Global Edition

Netanyahu bloc leads after half of Israeli votes counted but no majority

Global Edition

Netanyahu bloc leads after half of Israeli votes counted but no majority

  • After 51.8 percent of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was shown to have 55 of the 120 seats in the parliament.
  • The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of his rival's opposition bloc but still short of a majority on Wednesday after 50 percent of votes were counted in Israel's pivotal general election.
  • After 51.8 percent of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was shown to have 55 of the 120 seats in the parliament.
The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of his rival's opposition bloc but still short of a majority on Wednesday after 50 percent of votes were counted in Israel's pivotal general election.
Voters turned out in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
Following the vote, both Netanyahu and his rival Gadi Eisenkot vowed to form a government despite neither being projected to win a majority.
After 51.8 percent of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was shown to have 55 of the 120 seats in the parliament.
Eisenkot's opposition bloc had 49 seats and the Arab parties 16. The partial results are likely to change as more votes are counted.
Exit polls had shown that Eisenkot, a former military chief and political novice, and his opposition bloc were neck-and-neck with Netanyahu's hard-right camp, with both winning about 51 seats, well away from the threshold for a majority in parliament.
The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Netanyahu, who has relentlessly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction in which he has taken Israel.
The partial results suggest that Eisenkot's bloc would have enough seats for a majority if there was a coalition agreement with the Arab parties. 
But Eisenkot said during the campaign he would not govern with Israeli Arab lawmakers, echoing the position of Netanyahu, who has suggested a government relying on Arab votes would lack legitimacy.
Arab lawmakers could also give Eisenkot support in parliamentary votes to maintain a minority government without joining a coalition. 
A lack of clear majority for either camp could mean weeks spent trying to cobble together coalitions, with possible new elections on the horizon if negotiations fail.
A stalemate could in the immediate term benefit Netanyahu, who would remain caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.
Full results are expected by Thursday evening or Friday morning. 
Netanyahu, greeting cheering supporters at a Jerusalem convention centre after 3 am (0100 GMT) on Wednesday morning, called for a "strong government of the right" and said the "Jewish and Zionist majority must unite".
The 77-year-old prime minister, who has governed Israel on and off for nearly two decades, was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his endorsement of Netanyahu had helped the premier "a lot".

'Public voted for change'

Speaking to supporters in Tel Aviv, 66-year-old Eisenkot issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu, who observers say could use a war to push for a unity government.
"Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said.
He called Netanyahu "a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people's trust".
The vote came as Israel looks increasingly isolated on the world stage, driven by the war in Iran and the military campaign in Gaza, as well as soaring settlement construction and violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Eisenkot shares many of Netanyahu's views on security and has backed the Gaza offensive that has reduced the territory to rubble. 
But he has vowed to create a more inclusive atmosphere inside Israel and to rein in violent West Bank settlers.
After a turnout of nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999, Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.
"The public has voted for change," he said. "A worthy leader would accept the people's vote of no confidence and announce his retirement from political life today."
Exit polls had shown Israeli Arab lists projected to win 18 or 19 seats, a sharp gain.
Arab Israelis, also known as Palestinian citizens of Israel, account for about 21 percent of the country's population.
bur-acc/axn

travel

Two hundred 'Cruise for life' passengers stranded in Cambodia

  • He said it was not a "luxury" ship but affordable -- until the company started "begging for money".
  • Around 200 passengers who paid to live on a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in a Cambodian port after the company ran out of money, an official said on Wednesday.
  • He said it was not a "luxury" ship but affordable -- until the company started "begging for money".
Around 200 passengers who paid to live on a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in a Cambodian port after the company ran out of money, an official said on Wednesday.
US-based operator Villa Vie Residences announced on Tuesday it had "suspended operations in Cambodia" as it worked to address "extraordinary increases" in fuel costs following the Iran war.
The 200-metre (656-foot) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 for a continuous voyage for which residents could buy or rent rooms for a holiday or for life -- some passengers selling everything they had to pay for it.
However, passengers were given just seven hours to pack their bags and leave during a scheduled stop in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, according to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.
He said in a statement 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived aboard the Bahamas-flagged ship from Thailand on October 23, and had been due to go on to Vietnam.
"The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries," he said.
Some passengers took flights out while others remained in the city, he said, adding that the ship itself was due to refuel and leave on October 31.
Randy Cassingham, a passenger on board who runs a cruise blog, wrote that the disembarkation order followed a "cascade of problems".
Under a post entitled "Abandon Ship!", he said its Belfast launch was delayed by four months, while the ship never reached its capacity of 650 residents, peaking at around 350. 
He said it was not a "luxury" ship but affordable -- until the company started "begging for money".
Villa Vie said in its statement per-cabin monthly fuel expenses had gone from an average of $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.
"The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure," it said.
Cassingham accused the company of doing "absolutely nothing to help" stranded passengers.
Villa Vie said it was "working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements".
"Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop," it said.
suy-ar/sco/pbt

cheetah

India vows action after first cheetah shot dead

  • Their African cousins were first reintroduced in September 2022 to India, to the Kuno National Park, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of New Delhi.
  • India has vowed "swift action" after a cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began reintroducing the animals in 2022, the government said Wednesday.
  • Their African cousins were first reintroduced in September 2022 to India, to the Kuno National Park, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of New Delhi.
India has vowed "swift action" after a cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began reintroducing the animals in 2022, the government said Wednesday.
The environment ministry said it had ordered a "high-level team for an on-ground investigation" into the shooting of the 19-month-old male, treating the incident with "utmost gravity".
The India-born cheetah -- whose mother was among those introduced to India from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa as part of efforts to restore the planet's fastest land animal -- was shot as it prowled in forests outside a protected national park.
Asiatic cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. The critically endangered subspecies, once found across the Middle East, Central Asia and India, now survives in very small numbers in Iran.
Their African cousins were first reintroduced in September 2022 to India, to the Kuno National Park, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of New Delhi.
The wounded cheetah was picked up on Sunday in forests in Madhya Pradesh state, outside Kuno's boundaries, and taken for veterinary care.
"During the surgery, five firearm pellets were recovered from its body," the environment ministry said.
Despite efforts, the cheetah died on Tuesday.
"Medical examinations corroborated multiple internal injuries associated with the recovered firearm pellets," it added.
The high-profile project, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been dogged by criticism over the deaths of several of the cats.
But experts in animal reintroductions say they often result in more than 50 percent mortality, especially in the initial phases.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which oversees the cheetah project, said that survival rates and hunting successes are "comparable to other international cheetah reintroduction efforts, with recorded wild prey kills confirming successful adaptation to the Indian landscape".
The total cheetah population in the wild in India is around 60, including some 40 Indian-born cheetahs.
uzm/pjm/fox

AI

S.African activists push back on data centre rush

BY SHAKIRAH THEBUS WITH JEANETTE CHABALALA IN JOHANNESBURG

  • It affects socio-economic development because any form of development must benefit the community," he told AFP.  HA has been joined by UK non-profit Foxglove and other groups in appealing the city's rezoning of a portion of land near Barcelona acquired by US-based Equinix, which operates around 280 data centres worldwide.
  • A little boy balanced a large bottle of water on his shoulder as he returned from a communal tap near land acquired by a major data centre developer in South Africa's water-scarce city of Cape Town.
  • It affects socio-economic development because any form of development must benefit the community," he told AFP.  HA has been joined by UK non-profit Foxglove and other groups in appealing the city's rezoning of a portion of land near Barcelona acquired by US-based Equinix, which operates around 280 data centres worldwide.
A little boy balanced a large bottle of water on his shoulder as he returned from a communal tap near land acquired by a major data centre developer in South Africa's water-scarce city of Cape Town.
In the maze-like community of Barcelona, there is no piped water or sanitation in the small metal homes that bake in the heat, and older residents pay boys a few rands to go to the tap for them.
The prospect of a water- and power-hungry hyperscale data centre near areas of the city where thousands of people lack proper access to these resources has alarmed activists.
Civil society groups have demanded a halt in the construction of new centres in South Africa -- which already has more than 60, the most on the continent -- pending the establishment of dedicated regulations in a boom sector being driven by AI.
"It's a direct land issue," said Housing Assembly (HA) movement activist Kenneth Matlawe, who lived in Barcelona for 15 years.  
"It affects the water and sanitation policy. It affects socio-economic development because any form of development must benefit the community," he told AFP. 
HA has been joined by UK non-profit Foxglove and other groups in appealing the city's rezoning of a portion of land near Barcelona acquired by US-based Equinix, which operates around 280 data centres worldwide.
The rezoning could open the way for Equinix to develop the land near the international airport but managing director Sandile Dube told AFP the company had no immediate plans to do so.
Should a project go ahead, it would "follow the due process that takes into consideration some of the concerns that the local communities might have," he said.
The appeal was heard this month with a non-binding recommendation due within 90 days.

Breakneck speed

The government is welcoming data centre investment to promote the country -- home to the fastest expansion on the continent -- as "Africa's digital gateway". 
But HA and the Extinction Rebellion climate group called in a petition to the Cape Town mayor in September for a halt until "clearly defined, enforceable regulations and standards are in place to govern this rapidly expanding industry."
The city has around a dozen centres and has approved licences for five more.
"If we need to move forward at breakneck speed to roll out the red carpet and let industries build data centres... we need to have proper understanding of what the law allows and regulation needs to happen," said Legal Resources Centre attorney Saadiyah Kadwa, who represents HA and the others.
"It's not just Cape Town, it's the entire South Africa," she told AFP. 
In a submission to the South African Human Rights Commission, they said hyperscale data centre facilities could consume more than 4.4 billion litres of water a year, if the standard cooling method was used.
This equalled the annual water use of more than 18,000 households, they said. 
Water supply is a fraught issue in Cape Town which narrowly avoided a "Day Zero" water shutdown in 2018 and could reportedly face restrictions from December as the warming El Nino weather pattern takes hold.
Dube said Equinix facilities use dry cooling that makes minimal use of water and aim to use "biorenewable" energy in order to not strain local power grids.
A 160 MW data centre could use about 1.4 billion kWh a year if running at full load, University of Cape Town information systems senior lecturer Pitso Tsibolane told AFP. 

Clear rules

While there are no specific regulations on data centres, they have to comply with existing building and environmental laws, and prioritise "the self-provision of electricity and water," digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi said. 
Hopes that data centres would provide jobs that are desperately needed in South Africa have also been squashed. 
"Once operating, they are among the least labour-intensive buildings in the economy," Tsibolane said.
Equinix said its centre outside Johannesburg had employed around 750 people during construction but now had 26 permanent staffers. 
Tsibolane said a dedicated legal framework for hyperscale facilities must "require disclosure of electricity demand, water use, cooling design, backup generation and cumulative impact before approval, and make those conditions enforceable."
"Serious investors are not deterred by clear rules," he said. 
str-jc/br/cw

conflict

'Now or Never': Ethiopia influencers push for Eritrea invasion

BY TOLERA FIKRU GEMTA

  • "The Ethiopian government currently holds a military and technological advantage, supported by a highly motivated force capable of advancing its strategic goal of securing sea access," Jawar said, adding that delays could give Eritrea time to strengthen its defences. 
  • Ethiopian online influencers are pushing for their government to invade neighbouring Eritrea and seize access to the sea, following its success against rebel and Eritrean forces in recent weeks. 
  • "The Ethiopian government currently holds a military and technological advantage, supported by a highly motivated force capable of advancing its strategic goal of securing sea access," Jawar said, adding that delays could give Eritrea time to strengthen its defences. 
Ethiopian online influencers are pushing for their government to invade neighbouring Eritrea and seize access to the sea, following its success against rebel and Eritrean forces in recent weeks. 
The Ethiopian army has advanced right up to the border after repelling an offensive by rebels in the northern Tigray state, who were supported by Eritrean troops. 
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly said that securing a base on the Red Sea is a vital national objective for Ethiopia, which lost its coastline when Eritrea gained independence in 1993. 
Some popular online influencers say the opportunity has arrived.
"The time for military action to secure access to the sea and end the Eritrean regime security threat is now for Ethiopia," Jawar Mohammed, a prominent political activist who recently launched the "Now or Never" campaign on social media, told AFP. 
Jawar has more than 3.5 million Facebook followers and 1.3 million on TikTok, and thousands of Ethiopians have amplified his campaign, some sharing AI-generated images of themselves in Ethiopian military uniforms as a mark of support.
Jawar, 40, was once the leader of a protest movement that helped propel Abiy to power in 2018, but fell out with the prime minister over what he sees as an increasing shift to "one-man rule", and was jailed for two years before fleeing the country. 
Despite years of criticising Abiy's government from an undisclosed new location in Europe, the war has brought Jawar back to the government's side. 
"The Ethiopian government currently holds a military and technological advantage, supported by a highly motivated force capable of advancing its strategic goal of securing sea access," Jawar said, adding that delays could give Eritrea time to strengthen its defences. 
Eliyas Kebede, 25, from Addis Ababa, also spends hours every day online, posting and creating AI-generated content to support the idea of invading Eritrea, including altered maps that show the Eritrean port of Assab as part of Ethiopia.
"I see myself as someone who tries to defend his country's narrative," he told AFP. He would like to see the "Ethiopian army advance to Asmara, oust the Eritrean government, and negotiate access to Assab."
Not everyone agrees with his approach. 
"You are a warmonger, recklessly paving the way for mass deaths," said one Facebook commenter under an image Eliyas created of a large crowd of Eritreans warmly welcoming the Ethiopian army to Assab. 
Eliyas says he does not feel guilty "at all". 
"I believe my use of AI has been somewhat successful in boosting the morale of Ethiopian army supporters," he said.
 

'Rally the diaspora'

 
With both Ethiopia and Eritrea reinforcing troop deployments along their border, the international community has expressed mounting concern about the risk of a new war.
Ethiopia has one of the harshest media climates in the world -- ranked 148th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders -- so many young Ethiopians rely heavily on social media for news.
Kjetil Tronvoll, a Horn of Africa specialist at Oslo New University College, said the online campaign would not sway the government's decision on whether to invade. 
But it can "rally the diaspora and local communities around the need for regime change in Eritrea," he told AFP.
Yaya Beshir, a prominent online activist who has backed the campaign from Australia, posts regularly about invading Eritrea to more than 740,000 Facebook followers.
He acknowledged that forcibly seizing Eritrea's Assab port could trigger a regional security crisis, but is unconcerned. 
"Ethiopia initially prioritised a peaceful solution, but after those efforts failed, it has now turned to military means," Yaya said. 
str-er/eab/

advertising

Mbappe furore rages on in China, but Mao comments censored

BY ISABEL KUA

  • The Real Madrid player apologised on Tuesday for saying that the funniest internet meme involving him was of his face photoshopped onto "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao.
  • Kylian Mbappe struggled to dissipate anger on Chinese social media on Wednesday despite apologising for his comments on Mao Zedong that cost him  several commercial deals in the huge market.
  • The Real Madrid player apologised on Tuesday for saying that the funniest internet meme involving him was of his face photoshopped onto "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao.
Kylian Mbappe struggled to dissipate anger on Chinese social media on Wednesday despite apologising for his comments on Mao Zedong that cost him  several commercial deals in the huge market.
Mocking Mao remains strictly taboo 50 years after the former leader's death, and Mbappe has been dropped by several Chinese brands and state television has scrapped broadcasts of the Spanish league.
The Real Madrid player apologised on Tuesday for saying that the funniest internet meme involving him was of his face photoshopped onto "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao.
Mbappe's original joke was not reposted -- or had been scrubbed -- from China's tightly-controlled social media, with state media omitting any references to Mao, saying instead that the footballer had made "inappropriate remarks concerning China".
But the footballer continued to face a torrent of criticism from Chinese users on Wednesday.
"His remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people, so they cannot be translated," wrote one user on social media platform Weibo.
Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu had meanwhile frozen Mbappe's account, where he has over a million followers, preventing him from gaining any new ones.
The same was done on the Weibo app, with a notice stating that "the user has been banned from following due to violating laws or the Weibo Community Convention".
Some Chinese media reports said global brands like Dior and Hublot had removed their Mbappe-related content on Weibo.
An AFP search on Dior and Hublot's Weibo page with Mbappe's Chinese name produced no results.
Offline too, the Mbappe brand appeared to be scrubbed from stores.
When AFP visited the Adidas flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun shopping district, Real Madrid jerseys were available for sale, but none bearing Mbappe's name.
Mbappe merchandise including unofficial jerseys, beanies and caps remains available on retail app Taobao.
Chinese state media have previously praised Mbappe as a "footballing sensation" and "talent", with the striker well-loved by fans in the country.
His face is plastered on billboards, on electrolyte drinks and across social media.
Mbappe is also sometimes affectionately referred to as "Guigui", meaning "turtle" in Chinese, for his resemblance to a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
isk/stu/hmn

court

Judges set to rule on Australian mushroom killer's appeal

  • Patterson, 52, was found guilty last year of murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef-and-pastry meal laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.
  • Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson will learn Friday if she has succeeded in overturning her conviction for killing three people with a poisoned beef Wellington lunch.
  • Patterson, 52, was found guilty last year of murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef-and-pastry meal laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.
Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson will learn Friday if she has succeeded in overturning her conviction for killing three people with a poisoned beef Wellington lunch.
Patterson, 52, was found guilty last year of murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef-and-pastry meal laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.
A judge sentenced her to life imprisonment, eligible for parole after 33 years.
In August this year, her lawyers argued before the Court of Appeal in Melbourne that she had suffered a miscarriage of justice.
They alleged a litany of irregularities in the trial, including an "oppressive" cross-examination and unfair decisions on the admission of evidence.
Prosecutors also appealed, however, saying her 33-year non-parole period was "manifestly inadequate" -- and she should never be allowed to walk free.
On Friday morning, the Court of Appeal will hand down its decision on both appeals, officials said.
On the conviction, the judges must decide whether there are even grounds to give her leave to appeal.
If they agree to do so, the judges may dismiss the appeal or uphold it, in which case they may order a new trial or acquit her.
On her sentence, the court will either dismiss the prosecution's appeal or uphold it and re-sentence her.
Patterson was not expected to attend in person.
Her trial last year drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to a courthouse in the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses.
Audiences from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the "mushroom murders".
The motive of the killings remains a mystery.
A 12-person jury found Patterson guilty in July last year of murdering her husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, at her home in the Victorian farming village of Leongatha.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian, a pastor who fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.
sft-djw/fox

Syria

Syria reopens Jordan border crossing after mending ties

BY MAHER AL-MOUNES WITH KAMAL TAHA IN AMMAN

  • The main Nassib border crossing, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, was closed following the strikes, but passenger and commercial movement will return to normal as of Wednesday morning, senior Syrian customs official Mazen Alloush told state news agency SANA. Last week, gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan's Karak governorate, killing nine people and wounding 25 -- prompting a military response from Amman.
  • Syria reopened its main border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday as the two countries reaffirmed ties that were strained by a deadly retaliatory strike by Jordanian forces.
  • The main Nassib border crossing, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, was closed following the strikes, but passenger and commercial movement will return to normal as of Wednesday morning, senior Syrian customs official Mazen Alloush told state news agency SANA. Last week, gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan's Karak governorate, killing nine people and wounding 25 -- prompting a military response from Amman.
Syria reopened its main border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday as the two countries reaffirmed ties that were strained by a deadly retaliatory strike by Jordanian forces.
Jordan's strike -- a reprisal against a gun attack on a church -- sparked the worst crisis between the two countries since the ousting of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Syria condemned the strikes on the country's south as an "unacceptable violation", while Jordan said it killed more than 20 jihadist fighters in its raid.
Jordan sought to ease tensions on Tuesday, saying it had "great respect" for its neighbour and expressed regret for civilian casualties.
The main Nassib border crossing, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, was closed following the strikes, but passenger and commercial movement will return to normal as of Wednesday morning, senior Syrian customs official Mazen Alloush told state news agency SANA.
Last week, gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan's Karak governorate, killing nine people and wounding 25 -- prompting a military response from Amman.
While Jordan insisted it coordinated its airstrikes with Syria, Damascus denied the claim, and Syria's civil defence agency said the raids killed seven people, including three children.
On Tuesday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke to his Syrian counterpart and emphasised Jordan's "full respect for Syria's sovereignty... and security", while also expressing "sorrow and grief over the death of innocent civilian victims", according to a joint statement.
The two officials also discussed the raids against what the statement branded as "Daesh sites", using an acronym to refer to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Earlier, Jordan's government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani had said that "the preliminary results... indicate significant losses among Daesh's ranks -- estimated at more than 20 fighters".
He also said "a large weapons depot belonging to the organisation" had been destroyed.

'Blatant violation'

Earlier, Syria's foreign ministry issued a "condemnation and rejection" of the strikes, calling them "an unacceptable violation and breach of Syrian airspace without any prior coordination".
It also said the raid was "a blatant violation of the principles of good-neighbourliness and Syrian national sovereignty".
In the coming days, a joint Syrian-Jordanian security committee will meet to discuss the operations against IS, a government source told Syrian state news agency SANA.
Syria said five people, including a woman and three children, were killed in the village of Al-Taf in Daraa province, which borders Jordan, with two other people killed elsewhere in the south.
"We were asleep when the missile hit us. My mother, my older brother and his three children -- two boys and a girl -- were killed," said Nassouh al-Salim in Al-Taf, staring at a grey body bag.
An AFP reporter saw a huge crater in the family's destroyed home, with school books, clothes and the remains of furniture strewn among the rubble.
Syrian Emergencies and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh said on Tuesday that both sides were handling the dispute through "diplomatic and legal channels" with the aim of securing justice for the victims.

'Dark ideologies'

On Monday, Amman said authorities had arrested three Jordanians accused of the church killings, two of them brothers and the other related by marriage.
Authorities said the suspects were hospitalised after being wounded in a shootout with security forces.
Karak is home to a significant Christian community in Muslim-majority Jordan, where Christians make up between two and three percent of the population.
"We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated," King Abdullah II said.
IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, after it seized swathes of territory during the country's more than 13-year civil war.
But remnants are still present, and the group occasionally claims attacks, mainly targeting Syrian security forces.
The group has previously been present in parts of Daraa province.
burs-ser-lg/jfx/hol/fox

cyclone

Cyclone Arnab lashes India coast, no deaths reported

BY SHUBHAM KOUL

  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said there had been no reported deaths from the storm, congratulating government officers who had "worked tirelessly throughout the night".
  • Ferocious winds and torrential rain lashed India's southeastern coast after a cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, but there were no initial reports of deaths, a top official said.
  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said there had been no reported deaths from the storm, congratulating government officers who had "worked tirelessly throughout the night".
Ferocious winds and torrential rain lashed India's southeastern coast after a cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, but there were no initial reports of deaths, a top official said.
Cyclone Arnab hit southestern Andhra Pradesh state as a "very severe cyclonic storm", with winds of 115-125 kilometres (71-77 miles) per hour and gusts reaching 140 kph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in an update at 0830 am (0300 GMT).
It warned of flash floods along the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said there had been no reported deaths from the storm, congratulating government officers who had "worked tirelessly throughout the night".
Naidu "expressed satisfaction that no loss of life occurred due to the proactive measures taken", his office said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
Around 50,000 people were told to move to safer areas in Andhra Pradesh and another 48,000 in neighbouring Odisha state.
"Our homes get flooded, and we have to stay in the water," said Rajeshwari, 65, who gave only one name and had been taken to a government-run shelter near Kakinada.
Overnight, gales battered trees and heavy rain lashed the port city of Kakinada, close to the heart of the storm, as powerful waves crashed ashore.
But at dawn on Wednesday, residents emerged onto flooded streets to assess what appeared to be limited damage in the city.

'Safe indoors'

"Thank God, there was not as much damage this time," said businessman Hussain, 43, who uses one name.
"The sea is very rough, several trees have fallen, and sheds and hoardings have been damaged. The government declared a two-day holiday for schools, so people are staying safe indoors."
Sadiq, 40, a Kakinanda city resident, told AFP that the situation had become "very dangerous" on Tuesday night, but early warnings from authorities had helped people prepare.
"Many people locked their houses and moved to safer places", he said.
Cyclones, called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific, are a regular menace in the Bay of Bengal and northern Indian Ocean.
The storm season, however, has been turbocharged by the El Nino weather phenomenon that has contributed to unprecedented warming.
Neighbouring Sri Lanka closed schools as its Department of Meteorology warned that storms could trigger flash floods and mudslides.
Nepal's disaster authority warned that the storm would move inland towards the Himalayas, bringing heavy rainfall and "a high risk of heavy snowfall, snowstorms and avalanches".
Nepal is still recovering from a catastrophic August 26 flood triggered by a glacial mountain collapse, which killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing.
bur-pjm/fox

justice

US to grant Flavio Bolsonaro visa as he flees Brazil after election loss

BY BEIYI SEOW WITH FACUNDO FERNANDEZ BARRIO IN BRASILIA

  • The 45-year-old arrived in the United States Tuesday, CNN and the Washington Post reported, each citing an anonymous source.
  • Defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro will be granted entry into the United States, Washington said Tuesday, amid media reports that he has left Brazil for the country despite a court order banning his exit.
  • The 45-year-old arrived in the United States Tuesday, CNN and the Washington Post reported, each citing an anonymous source.
Defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro will be granted entry into the United States, Washington said Tuesday, amid media reports that he has left Brazil for the country despite a court order banning his exit.
The son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro lost the presidential election Sunday to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and refused to concede defeat.
The US State Department said Tuesday it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them entry into the United States, without confirming his travel plans.
The 45-year-old arrived in the United States Tuesday, CNN and the Washington Post reported, each citing an anonymous source. But where he landed remains unknown.
The right-wing senator on Monday said a Supreme Court justice had ordered him to hand over his passports. Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, and with his election loss is also set to lose parliamentary immunity.
A police source told AFP that the senator's Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been canceled, adding that "there is no formal record of Flavio Bolsonaro leaving the country."
But he has held Italian nationality since 2023, according to an Italian parliamentary document seen by AFP.
Bolsonaro's campaign manager Rogerio Marinho expressed shock over reports that the defeated candidate had fled Brazil.
"We still don't have any news about his whereabouts," he told reporters Tuesday in Brasilia.
"I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it," Marinho said.
"That was the only communication we had."

'Shameful'

Lula called fleeing the country a "shameful" act.
"A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide. The act of leaving Brazil is shameful," he remarked in Brasilia during his 81st birthday celebration.
Bolsonaro said Monday that the ban on his exit from Brazil amounted to a scare tactic.
"I never had any intention of leaving the country," he said in a video posted on Instagram.
US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Jair Bolsonaro, on Monday said Brazil's elections were "rigged" following the defeat of Bolsonaro junior.
Flavio's brother Eduardo, a US-based former lawmaker, maintains close ties with the White House.
Last week, he told a US podcast that Flavio Bolsonaro should leave Brazil in the event of electoral defeat, given the active probes into his activities.
In his Monday statement, Lula's challenger also said he would lead the opposition to the leftist government.
Following Lula's victory with 51.8 percent of the vote, Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the result, citing the decision to extend polling hours over transportation difficulties that prevented some citizens from voting.
Lula had requested the extension, as had Bolsonaro over bad weather in parts of the country.

In his father's footsteps

All bets were on a Bolsonaro win after he came out on top in the first round of elections earlier this month.
He campaigned on a pledge to liberate his father, who is under house arrest for coup-plotting after his own electoral loss to Lula in 2022.
Jair Bolsonaro never conceded defeat and left the country on the eve of his rival's inauguration, only returning to Brazil three months later.
Separately on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered police to investigate alleged foreign funding of Flavio Bolsonaro's campaign and other interference from abroad such as social media "manipulation."
Lula's campaign complained about election interference by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, claiming "algorithmic manipulation."
Meta denies taking any actions to favor one side in the election, but previously said that some of Lula's campaign ads had been mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.
bur-cc-bys/sla

EU

Trump tamed after US midterms? Europe doubts it

  • While a Democrat win could usher in a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority in Congress, the EU is not expecting US support for Ukraine to ramp up again.
  • President Donald Trump may be facing a political pounding at the US midterm elections next month -- but in Europe expectations are low that a big Democrat win would change much.
  • While a Democrat win could usher in a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority in Congress, the EU is not expecting US support for Ukraine to ramp up again.
President Donald Trump may be facing a political pounding at the US midterm elections next month -- but in Europe expectations are low that a big Democrat win would change much.
From the battlefields of Ukraine to the boardrooms of Europe, Trump has sent multiple shockwaves across the continent since returning to power last year.
During a head-spinning 22 months, the mercurial leader has turned spectacularly on Kyiv, imposed tariffs on allies and threatened to take Greenland.
Ahead of the November 3 polls it looks like American voters could punish Trump's Republican party and hand control of one or both of the US House of Representatives or Senate to the Democrats. 
But while the hope may be that Trump could be reined in by a hostile Congress, multiple officials at the EU and NATO told AFP they doubt a big loss would muzzle him on the international stage.
"We don't think the unpredictability is going to change," said one senior EU diplomat.
Publicly the European Union is keeping its cards close to its chest. 
"We will not comment on any elections in the EU or abroad. Let's wait for those and we'll see where it goes," said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho.
Behind closed doors as well, officials say that the midterms are not featuring much in the bloc's internal discussions.
"I suspect because a) it is difficult to really predict the result, b) one wouldn't want to get too high hopes for change and c) not sure how much even a Democratic wave would impact foreign policy issues," said a second senior EU diplomat.

Ukraine, tariffs

Ahead of the midterms, Trump has rattled Europe by yet again lashing out at Ukraine and cosying up to Russia as Washington has renewed its push to end the fighting.
While a Democrat win could usher in a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority in Congress, the EU is not expecting US support for Ukraine to ramp up again.
Officials in Brussels say they are focused on plugging a 70-billion-euro hole in Kyiv's finances next year. 
And while they're pushing other countries like Britain, Canada and Japan to do more, they are certainly not counting on the United States.
Meanwhile, there is equally little optimism for any major reversal on the tariffs Trump has slapped on Europe. 
Diplomats and officials point out that it took months to get Democrat President Joe Biden to roll back tariffs on EU steel after Trump's first term -- and even then limitations remained.
In a recent poll from the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, only one quarter of Americans backed removing all the tariffs on the EU. 

US forces in Europe?

At NATO the story is much the same. 
European allies are nervously waiting for the results of a Pentagon review of US forces on the continent that looks set to be unveiled in December.
The widespread expectation is that it will see the United States scale back its deployments, although the hope is the cuts will not be too severe. 
Multiple diplomats at NATO said they didn't envision the midterms having an impact on the review.  
While a changed Congress could see US lawmakers more outspoken in support of the alliance, the direction of travel is already set with Europe stepping up efforts to take more responsibility for its defence.
"Whatever the outcome, we'll keep going," said one European diplomat. 
- Trump unleashed? - 
There is also a nagging fear that things could get worse after the midterms. 
If Republicans cling on it could embolden Trump, meanwhile if they lose, he could seek to distract from his woes at home by stirring up things abroad. 
"We have a history in America of presidents who get in trouble domestically turning more to the international stage," said Bruce Stokes, a visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank. 
From an escalation in the Iran war to a more concerted push on Ukraine, there are numerous ways the White House can keep worrying Europe.
"Trump has demonstrated they can't stand not to be the centre of attention," said Stokes. 
"If that means he needs to do more on the world stage, positively or negatively, that may be what ends up happening."
del/ub/giv/hol

hope

In tight Israel vote, both camps hold out cautious hope

BY GIANLUCA PACCHIANI WITH ANOUK RIONDET IN JERUSALEM

  • At exactly 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), exit polls showed a narrow edge for the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and political novice seeking to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader.
  • As the first exit polls arrived in Israel's election late Tuesday, opposition supporters breathed a sigh of relief.
  • At exactly 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), exit polls showed a narrow edge for the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and political novice seeking to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader.
As the first exit polls arrived in Israel's election late Tuesday, opposition supporters breathed a sigh of relief. But as a long night set in, nervousness grew on both sides in a tight race that is pivotal for the country.
At exactly 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), exit polls showed a narrow edge for the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and political novice seeking to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader.
"I feel better," Kalanit Sharon, 37, told AFP as cheers erupted in the Tel Aviv hall packed with backers of Eisenkot and his Yashar party. 
But as the night wore on, exit polls shifted, with major television networks putting the two sides on equal footing -- with Arab lists, which could become kingmakers, making strong gains.
The vote, the first general election since Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, drew 77.7 percent turnout, the highest since 1999.
For Netanyahu, blamed by opponents for the security failures that led to the attack, and for refusing to establish an independent commission of inquiry, his political survival was at stake.
"Three years ago, the government abandoned us," said Ohad Ben Ami, a former hostage taken to the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"An Israeli citizen should never have spent a year and a half in Hamas tunnels when deals (with Hamas) were on the table" to secure the hostages' release, he said at Eisenkot's event.
Another supporter of the former general, Noa Ayal, a 31-year-old soldier who said she had completed "more than 360 days of reserve duty", said she had been "waiting for this change for so long".
"I have a lot of hope, and if Gadi doesn't become prime minister, it will undoubtedly be very difficult."
Eisenkot -- who swapped his usual plain black shirt for a suit and tie -- promised to work swiftly to form a government. But it will be no small feat with neither side appearing to have secured the votes.
Yaheli Lifshitz, a 23-year-old student, acknowledged the challenge.
"To form a new government, they'll have to break with established rules and norms and build alliances that have never existed before," he said.

'We have to wait'

Netanyahu kept supporters waiting past 3:00 am in a Jerusalem convention centre. Known for his long, passionate speeches, Netanyahu was unusually brief, vowing to form a government but stopping short of directly claiming victory.
Supporters waited by watching on a giant screen a video montage celebrating the prime minister, showing hugs with US President Donald Trump alongside footage of military strikes from the assorted wars he has led since the Hamas attack.
Ari Marx, holding a large sign bearing the prime minister's image, said he was not "scared" of the results or of another war with Iran, which Netanyahu has threatened. 
"Either Bibi is going to win or there's going to be a new election," he said, using Netanyahu's nickname, doubting anyone else could form a government.
Elie Pieprz, 53, expected results to keep shifting towards Netanyahu and his Likud Party.
"I'm very optimistic. I feel the prime minister has performed better than some of the pre-campaign polls suggested."
Asked what might happen if the opposition ultimately prevailed, Pieprz called for a coalition that would still include Likud, citing the conflict with Iran and the need to maintain strong ties with Washington.
"Trying to change course in the middle of the journey is not a good idea," he said.
Anat Margolin, a 49-year-old engineer, was less confident.
"I don't know what to hope for because throughout the day you could feel the results were going to be unpredictable, that this wasn't what we'd prepared for," she said.
A regular viewer of Channel 14, an outlet supportive of Netanyahu, Margolin said she had mostly heard predictions pointing to a victory for her candidate, not to a possible opposition win.
"We weren't hearing about that possibility," she said.
glp-anr/sct/hol

Global Edition

Netanyahu and rival each claim mandate after tight Israel election

BY ALICE CHANCELLOR, SHAUN TANDON AND STUART WHITE WITH GIANLUCA PACCHIANI IN TEL AVIV

  • After turnout of nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999, Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot each vowed on Wednesday to form a government after both came up short in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack traumatised the country.
  • After turnout of nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999, Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot each vowed on Wednesday to form a government after both came up short in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack traumatised the country.
Voters turned out Tuesday in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on the divisive rule of Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to the Hamas attack.
Exit polls showed Eisenkot, a former military chief and political novice, and his opposition bloc neck and neck with Netanyahu's hard-right camp and both well away from the threshold for a majority in parliament.
The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Netanyahu, who has relentlessly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction in which he has taken Israel.
Netanyahu, greeting cheering supporters at a Jerusalem convention centre after 3:00 am (0100 GMT), called for a "strong government of the right" and said that the "Jewish and Zionist majority must unite".
The 77-year-old prime minister was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory.
Instead, he listed leaders Israel has killed under his orders and again hinted that he was ready for a third bombing campaign against Iran alongside US President Donald Trump, his close ally.
"Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," Netanyahu said.
Eisenkot, speaking to his own supporters in Tel Aviv, issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu, who observers say could use a war to push for a unity government.
"Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said.
Addressing Israel's security establishment, Eisenkot said that they served the state and not Netanyahu, calling him "a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people’s trust".

'Public has voted for change'

Eisenkot shares many of Netanyahu's views on security and has backed the Gaza offensive following October 7 that has reduced the territory to rubble. 
But Eisenkot has vowed to create a more inclusive atmosphere inside Israel and to rein in extremist settlers in the West Bank who have attacked Palestinians with virtual impunity.
After turnout of nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999, Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.
"The public has voted for change," Eisenkot said. "A worthy leader would accept the people's vote of no confidence and announce his retirement from political life today."
The three mainstream Israeli television networks in exit polls gave the two blocs each around 51 seats -- well below the 61 needed to govern -- after initially giving an edge to the opposition.
Israeli Arab lists were projected to win 17 to 18 seats, a sharp gain, with some Israeli Arab communities reporting near-universal turnout driven by outrage to often derogatory rhetoric against them by Netanyahu's far-right allies.
Key Israeli Arab leader Mansour Abbas said he believed the right had "suffered a major loss" and was open to working with Eisenkot.
But Eisenkot said during the campaign he would not govern with Israeli Arab lawmakers -- and Netanyahu again suggested that a government relying on Arab votes would lack legitimacy.
Arab lawmakers could give Eisenkot support in parliamentary votes to maintain a minority government without joining a coalition. If not, Israel could head to new elections.
Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right firebrand who according to exit polls did not gain as much as many expected, warned Netanyahu against another option -- a unity government with Eisenkot.
"It would be a terrible mistake," said Ben Gvir, who champions the expulsion of Palestinians and would likely be excluded from any unity government.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem political scientist Gideon Rahat said Ben Gvir had succeeded in mobilising votes -- of Israeli Arabs.
But he said: "Even if Netanyahu lost, that doesn't mean Eisenkot won."

Divisive

The election came as Israel looks increasingly isolated on the world stage, driven by the war in Iran and the military campaign in Gaza, soaring settlement construction and violence in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over Gaza as well as domestic corruption charges that could land him in prison if he loses power.
Eisenkot is a political novice whose mild manner is the antithesis of the smooth-talking incumbent.
The son of working-class Moroccan Jewish immigrants, Eisenkot would be the first prime minister of Middle Eastern or North African descent.
Before voting, the 66-year-old Eisenkot paid his respects privately at the grave of his son Gal, whose death fighting in Gaza has drawn empathy from many Israelis.
Tens of thousands of Israelis are estimated to have flown in from abroad for an election seen as crucial for their country.
Eilana Zisblit, 55, told AFP she had travelled back from Canada, where she has lived for almost 30 years, to vote for a centre-right party in Eisenkot's bloc.
"The country is going in a really, really bad direction. Both for Jews and Arabs living in the country, and for Jews living abroad," she said.
The time to act is "now, or the country really won't survive anymore".
bur-sct/ser/hol

economy

UK set for cautious budget as borrowing costs climb

BY ALEXANDRA BACON

  • The Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent financial watchdog, will on Wednesday also publish its latest UK growth and inflation forecasts.
  • Britain's finance minister John Healey will unveil his first budget Wednesday, as he juggles commitments to defence spending and easing household bills with little financial room to manoeuvre.
  • The Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent financial watchdog, will on Wednesday also publish its latest UK growth and inflation forecasts.
Britain's finance minister John Healey will unveil his first budget Wednesday, as he juggles commitments to defence spending and easing household bills with little financial room to manoeuvre.
It could prove to be a tall order for Prime Minister Andy Burnham's new administration as rising inflation and borrowing costs -- largely a consequence of the US-Iran war -- increase the government's debt pile and heap pressure on businesses and individuals.
"We can't stop these shocks that hit Britain, but we can make Britain more resilient when they do," Healey said in a statement released on the eve of the Labour government's budget.
"This budget is about getting through this difficult moment," he said, adding that it would provide "breathing space" for households and "targeted support" for businesses.
Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister in July, said Monday the latest annual tax and spending plans will set out how the government intends to finance the defence investment programme laid out by his predecessor.
Healey is expected to delay until next year details of how Britain will meet NATO's target of defence spending reaching 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035.
Healey resigned as defence minister under Starmer, accusing the Treasury of insufficient military funding.
Labour had ruled out rises to income and capital gains tax, raising the prospect of spending cuts to balance the books, according to analysts.

'Small-scale' budget

Healey, whose official title is chancellor of the exchequer, has also pledged to abide by the rules laid out by his predecessor Rachel Reeves, which state that day-to-day spending must balance with government tax receipts.
The chancellor is expected to use a windfall tax on banks to fund a package of spending measures to help households manage rising energy bills.
"This budget will largely be a stopgap that will tide the government over before a more significant policy overhaul in 2027," said Alexander Harvey, UK economist at Oxford Economics.
"The measures will be fairly small-scale ones to ease the cost of living, as well as other relatively low-cost policies," he added.
Some relatively low-cost relief measures have already been announced, including cuts to tariffs on more than 100 imported goods and an expansion of the parental pay regime.
Further measures could include an extension of a freeze on fuel duty, more targeted help for the poorest households and an increase in the minimum wage, according to reports.
Surging diesel costs at the pump helped push Britain's annual inflation rate to 3.5 percent in September, the highest rate for nearly a year.
The government last week approved drilling in a North Sea gas field, claiming the move was aimed at boosting energy security rather than cutting bills.
The budget will also include measures to reduce "pointless paperwork" to lower costs for businesses, according to Healey.
A package of investment in artificial intelligence safety was announced by the Treasury over the weekend, amid growing global concerns over the cyber and biological risks posed by AI.

Surging borrowing costs

The government's fiscal headroom of £23.6 billion ($31.4 billion) is expected to be slashed in an update given alongside the budget, as higher borrowing costs hike the state's debt repayments.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent financial watchdog, will on Wednesday also publish its latest UK growth and inflation forecasts.
Government bond yields around the world have struck multi-decade highs in recent weeks as wider inflation climbs largely because of energy prices soaring on wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Rising inflation has cemented expectations that the Bank of England will hike its benchmark interest rate next month, further pressuring Britons holding loans, including mortgages.
ajb/rmb/hol

politics

'They don't care about us': Trump food aid cuts leave Americans struggling and angry

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • - At the food bank, Christine filled her cart with beef, tomatoes and zucchini.
  • Christine, a retired widow in Arizona, placed food staples in her cart at a charity food distribution event -- as she's had to do monthly since the Trump administration slashed federal food assistance programs.
  • - At the food bank, Christine filled her cart with beef, tomatoes and zucchini.
Christine, a retired widow in Arizona, placed food staples in her cart at a charity food distribution event -- as she's had to do monthly since the Trump administration slashed federal food assistance programs.
"It's just been hard. It's been really raw," the 67-year-old told AFP, declining to give her family name so that two children she cares for, ages nine and 13, would not discover how the refrigerator is stocked.
Until last year, Christine relied on the food assistance program known as SNAP.
The few hundred dollars a month credited to a card she could use at supermarkets allowed her to supplement her modest retirement funds and keep her family afloat.
But in January many people saw this critical support vanish as cuts mandated by a major budget law championed by President Donald Trump went into effect.
The result: Five million Americans lost access to the program.
"They don't care about us," Christine said, her eyes welling with tears. "The Trump administration doesn't look out for the little people."
Half of her retirement check goes to her rent. 
And persistent inflation -- fueled by the president's war on Iran, which has sent gas prices soaring -- has proven disastrous for her.
 

Fueling anger into votes?

At the food bank, Christine filled her cart with beef, tomatoes and zucchini.
Without this resource in the mid-sized city of Tucson, "we wouldn't be able to eat meat anymore," she said. "And we'd eat way less vegetables."
The southwestern state of Arizona has been hardest hit by cuts to SNAP. More than 465,000 beneficiaries, including 200,000 children, were stripped of program access.
The situation has fueled discontent that could influence midterm elections in the state, including two tight races for the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority is at risk.
"Many people are upset," said Natalie Jayroe, head of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. "Even people that voted for the Trump administration."
Her network of food banks in the state's south is serving 50,000 more people than usual this year, an influx largely driven by the federal cuts.
"If these people come out and vote, it could make a difference here in Arizona," she said. "But the question is going to be, do they go to vote?"
Standing among crates of vegetables at the warehouse, Oscar Ochoa, 65, fumed.
He too has lost access to food stamps, and is incensed he has had to come out of retirement to work as a bus driver.
The military veteran has already mailed in his ballot, and said he voted "blue all the way" -- down the line for Democrats.
 

'Let our voice be heard'

 
Ochoa said Trump's budget cuts only resulted in more wealth for the already rich, pointing out that the sprawling bill included tax cuts for billionaires.
It did not, he said, "benefit us poor people, or the average American."
In the district covering part of the Tucson area, Democrat JoAnna Mendoza is campaigning on the issue of affordability, emphasizing that she grew up in a family that relied on food stamps.
Her opponent, the incumbent Republican Juan Ciscomani, meanwhile is distancing himself from Trump, promising constituents that he's "not a rubber stamp for anyone."
"He's a complete liar," said Angelica Garcia, a 45-year-old hotel receptionist.
During a brief period of unemployment this past spring, Garcia should have been able to quickly access SNAP benefits.
But due to the stricter eligibility checks, her application took more than two months to process.
During that time, her daughters -- aged 14 and 22 -- subsisted primarily on rice, beans and pasta.
"I feel the Trump administration has put these walls in place for people to make it more difficult," she said.
Prior to the policy changes, Garcia leaned left but followed politics only from a distance. She didn't even know the name of her congressional representative.
Now she urges her neighbors to head to the polls on November 3: "We've gotta let our voice be heard."
rfo/mdo/mjf/pnb

finance

Tuvalu has 'limited' power to halt its fossil fuel investments: NZ govt papers seen by AFP

  • New documents obtained by AFP suggest Tuvalu will find it hard to pivot away from fossil fuels, despite the prime minister himself deriding such investments as "not a good look".
  • A low-lying Pacific nation urging drastic climate action has "limited ability" to halt its own government investments in fossil fuel companies, external advisers wrote in internal documents obtained by AFP. Few countries are more exposed to climate change than Tuvalu in the South Pacific, an atoll chain reckoning with rising seas, acidifying oceans and outbreaks of tropical disease.
  • New documents obtained by AFP suggest Tuvalu will find it hard to pivot away from fossil fuels, despite the prime minister himself deriding such investments as "not a good look".
A low-lying Pacific nation urging drastic climate action has "limited ability" to halt its own government investments in fossil fuel companies, external advisers wrote in internal documents obtained by AFP.
Few countries are more exposed to climate change than Tuvalu in the South Pacific, an atoll chain reckoning with rising seas, acidifying oceans and outbreaks of tropical disease.
Tuvalu has in recent years emerged as one of the world's most vocal champions for climate action, condemning new coal and gas projects as a "death sentence" for its 10,000 people.
Australia-based wealth managers have been investing on Tuvalu's behalf in funds holding stakes in coal, gas and oil, a previous investigation by AFP found.
New documents obtained by AFP suggest Tuvalu will find it hard to pivot away from fossil fuels, despite the prime minister himself deriding such investments as "not a good look".
Officials from New Zealand, which sits on the board of the $200 million Tuvalu Trust Fund, discussed investment strategy in internal documents released under freedom of information laws.
Because the trust fund was small by global standards, Tuvalu had "limited ability to tailor specific investment preferences", read a briefing released by New Zealand's foreign affairs department.
Rather, Tuvalu's money was invested in funds that offered broad exposure to scores of different companies.
Some of these funds would include "significant greenhouse gases emitters", the New Zealand officials noted.
Tuvalu has promoted the trust fund to foreign donors as a way to channel money into urgently needed climate projects.
It was singled out as a leading example of a "national climate fund" in a 2013 study by the United Nations Development Programme.
Tuvalu has the smallest national economy in the world, according to recent World Bank figures.
It relies on profits from the Tuvalu Trust Fund to prop up the government budget.
Tuvalu has invested in a string of fossil fuel companies under the guidance of wealth manager Mercer, an AFP investigation revealed in May this year.
This included funds holding stakes in Indian energy giant Reliance Industries, which owns the largest oil refinery in the world, and The Southern Company, one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the United States.
 

'Climate exposed'

 
The Tuvalu Trust Fund is governed by a three-member board with representatives from Tuvalu, New Zealand and Australia.
Its investment objectives state it must minimise its exposure to "fossil fuel reserves and carbon emissions" where possible.
Climate finance expert Sebastian Gehricke said there was little evidence this had been done.
For example, Tuvalu's money had not been invested in any "sustainable" funds.  
"Tuvalu is arguably the most climate-exposed nation in the world," Gehricke, from New Zealand's Otago University, told AFP. 
"So receiving revenue from a fund that generates its returns from many companies directly contributing to the climate crisis is not in their best interest."
Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo told AFP in June that fossil fuel investments were "not a good look" given the nation's climate advocacy. 
The Tuvalu Trust Fund said it had achieved "substantial progress in reducing portfolio carbon emissions".
Between 2020 and 2025, the carbon footprint of its investments had dropped 42 per cent, the fund said.
But it was not clear if this was due to decisions the fund had made or simply part of a broader trend that has seen many companies strive to slash their own emissions. 
New Zealand's foreign affairs department said it would work with Tuvalu to make sure investment priorities were aligned with "long-term resilience".
Australia said it was "supporting Tuvalu's strong approach to environmental and social governance issues".
sft/djw/hmn

Palestinians

Palestinian activist Khalil returns to Columbia after US detention

  • Khalil has also accused the university of failing to protect him from harassment ahead of his arrest by US immigration authorities and three-month detention without criminal charge, before his release in June 2025.
  • Mahmoud Khalil, a figurehead of Gaza war protests in the United States, returned Tuesday to Columbia University for the first time since his 2025 arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.
  • Khalil has also accused the university of failing to protect him from harassment ahead of his arrest by US immigration authorities and three-month detention without criminal charge, before his release in June 2025.
Mahmoud Khalil, a figurehead of Gaza war protests in the United States, returned Tuesday to Columbia University for the first time since his 2025 arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.
The 31-year-old told AFP his presence for an event on his new memoir, attended by around 100 people, was a "victory," as he accused Columbia of seeking "to erase me, to erase any Palestinian voices on campus."
He has slammed the Ivy League institution for its response to the 2024 student demonstrations, which included allowing New York police to clear protesters from its Manhattan campus in a heavy-handed operation.
Columbia said at the time the protests were a safety threat.
Khalil has also accused the university of failing to protect him from harassment ahead of his arrest by US immigration authorities and three-month detention without criminal charge, before his release in June 2025.
"Columbia could have been an example for how to have difficult conversations on campus, how to respond to such a protest, how to be aligned with human rights and with international law," Khalil told AFP in an interview.
"They chose the total opposite. They chose brutality. They chose repression," he said.
Some Jewish groups on social media had opposed Khalil's return. A spokesperson for Columbia said the college is "committed to rigorous debate, inquiry, and respectful dialogue across differing perspectives."
"Columbia supports the right of faculty members to organize academic events. An invitation to speak does not signify university endorsement of a speaker’s views," they said in a statement carried by US media.
bjt/mlm/pnb

Trump

Trump drastically loosens oil and gas methane rules

BY KENT NISHIMURA WITH ISSAM AHMED IN WASHINGTON

  • - 'Toothless' - The changes take aim at rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
  • US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a sweeping rollback of rules that stop oil and gas producers from emitting methane, a greenhouse gas super pollutant.
  • - 'Toothless' - The changes take aim at rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a sweeping rollback of rules that stop oil and gas producers from emitting methane, a greenhouse gas super pollutant.
Trump made the announcement at a rally in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faces a tough battle for a US Senate seat in November 3 midterm elections.
The regulations were put in place by Republican Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
"Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion," Trump said at the rally in Lubbock, Texas.
To cheers from the crowd, Trump added that the move would "unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas." Texas is by far the country's leading fossil-fuel-producing state.
An Environmental Protection Agency statement earlier this month gave the same $45 billion figure in cost savings, without offering a detailed breakdown of the savings.
"Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work," said EPA administrator Lee Zeldin. "They can't do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens." 
Trump is pushing ways of bringing down energy costs ahead of the midterms, amid voter anger over soaring oil costs caused by his war on Iran.
Polls show Republicans could lose control of Congress to the Democrats in next week's vote.
Methane, the main component of natural gas, is the second-largest cause of global warming behind carbon dioxide -- responsible for about a third, or 0.5C, of total planetary heating since the pre-industrial era.
A molecule of methane traps far more heat than carbon dioxide, but persists in the atmosphere for only seven to 12 years, whereas carbon dioxide can last for hundreds of years.

'Toothless'

The changes take aim at rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas operations. Emissions occur at every stage, from extracting gas held underground, to processing, transmission and distribution.
"Lee Zeldin's EPA is giving oil and gas corporations exactly what they've long wanted: a toothless methane standard they can use to pretend they're well-regulated, all while they continue to knowingly leak and flare dangerous amounts of the heat-trapping gas," said Julia Kane, a researcher at oil and gas watchdog Fieldnotes.
The United States is the world's leading emitter of methane from its oil and gas sector, followed by Russia, according to the International Energy Agency.
The new changes include proposing to kill off the "Super Emitter Program," a provision that allows EPA-approved observers to report major leaks with a rate of over 100 kilograms (220 pounds) per hour. 
Another will weaken regulation against so-called "marginal wells" that produce 15 barrels or less of oil equivalent a day.
Yet another will relax rules around the routine flaring of "associated gas."
In places like the Permian Basin where oil is the main product, the associated gas that comes up is considered a byproduct, with the cost of capture exceeding its market value, leading operators to often burn it off, or flare it.
ia-dk/mlm

semiconductors

AI chip giant SK hynix says quarterly operating profit soars 630%

  • The memory chip giant said it had posted record revenue and operating profit for six straight quarters since the second quarter of last year.
  • South Korean chip giant SK hynix said Wednesday its third-quarter operating profit soared 632 percent on-year, largely driven by the artificial intelligence industry's explosive demand for its advanced memory chips.
  • The memory chip giant said it had posted record revenue and operating profit for six straight quarters since the second quarter of last year.
South Korean chip giant SK hynix said Wednesday its third-quarter operating profit soared 632 percent on-year, largely driven by the artificial intelligence industry's explosive demand for its advanced memory chips.
Operating profit for the July-September period was 83.33 trillion won ($62.8 billion), the company said.
The firm's July-September net profit jumped 215.7 percent from last year to 39.77 trillion won, while sales reached 104.61 trillion won.
The memory chip giant said it had posted record revenue and operating profit for six straight quarters since the second quarter of last year.
But the earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 59.67 trillion won, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing its own data firm.
"SK hynix analyzed that a virtuous cycle has taken hold in which AI-driven productivity gains and new revenue generation in areas such as software development, customer service, and search lead to greater AI adoption," the chipmaker said in a statement.
SK hynix is a specialist supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips to US industry behemoth Nvidia, and a pillar of South Korea's tech-led economy.
The global race to build AI data centres has transformed the company's fortunes, despite concerns that the sector may be overvalued.
In high demand are key chips known as DRAM and storage components called NAND, which are found in everyday gadgets but are also needed to help process the vast amounts of data crunched by generative AI.
Analysts say soaring DRAM prices amid a global shortage and stronger sales of high-margin high-bandwidth memory (HBM) have driven earnings, while the AI boom has also lifted prices and shipments of conventional NAND chips.

Not yet peaked

Long-term agreements established with major customers, including Nvidia, signal "another phase of price increase across both conventional DRAM, NAND and HBM", MS Hwang, an analyst at market research firm Counterpoint, told AFP.
"This indicates that quarterly earnings have not yet reached their peak and that the upward trajectory will likely sustain at least through 2027."
But the company's shares have been under pressure since June, as investors largely shrugged off record quarterly earnings that had already been priced in.
Going into 2027, "weaker AI spending, increased competition, and the company's own capacity expansion are all factors that dictate price volatility," analyst Hwang said.
"The single most severe threat would be a scenario reminiscent of 2018, where cloud service providers simultaneously pull back on their order volumes."
Record profits from booming AI memory demand have fuelled investor calls for the company to return more cash through dividends or buybacks.
Those calls have grown since its shares retreated from record highs in June amid concerns over the outlook for US tech firms' AI spending.
SK hynix announced an additional plan to return 60 trillion won to shareholders on Wednesday, following the completion of a 40 trillion-won shareholder return programme.
"The company's stock has fallen nearly 60 percent from its peak (in June), and I think that is the main reason the company needs to focus on winning back shareholders", Kim Dae-jong, a professor of business administration at Sejong University, told AFP.
"Stock prices tend to anticipate future conditions rather than simply reflect current earnings," he said.
"The concern is that the extraordinary level of earnings the company is generating today may not be sustainable one or two years from now, and I believe that concern is already being reflected in the share price."
cdl/cwl/kaf

Sudan

Rights groups reject Emirati diplomat for UN top job

  • Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 2023, with UAE accused of funding the militants, an accusation the country denies.
  • Several human rights groups on Tuesday urged countries to reject Emirati official Lana Nusseibeh for the UN's top job, over United Arab Emirates' alleged financing of paramilitary forces in Sudan.
  • Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 2023, with UAE accused of funding the militants, an accusation the country denies.
Several human rights groups on Tuesday urged countries to reject Emirati official Lana Nusseibeh for the UN's top job, over United Arab Emirates' alleged financing of paramilitary forces in Sudan.
The 48-year-old Nusseibeh is vying to become the first woman and only the second Arab to become the United Nations secretary-general.
Since her official nomination last week, she has garnered the backing of Gulf states but also faced scrutiny over her country's normalization with Israel and Abu Dhabi's alleged role in Sudan's war.
Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 2023, with UAE accused of funding the militants, an accusation the country denies.
"I think that Lana Nusseibeh is utterly inappropriate as a candidate for UN Secretary General," Ken Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, told journalists.
"Not just once, but repeatedly she has been asked about the UAE's role in arming and supporting the RSF and she just blatantly denies it without regard to the facts," he added.
On Tuesday, Nusseibeh said she has taken "a leave of absence from my post as a minister of the UAE" to be "mindful of the obligations of independence" the role would entail, adding that "the horrific conflict in Sudan will be the litmus test of the success of an incoming Secretary General."
Kate Ferguson, co-director of the British NGO Protection Approaches, also raised concerns. "There is not, as far as I have seen, sufficient evidence that this candidate is independent from the state from which she comes," she said.
Secretary-general candidates are supposed to be independent from the governments of their home countries given that they are to lead an international body.
Nusseibeh is seasoned diplomat who has also served as the UAE's permanent representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024, the first woman to hold the post.
Speaking on Sudan, specifically, Nusseibeh said "the loss of human life on the ground is a tragedy." 
"The atrocities committed by the RSF are atrocious, and I would support the work of all UN fact-finding missions for accountability and transitional justice," she said, adding the first thing the global organization must do "is stop the conflict." 
To win the race for UN chief, a candidate must secure nine out of 15 votes on the Security Council and avoid a veto from one of its five permanent members: the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia.
Nusseibeh comes from a prominent Palestinian family of statesmen, uprooted by the creation of Israel in 1948.
Her family traditionally held the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the walled Old City of Jerusalem, the holiest site in Christianity that Christians believe marks the spot where Jesus was crucified.
rh/yad/mjf/sla/msp