In a separate interview with the New York Post, Trump said US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if the talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal.
"We have a reset going. We're loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made -- even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart," the Post quoted Trump as saying.

Thousands at Al-Aqsa Mosque prayers

More than 100,000 people attended the first Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem since it reopened after a truce agreed between the United States and Iran, the holy site's Islamic authority reported.

Hezbollah fires on Israel

The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired around 30 projectiles into Israel, reporting that some strikes caused damage. Air-raid sirens were heard across northern Israel.
The Israeli military also said it had "dismantled" more than 4,300 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon since fighting with the militant group began on March 2.

Hezbollah warns Beirut govt

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged the Lebanese government to stop giving "free concessions" to Israel ahead of negotiations between the two governments due to begin in Washington next week.
"We will not accept a return to the previous situation, and we call on officials to stop offering free concessions," Qassem said in a written message broadcast on the party's Al-Manar TV, in which he also denounced Israeli strikes that killed more than 300 people in Lebanon on Wednesday as "bloody criminality".

Lebanon in food crisis

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the entire food system in Lebanon was reeling from conflict, with prices surging and supply chains disrupted as Israel continues its offensive.
"What we're witnessing is not just a displacement crisis: it is rapidly becoming a food security crisis," said Allison Oman, the WFP's country director in Lebanon.

Israel urged to stop Beirut attacks

European and Arab states have pressured Israel to stop targeting Beirut, a Western diplomat told AFP.
The diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss sensitive matters, said there was "ongoing diplomatic pressure from European states, Gulf states and Egypt on Israel to prevent renewed Israeli airstrikes on Beirut" following Wednesday's attack.
burs-tw/giv/sla/md

charity

African charity sues Prince Harry for defamation

BY HELEN ROWE

  • "As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims," a spokesperson for the pair said in a statement.
  • An African AIDS charity co-founded by Britain's Prince Harry said on Friday it had launched legal proceedings against him for "reputational harm", as the royal "categorically" rejected the  defamation claims.
  • "As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims," a spokesperson for the pair said in a statement.
An African AIDS charity co-founded by Britain's Prince Harry said on Friday it had launched legal proceedings against him for "reputational harm", as the royal "categorically" rejected the  defamation claims.
Harry helped found the Sentebale charity in 2006 in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana. But he quit the institution last year amid a bitter governance dispute with its chairperson. 
King Charles III’s younger son and Mark Dyer, who was also previously a Sentebale trustee, are both named as defendants in the case at London's High Court, according to court filings.
"As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims," a spokesperson for the pair said in a statement.
"It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organisation for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve," the statement added.
Sentebale said earlier in a statement sent to AFP it had commenced legal proceedings in the High Court "following a coordinated adverse media campaign... that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership and its strategic partners".
The case was filed by Sentebale on March 24, according to the court filings.
The case type is described as "Media and Communication -- Part 7 Claim -- Defamation -- libel and slander".
"The proceedings have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, identified through evidence as the architects of that adverse media campaign, which has had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership," Sentebale added in its statement.
In August 2025, the UK's Charity Commission pointed to "mismanagement" at the charity.
But it found no evidence of "bullying" -- a charge that had been levelled at Harry by the organisation's chairperson, Sophie Chandauka, in March 2025.
The charity was launched to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and later Botswana.
Harry and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho announced last year they were resigning from the charity, after the trustees quit.
The trustees walked out when Chandauka refused their demand to step down.

Bitter dispute

After an inquiry, the Charity Commission said it had "found no evidence of widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir (prejudice against black women) at the charity".
But it "criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly", saying the "damaging internal dispute" had "severely impacted the charity's reputation".
It found there was "a lack of clarity in delegations" which led to "mismanagement in the administration of the charity" and issued the organisation with a plan to "address governance weaknesses".
Speaking to British media after accusing the prince of trying to force her out, Chandauka criticised Harry for his decision to bring a Netflix camera crew to a fundraiser in 2024. 
She also objected to an unplanned appearance by his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the event.
The accusations were a fresh blow for the prince, who kept only a handful of his private patronages, including with Sentebale, after splitting with the British royal family in 2020. 
He left Britain to live in North America with his wife and children.
Harry chose the name Sentebale as a tribute to Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the prince was just 12. 
It means "forget me not" in the Sesotho language and is also used to say goodbye.
har/ach 

election

Venezuelan opposition demands elections after Maduro ouster

BY MARGIONI BERMÚDEZ

  • In a statement, the Vente party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that with Maduro absent from the country since his capture by US forces in a January 3 raid, "presidential elections must be called within 30 days of this declaration."
  • Venezuela's opposition on Friday called for presidential elections, noting that the 90-day legal period for organizing a vote on replacing ousted leader Nicolas Maduro had elapsed.
  • In a statement, the Vente party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that with Maduro absent from the country since his capture by US forces in a January 3 raid, "presidential elections must be called within 30 days of this declaration."
Venezuela's opposition on Friday called for presidential elections, noting that the 90-day legal period for organizing a vote on replacing ousted leader Nicolas Maduro had elapsed.
In a statement, the Vente party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that with Maduro absent from the country since his capture by US forces in a January 3 raid, "presidential elections must be called within 30 days of this declaration."
Maduro's former vice president Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president on January 5, two days after longtime socialist leader Maduro was flown out of Venezuela by US forces to face trial in New York.
He has appeared in court twice since then to answer drug trafficking charges.
The Venezuelan constitution says that "temporary absences of the president of the republic shall be filled by the executive vice president for up to 90 days, extendable by decision of the National Assembly for an additional 90 days."
"If a temporary absence lasts for more than 90 consecutive days, the National Assembly shall decide by a majority vote of its members whether it should be considered a permanent absence," says Article 234 of the constitution, which was cited by Vente.
Vente said the "entire country and the democratic international community know and can attest to" Maduro's complete absence from power.
The move comes a day after protesters calling for wage increases clashed with police in the center of Caracas, in a sign that the fear that gripped Venezuelan society under Maduro had begun to subside.
By Friday, 97 days had passed since Venezuela's authoritarian leader of 12 years was nabbed by US special forces at a military compound in Caracas, together with his wife Cilia Flores.
Caracas says that around 100 people were killed in the pre-dawn bombing raid that preceded his capture and the firefight between US forces and Maduro's security detail.
Venezuela's parliament, which has a pro-government majority, has not yet discussed calling new elections.
So far, its focus has been on rolling back state control over the economy to pave the way for more foreign investment in the critical oil and mining sectors.
The reforms are a key demand of the United States, which has been content to let Maduro's former inner circle retain power as long as it unlocks access to oil and eases state repression.

Stability first

President Donald Trump has voiced satisfaction with Rodriguez -- he has called her "terrific" -- and threatened her with a similar fate to Maduro if she does not do his bidding.
Speaking in late February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela "will need the legitimacy of democratic -- fair, democratic -- elections" but said Washington's initial priority after Maduro's capture had been to ensure stability.
Rodriguez told NBC News in mid-February that she was committed to holding free and fair elections, but the timing would be decided as part of a "political dialogue."
Maduro is accused of stealing the last presidential elections in July 2024.
The opposition's tally of votes at that time showed Machado's candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, winning by a wide margin.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Maduro the winner without providing a detailed vote breakdown, triggering mass protests that were harshly suppressed.
Opposition parties have called for a change in the leadership of the CNE, which is accused of doing the bidding of the ruling "chavismo" movement founded by late socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who was president from 1999 to 2013.
mbj-bc/cb/mjf/md

music

Celine Dion's Paris concerts promise to spin the money on and on

BY KATELL PRIGENT

  • "Celine Dion's presence in Paris for a month and a half should definitely benefit business on Boulevard Haussmann," he said, referring to the high-end street that is home to Galeries Lafayette's flagship store.
  • Celine Dion's fans are not the only ones excited about the megastar's new tour in Paris.
  • "Celine Dion's presence in Paris for a month and a half should definitely benefit business on Boulevard Haussmann," he said, referring to the high-end street that is home to Galeries Lafayette's flagship store.
Celine Dion's fans are not the only ones excited about the megastar's new tour in Paris. Hotels, restaurants and shops are hoping for a multimillion-euro boost from concertgoers in the French capital.
The 58-year-old Canadian singer announced last month that she was returning to the stage for 16 concerts in the French capital in September and October, after a lengthy break prompted by a rare health condition.
She could prove the latest in a series of stars to bring with them significant economic uplift from music fans, following Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour and as the South Korean mega-group BTS embarks on its tour.
The Eiffel Tower was lit up to honour the return of Dion -- who sings both in French and English -- and with the city covered in billboards and posters, Parisian businesses are hoping the tour will prove a major money spinner.
Dion's tour could bring an additional 300-500 million euros ($351-$585 million) into the city, said Alexandra Dublanche, president of Choose Paris Region, the organisation that promotes the wider Paris area.
This includes ticket sales, hotel and restaurant bookings, retail spending and more, she told AFP, adding that international visitors tend to spend more than domestic travellers.
When Swift held four concerts in Paris in 2024, the city saw an economic boost of around 150-180 million euros, Dublanche said.
Dion has said she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder, and was forced to cancel her last tour dates due to both the Covid pandemic and ill health.
The latest tickets for Dion's shows went on sale on Friday, with an estimated half a million fans to attend the concerts, a third from overseas, according to Dublanche.
Others have put the figure higher. MKG Consulting estimated the potential economic impact at more than one billion euros, including a 180-million-euro boost for the Parisian hotel industry.
MKG analyst Vanguelis Panayotis said the economic benefits could reach 1.2 billion euros if taking into account transportation, and all the associated expenses and logistics of Dion's support team as well as fans.

'Driver of travel'

Swift's Eras tour became the highest-grossing musical tour in history, with ticket revenues estimated at more than $2.0 billion and hundreds of millions of dollars in extra economic activity in cities where she performed.
"Major musical events are a driver of travel," said Vanessa Heydorff, managing director for France at Booking.com.
The hotel reservation site said that searches for Paris around the dates of Dion's concerts increased by 49 percent.
The Adagio chain, which has 10 hotels in the city's La Defense district where the concerts will be held, saw a 400-percent increase in bookings.
"This will be good for Paris because the capital is currently experiencing a drop in hotel occupancy rates" due to the unstable international situation, said Didier Arino, chief executive at the consulting firm Protourisme.
Arthur Lemoine, CEO of the high-end Galeries Lafayette department stores, said they saw a boost in shoppers during Swift's concerts, not only during the days when she was performing in Paris but also around the timing of gigs in the city of Lyon.
"Celine Dion's presence in Paris for a month and a half should definitely benefit business on Boulevard Haussmann," he said, referring to the high-end street that is home to Galeries Lafayette's flagship store.
After South Korea's BTS announced two forthcoming concert dates in Paris, searches for hotels in the French capital soared by 590 percent, according to the Hotels.com website.
"This phenomenon is part of a broader trend called 'gig-tripping', where the concert becomes the starting point but not the sole reason for booking a trip," said Heydorff.
The challenge was to keep the visiting fans within the region in the days before and after the concert, he added.
For Panayotis, at MKG, "Events that draw fans -- whether a singer, an artist or a football team -- are becoming an extremely powerful indicator of tourism spending, something we're seeing everywhere."
"There's a real strategic advantage (for cities) in attracting events of this kind because they generate extremely strong economic benefits," he said.
kap/rox/ah/gil

US

Trump says Iran has 'no cards' beyond Hormuz control

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Iran and the United States said the crucial channel would reopen after a two-week truce was announced on Tuesday, but Tehran's threats mean very few ships are passing through.
  • President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States -- apart from Tehran's effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.
  • Iran and the United States said the crucial channel would reopen after a two-week truce was announced on Tuesday, but Tehran's threats mean very few ships are passing through.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States -- apart from Tehran's effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.
"The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
"The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!" 
In a separate social media message, the 79-year-old US leader added: "The Iranians are better at handling the Fake News Media, and 'Public Relations,' than they are at fighting!"
Control of the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's crude oil passes, will be at the heart of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan on Saturday.
Iran and the United States said the crucial channel would reopen after a two-week truce was announced on Tuesday, but Tehran's threats mean very few ships are passing through.
Trump said on Thursday that Iran was doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil through the waterway, adding: "That is not the agreement we have!"
His "no cards" comments about Iran echoed his notorious broadside at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February when he raged that "you don't have the cards" against Russia.
Separately on Friday, Trump told the New York Post that US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if the talks fail to produce a deal.
"We have a reset going. We're loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made -- even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart," the Post quoted Trump as saying by telephone.
"And if we don’t have a deal, we will be using them, and we will be using them very effectively."
In a brief and cryptic social media message earlier, Trump had spoken of the "WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL RESET!!!"
Vice President JD Vance headed to Islamabad on Friday to lead the US delegation in this weekend's talks with Iran, warning Tehran not to "play" Washington.
"We're going to try to have a positive negotiation," Vance told reporters before take-off from Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.
"If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive."
In addition to the Strait of Hormuz, other sticking points include US demands that Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and Iran's aim to prevent further US and Israeli attacks.
dk/md

US

Over 100,000 worshippers perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa

  • On Friday, more than 100,000 Muslims performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa, according to the Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian body that administers the site.
  • More than 100,000 Muslim worshippers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem, the holy site's Islamic authority reported, after it reopened the previous day following a truce agreed between the United States and Iran.
  • On Friday, more than 100,000 Muslims performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa, according to the Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian body that administers the site.
More than 100,000 Muslim worshippers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem, the holy site's Islamic authority reported, after it reopened the previous day following a truce agreed between the United States and Iran.
Jerusalem's Old City is home to major holy sites for all three Abrahamic religions, which had been shuttered since the start of the war sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
Within the Old City lie the Al‑Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, the Western Wall for Jews, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians -- all located in East Jerusalem, a territory occupied and annexed by Israel.
The sites reopened to worshippers on Thursday, a day after Washington and Tehran declared a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East war.
Muslim worshippers had been unable to access the Al-Aqsa even during the holy month of Ramadan this year.
On Friday, more than 100,000 Muslims performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa, according to the Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian body that administers the site.
AFPTV live footage showed the compound packed with worshippers.
"Hopefully they will not close Al-Aqsa again, and everyone will be able to come to this holy place —whether residents of Jerusalem or from the West Bank," said 30-year-old Mohammad Saaedeh.
Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank remain subject to strict Israeli restrictions based on age and permit quotas.
"Friday prayer is an obligation for us, but performing it at Al-Aqsa is something entirely different," said Sharif Mohammad, 39, referring to the site’s status as Islam's third-holiest shrine.
"It’s an indescribable feeling," added Ahmad Ammar, 55.
Beyond the reopening of the holy sites in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have lifted most of the restrictions linked to the state of emergency over the war with Iran.
This excludes the country's northern border area near Lebanon, where the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continues.
vid-pho-cf-jd/jfx

religion

France's Macron talks war, peace and basketball with Pope Leo

BY FRANCESCO FONTEMAGGI

  • There were also lighter moments, with Vatican footage showing Macron presenting the pope with a jersey signed by members of the French national basketball team.
  • Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for dialogue in the Middle East in their first meeting Friday at the Vatican, while also finding time to chat about basketball.
  • There were also lighter moments, with Vatican footage showing Macron presenting the pope with a jersey signed by members of the French national basketball team.
Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for dialogue in the Middle East in their first meeting Friday at the Vatican, while also finding time to chat about basketball.
Shortly after their talks, the US-born pontiff once more railed against the "senseless and inhuman violence" spreading across the Holy Land -- while warning that Christians cannot stand with those who "today drop bombs".
The US-Israeli war on Iran and its spillover into the wider region dominated Macron's talks with Pope Leo, with both emphasising the need for de-escalation and the inclusion of Lebanon in the ceasefire, a French presidential source said.
After the meeting, Macron said he was "very happy" to meet the pontiff, who became head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics last May.
"We share the same conviction -- in the face of the world's fractures, action for peace is a duty and a requirement," Macron wrote on X.
In a statement, the Vatican said Leo and his top officials had discussed with Macron "conflicts around the world, expressing hope that peaceful coexistence can be re-established through dialogue and negotiation".
There were also lighter moments, with Vatican footage showing Macron presenting the pope with a jersey signed by members of the French national basketball team.
Chicago-born Leo, the first American pope, is a sports fan, enjoying baseball and basketball, while he swims and plays tennis regularly at the papal out-of-town residence, Castel Gandolfo.

US criticism

Both Macron and Pope Leo have distanced themselves from the bellicose rhetoric of US President Donald Trump over the war.
After his audience with Macron, the pope met with bishops from the Chaldean Church of Baghdad, whom he called "signs of hope in a world marked by senseless and inhuman violence". 
"Driven by greed and hatred", the violence was "spreading with ferocity... in the sacred places of the Christian East," he said.
"Whoever is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, never stands on the side of those who yesterday wielded the sword and today drop bombs," Leo told them. 
Earlier this week, Leo had condemned as "unacceptable" Trump's threats to Iran's civilian population, although he did not mention the president by name.
Macron has also been critical, saying there was "too much talk, and it's all over the place".
Both welcomed the US-Iranian ceasefire and have urged a diplomatic solution to the war, which has roiled the global economy.
It was not the first time that Leo has criticised the government of his native country, after denouncing its treatment of migrants as "inhuman".
The Vatican on Friday denied a media report that a top Pentagon official gave the Holy See's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" in January following comments by Leo seen as critical of Trump.
The story "does not correspond to the truth in any way", spokesman Matteo Bruni said, the day after the Pentagon dismissed the account as "highly exaggerated and distorted".
In his January speech, Leo did not name Trump but lamented that dialogue was being replaced by "diplomacy based on force", and that war was "back in vogue".

Come to France

Macron is not a practising Catholic but had a good relationship with Pope Francis, Leo's predecessor, meeting him three times and discussing with him both global crises and spirituality.
Their relationship also had its tensions, with the late Argentine criticising the inclusion of abortion in the French constitution, and Macron's proposal to introduce assisted dying in France.
Vatican footage showed Macron and Leo -- a more reserved character than Francis --  greeting each other formally in their first meeting, and speaking English.
According to a French presidential source, during their conversation Macron invited Leo to France, a visit that could possibly take place in September.
Pope Francis never made a state visit to France and declined to attend the opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2024, five years after its devastation by fire.
Friday's meeting at the Vatican comes three days before Pope Leo visits the former French colony of Algeria, the first trip there by a pontiff.
cmk-fff-ar/ams/jxb

campaign

Hungary rivals rally crowds in closing strait of election campaign

BY ANDRAS ROSTOVANYI WITH PETER MURPHY IN DEBRECEN

  • Before the rally, many gathered lined up to have a quick chat with Tisza candidates to get their autographs and bought Hungarian flags, or Tisza-branded souvenirs and clothing from pop-up vendors as music blared.
  • Crowds of flag-waving Hungarians have been cheering on their candidates for an election on Sunday, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban and challenger Peter Magyar hold frantic last-minute rallies.
  • Before the rally, many gathered lined up to have a quick chat with Tisza candidates to get their autographs and bought Hungarian flags, or Tisza-branded souvenirs and clothing from pop-up vendors as music blared.
Crowds of flag-waving Hungarians have been cheering on their candidates for an election on Sunday, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban and challenger Peter Magyar hold frantic last-minute rallies.
"We came out here because we have faith in Peter Magyar, and we've had enough of the old system," Attila Jozsa told AFP at the opposition leader's rally in the city of Gyor, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Budapest, on Thursday.
"We believe there will be some kind of change across the whole country," added the 55-year-old electrician, who used to vote for Orban's Fidesz party.
Around 20,000 people, including many youngsters, packed a square in Gyor, according to an AFP photographer.
"Where is the money?" supporters of Magyar's party, Tisza, thundered in unison, referring to accusations against local Fidesz politicians over millions of euros of public funds that have gone missing.
Magyar has campaigned on pledges to offer better public services and fight alleged graft by the government of Orban, who has been in power since 2010.
"Give change a chance," Magyar appealed to voters in Gyor.
Opinion polls show a clear lead for Tisza.
Before the rally, many gathered lined up to have a quick chat with Tisza candidates to get their autographs and bought Hungarian flags, or Tisza-branded souvenirs and clothing from pop-up vendors as music blared.
One woman held a placard saying "there's no time for fear" and a child brought pictures he had drawn of Magyar.

'Really bad for Hungary'

Also on Thursday, around 2,000 Orban supporters gathered in Hungary's second largest city Debrecen, as the nationalist leader appealed to them to "not put everything at risk" and to "protect what we have achieved".
"It would be really bad for Hungary if Tisza win," said Attila Szoke, a 55-year-old taxi driver, who worked in London for 22 years but returned home in 2022.
"I don't trust Magyar, from one day to the next he turned and stabbed Fidesz in the back," he said, referring to the opposition's ties with Fidesz -- he was formerly married to former justice minister Judit Varga. 
Debrecen has long been a Fidesz stronghold but the city is projected to swing to Tisza on Sunday.
A flag draped on a balcony overlooking the rally read "Tisza is surging", a slogan of Magyar's party, referring to the river Tisza, the same as the party's acronym.
Counter-protesters met cheers for Orban with chants of "filthy Fidesz" and "Russians go home", a reference to Orban's ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

'Bid goodbye'

Hundreds of predominantly young Tisza supporters mingled in the crowd, with one telling AFP he came along to "bid goodbye" to Orban.
"I would consider returning to Hungary if Orban is kicked out," said Laszlo Udvarhelyi, a 35-year-old sales accountant from Debrecen who lives in Frankfurt.
Both camps have accused the other of seeking to benefit from foreign interference.
Orban, the closest ally of US President Donald Trump in the EU, hosted US Vice President JD Vance this week.
He has also maintained ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine and frequently clashes with Brussels.
"It's far more important that Hungary belongs to Western Europe, not to Russia," said 17-year-old Kolos, who did not want to give his full name for fear of reprisals, holding an EU flag at the Tisza rally in Gyor.
"Even though Fidesz and the government portray the European Union today as Hungary's greatest enemy, that is simply not the case," he said, describing the EU as the "guarantor of democracy in Hungary".
ros-pmu/jza/jxb

pollution

Antwerp port reopens to North Sea shipping after oil spill

BY MAUDE BRULARD

  • By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
  • Belgium's Antwerp port said Friday that it had reopened to North Sea shipping after an oil spill brought traffic to a near-halt in Europe's second-largest port.
  • By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
Belgium's Antwerp port said Friday that it had reopened to North Sea shipping after an oil spill brought traffic to a near-halt in Europe's second-largest port.
The overnight spill occurred during a "bunkering operation" -- the process of filling a ship with fuel -- in the Deurganck Dock, used by some of the largest vessels in the world to load and unload goods in Antwerp.
The accident badly disrupted shipping as authorities raced to contain the risks of pollution and economic damage.
By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
"Specialised vessels are actively engaged in cleaning up the oil," said a port statement, while working to "fully clear" the dock as well as several container terminals and locks affected by the spill.
"We are making every effort to safely and swiftly resume operations at these key locations and to minimise and resolve disruptions," Antwerp port said.
Belgian media reported that several dozen container and cargo ships had been affected by the traffic shutdown.
The port said that the source of the spill had been stopped, but that pollution had spread towards the Scheldt river with civil protection and maritime and coastal services closely monitoring the "potential impact on riverbanks and surrounding nature areas".
"The focus is on preventing further spread and on targeted clean-up of vulnerable zones," its latest statement said.
There was no official word on the scale of the spill, but local media VRT said the oil slick had spread over at least three kilometres -- almost two miles.
Local media reported that the spill occurred during the refuelling of the container ship MSC Denmark VI.
The ship's operator, MSC, confirmed the vessel was involved in the incident but declined to provide additional information. 
"Our priority is safety," a spokeswoman for the company's Belgian office told AFP, adding that they were focused on safeguarding "the crew, the terminal, the nature". 

Key gateway

The tidal Scheldt river estuary is the main maritime access route to Antwerp port, along with several narrower canals primarily used for inland navigation. 
The port said it was "doing everything possible to minimise both operational and ecological damage".
The Pieter Coecke, a Belgian-flagged pollution control vessel, was operating in the area of the spill Friday, according to the Marine Traffic website.
Flemish environmental group Climaxi said ship refuelling operations were the main cause of oil spills in the region, often contaminating the local bird and amphibian populations.
The latest incident appeared to have impacted several natural reserves, including the Doelpolder wetlands, that are key bird breeding grounds, it said.
Larger than 22,000 football fields, Antwerp port is a key gateway for goods coming into Europe from the United States, China and elsewhere.
Europe's largest after Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the port handles transit each year of around 267 million tonnes of goods and is used by around 20,000 seagoing vessels and 50,000 inland vessels, according to its website.
mad-ec/fpo/gv

US

Irish govt to meet farmers, hauliers over fuel cost fears

  • Ministers were set to meet later Friday with 10 representative organisations for farmers, agricultural contractors and haulage operators, but it was unclear if protesters would be present.
  • The Irish government was set to hold talks Friday with agricultural and haulage representatives, as days of protests over spiralling fuel prices sparked warnings over supplies, including for emergency services.
  • Ministers were set to meet later Friday with 10 representative organisations for farmers, agricultural contractors and haulage operators, but it was unclear if protesters would be present.
The Irish government was set to hold talks Friday with agricultural and haulage representatives, as days of protests over spiralling fuel prices sparked warnings over supplies, including for emergency services.
The demonstrations began Tuesday over the soaring cost of petrol and diesel amid the Middle East war, with protesters partly blocking Ireland's only oil refinery and restricting access to at least two other fuel depots.
Demonstrators, many organising online outside of formal representative bodies, have also used convoys on motorways to snarl traffic and tractors to gridlock central Dublin on occasions.
Industry group Fuels for Ireland said 100 petrol retailers have run dry, mainly in the west of Ireland, after customers started panic buying. 
It has warned of "real significant life-death problems" with supplies for emergency service vehicles, while Ireland's emergency planning group echoed the comments with "serious concern" about the situation.
Irish police warned Thursday the protests had become "blockades" which were putting critical supplies of food, fuel, clean water and animal feed at risk.
"This is not tolerable and is against the law," the country's national force, known as the Garda, said in a statement.
It added officers were "now moving to an enforcement phase" and those involved would "face the full rigours of the law".
Ireland's armed forces have been put "on standby" to assist with clearing the blockades, defence minister Helen McEntee has said.
Ministers were set to meet later Friday with 10 representative organisations for farmers, agricultural contractors and haulage operators, but it was unclear if protesters would be present.
Representative bodies recognised by the government, including the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Irish Farmers' Association, are not officially involved in the protest.
Those bodies and protesters have made varying demands around lowering the cost of fuel, in particular urging cuts to fuel taxes.
Demonstrators also want fuel prices to be capped and oil exploration off the west coast of Ireland to begin.
Government leaders have condemned the protests as "wrong" and "not in our national interest", and said the fuel blockades were holding the country to "ransom".
In March, Dublin announced a €250 million package to reduce fuel costs, notably including a diesel rebate for road hauliers
jj/jkb/cw

US

Giving birth in a shelter in Israel

  • Since the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, 370 newborns have been delivered in the shelter.
  • Inside an underground shelter at a hospital in the Israeli city of Haifa, a television screen flickers with images of Iranian missiles as doctors and midwives deliver Sarah Bird's third child.
  • Since the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, 370 newborns have been delivered in the shelter.
Inside an underground shelter at a hospital in the Israeli city of Haifa, a television screen flickers with images of Iranian missiles as doctors and midwives deliver Sarah Bird's third child.
"She's beautiful," a midwife says, placing the newborn in her mother's arms for a first kiss.
"She is!" exclaims Bird, 38, breaking into a broad smile.
Her husband Yitzhak, tense throughout, finally exhales, then explains that the couple will wait a week before choosing a name.
The couple had arrived just hours earlier at the Mount Carmel Medical Center and were taken straight to the facility's underground shelter, carved into the mountainside.
About 10 babies are born there each day, according to Clalit, Israel's main healthcare provider, which operates the hospital.
Since the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, 370 newborns have been delivered in the shelter.
Within hours of the initial strikes on Iran, major hospitals across Israel shifted to maximum emergency readiness, moving patients and critical departments underground. 
Operating theatres, intensive care units and even maternity wards have been relocated to protected subterranean spaces.
A fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran took effect on April 8, and no Iranian missiles have been fired at Israel since.
But in Haifa — still reeling from a strike on a residential building that killed four people days before the truce — sirens continue to wail.
Rocket fire from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, an ally of Tehran, has not stopped. Israel says Lebanon is not covered by the ceasefire and has continued strikes on its neighbour, which have left more than 300 people dead this week.
More than 20 rocket alerts sounded in northern Israel on Thursday alone, along the Lebanese border, after Hezbollah said it had fired multiple barrages.
ml-cf-jd/lba/dc

politics

Chinese, Taiwanese will unite, Xi tells Taiwan opposition leader

BY SAM DAVIES, MARY YANG

  • We have full confidence in this," Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media.
  • China's President Xi Jinping met Taiwan's opposition party leader Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, telling the visiting delegation he had "full confidence" that Taiwanese and Chinese people would be united.
  • We have full confidence in this," Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media.
China's President Xi Jinping met Taiwan's opposition party leader Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, telling the visiting delegation he had "full confidence" that Taiwanese and Chinese people would be united.
Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng is the party's first leader to visit China in a decade, but her trip has sparked debate in Taiwan with critics accusing her of being too pro-Beijing.
China severed high-level contact with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidency and rejected Beijing's claims that the self-ruled island is part of its territory.
Xi told Cheng as the two met on Friday that "the general trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait getting closer, edging nearer and becoming united will not change".
"This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this," Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media.
He also said China was willing to strengthen dialogue with groups in Taiwan, including the KMT, on the "common political foundation of... opposing Taiwan independence".
The KMT supports closer relations with China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.
Cheng echoed Xi's stance at a press conference after their meeting, stressing the need for younger generations to understand "what challenges we face at this stage" and "how, by adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing Taiwan independence, we can avoid war".
The so-called consensus suggests there is "one China" without specifying which is its rightful representative. 
Earlier, she told Xi that the Taiwan Strait would "no longer be a focal point of potential conflict" and "both sides should transcend political confrontation".
She also said Xi had responded "positively" to her proposal that the sides work toward Taiwan participating in international organisations such as Interpol and regional trade agreements.
A spokesman for Taiwan's ruling DPP said China should respect Taiwan's "commitment to freedom and democracy, rather than interfering in the choices of the Taiwanese people through division and inducement".
"Differences between the two sides must be handled through peaceful and equal means, rather than by using suppression and intimidation," spokesman Lee Kuen-cheng said.
Beijing has ramped up military pressure around Taiwan in recent years, conducting near-daily deployments of fighter jets and warships near the island and regular large-scale military drills.
Taiwanese lawmakers have been at loggerheads over the government's plan to spend NT$1.25 trillion ($39 billion) on defence, which has been stalled for months in parliament, controlled by opposition parties including the KMT.

Defence spending

Cheng's trip comes a month before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing for a summit with Xi.
The United States has been piling pressure on Taiwanese opposition lawmakers to back a proposal for defence purchases, including US weapons, to deter a potential Chinese attack.
Cheng has railed against the government's proposal, insisting "Taiwan isn't an ATM" and instead backing a KMT plan to allocate NT$380 billion ($12 billion) for US weapons with the option for more acquisitions.
While KMT party members regularly fly to China for exchanges with officials, its last leader to visit was Hung Hsiu-chu in 2016.
Cross-strait relations have worsened in particular since the election of Tsai's successor, Lai Ching-te, who Beijing considers a separatist.
Lai said in a Facebook post on Friday that "China's... military threats in and around the Taiwan Strait and the island chain have severely undermined regional peace and stability".
Cheng landed in Shanghai on Tuesday evening, saying shortly after her arrival that "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not doomed to war, as the international community has feared".
The KMT leader also travelled to the eastern city of Nanjing, where she visited the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, one of the few Chinese historical figures revered in both Beijing and Taipei.
isk-mya-sam/dhw/mjw

conflict

Kyiv books tentative diplomatic coup with Iran war forays

BY MARIA KOSTENKO

  • - 'Moscow extremely upset' - Kyiv's forces neutralise hundreds of the Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia every day, and as Iran started firing off drones across the Middle East in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, Zelensky quickly deployed more than 200 of his anti-drone experts to at least four states.
  • When the US-Israeli war with Iran began at the end of February, it was widely assumed that Moscow would be one of the conflict's key winners.
  • - 'Moscow extremely upset' - Kyiv's forces neutralise hundreds of the Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia every day, and as Iran started firing off drones across the Middle East in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, Zelensky quickly deployed more than 200 of his anti-drone experts to at least four states.
When the US-Israeli war with Iran began at the end of February, it was widely assumed that Moscow would be one of the conflict's key winners.
Higher oil prices, a distracted Washington and a sudden need for Western air defence systems in the Gulf were seen as a boost to Moscow's four-year invasion of Ukraine.
But in Kyiv, officials and analysts say a flurry of high-level visits by President Volodymyr Zelensky and the inking of security accords across the Middle East amount to a diplomatic coup that have given the embattled country outsized clout in a region recently seen as aligned with Russia.
"Ukraine is for the first time -- and to some countries' surprise -- acting as a state that can provide security services, that can, as experts say, export defence and security expertise," Volodymyr Fesenko, a respected political observer in Kyiv, told AFP.
That is a marked turnaround from 2022 when an under-equipped Kyiv went on bended knee to the United States and Europe to appeal for sophisticated air defence systems, advanced battle tanks, and as many artillery shells as they could get their hands on.
The rapid proliferation of drones has made many of those weapons less relevant, and spurred Ukrainian rag-tag arms producers to become global leaders in drone warfare and anti-drone systems. 

'Moscow extremely upset'

Kyiv's forces neutralise hundreds of the Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia every day, and as Iran started firing off drones across the Middle East in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, Zelensky quickly deployed more than 200 of his anti-drone experts to at least four states.
Zelensky himself paid high-profile visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Syria -- becoming one of the first foreign leaders to visit the region during the war.
"Moscow is extremely upset with Ukraine's rapid strengthening of ties with the Gulf countries in the wake of Iranian air terror," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.
"They understand that Ukraine's unique experience has dramatically changed its role in the region," he added.
Sybiga said Russia and its close ally Iran had taken to spreading disinformation about Ukrainian anti-drone units to undermine Kyiv's diplomatic reach -- like that Iran had struck a depot housing Ukrainian anti-drone systems in the United Arab Emirates.
Despite Ukraine managing to give itself a surprise role in the conflict, the question remains what material benefit it can extract besides some good publicity.
"Frankly, in the Gulf countries you can simply ask for money," political analyst Taras Zagorodniy suggested to AFP in a telephone interview.
"This is a way to scale our own technologies and attract additional resources, because we need money to support our technologies and investments," Zagorodniy, Managing Partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group think tank, added.
Details of the defence agreements struck with several states in the region have not been made public.
Zelensky had previously proposed swapping Ukrainian drone warfare technology for the advanced air defence missile ammunition -- though that idea appeared to gain little traction.

No 'breakthrough'

The Ukrainian leader has also suggested that improved ties with the Gulf could help place broader pressure on Russia to halt its invasion. 
But analysts have warned that these overtures do not amount to a breakthrough -- yet.
For one, the impact of the two-week truce agreed between the United States and Iran is unclear. 
Zelensky has said Ukrainian anti-drone units will remain in the Middle East but the long-term demand for Ukrainian war tech remains in question.
The region has largely refrained from criticising Russia's invasion and has not hit Moscow with sanctions. Many states seek good relations with both sides to play a mediating role -- hosting talks or brokering the return of children.
"It is premature to speak of a breakthrough. This is not even a step -- rather a first cautious move in the right direction," former Ukrainian diplomat Vadym Triukhan wrote in a recent analysis.
To be a "game changer" for Kyiv, the pace of engagement needed to be kept up.
"If this tempo is not lost, then within a few months it will be quite realistic to reach multi-year, multibillion contracts," Triukhan wrote.
bur-jbr/jc/st

space

Artemis astronauts to shed light on space health risks

BY CHARLOTTE CAUSIT

  • With the Artemis II astronauts spending just 10 days in space, radiation is not a major concern, but the danger could rise dramatically with longer stays on the Moon.
  • While the Artemis II astronauts have been protected from the icy vacuum of space on their journey, their bodies have nonetheless been left exposed to possibly high levels of radiation -- a danger of space travel that NASA is anxiously waiting to study.
  • With the Artemis II astronauts spending just 10 days in space, radiation is not a major concern, but the danger could rise dramatically with longer stays on the Moon.
While the Artemis II astronauts have been protected from the icy vacuum of space on their journey, their bodies have nonetheless been left exposed to possibly high levels of radiation -- a danger of space travel that NASA is anxiously waiting to study.
Their trip around the Moon has taken the four astronauts farther into space than any human before -- more than 1,000 times the distance from Earth to the International Space Station.
Earth's magnetosphere offers some protection against radioactive cosmic rays and solar particles to the orbiting ISS, but no such cover on the Moon. 
Studying the impacts of radiation is essential as NASA hopes to eventually build a Moon base and send astronauts on the long trip to Mars.
The US space agency installed radiation sensors on the Orion capsule and took blood samples of the astronauts before takeoff to compare with samples post-trip. The crew's saliva samples are gathered throughout the journey and their health is monitored via smartwatches.
NASA has also placed state-of-the-art computer chips in the capsule that can replicate certain physiological functions, like that of an organ.
Mission planners chose to mimic bone marrow, which produces blood cells and is one of the tissues "most quickly affected by radiation and other stressors," NASA Human Research Program chief scientist Steven Platts told AFP.
With all of the data, Platts said his team hoped to better understand the variation between low earth orbit and deep space.
"It will be good research information for us to see the level of radiation, but also the type of radiation," he said.
"Our prediction is that we'll see a lot more galactic cosmic radiation... which is from supernovas and is everywhere," versus radiation coming from the Sun, he said.

Mental health

Platts said while most people associate radiation with cancer risk, it also can impact the central nervous system and blood circulation.
"It can lead to inflammation in the brain, and that's one of the things that can increase the risk of Parkinson's disease," he said.
With the Artemis II astronauts spending just 10 days in space, radiation is not a major concern, but the danger could rise dramatically with longer stays on the Moon.
Extensive health studies were conducted on the Apollo astronauts, but technology has advanced greatly in the 50 years since, said Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society, a space advocacy group.
"There will be a lot of information on the medical side of things," he said.
The other major focus is on psychological risks of spending long periods of time on the Moon or Mars.
With greater disconnection from home and tight living quarters, mental health could pose the greatest danger to astronauts on such missions, Platts said.
He compared the difference between the ISS and the tiny Orion capsule as like going from a "six-bedroom house, like a mansion... to a camper van."
cha/des/pnb/sla/hol