American Edition

Vonn breaks leg as crashes out in brutal end to Olympic dream

BY TERENCE DALEY IN CORTINA D'AMPEZZO

  • The pictures of a stricken Vonn will sadly become some of the defining images of the Milan-Cortina Games, where the 41-year-old American had insisted she could still win a medal despite skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
  • Lindsey Vonn broke her leg as she crashed out of the Winter Olympics downhill on Sunday to brutally end the American skiing great's improbable dream of a medal.
  • The pictures of a stricken Vonn will sadly become some of the defining images of the Milan-Cortina Games, where the 41-year-old American had insisted she could still win a medal despite skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Lindsey Vonn broke her leg as she crashed out of the Winter Olympics downhill on Sunday to brutally end the American skiing great's improbable dream of a medal.
Vonn was just 13 seconds into her run in bright sunshine in Cortina d'Ampezzo when she hit a gate on her first jump, lost control, twisted in the air and crumpled in the snow.
The pictures of a stricken Vonn will sadly become some of the defining images of the Milan-Cortina Games, where the 41-year-old American had insisted she could still win a medal despite skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Her cries of pain could be heard on the microphones as medical staff attended to her.
Thousands of spectators at the bottom of the run fell silent as they watched the images of the crash on giant screens.
Vonn was eventually strapped into a stretcher and winched into the air by a rescue helicopter as the crowd applauded warmly.
By the evening, the Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso where she was treated said that she had required "surgery to stabilise a fracture of the left leg".
Her US teammate Breezy Johnson went on to win the downhill gold medal, but her first thoughts were for Vonn, saying: "My heart goes out to her."
Vonn's sister Karin Kildow, who watched the crash on giant screens at the course, said: "That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see."

'Incredible inspiration'

Just two weeks ago, Vonn, one of global sport's most recognisable faces, looked in contention to cap a remarkable comeback from retirement by winning the second Olympic gold medal of her career -- her last came 16 years ago in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
She had retired in 2019 but returned to the slopes in 2024 after surgery to insert a titanium implant in her right knee to quell persistent pain.
But her Olympic plans were thrown into disarray when she crashed in a World Cup race at Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30.
In a press conference once she arrived in Italy, she admitted that she had ruptured her ACL in that fall, but insisted that she could still compete for medals, although she conceded: "I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today."
In view of what happened on Sunday, some will question whether Vonn should have competed at all, but it was her choice.
The president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, called Vonn an "incredible inspiration" after the crash on Sunday, adding: "We're all thinking of you."
In other action, the team skating competition was boiling down to a battle later on Sunday between US figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin and Japan's Shun Sato, with both countries tied on points heading into the final session.
Japan took the lead in the competition after the women's single free skating, with Kaori Sakamoto winning and Team USA's Amber Glenn slipping to third.
Malinin, 21, produced an eye-catching back-flip in his Olympic debut on Saturday but his routine was below his best. He must now excel to help the USA retain the gold that they won in Beijing four years ago.
On the second full day of the Milan-Cortina Games, Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova won gold in the women's parallel giant slalom after the shock exit of defending champion Ester Ledecka.
Ledecka crashed out in the quarter-finals as the Czech chased what would have been a historic snowboarding title in three consecutive Olympics.
In Tesero, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo racked up the sixth Olympic gold medal of his career by taking the skiathlon title.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump attacked as a "real loser" a US Olympic freestyle skier who had said that he had mixed feelings about representing America, given its acute tension over violent immigration raids and other political crises.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Hunter Hess said that it "brings up mixed emotions to represent the US right now".
On Sunday, Trump hit back: "If that’s the case, he shouldn't have tried out for the Team, and it's too bad he's on it. Very hard to root for someone like this."
td-ea/gj/bc

Global Edition

Thailand's Anutin readies for coalition talks after election win

  • Anutin, who took office in September, declined to be drawn Sunday on potential coalition talks, noting the election results remained unofficial.
  • Thailand's caretaker premier Anutin Charnvirakul was preparing for coalition talks Monday after a stunning election victory for his conservative Bhumjaithai Party.
  • Anutin, who took office in September, declined to be drawn Sunday on potential coalition talks, noting the election results remained unofficial.
Thailand's caretaker premier Anutin Charnvirakul was preparing for coalition talks Monday after a stunning election victory for his conservative Bhumjaithai Party.
Bhumjaithai was forecast by Channel 3 to have won almost 200 seats in Sunday's vote, well ahead of others but short of an outright majority in the 500-member lower house.
The progressive People's Party trailed at a little above 100 seats, while jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Pheu Thai party came in third.
Pheu Thai is seen as a likely coalition partner for Anutin, as they were allies until Bhumjaithai pulled out over a scandal linked to the Cambodia border dispute.
Thaksin is serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption in office, but many observers expect him to be released earlier than scheduled alongside a political agreement.
Anutin, who took office in September, declined to be drawn Sunday on potential coalition talks, noting the election results remained unofficial.
"We will wait until its more clear, and every party has to meet their executive board to discuss the position," he said.
Political analyst Napon Jatusripitak expected Bhumjaithai to "move quickly" to form a government in which its interests would prevail.
"Given the seat distribution, Bhumjaithai is likely to lead a government in which its influence predominates and weighs most decisively in shaping both policy direction and implementation," he said.

Cambodia conflict

The Southeast Asian nation's next administration will need to tackle anaemic economic growth, with its vital tourism industry yet to rebound to pre-Covid highs, and manage fallout over multibillion-dollar cyberscam networks operating from the region.
Perhaps most pressing is the Cambodia dispute, which erupted into open fighting in July and December, killing scores of people on both sides and displacing around a million altogether.
The conflict was top of mind for many voters, with analysts saying a wave of nationalism propelled Anutin to victory.
"Thailand will move like it moved in the past three months. We will see nationalism, a strong position on Cambodia and economic policies. Nothing changes," said Virot Ali, politics lecturer at Thammasat University.
Soon after becoming premier -- following the removal of two predecessors from Pheu Thai by the courts -- Anutin authorised the armed forces to take whatever action they saw fit on the border.
Thailand's military took control of several disputed areas in the latest fighting in December, and a fragile ceasefire remains in place.
"Once I became prime minister, everything we once lost, it has come back to be ours again," Anutin said at a rally in the Sisaket border province last week.
Paul Chambers, an associate senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, cautioned that Anutin's victory "will allow the military to become even more autonomous of civilian control".

Conservative win

Thailand's political history is replete with military coups, bloody street protests and judicial intervention.
But Napon pointed out that Bhumjaithai's victory was "the first time in a very long while that a conservative party has emerged with the largest number of seats". 
"In that sense, the result may have resolved a recurring dilemma in Thai politics, whereby conservative interests have repeatedly intervened to curtail democratic politics after losing at the ballot box," he added.
A constitution drafted under military rule following the last coup in 2014 gives significant power to institutions appointed by the senate, which is not directly elected.
Around 60 percent of voters were projected to have backed constitutional reform in principle in a referendum on Sunday, albeit with no specific measures on the table.
But Bhumjaithai will now be in a position to guide the reform process, and its conservative instincts make radical change less likely. 
bur-sco/slb/des

weather

Centre-left beats far-right to Portugal's presidency: exit polls

BY THOMAS CABRAL

  • He slowly climbed in the polls, with one on Wednesday crediting him with 67 percent of voting intentions in the run-off election -- a figure reflected in Sunday's exit polls. 
  • Centre-left candidate Antonio Jose Seguro scored a convincing win over far-right rival Andre Ventura in Sunday's Portuguese presidential election, according to exit polls, in a run-off vote held after days of devastating storms.
  • He slowly climbed in the polls, with one on Wednesday crediting him with 67 percent of voting intentions in the run-off election -- a figure reflected in Sunday's exit polls. 
Centre-left candidate Antonio Jose Seguro scored a convincing win over far-right rival Andre Ventura in Sunday's Portuguese presidential election, according to exit polls, in a run-off vote held after days of devastating storms.
Socialist candidate Seguro had won between 67 and 73 percent of the vote to Ventura's tally of between 27 and 33 percent, according to projections from two national television stations based on exit polls.
That means the 63-year-old will, as expected, succeed the conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as president.
The election campaign had been upended by two weeks of storms and fierce gales that killed at least seven people and caused an estimated four billion euros ($4.7 billion) in damage. 
The storm disruption forced around 20 of the worst-hit constituencies to postpone the vote by a week, but it went ahead for nearly all the 11 million eligible voters in Portugal and abroad.
The 43-year-old Ventura had criticised the government's response to fierce weather and sought in vain to have the entire election postponed.

Storm-hit campaign

Seguro is a veteran political operator and former Socialist party leader, having begun his career in the party's youth wing.
In 2014 he lost an internal power struggle, and was pushed out as secretary general of the party by future prime minister Antonio Costa, who is now president of the European Council. 
Despite being out of the public eye for the past decade, he never renounced his belief in a "modern and moderate left".
He began his presidential campaign without the backing of the Socialist Party's leadership, though most of them came around to support him. 
He slowly climbed in the polls, with one on Wednesday crediting him with 67 percent of voting intentions in the run-off election -- a figure reflected in Sunday's exit polls. 
His camp had nevertheless been concerned that the recent foul weather and complacency among his supporters might hurt them.
Earlier Sunday, casting his vote in Caldas de Rainha, where he lives, Seguro said: "Come and vote. Make the most of this window of good weather."
Casting her ballot in Lisbon, retired teacher Celeste Caldeira told AFP she thought the authorities had "made the right choice to go ahead with the election".
"We have two candidates. Either we vote for the one who has everyone's interests at heart or I don't know where we're going," the 87-year-old said.
Ventura campaigned on a promise to break with the parties that have governed Portugal for the past 50 years.
Seguro positioned himself as a unifying candidate and warned of the "nightmare" the country could face if his opponent won.

Far right rising

Seguro took the most votes in the first round of the election in January, in which 11 candidates stood, with 31.1 percent, ahead of Ventura on 23.5 percent. Since no one won a majority, the top two went through to a second round.  
Seguro secured the support of many political figures from the far left, centre and the right.
But Prime Minister Luis Montenegro declined to endorse either candidate in the second round. His minority centre-right government has to rely on support from either the Socialists or the far right to get legislation through parliament.
Ventura is the first extreme-right candidate to make it through to a run-off vote in Portugal. 
His Chega (Enough) party, created as recently as 2019, became the leading opposition force at the May 2025 general election.
He is seeking to "assert himself as the true leader of the Portuguese right", political science professor Jose Santana Pereira told AFP.
In Portugal, the head of state has the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections but otherwise has a largely symbolic role.
The new president will take office in early March.
tsc-lf/gv/jj

diplomacy

Iran defies US threats to insist on right to enrich uranium

  • "Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us?
  • Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States.
  • "Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States.
Washington first threatened to intervene over Tehran's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, with authorities on Sunday arresting three prominent reformists accused of anti-government rhetoric.
They also imposed another hefty prison sentence on Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested before the protests, on charges of harming national security.
Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by AFP that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously. 
He later said Iran was consulting with its "strategic partners" China and Russia about the talks.
"Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour," Araghchi said at the forum.
"Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," he added, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea.
The United States and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday in Oman for the first time since Israel's 12-day war with the Islamic republic in June of last year, which the US briefly joined.
Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be "a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme".
Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East's only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which the Islamic republic denies.
"They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say 'no' to the great powers," Araghchi said.
The US and Israel want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear question and include Iran's ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region, issues Iran refuses to include in the talks.

'Peace through strength'

Washington's lead negotiators, envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, visited the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The ship was dispatched to the Middle East several weeks ago as part of military build up in the region, following US President Donald Trump's threats against Iran.
In a social media post, Witkoff said the carrier and its strike group were "keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength".
The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks "very good" and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said they "constitute a step forward". 
Following Friday's first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for fresh tariffs on countries still doing business with Iran.
The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.
At the Tehran forum on Sunday, Araghchi said ongoing "sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations". 

Arrests, sentencing

The talks between the two foes and the US military buildup in the region follow Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December, sparked by economic grievances.
Iranian authorities on Sunday arrested three reformist figures including the head of Iran's Reform Front coalition, Azar Mansouri, the Fars news agency reported, listing charges that included "targeting national unity" and "coordination with enemy propaganda", among others.
After the demonstrations began, Mansouri posted on Instagram that "when all avenues to be heard are closed, protest takes to the streets", later calling the death toll a "great disaster".
Meanwhile, jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was sentenced on Saturday to six years in prison on charges of harming national security and one-and-a-half years for "propaganda" against Iran's Islamic system, her foundation said in a statement.
She was arrested after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony in December.
The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.
International organisations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mostly protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation. 
It has also counted more than 51,000 arrests.
bur/smw/dcp

politics

UK PM's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epstein

BY HELEN ROWE

  • The deputy prime minister had not been in favour of appointing Mandelson due to his known links to Epstein, the report quoted friends of Lammy as saying.
  • Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his links to US convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
  • The deputy prime minister had not been in favour of appointing Mandelson due to his known links to Epstein, the report quoted friends of Lammy as saying.
Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his links to US convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government," Morgan McSweeney, Downing Street's chief of staff, said in a statement.
"The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," he added.
"I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice."
The 48-year-old Irishman always maintained a low profile but was dubbed by some as the "most powerful man in politics" having played a key  role in Starmer's emphatic election victory in July 2024.
He is credited with helping to move the Labour Party towards a more centrist policy agenda following leftist ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn's ill-fated tenure.
He was also said to have been close to Mandelson who previously helped ex-prime minister Tony Blair transform the party and its fortunes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Fresh inquiry

The resignation came as the foreign ministry said it was reviewing an exit payment to Mandelson, who was sacked by the Starmer last September over his friendship with the late Epstein.
Mandelson, a pivotal figure in British politics and the Labour Party for decades, received an estimated pay-out of between £38,750 and £55,000 ($52,000 to $74,000) after only seven months in the job, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Documents released on January 30 by the US Justice Department appear to show that Mandelson leaked confidential UK government information to financier Epstein when he was a British minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
The revelation has placed intense pressure on Starmer and triggered a police investigation into Mandelson, 72, for alleged misconduct in a public office.
The Foreign Office said in a statement it had launched a review into Mandelson's severance payment "in light of further information that has now been revealed and the ongoing police investigation".
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden earlier insisted Starmer should remain in office despite his "terrible mistake" in appointing Mandelson.
He said the real blame lay "squarely" with Mandelson for putting himself forward for the job despite knowing the extent of his relationship with Epstein.

Opposition pressure

Despite McSweeney's departure, opposition leaders kept their focus on the prime minister.
"Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions," opposition leader Kemi Badenoch of the Conservative Party posted on X. "But he never does."
"The Prime Minister can change his advisers all he likes, but the buck stops with him," said Daisy Cooper, leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third party in parliament.
Noting that McSweeney had gone, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party said: "My money says Starmer won't be far behind after Labour's disaster in the elections this coming May."
Starmer's deputy, David Lammy, became the first cabinet minister to appear to distance himself from the premier, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph.
The deputy prime minister had not been in favour of appointing Mandelson due to his known links to Epstein, the report quoted friends of Lammy as saying.
Starmer's Labour Party took power just over 18 months ago in a landslide election victory.
But it has been trailing Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK as the government comes under fire over immigration, economic growth and the cost of living crisis.
Reform UK has led by double-digit figures in the polls for the past year.
Mandelson, also a former European Union trade commissioner, stood down from parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, earlier this week.
He is one of numerous prominent figures embarrassed by the latest release of documents in the Epstein files by the US Justice Department.
The financier died in jail in 2019 while facing charges of alleged sex trafficking. US officials ruled Epstein's death a suicide.
Law firm Mishcon de Reya, representing Mandelson, said he "regrets, and will regret until to his dying day, that he believed Epstein's lies about his criminality". 
"Lord Mandelson did not discover the truth about Epstein until after his death in 2019," said the statement.
"He is profoundly sorry that powerless and vulnerable women and girls were not given the protection they deserved."
mhc/jj/gv

Global Edition

Japan PM Takaichi basks in election triumph

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA

  • Together with its junior coalition partner, the ruling bloc was expected to have garnered at least the 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority.
  • Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was savouring an election triumph on Monday, with her ruling coalition projected to have won a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house.
  • Together with its junior coalition partner, the ruling bloc was expected to have garnered at least the 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority.
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was savouring an election triumph on Monday, with her ruling coalition projected to have won a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house.
If confirmed by official results, the outcome gives Japan's first female premier a strong mandate to implement her conservative agenda and stamp her mark on the country of 123 million people over the next four years.
The Asia-Pacific region will be watching closely however to see if Takaichi, 64, ups the ante or lowers the temperature with China after enraging Beijing in November with comments about Taiwan.
Financial markets may also be nervous about Japan's public finances and its gargantuan debt pile if Takaichi decides to cut taxes and boost spending in Asia's number-two economy.
"We have consistently stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy," Takaichi insisted late Sunday.
"We will prioritise the sustainability of fiscal policy. We will ensure necessary investments. Public and private sectors must invest. We will build a strong and resilient economy," she said.
Capitalising on her honeymoon start after becoming Japan's fifth premier in as many years in October, Takaichi called the snap election last month.
The gamble paid off handsomely, with local media projecting late Sunday that her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won around 300 seats of the 465 contested.
Together with its junior coalition partner, the ruling bloc was expected to have garnered at least the 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority.

Drummer

Takaichi has injected new life into the LDP, which has governed Japan almost non-stop for decades but which has shed support in recent elections because of unhappiness about rising prices and corruption.
A heavy metal drummer in her youth, Takaichi was an admirer of Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, and on the ultra-conservative fringe of the LDP when she became party chief.
She has been a hit with voters, especially young ones, with fans lapping up everything from her handbag to her jamming to a K-pop song with South Korea's president.
But she will have to deliver on the economy to remain popular.
"With prices rising like this, what matters most to me is what policies they'll adopt to deal with inflation," voter Chika Sakamoto, 50, told AFP at a voting station in snowy Tokyo on Sunday.

Socially conservative

Despite being her country's first woman premier, Takaichi has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender in male-dominated Japanese politics.
She is socially conservative, opposing any revision to a law requiring married couples to share the same surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.
Before becoming prime minister, Takaichi was seen as a China hawk.
She was a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.
Barely two weeks in office, Takaichi suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.
China regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it.
With Takaichi having days earlier pulled out all the stops to welcome US President Donald Trump, Beijing was furious with her unscripted remarks.
It summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia. Japan's last two pandas were even returned to China last month.
Margarita Estevez-Abe, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said that Takaichi can afford to dial down tensions now.
"Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP before the vote.
"So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China."
bur-stu/ceg/des

prisoners

Machado's close ally released in Venezuela

  • Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela, celebrated Guanipa's release on Sunday.
  • An opposition figure close to Venezuela's Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado was freed from jail on Sunday, one month after authorities began releasing political prisoners following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.
  • Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela, celebrated Guanipa's release on Sunday.
An opposition figure close to Venezuela's Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado was freed from jail on Sunday, one month after authorities began releasing political prisoners following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, 61, a former vice president of the National Assembly, appeared in a video posted on his X account, showing what looked like his release papers.
"Here we are, being released after a year-and-a-half," Guanipa said in the video, adding that he had spent "ten months in hiding, almost nine months detained here" in Caracas. 
"There is much to discuss about the present and future of Venezuela, always with the truth as our guide," he added.
Earlier his son, Ramon Guanipa wrote on X that after a year-and-a-half apart, "our entire family will be able to hug one another again soon." 
Juan Pablo Guanipa was arrested in May 2025, in connection with an alleged conspiracy to undermine elections -- a vote that was condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and much of the international community.
He was charged with terrorism, money laundering, and incitement to violence and hatred.
The opposition figure had been in hiding prior to his arrest. He was last seen in public in January 2025, when he accompanied Machado to an anti-Maduro rally.
Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela, celebrated Guanipa's release on Sunday.
"My dear Juan Pablo, counting down the minutes until I can hug you! You are a hero, and history will ALWAYS recognize it. Freedom for ALL political prisoners!!" she wrote on X.
Following Maduro's toppling by US forces on January 3 in a deadly military operation, authorities began slowly releasing political prisoners. Rights groups estimate that around 700 people are still waiting to be freed.
"There are still hundreds of Venezuelans unjustly imprisoned," wrote Ramon Guanipa when he confirmed his father's release. 
"We demand the immediate, full, and unconditional release of ALL political prisoners."
Lawmakers last week gave their initial backing to a draft amnesty covering the types of crimes used to lock up dissidents during 27 years of socialist rule.
But Venezuela's largest opposition coalition on Friday denounced "serious omissions" in the amnesty measures. 
Meanwhile, relatives of prisoners are growing increasingly impatient for their loved ones to be freed. 
Acting president Delcy Rodriguez, former deputy to Maduro, is pushing the amnesty bill as a milestone on the path to reconciliation.
Rodriguez took power in Venezuela with the blessing of President Donald Trump, who is eying US access to what are the world's largest proven oil reserves. 
As part of its reforms, Rodriguez's government has taken steps towards opening up the oil industry and restoring diplomatic ties with Washington, which were severed by Maduro in 2019.
mbj/val/msp/md

Bondi

Israeli president to honour Bondi Beach attack victims on Australia visit

BY DAVID WILLIAMS

  • Alleged Bondi Beach shooter Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack.
  • Israel's President Isaac Herzog starts a tightly secured visit to Australia on Monday to honour the victims of an antisemitic gun attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.
  • Alleged Bondi Beach shooter Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog starts a tightly secured visit to Australia on Monday to honour the victims of an antisemitic gun attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.
While the head of state seeks to console the Jewish Australian community, his four-day trip has also sparked calls for pro-Palestinian protests in Sydney's streets, where the authorities promised a large police presence.
Palestinian Action Group activists have organised a rally in central Sydney for late afternoon Monday to protest against Israel's alleged "genocide" in Gaza and to demand Herzog's arrest for allegedly inciting genocide.
The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry found last year that Herzog was liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians -- "an entire nation" -- were responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has "categorically" rejected the inquiry's report, describing it as "distorted and false" and calling for the body's abolition.
Australia's federal police have ruled out an arrest of the president, with senior officials telling lawmakers in parliament that Herzog had "full immunity" covering civil and criminal matters, including genocide.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people had a right to protest, but he urged them to be respectful of the families of those killed in the December 14 armed assault on crowds at a celebration of Hanukkah.

'Lives that were stolen'

"I along with President Herzog will meet with families of those victims, those innocent lives that were stolen," Albanese told reporters at the weekend.
"They were husbands, fathers, daughters, sisters, friends, loved ones," he added.
"In Australia, I think people want innocent lives to be protected, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian, but they want something else as well -- they don't want conflict brought here."
Police said Sunday they would deploy an "extremely large" force for the pro-Palestinian rally. 
Protest organisers had rejected a police request to move the demonstration from outside the city centre's Town Hall to a nearby park because of concerns about the limited size of the venue, said New South Wales acting assistant commissioner Paul Dunstan.
But the activists nevertheless stressed to police that they wanted a "peaceful and safe protest", he told a news conference.
State authorities have declared the Sydney visit to be a "major event", a designation that allows police to separate different groups to reduce the risk of confrontation.
Few other details have been released about Herzog's schedule, as is customary because of security concerns.

Antisemitism

The Israeli head of state's office has said he will "express solidarity and offer strength" when he visits bereaved families and Jewish communities across Australia while noting a "recent rise in antisemitism in the country".
Critics have accused Albanese's centre-left Labor Party government of moving too slowly to protect Jewish Australians despite a string of antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
Alleged Bondi Beach shooter Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack.
An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.
Among the victims were an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who confronted one of the gunmen, and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who was described at her funeral as a "ray of sunshine".
Many Jewish Australians have welcomed Herzog's trip.
"His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community," said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community's peak body.
But some in the Jewish community disagreed, with the progressive Jewish Council of Australia saying he is not welcome because of his alleged role in the "ongoing destruction of Gaza".
djw/mtp/des

meeting

Romania, Argentina leaders invited to Trump 'Board of Peace' meeting

BY MARIA DANILOVA

  • On Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he, too, had received an invitation to attend the meeting, and that he intended to go.
  • The presidents of Argentina and Romania said Sunday they have been invited to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's controversial "Board of Peace" in Washington on February 19.
  • On Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he, too, had received an invitation to attend the meeting, and that he intended to go.
The presidents of Argentina and Romania said Sunday they have been invited to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's controversial "Board of Peace" in Washington on February 19.
Originally designed by Trump as a mechanism to oversee the Gaza truce and post-war reconstruction, the board's mandate has since expanded, prompting concerns among critics that it could evolve into a rival to the United Nations.
Writing on his Facebook page, Romania's President Nicusor said his country had not yet made a decision as to whether it would participate.
That would depend, he said, "on discussions with our US partners on the format of the meeting for countries like Romania, which are not currently members of the Board but which wish to be part of it on condition its charter is revised".
Argentina's Javier Milei said he would attend the event, while skipping a gala that will be held at Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Monday, which he had been planning to attend, his Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni announced on Sunday.
On Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he, too, had received an invitation to attend the meeting, and that he intended to go.
The White House has not responded to an AFP request for comment.
Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, and some 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
But it has since taken shape as a vehicle for Trump's broader ambitions, with critics calling it another effort by the Republican president to bypass the UN as he seeks to reset the global order.
Dozens of world leaders have received invitations to be part of the "Board of Peace". Permanent members must pay $1 billion to join.
Some countries -- including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway -- have already declined to join it, and others have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.
Under its current charter, the "Board of Peace" has Trump both as its chairman and as the US representative.
It says Trump, as chairman, will have "exclusive authority to create, modify or dissolve entities as necessary" and that he can only be replaced in case of "voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity".
str-oaa/rmb/rh/md/msp

Anutin

Thailand's pilot PM lands runaway election win

BY SALLY JENSEN

  • He openly declared on Sunday that "Nationalism is in the heart of everybody in the Bhumjaithai Party."
  • Fresh from an election win that far surpassed expectations, Thailand's prime minister sat casually on the floor of a conference room at his party headquarters Sunday, joking with reporters before getting up to declare victory.
  • He openly declared on Sunday that "Nationalism is in the heart of everybody in the Bhumjaithai Party."
Fresh from an election win that far surpassed expectations, Thailand's prime minister sat casually on the floor of a conference room at his party headquarters Sunday, joking with reporters before getting up to declare victory.
Anutin Charnvirakul is the scion of a construction dynasty and a hobbyist jet pilot, but championed Thailand's decriminalisation of cannabis and styles himself as a man of the people.
He has a taste for street food, and appears on social media wearing a T-shirt and shorts while stir-frying with a wok, or performing 1980s Thai pop on the saxophone or piano.
It is an approach that plays well with Thai voters, who see him as effective and, crucially, his own man, unlike some other elite heirs.
At the same time he is seen as loyal to Thailand's traditional social order -- a stance that resonates with many in a still largely conservative society.
The 59-year-old rode to election victory on a wave of patriotism stemming from the border conflict with Cambodia that left scores dead on both sides last year and displaced more than one million people.
He openly declared on Sunday that "Nationalism is in the heart of everybody in the Bhumjaithai Party."
"You can look at the colour," he added, referring to the blue of his party and the Thai national flag.
He became prime minister in September after his predecessor and former coalition partner Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of now jailed former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by court order.
Anutin pulled out of a coalition with the Shinawatras' Pheu Thai party after Paetongtarn addressed Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen as "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent" in a leaked phone call, causing widespread backlash.
Soon after taking office, Anutin authorised the armed forces to take whatever action they saw fit on the border, without referring to the government first.
Thailand's military took control of some disputed areas in the latest fighting in December, before the current ceasefire was enacted.
"Nobody wants fighting, nobody wants conflict," he told AFP on the campaign trail, tucking into a bowl of noodle soup alongside party members in the capital's Chinatown neighbourhood.
"But we have to defend our integrity and sovereignty."

Family fortune

His family fortune centres on Sino-Thai Engineering, a construction firm that has secured lucrative government contracts over the decades, including for Bangkok's main airport and the parliament building. 
Anutin's father was acting prime minister during a 2008 political crisis and went on to spend three years as interior minister.
His political fortunes have long been intertwined with those of the Shinawatras, both as ally and rival.
A New York-trained industrial engineer, Anutin in his early 30s joined Thaksin's party, then named Thai Rak Thai, and was banned from political activity for five years when it was dissolved in 2007.
Grounded from politics, he learned to fly, collecting a small fleet of private planes he used to deliver donated organs to hospitals for transplants.
He returned as leader of Bhumjaithai, a party that has proved something of a political chameleon, joining several government coalitions. He served as deputy to his three prime ministerial predecessors, including Paetongtarn.
Earlier, he managed tourism-reliant Thailand's pandemic response as health minister under a military-led government, and made global headlines when he delivered in 2022 on a campaign promise to legalise cannabis, in an attempt to stimulate the economy.
Three months after taking office as prime minister, Anutin dissolved parliament and called the election, a bet that has paid off handsomely.
Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political scientist from Ubon Ratchathani University, said: "Nation, religion and monarchy -- those were the key elements of Thainess that Bhumjaithai symbolised for many voters." 
bur-sco/slb/des

Global Edition

Takaichi on course for landslide win in Japan election

BY KYOKO HASEGAWA AND CAROLINE GARDIN

  • The result would be the best for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since elections in 2017 under Takaichi's mentor, assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was on course for a thumping victory in snap elections on Sunday, a result that could however rile China and worry financial markets.
  • The result would be the best for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since elections in 2017 under Takaichi's mentor, assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was on course for a thumping victory in snap elections on Sunday, a result that could however rile China and worry financial markets.
Capitalising on her honeymoon start as Japan's first woman premier, Takaichi's ruling bloc looked to have secured a two-thirds majority in the lower house, according to media estimates.
The result would be the best for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since elections in 2017 under Takaichi's mentor, assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
The LDP alone was seen winning about 300 of the 465 seats up for grabs, up from 198, regaining a majority -- and potentially a super-majority on its own without its junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party.
"We have consistently stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy," a beaming Takaichi said late on Sunday.
"We will prioritise the sustainability of fiscal policy. We will ensure necessary investments. Public and private sectors must invest. We will build a strong and resilient economy," she said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed a "big victory" for Takaichi, saying that "when Japan is strong, the US is strong in Asia". 
The new Centrist Reform Alliance of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and the LDP's previous partner Komeito looked to have lost more than two-thirds of its 167 seats.
The anti-immigration Sanseito party was projected to have increased its seats from two to between five and 14, broadcaster NHK said.

A hit with voters

Takaichi has injected new life into the LDP, which has governed Japan almost non-stop for decades but which has shed support in recent elections because of unhappiness about rising prices and corruption.
A heavy metal drummer in her youth and an admirer of Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi was on the ultra-conservative fringe of the LDP when she became party chief and prime minister in October.
She has defied pessimists to be a hit with voters, especially young ones, with fans lapping up everything from her handbag to her jamming to a K-pop song with South Korea's president.
She also pulled out all the stops to welcome US President Donald Trump shortly after she took office.
Two days before the polls, Trump endorsed Takaichi as a "strong, powerful, and wise Leader, and one that truly loves her Country".
Thanking Trump on Sunday, Takaichi said in a post on X she looked forward to visiting the White House in the spring and underlined that the potential of the US-Japan alliance was "limitless".
But she will have to deliver on the economy and inflation, which contributed to the demise of her two predecessors, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba.
"With prices rising like this, what matters most to me is what policies they'll adopt to deal with inflation," Chika Sakamoto, 50, told AFP at a voting station in a snowy Tokyo on Sunday.
"Prices for just about everything are really going up, but incomes aren't rising much, so our disposable income is shrinking," she said.

Pandas and public debt

However, Takaichi has not had everything her own way, particularly with regard to worries about her stewardship of the public finances of Asia's number-two economy.
She followed up a $135 billion stimulus package aimed at easing the pain of inflation -- a big cause of voter discontent -- with a campaign promise to suspend a consumption tax on food.
Japan's debt is more than twice the size of the entire economy, and in recent weeks yields on long-dated bonds have hit record highs, causing jitters worldwide.
"Various parties are proposing policies like abolishing the consumption tax. While that might be fine for now, I'm very worried about whether such measures are truly responsible for the generations that come after us," voter Taku Sakamoto, 49, told AFP.
Takaichi's election triumph may also cause consternation in Beijing.
Barely two weeks in office, Takaichi -- seen before assuming the premiership as a China hawk -- suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.
China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, was furious with her unscripted remarks.
It summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia. Japan's last two pandas were even returned to China last month.
Margarita Estevez-Abe, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said the China episode raised Takaichi's popularity even more.
"Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP before the polls.
"So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China."
hih-kh-stu/hmn/pbt

Global Edition

Conservative Thai PM claims election victory

BY SALLY JENSEN

  • It would be a stunning turnaround for Anutin, whose party came third at the last election and who was only installed as prime minister by parliament in September, after two predecessors from Pheu Thai were ousted by the courts.
  • Thailand's conservative prime minister claimed victory in the country's general election Sunday, after television stations projected his party would be by far the largest in parliament after riding a wave of nationalism.
  • It would be a stunning turnaround for Anutin, whose party came third at the last election and who was only installed as prime minister by parliament in September, after two predecessors from Pheu Thai were ousted by the courts.
Thailand's conservative prime minister claimed victory in the country's general election Sunday, after television stations projected his party would be by far the largest in parliament after riding a wave of nationalism.
"We are likely to take first place in the election," Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at his party headquarters in Bangkok.
"The victory today belongs to all Thais, no matter whether you voted for us or not."
His Bhumjaithai party was forecast to win nearly 200 seats by Channel 3 on the basis of results from the parties. The progressive People's Party trailed far behind, just above 100 seats, ahead of jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Pheu Thai party in third.
It would be a stunning turnaround for Anutin, whose party came third at the last election and who was only installed as prime minister by parliament in September, after two predecessors from Pheu Thai were ousted by the courts.
Conceding defeat, People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told reporters in Bangkok that "we stand by our principle of respecting the party that finishes first and its right to form the government".
Foremost on many voters' minds was a longstanding border dispute with Cambodia that erupted into deadly fighting twice last year.
"We need a strong leader who can protect our sovereignty," said Yuernyong Loonboot, 64, the first voter to cast his ballot at a polling station in Buriram, Anutin's hometown.
"Living here, the border conflict has made me anxious. War was never something we used to think about."
Soon after taking office, Anutin authorised the armed forces to take whatever action they saw fit on the border, without referring to the government first.
Thailand's military took control of some disputed areas in the latest fighting in December, and a ceasefire is now in place.
"Nationalism is in the heart of everybody in the Bhumjaithai party," said Anutin, heir to a construction fortune and an amateur jet pilot who championed the legalisation of cannabis.
"You can look at the colour," he added, referring to the blue of his party and the Thai national flag.
Political analyst Titipol Phakdeewanich of Ubon Ratchathani University told AFP that Bhumjaithai had exceeded expectations in the election by embracing nationalism.
"They presented themselves as supportive of the military and the royalty," he said. "They represented a notion of 'Thainess' that had a significant impact on voters." 
The Southeast Asian nation's next government will also need to contend with anaemic economic growth -- the tourism sector is vital but arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid highs -- and the multibillion-dollar transnational cyberscam networks operating from several neighbouring countries.

Early release?

While Bhumjaithai looked unlikely to secure an overall majority in the 500-seat lower house, its seat share would give it the upper hand in coalition negotiations.
Thailand uses a mixed representation system, where 400 MPs are elected by individual constituencies, and 100 are allocated according to a separate ballot for party lists.
In its previous incarnation, Move Forward, the People's Party won the most seats at the last poll three years ago, but its candidate was blocked from the premiership and the party was later dissolved.
While Bhumjaithai touted its national defence credentials, especially after last year's clashes with Cambodia, the People's Party advocated ending conscription and cutting the number of generals.
Pheu Thai is seen as a likely coalition partner for Anutin -- they were allies until Bhumjaithai pulled out of a deal over the handling of the border dispute by then prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's daughter.
Paetongtarn had referred to Cambodia's strongman Hun Sen as "uncle" in a leaked phone call and described a Thai military commander as her "opponent".
Thaksin is currently serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption in office but many observers expect him to be released earlier than scheduled alongside a political agreement.
Pheu Thai has been Thailand's most successful political organisation of recent years and Thaksin's nephew was seeking to become the family's fifth prime minister, but the party's support has dropped precipitously from its heyday.
All three major parties offered various populist handouts and socioeconomic policies, including Pheu Thai's pledge to award nine daily prizes of one million baht ($31,000) each to boost the economy.

Constitution referendum

Thailand's political history is replete with military coups, bloody street protests and judicial bans on prime ministers and parties.
A constitution drafted under military rule following the last coup in 2014 gives significant power to institutions appointed by the senate, which is not directly elected.
But around 60 percent of voters were projected to have backed constitutional reform in principle in a referendum on Sunday, albeit with no specific measures on the table.
bur-sco/slb/ceg

Takaichi

Sanae Takaichi, Japan's triumphant first woman PM

  • While declaring the late British prime minister Thatcher as her political idol, she has so far shown little sign of leveraging her gender to attract support.
  • Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, entrenched her leadership on Sunday four months after becoming Japan's first woman prime minister, but she has shown little appetite for framing it around gender.
  • While declaring the late British prime minister Thatcher as her political idol, she has so far shown little sign of leveraging her gender to attract support.
Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, entrenched her leadership on Sunday four months after becoming Japan's first woman prime minister, but she has shown little appetite for framing it around gender.
Instead, it is her hardline stance on China, workaholic reputation and deft touch, especially with the young, that have shaped her still fledgling premiership and won endorsement from US President Donald Trump.
Takaichi, 64, looked to have won a resounding victory in snap lower house elections on Sunday, likely with a handy two-thirds majority for her ruling bloc that will put her in a powerful position to push through her legislative agenda.
A hawk on defence and economic security, she became Japan's fifth leader in as many years after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership in October.
She inherited a struggling LDP that voters had deserted en masse because of inflation, a slush fund scandal and the advent of the populist, anti-immigration Sanseito party.
True to her reputation as an ultraconservative, Takaichi as prime minister has sounded tough on immigration and has not shied away from incurring the wrath of China.
She suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China ever launched an attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory.

Vocal critic

The remark sparked a diplomatic row, with China announcing in January a broad ban on the export to Japan of "dual-use" goods with potential military applications.
Beijing has also reportedly been choking off exports of the rare earth products crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles.
It was not the first time Takaichi has been on the wrong side of China.
As a former economic security minister, she was a vocal critic of Beijing and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.
She has been supportive of Taiwan, saying during a visit in April that it was "crucial" to strengthen security cooperation between Taipei and Tokyo.
She has also been a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

Heavy metal and gifts for Trump

Once a drummer in a college heavy metal band, she put her musical skills to full use last month when she played two K-pop songs during a session with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Official footage of a smiling Takaichi drumming energetically with Lee led to widespread praise online, with some so surprised they wondered if the clip was AI-generated.
Echoing the playbook of her mentor, the assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, she wasted no time after taking office in courting Trump, showering him with praise and gifts ranging from a golf bag and putter to American beef.
While declaring the late British prime minister Thatcher as her political idol, she has so far shown little sign of leveraging her gender to attract support.
Takaichi's views on gender in fact put her on the right of an already conservative LDP. She opposes revising a 19th century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.
She has been married twice to the same man, a former member of parliament. Takaichi took his name during the first marriage. In the second, he took hers.
Despite her campaign promise to improve the gender balance in her administration to "Nordic" levels, she appointed just two other women to her 19-strong cabinet.
Japan ranked 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report, chiefly because of the under-representation of women in government.
She supports aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending, echoing the "Abenomics" of her mentor which, if implemented again, could rattle markets.
Takaichi has so far lived up to a vow she made after being elected LDP president in October: "I shall work, work, work, work and work."
She said in November she only sleeps between two and four hours every night, having raised eyebrows by arranging a 3:00 am staff meeting.
bur-stu/pbt

award

Paul Thomas Anderson wins top director prize for 'One Battle After Another'

  • Twenty of the 22 winners of the Directors Guild Awards have subsequently won the Oscar for best director, including the winners of the last three years: "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Oppenheimer" and "Anora." 
  • "One Battle After Another" director Paul Thomas Anderson won top honors at the Directors Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, solidifying his film's position as a strong favorite for the Oscars.
  • Twenty of the 22 winners of the Directors Guild Awards have subsequently won the Oscar for best director, including the winners of the last three years: "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Oppenheimer" and "Anora." 
"One Battle After Another" director Paul Thomas Anderson won top honors at the Directors Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, solidifying his film's position as a strong favorite for the Oscars.
Anderson, whose movie follows a former revolutionary who tries to protect his teenage daughter when the past comes back to haunt him, won the feature-film prize -- the award considered a key indicator of what might happen at the Academy Awards, which cap off the Hollywood awards season.
"It's a tremendous honor to be given this," Anderson said upon accepting the award at the gala held in Beverly Hills.
"We're going to take it with the love that it's given and the appreciation of all our comrades in this room," he added.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the film, which depicts a timeless America where white supremacists plot behind the scenes, immigration raids sweep through communities and revolutionary groups take up arms, also won recognition in January at the Critics' Choice Awards and the Golden Globes.
"One Battle After Another" will enter the Oscars as the second-most-nominated film, with 13 nominations. It is behind only the vampire film "Sinners" directed by Ryan Coogler, which garnered 16 nominations, a record for the Academy Awards.
Coogler was also nominated for the feature-film prize at the Directors Guild Awards.
Anderson received the statuette from Sean Baker, who won last year with his dark comedy "Anora," which went on to be an Oscar winner.
Twenty of the 22 winners of the Directors Guild Awards have subsequently won the Oscar for best director, including the winners of the last three years: "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Oppenheimer" and "Anora." 
Also on Saturday, Oscar-winning Ukrainian filmmaker and journalist Mstyslav Chernov won the award for best documentary film. His film "2000 Meters to Andriivka" follows a Ukrainian platoon on a campaign to liberate a Russian-occupied village and offers a glimpse into the harsh realities of war.
"It's scary to live in a world where, instead of a camera, you have to get a gun to defend your home, to defend what you believe in," Chernov said at the event hosted by comedian Kumail Nanjiani.
"I want to thank… every soldier, every civilian, every filmmaker who made a choice to leave the camera for now and get a gun and go and fight so I have a chance," he added.
pr/mas/lga/jfx

SuperBowl

NFL embraces fashion as league seeks new audiences

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • The adventures into fashion can relax players in the locker room prior to games, as athletes rib one another for their more brash selections.
  • It has become a staple of every NFL game's pre-show coverage -- footage of players strutting their way to stadium locker rooms wearing the latest daring sartorial choices.
  • The adventures into fashion can relax players in the locker room prior to games, as athletes rib one another for their more brash selections.
It has become a staple of every NFL game's pre-show coverage -- footage of players strutting their way to stadium locker rooms wearing the latest daring sartorial choices.
And a VIP fashion show Saturday ahead of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl clash with the Seattle Seahawks was the latest bet by the league that indulging its players' penchant for high-end designers is also good for the NFL's bottom line.
A sport for decades associated with no-nonsense jocks has in recent years encouraged its stars' newfound obsession with attire as a way to capture new fans beyond the sport's traditional base.
Female and global supporters are particularly coveted by a league that has essentially saturated its core, male-heavy demographic, with some 125 million Americans already tuning into last year's Super Bowl.
"People who love fashion are paying attention to it. Brands are getting involved. So I think it's opened another element to the game," Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown told AFP at the event.
NFL marketing bosses have been pursuing a broader "helmets off" strategy, including behind-the-scenes documentaries and social media clips, that seeks to make players more relatable by emphasizing their personalities and off-field interests.
Clubs regularly share footage of their players in designer outfits, or attending events like an Abercrombie & Fitch fashion event in San Francisco, hosted the night before Sunday's Super Bowl. 
Guests included league boss Roger Goodell and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
"Fashion is global," the San Francisco 49ers' All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, also in attendance, told AFP.
"Especially when you talk about the European market, a lot of the Asian markets where fashion is such a big part of culture.
"I think when you add a lot of our walk-out or entrance outfits that guys wear now, it helps reach a global audience."

'Gives us that swagger'

Abercrombie & Fitch was last year named the NFL's first official fashion partner, and athletes have countless personal tie-ins with brands like American Eagle.
Some of the game's top players, including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, have dedicated personal stylists and have popped up at global fashion shows in Paris and at the Met Gala.
According to Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, experimenting with haute couture can serve as a confidence booster.
"We don't just do it when we go to the games," he said. "We put this stuff on because it makes us feel good personally, and just gives us that little swagger, just to go about our day like that."
The adventures into fashion can relax players in the locker room prior to games, as athletes rib one another for their more brash selections.
"You'll always get some comments, especially when your outfit is pretty loud. But guys have fun with it, man," said McCaffrey.
Still, St Brown added, the fun stops when game time arrives.
"At the end of the day I'm still there to play football. It's not a fashion show," he said.
"But I still want to dress nice and feel good."
amz/nro/jfx

trees

Pakistan's capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents

BY SHROUQ TARIQ

  • Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
  • Pakistan's capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits.
  • Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
Pakistan's capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits.
Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
Many residents fear that vision is steadily being eroded, with concrete replacing green spaces.
Muhammad Naveed took the authorities to court this year over "large-scale tree cutting" for infrastructure projects, accusing them of felling "many mature trees" and leaving land "barren".
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) blamed major infrastructure development, including road construction and monuments, for the mass razing of trees and natural vegetation in Islamabad.
Between 2001 and 2024, the capital lost 14 hectares of tree cover, equal to 20 football pitches, according to Global Forest Watch, though the figure does not account for tree cover gains during the same period.
For Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, it feels like "they are cutting trees everywhere".
"It is not the same anymore," he told AFP.
"Trees are life. Thousands are cut to build one bridge."

Smog and pollen

Meanwhile, air quality in Islamabad continues to deteriorate.
Pollution is a longstanding problem, but plants can help by filtering dirty air, absorbing harmful gases and cooling cities.
"Forests act as powerful natural filters... cleaning the air and water, and reducing the overall impact of pollution," Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan's forest programme told AFP.
There were no good air quality days in Islamabad last month, with all but two classed as "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" by monitoring organisation IQAir.
While some trees are felled for infrastructure, officials justify removing others to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring.
That problem is largely attributed to paper mulberry trees, which were planted extensively during the city's early development.
"The main reason is pollen allergy," said Abdul Razzaq, an official from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad.
"People suffer from chest infections, asthma and severe allergic reactions. I do too," he told AFP.
The government plans to remove 29,000 pollen-producing trees and plants, according to a recent WWF report.
However, critics argue that pollen allergies are an excuse to justify broader tree-cutting, particularly linked to military and infrastructure projects.
The solution lies not in indiscriminate tree removal, but careful urban planning, experts say, replanting with non-allergenic species -- and greater transparency around development projects in the capital.

Capital under axe

In recent months, large bulldozers have been spotted levelling former green belts and wooded areas, including near major highways.
According to WWF and unnamed government officials, some of the cleared land is tapped for monuments commemorating the brief but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and neighbouring India last May.
Other plots were razed to make way for military-linked infrastructure.
"We know that trees are being cut for military-related projects, but there is not much we can do," a government source told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
"The people in power, the military, can do whatever they want."
Pakistan's powerful military has ruled the country for decades through coups and is deeply involved in the country's politics and economy, analysts say.
At a proposed military monument site along the city's express highway, WWF recorded more than six hectares of land clearing last year, with work continuing in 2026.
It saw "no active plantation... indicating that the clearing is infrastructure driven".
The military did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Naveed's court case seeking to halt the widespread felling, which is still being heard, argues there is "no excuse" for the tree loss.
If a monument is "deemed essential, why was it not placed in any existing park or public place?", he argues.
In reply to Naveed's petition, authorities said roads and infrastructure projects were approved under regulations dating back to 1992.
stm/rsc/je/sah/cms

Russia

Berlin's crumbling 'Russian houses' trapped in bureaucratic limbo

BY JASTINDER KHERA

  • Germany has been Ukraine's second-biggest backer, and diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow are in the freezer.
  • The thorny issue of what to do with Russian assets has not only stumped Western leaders but also officials in Berlin who are saddled with three crumbling buildings belonging to Moscow.
  • Germany has been Ukraine's second-biggest backer, and diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow are in the freezer.
The thorny issue of what to do with Russian assets has not only stumped Western leaders but also officials in Berlin who are saddled with three crumbling buildings belonging to Moscow.
Known locally as the "Russian houses", they sheltered Soviet soldiers and their families in the eastern neighbourhood of Karlshorst, the site of the Nazis' final capitulation, which then housed the Soviet military's headquarters in communist East Germany.
Since the last Russian soldiers left in 1994, the apartment blocks have stood empty and untouched, even after Moscow was hit with waves of European sanctions over its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany has been Ukraine's second-biggest backer, and diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow are in the freezer.
Other Russia-linked property in Germany, such as the subsidiaries of oil giant Rosneft, have also been in limbo, with the fear of retaliation hanging over any attempt to seize them. 
Only raccoons are said to live in the Karlshorst buildings and birch saplings are sprouting out of a balcony.
Karlshorst's representative in the assembly of the city-state of Berlin, Ukrainian-born Lilia Usik, has over the past two years been trying to ascertain if the buildings can be seized or possibly used to help Ukraine.
Usik says locals have "asked again and again: 'What's happening with the houses? Can you do something about them?'" 
But tricky questions around property rights and multiple layers of bureaucracy mean there is no sign of a quick resolution.

Pass the parcel

Despite her energetic enquiries to several layers of officialdom within Germany and beyond, Usik says she "hasn't been able to find a solution".
It is not clear what German authorities want to do and any attempt to get clarity turns into a game of bureaucratic pass the parcel.
The foreign ministry says the buildings do not have protected diplomatic status and Russia has "the same rights and responsibilities as any other owner".
Berlin's city government says it can only use the houses if there is "a willingness on the part of Russia" to hand them over, telling AFP that "at the moment this is not in evidence".
It approached the Russian embassy in 2020 to see if Moscow was willing to sell them but received no reply.
Some have asked why they cannot be seized under laws meant to prevent homes standing empty or becoming uninhabitable -- particularly in a city with a housing shortage.
Berlin city's government says confiscating the properties on these grounds would be the job of the Lichtenberg city district that takes in Karlshorst.
Further complicating matters, one of the buildings is listed as a heritage-protected monument.
Contacted by AFP, the Lichtenberg district council would only say it is "coordinating with the city authorities and the foreign ministry".
Usik, a Russian speaker, says she has noted a "very aggressive" tone in the Russian press when the houses are discussed.
The Russian embassy in Berlin, when asked for its position on the houses by AFP, declined to comment.
jsk/fz/ach/lb

poverty

Neglected killer: kala-azar disease surges in Kenya

BY MARY KULUNDU

  • Abdirahman, a 60-year-old grandmother, was bitten while herding livestock in Mandera county in Kenya's northeast, a hotspot for the parasite but with only three treatment facilities capable of treating the disease.
  • For nearly a year, repeated misdiagnoses of the deadly kala-azar disease left 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman's health deteriorating, as an outbreak in Kenya's arid regions claimed a record number of lives.
  • Abdirahman, a 60-year-old grandmother, was bitten while herding livestock in Mandera county in Kenya's northeast, a hotspot for the parasite but with only three treatment facilities capable of treating the disease.
For nearly a year, repeated misdiagnoses of the deadly kala-azar disease left 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman's health deteriorating, as an outbreak in Kenya's arid regions claimed a record number of lives.
Kala-azar is spread by sandflies and is one of the most dangerous neglected tropical diseases, with a fatality rate of 95 percent if untreated, causing fever, weight loss, and enlargement of the spleen and liver.  
Cases of kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, have spiked in Kenya, from 1,575 in 2024 to 3,577 in 2025, according to the health ministry.
It is spreading to previously untouched regions and becoming endemic, driven by changing climatic conditions and expanding human settlements, say health officials, with millions potentially at risk of infection.
Abdirahman, a 60-year-old grandmother, was bitten while herding livestock in Mandera county in Kenya's northeast, a hotspot for the parasite but with only three treatment facilities capable of treating the disease.
She was forced to rely on a local pharmacist who repeatedly misdiagnosed her with malaria and dengue fever for about a year. 
"I thought I was dying," she told AFP. "It is worse than all the diseases they thought I had."
She was left with hearing problems after the harsh treatment to remove the toxins from her body.
East Africa generally accounts for more than two-thirds of global cases, according to the World Health Organization.
"Climate change is expanding the range of sandflies and increasing the risk of outbreaks in new areas," said Dr Cherinet Adera, a researcher at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative in Nairobi. 

'So scared'

A surge in cases among migrant workers at a quarry site in Mandera last year led authorities to restrict movement at dusk and dawn when sandflies are most active.
At least two workers died, their colleagues said. Others returned to their villages and their fates are unknown. 
"We did not know about the strange disease causing our colleagues to die," said Evans Omondi, 34, who travelled hundreds of miles from western Kenya to work at the quarry. 
"We were so scared," added Peter Otieno, another worker from western Kenya, recalling how they watched their infected colleagues waste away day by day.
In 2023, the six most-affected African nations adopted a framework in Nairobi to eliminate the disease by 2030.
But there are "very few facilities in the country able to actively diagnose and treat," kala-azar, Dr Paul Kibati, tropical disease expert for health NGO Amref, told AFP.
He said more training is needed as mistakes in testing and treatment can be fatal.
The treatment can last up to 30 days and involves daily injections and often blood transfusions, costing as much as 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($775), excluding the cost of drugs, said Kibati, adding there is a need for "facilities to be adequately equipped".
The sandfly commonly shelters in cracks in poorly plastered mud houses, anthills and soil fissures, multiplying during the rainy season after prolonged drought.
Northeastern Kenya, as well as neighbouring regions in Ethiopia and Somalia, have experienced a devastating drought in recent months. 
"Kala-azar affects mostly the poorest in our community," Kibati said, exacerbated by malnutrition and weak immunity.
"We are expecting more cases when the rains start," Kibati said.
mnk/er/ach/lb

diplomacy

Iran FM looks to more nuclear talks, but warns US

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

'Good start'

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

'Defence issue'

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

Protests toll

Friday's talks between the two arch enemies came amid a major US military buildup in the region in the wake of Iran's crackdown on protests that began in late December, driven by economic grievances.
The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.
International organisations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has kept a running toll since the onset of the protests, says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mainly of protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation. It has also counted more than 51,000 arrests.
bur/lb/abs

Global Edition

Haiti's transitional council hands power to PM

  • The transfer of power between the nine-member council, created in April 2024, and 54-year-old businessman Fils-Aime took place under tight security, given Haiti's unstable political climate.
  • Haiti's presidential transitional council, which has run the impoverished Caribbean nation for nearly two years, on Saturday handed power to US-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, after failing to rein in rampant gang violence. 
  • The transfer of power between the nine-member council, created in April 2024, and 54-year-old businessman Fils-Aime took place under tight security, given Haiti's unstable political climate.
Haiti's presidential transitional council, which has run the impoverished Caribbean nation for nearly two years, on Saturday handed power to US-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, after failing to rein in rampant gang violence. 
The transfer of power between the nine-member council, created in April 2024, and 54-year-old businessman Fils-Aime took place under tight security, given Haiti's unstable political climate.
"Our watchwords are clear: security, political dialogue, elections, stability. Mr Prime Minister, in this historic moment, I know that you are gauging the depth of the responsibility you are taking on for the country," council president Laurent Saint-Cyr told Fils-Aime.
Fils-Aime is now the country's only politician with executive power.
He faces the daunting task of organizing elections with the backing of a polarized political establishment. 
For years, Haiti -- the poorest country in the Americas -- has been in the throes of deadly gang violence, with frequent murders, rapes and kidnappings.
Elections have not taken place since 2016, and the country has not had a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021.
Gangs now control 90 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, and they killed nearly 6,000 people in 2025, according to the United Nations.
About 1.4 million people, or 10 percent of the population, have been displaced by the violence, and nearly half of all Haitians face acute food insecurity, including 1.2 million children under the age of five. 
Amid fears of a political vacuum, the United States -- which sent three warships to Haiti this week -- threw its support behind Fils-Aime.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed "the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti's prime minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilize the island."
Washington also sanctioned two council members and a minister, accusing them of supporting gangs.
For several weeks, Haitian police have been conducting a large-scale offensive against gangs in central Port-au-Prince, destroying one home belonging to notorious gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as "Barbecue."
jds-pno/sst/aha