conflict

Russian missile barrage hits energy, railways across Ukraine

US

Iran-US talks expected Thursday despite fears of strikes

  • Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of regional mediator Oman, said talks would resume on Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal".
  • Iranian officials held out hope for progress towards a deal to forestall fresh conflict when talks with US negotiators resume on Thursday, despite a huge build-up of American military might in the Middle East. 
  • Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of regional mediator Oman, said talks would resume on Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal".
Iranian officials held out hope for progress towards a deal to forestall fresh conflict when talks with US negotiators resume on Thursday, despite a huge build-up of American military might in the Middle East. 
Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said details of a possible deal were being drawn up ahead of the renewed talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, after Washington's envoy Steve Witkoff had publicly wondered why Tehran had not yet "capitulated".
Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of regional mediator Oman, said talks would resume on Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal".
US threats of military action have multiplied since a nationwide protest movement in Iran sparked a crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands. On Sunday, Iranian students held competing pro- and anti-government protests, with critics of the clerical leadership risking arrest or worse if they are caught.
"If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves," Araghchi said, alluding to American interests in the region as potential targets.
Still, he said, "there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution". 
In a social media post, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian likewise said previous talks "yielded encouraging signals". 
After a recent round of discussions in Geneva, Iran said it was preparing a draft proposal for an agreement that would avert military action.
"I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal," Araghchi told CBS.
Axios had earlier reported, citing an unnamed senior US official, that if Iran submitted its proposal in the next 48 hours, Washington was ready to meet again later in the week "to start detailed negotiations".
The US has sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East in recent weeks, along with other jets and ships, and has also shored up its air defences in the region to back up its threats of military intervention.
US President Donald Trump's chief Middle East negotiator Witkoff said in a Fox News interview broadcast Saturday that the president was questioning why Iran had not yet given in to the pressure.
"He's curious as to why they haven't... I don't want to use the word 'capitulated', but why they haven't capitulated," he said. 
"Why haven't they come to us and said, 'We profess we don't want a weapon, so here's what we're prepared to do'?"
Western governments fear Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing a bomb, which Tehran has long denied, though it insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
On the subject of uranium enrichment, Araghchi said Sunday that Iran had "every right to decide for ourselves".

Fears of war

A previous round of diplomacy last year was interrupted by Israel's bombing campaign against the Islamic republic.
That sparked a 12-day conflict in June that the US briefly joined with strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Despite the recent Oman-mediated talks, Iranians' fears of a new conflict have grown.
"I don't sleep well at night even while taking pills," Tehran resident Hamid told AFP.
IT technician Mina Ahmadvand, 46, believes that "at this stage, war between Iran and the US as well as Israel is inevitable".
"I don't want war to happen, but one should not fool around with the realities on the ground."
The concerns have prompted several foreign countries to urge their citizens to leave Iran, including Sweden, Serbia, Poland and Australia.

Protests

Iran has previously said that quickly striking a deal is in its interests if it means relief from sanctions that have hamstrung its economy, which contributed to protests late last year over the high cost of living.
Those demonstrations quickly expanded into mass anti-government protests that marked one of the largest challenges to the Islamic republic's leadership in years, prompting a deadly crackdown by authorities that saw thousands killed, according to rights groups.
On Sunday, Iranian students gathered for fresh pro- and anti-government rallies commemorating those killed following similar gatherings the day before.
Local and diaspora media outlets reported demonstrations at multiple Tehran universities, with some participants waving the flag of Iran's deposed monarchy, and others chanting "death to the shah", who was toppled by the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Trump had initially cheered on the protesters, threatening to intervene on their behalf amid the crackdown, but his threats soon shifted to Iran's nuclear programme.
Voicing their support for the protests, several Iraq-based Kurdish-Iranian groups announced on Sunday that they were forming a political coalition to unite against Iran's Islamic system.
The main goals of the alliance, a joint statement said, are "the struggle to overthrow the Islamic republic of Iran, and to achieve self-determination for the Kurds".
sw/smw/dc

conflict

Russian missile barrage hits energy, railways across Ukraine

  • The air force said Russia had fired 50 missiles and 297 drones at Ukraine, of which 33 and 274 respectively had been shot down.
  • Russia fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine Sunday, crashing into energy and rail infrastructure and residential buildings, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow's all-out invasion.
  • The air force said Russia had fired 50 missiles and 297 drones at Ukraine, of which 33 and 274 respectively had been shot down.
Russia fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine Sunday, crashing into energy and rail infrastructure and residential buildings, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow's all-out invasion.
The capital Kyiv, which Russia has regularly hit with missiles and drones since the start of the full-scale invasion, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified assaults amid freezing winter temperatures.
"Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than in diplomacy," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the attack. 
"The main target of the attack was the energy sector. Ordinary residential buildings were also damaged, and there is damage to the railway."
The air force said Russia had fired 50 missiles and 297 drones at Ukraine, of which 33 and 274 respectively had been shot down.
The intense barrage came the same day Hungary said it would block the EU's latest package of sanctions against Russia, unless Ukraine re-opened a key oil pipeline supplying the country. 
Ukraine says the Druzhba pipeline that crosses its territory to deliver Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary was damaged late January by Russian strikes.

Polish jets scrambled

In Kyiv and its region, the Sunday overnight strikes killed one man and wounded a dozen more, among them four children, Ukraine's national police said.  
AFP saw rescuers sifting through the debris of a largely destroyed two-storey house in Kyiv's suburb of Sofiivska Borshchagivka. 
"I felt the building shaking. It was clearly a hit, and the force (of the explosion) was strong," Olga, a 48-year-old woman who lives in the settlement, told AFP. "I jumped up because my dog got scared too."
Anton, also from the area, said there were no military installations in Sofiivska Borschagivka. "Only people live here -- schools, kindergartens, private houses -- so it's definitely not connected to any military facilities or any kind of industry," he said.
The Russian army said it had carried out a mass strike targeting facilities used by Ukraine's military, saying all targets were hit, a standard comment for such attacks.
The Russian bombardment of Ukraine, which included ballistic and cruise missiles, prompted heightened vigilance across the country, all the way to the western border. 
Ukraine's energy ministry said consumers in six eastern and southeastern regions were without power after the strikes. 
Authorities in Russia's western Belgorod region, meanwhile, said two men had died after a Ukrainian drone strike.
Poland's Operational Command said early Sunday it had scrambled jets after detecting "long‑range aviation of the Russian Federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine".
In one attack, an explosion rocked a store in central Lviv, a western Ukrainian city near the Polish border far from the front line that has been largely spared the worst of the conflict.

'Act of terrorism'

Explosions ripped through a central shopping street at around midnight, killing a policewoman and wounding 25 people after officers responded to a reported break‑in.
Hours later, law enforcement said it had detained a Ukrainian woman suspected of carrying out the bomb attack, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
"This is clearly an act of terrorism," mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.
"It was indeed a terrorist attack, cynical and cruel," said Zelensky in his evening address.
"There were two explosions, the second one when the emergency services arrived at the scene," he added.
"The perpetrators were recruited via Telegram. The attack was organised by Russia," he added.
Ukraine will on Tuesday mark four years since the start of Russia's assault on February 24, 2022, which has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics.
Zelensky told AFP on Friday that Ukraine was "definitely not losing" the war and that victory remained the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometres (116 square miles) of territory in recent counter‑attacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify.
The United States is pushing both sides to end fighting, brokering several rounds of talks in recent weeks without a clear breakthrough.
bur-jj/sbk

US

'No thanks': Greenland, Denmark reject Trump's hospital ship offer

  • "President Trump's idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted.
  • Denmark and its territory Greenland on Sunday rejected Donald Trump's offer to send a naval hospital ship to the Arctic island coveted by the US leader. 
  • "President Trump's idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted.
Denmark and its territory Greenland on Sunday rejected Donald Trump's offer to send a naval hospital ship to the Arctic island coveted by the US leader. 
A day earlier, Trump said he was sending "a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there".
But Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who heads the autonomous territory's government, wrote on his Facebook page: "That will be 'no thanks' from us."
"President Trump's idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted. But we have a public health system where care is free for citizens," he said.
"This is not the case in the United States, where going to the doctor costs money."
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen likewise told Danish broadcaster DR: "The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs. They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialised treatment, they receive it in Denmark."
He added: "It's not as if there's a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland."
On the day that Trump made his proposal, Danish forces evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Greenland's capital Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention. 
Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said in a post on Facebook that the crew member was flown to a hospital in Nuuk after an unspecified medical emergency on board the vessel.

AI-generated hospital ship

In Greenland, as in Denmark, access to healthcare is free for citizens. There are five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, with the one in the capital Nuuk serving patients from all over the territory.
Without explicitly mentioning the US proposal, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "happy to live in a country where access to healthcare is free and equal for all. Where insurance or wealth does not determine whether one receives dignified treatment".
Trump, in his Truth Social message on Saturday about the hospital ship, posted an AI-generated image of a US Navy medical vessel, USNS Mercy. 
"It's on the way!!!" he added.
It was not immediately clear if that meant he was deploying that ship to Greenland.
The US president indicated the deployment was being carried out in coordination with Jeff Landry, appointed in December as the US Special Envoy to the Arctic island.
Aaja Chemnitz, who represents Greenland in the Danish Parliament, wrote on Facebook that, while Greenland's health system had its share of problems, they were best resolved through cooperation with Denmark.
Denmark, she noted, "is one of the wealthiest and most educated countries, for example in the field of healthcare," contrasting it with "the United States, which has its own healthcare system problems".
Earlier this month, Greenland signed an agreement with Copenhagen to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals. 
Denmark's central bank had warned in January that the Arctic island's public finances were under pressure from demographic trends, pointing to its ageing population and shrinking workforce. 

'New normal'

Trump has repeatedly said he believes the United States must control Greenland to ensure US national security.
Earlier threats he made to seize the territory, by force if necessary, have ebbed since he struck a "framework" deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
The defence minister, Lund Poulsen, told DR he was not aware of a possible arrival of the suggested US hospital ship. 
"Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics," he said. 
Meanwhile, in Nuuk, where a third of the island's 57,000 inhabitants live, people are tired of the US president's repeated jabs. 
"I don't care," a man said under sparse, icy snowfall when asked by AFP about Trump's recent remarks, while most people avoided journalists' questions. 
cbw/thm/rh/sbk

attacks

Afghans mourn villagers killed in Pakistani strikes

  • Islamabad said Sunday that despite repeated requests, Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan, which Kabul denies.
  • Afghans gathered around a mass grave on Sunday to bury villagers who died in overnight air strikes by Pakistan, which said its military operation killed dozens of militants.
  • Islamabad said Sunday that despite repeated requests, Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan, which Kabul denies.
Afghans gathered around a mass grave on Sunday to bury villagers who died in overnight air strikes by Pakistan, which said its military operation killed dozens of militants.
The overnight attacks left at least 18 people dead including children, Afghanistan said, and were the most extensive since border clashes in October that killed more than 70 on both sides and wounded hundreds. 
"The house was completely destroyed. My children and family members were there. My father and my sons were there. All of them were killed," said Nezakat, a 35-year-old farmer in Bihsud district, who only gave one name.
Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border region targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups, in response to suicide bombings in Pakistan. 
A Pakistani security source told AFP on Sunday that the strikes killed "more than 80" militants, adding the death toll was expected to rise.
AFP journalists in Afghanistan were not able to verify the toll, which was rejected by an Afghan security source. 
"The figure of 80 martyrs given by the Pakistan regime is false and imaginary," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. 
Islamabad said its military targeted the Pakistani Taliban and its associates, as well as an affiliate of the Islamic State group, an information ministry statement said.
Afghan authorities have previously denied harbouring militants.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said "people's homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act" with the bombardment of eastern Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. 
Residents from around the remote Bihsud district in Nangarhar joined searchers to look for bodies under the rubble using shovels and a digger, an AFP journalist said. 
"People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help," said neighbour Amin Gul Amin, 37.
Nangarhar police told AFP the bombardment started at around midnight and hit three districts, with those killed all in a civilian's house. 
"Twenty-three members of his family were buried under the rubble, of whom 18 were killed and five wounded," said police spokesperson Sayed Tayeeb Hammad. 
Strikes elsewhere in Nangarhar wounded two others, while in Paktika, an AFP journalist saw a destroyed guesthouse but there were no immediate reports of casualties. 

'Calculated response'

Afghanistan's defence ministry said it will "deliver an appropriate and calculated response" to the Pakistani strikes.
The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew.
Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the efforts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
The deteriorating relationship has impacted people in both countries, with land border crossings -- crucial gateways for trade -- largely shut for months.
Islamabad said Sunday that despite repeated requests, Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan, which Kabul denies.
Islamabad launched the strikes after a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks ago and other attacks more recently in northwestern Pakistan. 
The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing, which killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 160 in the deadliest attack in Islamabad since 2008. 
The militant group's regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a deadly suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul last month. 
burs-rsc-je/sst

trade

EU 'expects' US to honour trade deal as Trump hikes tariffs

  • The EU and United States last year struck an agreement setting US tariffs at a maximum 15 percent on most European goods.
  • The European Commission called Sunday for Washington to abide by the terms of the trade deal struck last year with the EU, as President Donald Trump announced new global tariff hikes a day after an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
  • The EU and United States last year struck an agreement setting US tariffs at a maximum 15 percent on most European goods.
The European Commission called Sunday for Washington to abide by the terms of the trade deal struck last year with the EU, as President Donald Trump announced new global tariff hikes a day after an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
"A deal is a deal," said a commission statement.
"As the United States' largest trading partner, the EU expects the US to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement -- just as the EU stands by its commitments," it added.
"The European Commission requests full clarity on the steps the United States intends to take following the recent Supreme Court ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)."
Trump temporarily raised the global duty on imports into the United States to 15 percent on Saturday.
The move delivered a fresh jolt of uncertainty just a day after the Supreme Court ruled much of his international tariffs campaign illegal.
The EU and United States last year struck an agreement setting US tariffs at a maximum 15 percent on most European goods.
"EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed," the commission said.
It warned that "when applied unpredictably, tariffs are inherently disruptive, undermining confidence and stability across global markets and creating further uncertainty across international supply chains".

Seeking clarification

The EU executive said it remained "in close and continuous contact" with Trump's administration and that EU Trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic had spoken with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday.
Greer told US broadcaster CBS on Sunday that Washington's deals with the European Union, China and other partners remained in force despite the Supreme Court ruling.
"So we're having active conversations with them. We want them to understand that these deals are going to be good deals," he told the "Face the Nation" programme.
He added: "We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them." 
But European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde told the same show she was not sure what the consequences of the US court decision were.
"I hope it's going to be clarified," she added.
The European Parliament's trade committee had been due to approve the EU-US deal on Tuesday -- but the Supreme Court judgment casts doubt on that now happening.

US 'tariff chaos'

The committee's head, Bernd Lange, said he would call during a meeting of parliament's political groups on Monday for putting "legislative work on hold until we have a proper legal assessment and clear commitments from the US side".
"Pure tariff chaos from the US administration. No one can make sense of it anymore -- only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other US trading partners," Lange wrote.
"Clarity and legal certainty are needed before any further steps are taken," he added.
Analysts at ING bank wrote Sunday that even if Trump's new tariffs might be legally challenged, they could just be "smoke and mirrors" to buy time for another tariff option. 
That could be tariffs on the basis of unfair trade practices or trade agreements violations, for example, they wrote.
"It now remains unclear whether the (European) Parliament will push for a full renegotiation of the deal," ING added.
Even if they did however, the US could still use other tariffs "to pressure the EU to return to the negotiating table".
The Supreme Court ruling was a stunning rebuke to Trump from a judicial body that has largely sided with him since his return to office. 
It marked a major political setback in striking down Trump's signature economic policy that has roiled the global trade order.
Several countries have said they are studying the Supreme Court ruling and Trump's subsequent tariff announcements.
bur/jj/rmb

trade

US says trade deals in force despite court ruling on tariffs

  • "It's important to understand that over the years, Congress has delegated enormous tariff setting authority to the president," Greer said on CBS. He added that tariffs imposed outside the authority struck down by the court remain in effect.
  • US trade deals with the European Union, China and other partners remain in force despite the Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of President Donald Trump's tariffs, a top official said Sunday.
  • "It's important to understand that over the years, Congress has delegated enormous tariff setting authority to the president," Greer said on CBS. He added that tariffs imposed outside the authority struck down by the court remain in effect.
US trade deals with the European Union, China and other partners remain in force despite the Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of President Donald Trump's tariffs, a top official said Sunday.
"So we're having active conversations with them. We want them to understand that these deals are going to be good deals," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on the CBS program "Face the Nation."
He added: "We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them." 
But European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said on the same show she is not sure what the consequences of the US court decision are.
"So I hope it's going to be clarified, and it's going to be sufficiently thought through, so that we don't have, again, more challenges, and the proposals will be in compliance with the constitution, in compliance with the law," said Lagarde.
Greer said a meeting planned for April between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is "not to fight about trade."
"It's to maintain stability, make sure that the Chinese are holding up their end of our deal and buying American agricultural products and Boeings and other things, and making sure they're sending us the rare earth that we need," Greer said on ABC.
On Friday the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs under a 1977 economic emergency powers act, saying Congress had to give its approval.

New tariffs

Trump reacted furiously and announced a new 10 percent global duty on imports under a different legal authority, then raised it to 15 percent on Saturday. It kicks in on Tuesday, is due to last 150 days and has exemptions for some products.
"It's important to understand that over the years, Congress has delegated enormous tariff setting authority to the president," Greer said on CBS. He added that tariffs imposed outside the authority struck down by the court remain in effect.
Asked about Trump's decision to quickly raise the new tariff from 10 percent to 15 percent, Greer said the latter was the top level the president was allowed by law.
Greer was also asked about Trump's aggressive use of tariffs despite the fact that polls show most Americans disapprove of this policy.
"The president has been campaigning on tariffs and protecting American industry for many years, and he does what he says, he delivers on his promises," Greer said.
elm/dw/md

US

Greenland does not need US hospital ship: Danish minister

  • Separately, early on Saturday Denmark's Arctic Command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.  
  • Denmark on Sunday rejected a US claim that Greenland needs healthcare help, on the same day its forces evacuate a US sailor from a submarine off the coast of the Arctic island for medical treatment. 
  • Separately, early on Saturday Denmark's Arctic Command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.  
Denmark on Sunday rejected a US claim that Greenland needs healthcare help, on the same day its forces evacuate a US sailor from a submarine off the coast of the Arctic island for medical treatment. 
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory that he covets.
But Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR: "The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs. They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialised treatment, they receive it in Denmark."
He added: "It's not as if there's a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland."
In Greenland, as in Denmark, access to healthcare is free. There are five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, with the one in the capital Nuuk serving patients from all over the territory.
Without explicitly mentioning the US proposal, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "happy to live in a country where access to healthcare is free and equal for all. Where insurance or wealth does not determine whether one receives dignified treatment."
Separately, early on Saturday Denmark's Arctic Command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.  

AI-generated hospital ship

Trump, in his Truth Social message on Saturday proposing a hospital ship, posted an AI-generated image of a US Navy medical vessel, USNS Mercy. 
It was not immediately clear if that meant he was deploying that ship to Greenland.
"We are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there," Trump wrote.
"It's on the way!!!" he added.
 The US president indicated the deployment was being carried out in coordination with Jeff Landry, appointed in December as the US Special Envoy to the Arctic island.
Greenland already has five regional hospitals, with the one in the capital Nuuk serving the whole territory, whose population is 57,000.
Aaja Chemnitz, who represents Greenland in the Danish Parliament, wrote on Facebook that while Greenland's health system had its share of problems, they were best resolved through cooperation with Denmark -- "which is one of the wealthiest and most educated countries, for example in the field of healthcare. Not with the United States, which has its own healthcare system problems."
Trump has repeatedly said he believes the United States must control Greenland to ensure US national security.
Earlier threats he made to seize the territory, by force if necessary, have ebbed since he struck a "framework" deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
The defence minister, Lund Poulsen, told DR he was not aware of a possible arrival of the suggested US hospital ship. 
"Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics," he said. 
cbw/thm/gv/rmb

weather

Morocco flood evacuees mark muted Ramadan away from home

BY ANOUK RIONDET

  • But the floods that battered northwestern Morocco in recent weeks have left evacuees like Habachi with little to celebrate.
  • When floods forced Ahmed El Habachi out of his Moroccan village, he thought the displacement was temporary.
  • But the floods that battered northwestern Morocco in recent weeks have left evacuees like Habachi with little to celebrate.
When floods forced Ahmed El Habachi out of his Moroccan village, he thought the displacement was temporary. Weeks later, he broke his Ramadan fast in a tent, wondering when he would return home.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, families traditionally gather over joyous feasts to break the daytime fast.
But the floods that battered northwestern Morocco in recent weeks have left evacuees like Habachi with little to celebrate.
"We prepare Iftar with whatever we can lay our hands on," the 37-year-old told AFP, referring to the fast-breaking meal.
"After all, it's not like we're home," he said, standing outside his blue tent marked "B190" in a makeshift camp set up by authorities near the city of Kenitra.
Just before sunset, women gathered around small stoves. They made do with no running water, and soon the smell of grilled fish wafted through the site.
The families then retreated to their tents for Iftar, with candles providing light for lack of electricity.
The heavy downpours have displaced over 180,000 people as of last week, authorities said, with at least four people killed.

'Two or three months'

Most evacuees in the region have been allowed to return home, but that was not yet an option for Habachi and his children.
"Where would we sleep? There's still mud up to the knees," he said, showing cell phone videos of his home in Ouled Amer, some 35 kilometres (22 miles) away.
He said flooding from a nearby river swept away half of the walls of his house.
"We'll need two or three months to get back to normal," he added.
The camp managers serve each family water and a bag of rice per day.
Fatima Laaouj, 60, said this year's Ramadan was "nothing like what we were used to".
"We lack everything: bread, harira (traditional soup), milk... How can we buy anything when we have no money?" said Laaouj, who picks raspberries for a living.
"We don't have work anymore. The farmland is all destroyed," she added.
Not far from the camp, in the town of Mograne which was swamped by the neighbouring Sebou River, villagers still waded through deep mud.
Several homes showed signs of flooding, with walls torn open and floors soaked.
Families had left their belongings stored on top of wardrobes out of fear the water could rise again.

'Usually, there's joy'

After two weeks at the camp, 42-year-old Yamna Chtata returned to find her home turned into a pool of mud, with walls threatening to collapse.
Her voice choked with sobs, she said she was forced to observe Ramadan out of her own home for the first time in the two decades she has lived there.
"We are not celebrating... I have two daughters who are unwell because of the severity of the situation," she said.
Mansour Amrani, a 59-year-old factory security guard, was on his way to the local mosque to fetch drinking water.
That day, he planned to make couscous for his wife and three daughters to break the fast.
"Usually, there's joy when we make couscous," he said. "Today, it's no longer the case. We're afraid the house will collapse on our heads."
Abdelmajid Lekihel, a 49-year-old street vendor, believed it would take time for things to return to normal.
"Food products are no longer available like before," he said, adding that shortages at the local market made preparing the traditional Ramadan meals difficult.
Plus, lingering mud "prevents us from going to see a neighbour, a family member, a friend", he said.
"We're living one day at a time."
anr/bou/amj

India

Brazil's Lula urges Trump to treat all countries equally

BY BHUVAN BAGGA WITH ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA

  • The conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
  • Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Donald Trump on Sunday to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
  • The conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Donald Trump on Sunday to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
"I want to tell the US President Donald Trump that we don't want a new Cold War. We don't want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally," Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
Lula said he would not like to react to the Supreme Court decisions of another country, but hoped that Brazil's relations with the United States "will go back to normalcy" soon.
The veteran leftist leader is expected to travel to Washington next month for a meeting with Trump.
"I am convinced that Brazil-US relation will go back to normalcy after our conversation," Lula, 80, said, adding that Brazil only wanted to "live in peace, generate jobs, and improve the lives of our people".
Lula and Trump, 79, stand on polar opposite sides when it comes to issues such as multilateralism, international trade and the fight against climate change.
However, ties between Brazil and the United States appear to be on the mend after months of animosity between Washington and Brasilia.
As a result, Trump's administration has exempted key Brazilian exports from 40 percent tariffs that had been imposed on the South American country last year.

'Affinity'

"The world doesn't need more turbulence, it needs peace," said Lula, who arrived in India on Wednesday for a summit on artificial intelligence and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ties between Washington and Brasilia soured in recent months, with Trump angered over the trial and conviction of his ally, the far-right former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump imposed sanctions against several top officials, including a Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Lula.
Lula said that, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, he looked forward to a positive relationship with the United States. 
"We are two men of 80 years of age, so we cannot play around with democracy," he said. 
"We have to take this very seriously. We have to shake hands eye-to-eye, person-to-person, and to discuss what is best for the US and Brazil."
Lula also praised Modi after India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals on Saturday.
"I have a lot of affinity with Prime Minister Modi," he said.
Lula will travel to South Korea later on Sunday for meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend a business forum.
bb-abh/pbt

India

Brazil's Lula urges Trump to treat all countries equally

  • The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Friday ruled six to three that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
  • Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday urged Donald Trump to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
  • The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Friday ruled six to three that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday urged Donald Trump to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
"I want to tell the US President Donald Trump that we don't want a new Cold War. We don't want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally," Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Friday ruled six to three that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs".
Lula said he would not like to react to Supreme Court decisions of another country, but hoped that Brazil's relations with the United States "will go back to normalcy" soon.
The veteran leftist Brazilian leader is expected to travel to Washington next month for a meeting with Trump.
"I am convinced that Brazil-US relation will go back to normalcy after our conversation," Lula, 80, said, adding Brazil only wanted to "live in peace, generate jobs, and improve lives of our people".
Ties between Brazil and the United States appear to be on the mend after months of animosity between Washington and Brasilia.
As a result, Trump's administration has exempted key Brazilian exports from 40 percent tariffs that had been imposed on on the South American country last year.
"The world doesn't need more turbulence, it needs peace," said Lula who arrived in India on Wednesday to attend a summit on artificial intelligence.
On Saturday, India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals after a meeting between Lula and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
bb-abh/mtp

demonstration

Indigenous protesters occupy Cargill port terminal in Brazil

  • "When they start dredging the river and causing pollution, the river will cease to be a common good for all humanity and will become the property of a single individual," demonstrator Thiago Guarani told AFP. Two weeks ago the government announced the suspension of dredging in the Tapajos River, a key Amazon River tributary, after Indigenous-led protests.
  • Indigenous protesters in Brazil occupied a shipping terminal operated by US agricultural giant Cargill on Saturday, demanding a ban on dredging Amazon waterways.
  • "When they start dredging the river and causing pollution, the river will cease to be a common good for all humanity and will become the property of a single individual," demonstrator Thiago Guarani told AFP. Two weeks ago the government announced the suspension of dredging in the Tapajos River, a key Amazon River tributary, after Indigenous-led protests.
Indigenous protesters in Brazil occupied a shipping terminal operated by US agricultural giant Cargill on Saturday, demanding a ban on dredging Amazon waterways.
The South American nation is the world's top exporter of soy and maize, and ongoing efforts to upgrade river ports aim to ease transportation.
Demonstrators had been gathering outside the terminal in Santarem, in northern Brazil's Para state, for a month before taking over company offices this weekend.
In a statement to AFP the company said operations were suspended, blaming an "ongoing dispute between government authorities and Indigenous communities."
Protesters are calling for the repeal of an order signed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in August that designated Amazonian rivers as priority areas for shipping and port development.
The Indigenous protesters are against an expansion of the ports and the dredging of the Amazon's rivers, which they consider vital to their way of life.
Alessandra Korap, a community leader from the Munduruku Indigenous group, said protesters "will only leave if Lula and the government overturn and revoke the decree."
Activists protested in front of Cargill's offices in Sao Paulo on Friday.
"When they start dredging the river and causing pollution, the river will cease to be a common good for all humanity and will become the property of a single individual," demonstrator Thiago Guarani told AFP.
Two weeks ago the government announced the suspension of dredging in the Tapajos River, a key Amazon River tributary, after Indigenous-led protests.
Cargill called on the government and demonstrators to engage in a "constructive dialogue."
The US-based multinational is a major shipper of soy and corn in Brazil.
lg/ega/nro/jfx

conflict

Four lives changed by four years of Russia-Ukraine war

  • Out of the limelight for years, when Russia invaded Ukraine he transformed himself into a pro-war zealot, blasting the "decadent" West and reviving his stalled career.
  • Tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
  • Out of the limelight for years, when Russia invaded Ukraine he transformed himself into a pro-war zealot, blasting the "decadent" West and reviving his stalled career.
Tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
In Ukraine, millions more have had to flee their homes to escape the fighting as Russia's troops advanced. And any Russians who oppose the fighting have either been arrested in a sweeping crackdown on dissent or fled the country to escape persecution.
Ahead of February 24 -- which will mark four years since Russia invaded -- AFP looks at how the lives of just four people were forever changed by the war.

A family destroyed

Kira was just three months old, her mother Valeria, 28, and grandmother Lyudmila, 54, when a Russian missile slammed into their apartment in the Ukrainian city of Odesa.
In a matter of seconds on April 23, 2022, they were killed -- three generations of one family wiped out.
Kira's father, Yuriy, was out shopping when the missile hit. Footage from the time showed him, visibly in shock, sifting through the rubble for items that belonged to his wife and baby daughter.
A former lawyer who had retrained as a baker at a trendy cafe in the Black Sea city, he joined the Ukrainian army a year later.
By September 2023, he had been killed -- fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest spots of the sprawling front line.
Their story -- the Glodan family -- has become a symbol of the enormous price paid by Ukrainian civilians since Russia invaded.
"There are hundreds of stories like this across the country," said Valeria's best friend Alla Korolyova, who AFP spoke to in February 2026.
"Lera was a ray of sunshine. She loved Odesa, Ukrainian culture, the opera," she said, using Valeria's diminutive name.
"She had a huge laugh, which I miss so much."
On her phone she shows a picture of Kira, sent to her by her mother -- a little baby she never had time to get to know.

The amputee ready to fight again

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Volodymyr's 32nd birthday.
Four years in, he is impatient to rejoin Kyiv's army -- even after losing his leg and arm in a drone strike.
Going by the call-sign "Arkhyp", he suffered life-altering wounds in 2024 when a Russian FPV drone smashed into his unit's position.
AFP had first met him a few months earlier in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where he said drones "will reach the target 90 percent of the time -- if the pilot is good".
Speaking to AFP again this January, Volodymyr recalled the incident, his recovery and how he was desperate to help the Ukrainian war effort once again.
"I lifted my head while lying down, looked at my leg, and the guy... is just sawing my leg off," he said.
He underwent 21 operations in one month -- "almost every day. Except Saturdays, when many doctors have days off".
No longer in military fatigues but a black tracksuit and with a prosthetic limb, Volodymyr was speaking at a football tournament in the town of Pavlograd, one he used to play in before his injury.
He got around the venue with apparent ease.
His mind set on re-enlisting, he has been in constant treatment and rehabilitation for the past 18 months.
"From the very beginning, I planned to return to my brothers-in-arms," he said.
This time to a rear-line position.
Despite his unwavering determination to fight, Volodymyr had "some hope" an agreement to end the war can be reached soon.
And his priorities on what that peace deal might look like have changed.
"A couple of years ago, we firmly believed that we would be able to return to the 1991 borders," he said, referring to a time when Crimea and the eastern Donbas region were fully under Kyiv's control after the fall of the Soviet Union.
"But now, being in the army and experiencing everything firsthand, you feel that the price for the 1991 borders will be very high."

Russian pro-war comedian revives career

Russian comedian Andrei Bocharov, 59, made his name as a clean-cut "Mama's boy" playing an awkward character in an absurdist 1990s TV show about post-Soviet life.
Out of the limelight for years, when Russia invaded Ukraine he transformed himself into a pro-war zealot, blasting the "decadent" West and reviving his stalled career.
Known as Bocharik, the Siberian native had embodied a brief era when Russia laughed at its own flaws in "33 Square Metres", a cult hit that caricatured family life in a cramped apartment building after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
His innocent smiles and genial facial expressions won over millions of viewers.
But since February 24, 2022, he has embraced a fervent anti-West pro-Kremlin narrative.
On podcasts and social media he speaks of choosing "my homeland and my roots". He denounces those who oppose the Russian offensive and takes biting, sarcastic aim at Russians who fled the country in protest or to avoid being drafted to fight.
Before the war, he travelled extensively to Europe and the West, like most of Russia's cultural elite.
Now he slams their "anti-Russian" agenda and excessive liberalism -- echoing Kremlin talking points -- to his 400,000 followers on Telegram and Russian social media site VK.
He also hosts a weekly show on state-run radio station Sputnik.
"We are number one because we have a soul and not just money, and our guys at the front prove it every day," he said in a recent show.
"Russia always wins. We are Russians, and borscht is with us!", he says frequently -- a reference to the traditional bright red beetroot soup, claimed by both Ukraine and Russia as their national dish.

The silent opponent

Varvara went to an anti-war protest in Moscow the day Russia invaded and then lost her job after signing a petition against the Russian invasion.
"I warned loved ones that I might be arrested, leaving a spare set of keys and hoping my cat wouldn't starve in my absence," she told AFP.
Varvara, who asked for her name to be changed, managed to avoid being caught in a massive crackdown on street protestors.
As Russia passed sweeping military censorship laws in the days that followed, waves of her friends left the country.
"I did have the thought that I probably needed to leave," she told AFP in Moscow recently. "But at the same time I didn't understand how, where, and on what money I would live."
The knock at the door from masked police that she was half-expecting never came and she got a new job with a non-profit organisation.
It took her two years to be able to feel happiness in her daily life without guilt over the war being waged by her country, she said.
Married to a man with a child from a previous relationship, she has stopped speaking out. 
"I feel responsible. And I know I want children. I can no longer afford to take this kind of optional risk," she said.
Most anti-war Russians still in the country see staying silent as the only way to avoid being thrown in jail.
Still, the conflict dominates Varvara's life -- including her relationship with her father. 
He works in the security services, fought in Ukraine, and regularly offers financial help.
"He's my father, I love him. But for me, it's impossible to accept this money," she told AFP.
As for the future of Russia? She is pessimistic.
"I don't believe it's possible to change the regime in the current situation. Any resistance from below will be crushed. I just hope we, simply physically, live through this."
bur/jc/cad/jj/abs

US

Cuban Americans keep sending help to the island, but some cry foul

BY GERARD MARTINEZ

  • "As long as my brother is there, I'll keep sending him things.
  • In the early morning, Florida resident Gisela Salgado headed to a local store with a bag stuffed with clothes, coffee and powdered milk to send to her brother in Cuba.
  • "As long as my brother is there, I'll keep sending him things.
In the early morning, Florida resident Gisela Salgado headed to a local store with a bag stuffed with clothes, coffee and powdered milk to send to her brother in Cuba. She was not alone. 
Even though some shipping agents in the Sunshine State have restricted the mailing of packages to the nearby crisis-wracked, Communist-ruled island due to logistical problems caused by fuel shortages there, customers keep showing up.
In the Miami area, the economic and energy emergency in Cuba has revived an old debate: should Cuban Americans keep sending remittances and basic goods to loved ones, or cut off shipments seen by some as keeping the government in Havana afloat?
After the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, US President Donald Trump's administration has forced Caracas to halt oil shipments to Cuba, and threatened tariffs on other countries who would step in to send crude, effectively creating a blockade.
At the main office of the Cubamax company in Hialeah, northwest of Miami, which handles remittances, shipping and travel, about 10 customers lined up before opening time.
Some were carrying bags or pushing carts filled with basic necessities, while others just had envelopes filled with cash. 
In Hialeah, where nearly three out of four residents are of Cuban descent, there is no question that shipments are a must.
"Things there are terrible. People are starving, there's nothing," said Salgado, a 72-year-old who emigrated to the United States four decades ago.
"As long as my brother is there, I'll keep sending him things. He has nothing to do with the government, and if I don't send him anything, how will he eat?"
Standing near her, 81-year-old Jose Rosell is at Cubamax to send food and toiletries to his 55-year-old son, a taxi driver in Santiago de Cuba who lost his job due to the fuel shortage.
Rosell said he is worried that he won't be able to keep helping him. 

 Total blockade? 

Last week, Cubamax -- one of the main agencies facilitating shipments and remittances to the Caribbean island nation of about 10 million people -- suspended deliveries to residences and began enforcing a one package per customer limit, due to lack of fuel.
Some of those restrictions have since been lifted, but customers are still fearful that the pipeline to their relatives could soon be cut off entirely.
Other businesses such as Supermarket23, which sells packages of food and basic goods for delivery to Cuba, have said they will no longer accept new orders until further notice.
Shipments of basic necessities are possible due to an exemption to the US trade embargo on Cuba that allows for exchanges between family members.
But many in the Cuban diaspora have targeted businesses specializing in these transactions.
Three US lawmakers with Cuban roots -- Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar -- asked the Trump administration to revoke the licenses of US businesses they say are dealing with entities controlled by authorities in Havana.
Alex Otaola, a Cuban American influencer and activist, advocates cutting off all support to the island, even from family members, with his "Stoppage" campaign -- an initiative that is hotly debated on social media.
For Emilio Morales, who leads the Havana Consulting Group, which specializes in the Cuban economy, cutting off shipments "won't change the equation."
The government in Havana has very little access to remittances, because they usually arrive via private travelers known as money "mules," he told AFP.
And packages sent from abroad only help a small minority of Cubans, with little overall effect islandwide.
At a cafe in Hialeah, 59-year-old Reina Carvallo said critics need to make a clear distinction between the government and regular people like her two brothers, to whom she sends medication and other items.
"The regime should be beheaded, which is what it deserves," Carvallo said. "But the people should not have to suffer."
gma/sst/nro

conflict

As US pressures Nigeria over Christians, what does Washington want?

BY NICHOLAS ROLL

  • But she also said Nigeria "must do more to protect Christians" in a speech that did not mention Muslim victims of violence -- highlighting major gaps that remain between Washington and Abuja.
  • US President Donald Trump's decision to put Nigeria on a blacklist for religious freedom violations has sparked high-level talks between Abuja and Washington -- but what they can agree on remains to be seen.
  • But she also said Nigeria "must do more to protect Christians" in a speech that did not mention Muslim victims of violence -- highlighting major gaps that remain between Washington and Abuja.
US President Donald Trump's decision to put Nigeria on a blacklist for religious freedom violations has sparked high-level talks between Abuja and Washington -- but what they can agree on remains to be seen.
Since Nigeria was labeled last year as a "Country of Particular Concern," a State Department designation that opens the door for sanctions, a "joint working group" has been set up, with talks held in Abuja in January led by Allison Hooker, the number three at the State Department.
A high-ranking Nigerian delegation came to the United States in 2025, and First Lady Remi Tinubu met with lawmakers earlier this month.
"Our two countries have made tremendous strides" in protecting "vulnerable communities here in Nigeria," Hooker said.
But she also said Nigeria "must do more to protect Christians" in a speech that did not mention Muslim victims of violence -- highlighting major gaps that remain between Washington and Abuja.
Trump has claimed the widespread insecurity in Africa's most populous nation amounts to "persecution" of Christians -- a framing rejected not just by Abuja but independent analysts, who point to a broader state failure to contain armed groups, including jihadists. 
There are signs though that the governments could find common ground.
Earlier this month, Nigeria charged nine men over a massacre that left upward of 150 people dead in the mostly Christian village of Yelwata -- kickstarting a rare prosecution over mass killings in Nigeria's Middle Belt that often fall across religious and ethnic lines.
A recent statement from the Nigerian presidency struck a conciliatory tone, mentioning the need to protect "vulnerable populations in Nigeria, particularly Christian communities."
Meanwhile, Hooker said ensuring religious freedom would "enhance" opportunities to conduct "trade and economic deals." 

Competing camps

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for his part has managed to parlay diplomatic criticism into something palatable for both sides: military cooperation.
In December, with Nigerian support, the US struck militants in the northwest. Since then, the Pentagon has moved to increase intelligence sharing, expedite arms sales and send 200 troops to train their Nigerian counterparts.
Increased arms sales to Abuja could be a tough pill to swallow for separatists from Nigeria's mostly Christian southeast who, along with the US Christian right, have long lobbied the Trump administration over religious freedom concerns.
But Washington is similarly made of overlapping, sometimes competing, camps.
While the Trump administration runs the joint working group, the president also faces pressure from lawmakers in his party. Some, like Senator Ted Cruz, have staked out a hard line, accusing Nigerian officials of "facilitating the mass murder of Christians."
"We want to get them, even if it's reluctantly, to the point where they will protect the Christian communities and non-radical Muslims," Representative Chris Smith, chair of the House Africa subcommittee, told AFP, accusing Abuja of harboring a "culture of denial" toward Nigeria's rampant violence.
He and his House colleagues proposed their own demands for Nigeria's government in a recent bill: increase prosecutions; help internally displaced people, especially "persecuted Christian communities," return home; and repeal blasphemy laws.
Some asks could be contentious, such as the bill's demand that Washington sanction "Fulani-ethnic nomad militias" -- a vague term that could lead to the targeting of a mostly Muslim ethnic group, many of whom also find themselves victims of violence.
- CPC 'off ramp'? - 
While some have described ongoing discussions as an "off ramp" to the CPC designation, others are skeptical Trump will ever lift it.
"It is not about facts or foreign relations implications, it is about virtue signaling to their base and showing how 'Christian values' are shaping foreign policy concerns," Matthew Page, a former State Department Africa analyst, told AFP.
And even if both sides are talking more, not everyone is listening.
When Remi Tinubu -- a Christian pastor married to Nigeria's Muslim president -- visited Washington this month, Smith declined to attend a dinner with her.
He was skeptical, the congressman said, that it would be nothing more than a "photo op."
nro/mlm

film

Political drama 'Yellow Letters' wins Berlin's Golden Bear

BY JASTINDER KHERA

  • Festival director Tricia Tuttle acknowledged Saturday that this year's edition had been "emotionally charged" after days of sometimes acrimonious debate on how far filmmaking should intervene in politics.
  • "Yellow Letters", directed by German filmmaker Ilker Catak, won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear for best film Saturday, at a ceremony reflecting the controversy over Gaza that has dogged this year's edition.
  • Festival director Tricia Tuttle acknowledged Saturday that this year's edition had been "emotionally charged" after days of sometimes acrimonious debate on how far filmmaking should intervene in politics.
"Yellow Letters", directed by German filmmaker Ilker Catak, won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear for best film Saturday, at a ceremony reflecting the controversy over Gaza that has dogged this year's edition.
Some award winners spoke out in favour of the Palestinian cause, pushing back after jury president Wim Wenders had sparked outrage earlier by trying to steer the festival away from the issue.
Festival director Tricia Tuttle acknowledged Saturday that this year's edition had been "emotionally charged" after days of sometimes acrimonious debate on how far filmmaking should intervene in politics.
Catak's film tells the story of a Turkish director and his actor wife, suddenly barred from working because of their political opinions.
Wenders called the film "a terrifying premonition, a look into the near future that could possibly happen in our countries as well".
While set in Turkey, the film was shot in Germany, an artistic choice to make the point that threats to liberty are universal.
The runner-up Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize went to "Salvation" by Emin Alper, who in his speech expressed solidarity with several high-profile opposition figures in prison in Turkey, including jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Alper's film, inspired by a true story, shows the consequences of a feud over land between two clans in a remote mountain village.
He took the opportunity to speak up for "the people of Iran suffering under tyranny" and "Kurds in Rojava and the Middle East struggling for their rights for almost a century -- you are not alone".
Alper also spoke of "the Palestinians in Gaza living and dying under the most terrible conditions".

Impassioned speech

Alper was not the only award-winner to express support for the Palestinians.
Syrian-Palestinian director Abdullah Al-Khatib won Best First Feature Award for "Chronicles From the Siege".
He accepted the award with a keffiyeh draped over his shoulder and gave an impassioned speech in which addressed the German government by saying: "You are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel." 
He received cheers for his words but also prompted some heckling, reflecting the tension over Gaza which has often overshadowed this year's event.
Speaking at a press conference at the beginning of the festival last week, Wenders answered a question about the German government's support for Israel by saying: "We cannot really enter the field of politics."
At the same press conference, he had said that films had the power to "change the world" but in a different way from politics.
But his comments in response to the question on Israel prompted a storm of outrage.
Award-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, who had been due to present a restored version of a 1989 film she wrote, pulled out of the event, branding Wenders' words "unconscionable" and "jaw-dropping".
On Tuesday, an open letter signed by dozens of film industry figures, including actors Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton and director Adam McKay, condemned the Berlin festival's "silence on the genocide of Palestinians" and accused it of being involved in "censoring" artists who oppose Israel's actions.
Tuttle has firmly rejected the accusations.
Wenders addressed the controversy on Saturday.
"The language of cinema is empathetic. The language of social media is effective," he said.
Addressing political activists, he said: "All of us applaud you. You do necessary and courageous work."
"But does it need to be in competition with us? Do our languages need to clash?" he asked.

'Queen at Sea'

Other award winners on Saturday included German actress Sandra Hueller, who received the Silver Bear for Best Performance for her title role in Markus Schleinzer's "Rose".
The black-and-white drama tells the story of a woman passing herself off as a man in rural 17th-century Germany to escape the constraints of patriarchy. 
"Queen at Sea" by American director Lance Hammer, which stars Juliette Binoche as a woman caring for her mother with dementia, picked up two awards.
The film portrays the devastation Alzheimer's disease inflicts on a patient's loved ones. 
Tom Courtenay, 88, and 79-year-old Anna Calder-Marshall, who plays the ailing mother in the film, shared the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance.
The film also picked up the Silver Bear Jury Prize, considered the third most prestigious award.
Grant Gee picked up the Best Director award for "Everybody Digs Bill Evans" his black-and-white biopic of the legendary jazz pianist.
agu-jsk/jj/rh

conflict

More than 1,500 request amnesty under new Venezuela law

BY AHIANA FIGUEROA

  • The legislature unanimously adopted the landmark amnesty law on Thursday, and Delcy Rodriguez hailed its passage, describing it as a step toward "a more democratic, fairer, freer Venezuela."
  • More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have applied for amnesty under a new law, the head of the country's legislature said Saturday, two days after the measure -- enacted under pressure from Washington -- came into effect.
  • The legislature unanimously adopted the landmark amnesty law on Thursday, and Delcy Rodriguez hailed its passage, describing it as a step toward "a more democratic, fairer, freer Venezuela."
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have applied for amnesty under a new law, the head of the country's legislature said Saturday, two days after the measure -- enacted under pressure from Washington -- came into effect.
"A total of 1,557 cases are being addressed immediately, and hundreds of people deprived of their freedom are already being released under the amnesty law," National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez told a press conference.
Amnesty is not automatic under the law: petitioners must ask the court handling their cases.
On Saturday alone, 80 prisoners had been freed from detention in the capital Caracas, Rodriguez told AFP. 
On Friday, the lawmaker overseeing the amnesty process, Jorge Arreaza, announced that prosecutors had asked courts to free 379 prisoners.
Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez -- the sister of the top lawmaker -- pushed for the legislation after she rose to power following the capture of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro during a US military raid on January 3.
The legislature unanimously adopted the landmark amnesty law on Thursday, and Delcy Rodriguez hailed its passage, describing it as a step toward "a more democratic, fairer, freer Venezuela."
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carveouts for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro's political opponents.
It explicitly does not apply to those prosecuted for "promoting" or "facilitating...armed or forceful actions" against Venezuela's sovereignty by foreign actors.
Rodriguez has leveled such accusations against opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, who hopes to return to Venezuela at some point from the United States.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of "terrorism"-related activities.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
"The law provides for those substitute measures to be lifted so that these people can enjoy full freedom," Rodriguez told reporters.

'Let's hope it's true'

Outside a national police facility in Caracas known as Zone 7, relatives -- some of them on site for weeks -- patiently waited.
"Let's hope it's true," Genesis Rojas told AFP.
A group of relatives who have been camped out for days chanted: "We want to go home!"
A row of police officers with riot shields stood watch.
"They're the ones who should ask us for forgiveness. For kidnapping us, for robbing us, for having violated all our human rights," said Yessy Orozco, whose father is imprisoned in Zone 7.
A group of 10 women went on a hunger strike that lasted more than five days to demand the law's passage and freedom for Venezuela's political prisoners.
The last hunger striker, a woman outside Zone 7, posted a sign that read: "In recovery. No answers." She declined press interviews, saying she felt unwell.
Hundreds have already been granted conditional release by Rodriguez's government since the deadly US raid that resulted in Maduro's capture last month.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63,  has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he was a "prisoner of war."
afc-jt/sla/acb

US

Iranian students chant anti-government slogans, as US threats loom

  • Fars said that what was supposed to be a "silent and peaceful sit-in" on Saturday of students commemorating those killed was disrupted by people chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" -- a reference to Iran's supreme leader. 
  • Iranian students chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with counter-protesters on Saturday in the latest display of anger at the country's clerical leaders, who also face a US military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.
  • Fars said that what was supposed to be a "silent and peaceful sit-in" on Saturday of students commemorating those killed was disrupted by people chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" -- a reference to Iran's supreme leader. 
Iranian students chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with counter-protesters on Saturday in the latest display of anger at the country's clerical leaders, who also face a US military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.
The gatherings at universities, which were reported by both local and diaspora media outlets, followed a mass protest movement that was met with a government crackdown last month that left thousands dead.
The crackdown had prompted US President Donald Trump to threaten to intervene militarily, though the focus of his threats eventually shifted to Iran's nuclear programme, which Western governments fear is aimed at producing a bomb.
The US and Iran recently resumed Oman-mediated talks on a potential deal, but Washington has simultaneously increased its military presence in the region, dispatching two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to back its warnings.
Videos geolocated by AFP to Tehran's top engineering university showed fights breaking out in a crowd on Saturday as people shouted "bi sharaf", or "disgraceful" in Farsi.
Footage posted by the Persian-language TV channel Iran International, which is based outside the country, also showed a large crowd chanting anti-government slogans at Sharif University of Technology. 
The Fars news agency later said there were reports of injuries in scuffles at the institution.
Iranians had reprised their protest slogans earlier this week to mark the 40th day since thousands of people were killed as a wave of demonstrations was peaking on January 8 and 9.
The unrest first broke out in December over prolonged financial strain, but exploded into mass anti-government protests that were suppressed in a violent crackdown by security forces.
The clerical authorities acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths, but say the violence was caused by "terrorist acts" fuelled by Iran's enemies. 
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), however, has recorded more than 7,000 killings in the crackdown, the vast majority protesters, though the toll may be far higher. 
Iranian authorities had initially acknowledged the legitimacy of the protesters' economic demands, but as the movement took on an overtly anti-government tone, they accused archenemies the United States and Israel of whipping up "riots".
Fars said that what was supposed to be a "silent and peaceful sit-in" on Saturday of students commemorating those killed was disrupted by people chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" -- a reference to Iran's supreme leader. 
A video posted by Fars showed a group chanting and waving Iranian flags facing off with a crowd wearing masks and being held back by men in suits. 

Talks and threats

Ever since the initial wave of protests, the United States and Iran have been trading threats of military action. 
Trump sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, while a second, the USS Gerald R Ford, is en route via the Mediterranean.
The US has also redeployed dozens of other warplanes to the Middle East -- where it maintains several bases -- while boosting its air defences.
The build-up seeks to pressure Iran's authorities as the two sides pursue nuclear talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US media this week that following the latest round of negotiations in Geneva, Iran would be submitting a draft proposal for an agreement, saying it would be read in a matter of days.
Araghchi also said the "US side has not asked for zero enrichment" of uranium, contradicting statements from American officials. 
Iran denies it is trying to produce nuclear weapons, but insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
The US media outlet Axios reported this week, citing an unnamed senior US official, that Washington was prepared to consider a proposed deal that only permitted "small, token enrichment".
Trump has suggested that "bad things" will happen if Tehran did not strike a deal, saying Thursday that it had 15 days to agree.
Fears of a conflict have prompted several foreign countries to urge their citizens to leave Iran, including Sweden, Serbia, Poland and Australia, which warned "commercial flights are currently available but this could change quickly".
A previous round of nuclear diplomacy last year was interrupted by Israel's surprise bombing campaign against the Islamic republic.
The United States ultimately joined its ally, striking nuclear facilities before declaring a ceasefire.
Iran has maintained that it will defend itself in the event of any new attack.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks to athletes carried by state television, said the country would "not yield to any trial, even if the powers of the world stand against us with injustice and try to force us into submission". 
burs-sw/smw/jj

killing

Thousands march in France for slain far-right activist

BY DANIEL ABELOUS AND ANTOINE BOYER

  • The authorities had deployed heavy security, including drones, fearing further clashes at the event that saw at least 3,200 people attend, according to local officials.
  • Thousands of people marched in southeastern France on Saturday under heavy security in tribute to a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has put the country on edge. 
  • The authorities had deployed heavy security, including drones, fearing further clashes at the event that saw at least 3,200 people attend, according to local officials.
Thousands of people marched in southeastern France on Saturday under heavy security in tribute to a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has put the country on edge. 
The crowd -- many wearing black and some covering their lower faces with masks -- marched through the city of Lyon carrying flowers and placards bearing pictures of Quentin Deranque and the words, "justice for Quentin" and "the extreme left kills".
The 23-year-old died from head injuries following clashes between radical left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party in Lyon last week. 
The authorities had deployed heavy security, including drones, fearing further clashes at the event that saw at least 3,200 people attend, according to local officials.
Hours before the gathering, French President Emmanuel Macron had urged "everyone to remain" calm.
He said the government would meet next week to discuss "violent action groups" in the wake of the fatal beating, which has ignited tensions between the left and right ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.
"In the Republic, no violence is legitimate," said Macron, who will be unable to contest next year's election after hitting the two-term limit.
The march went ahead without clashes, although one person threw an egg from a building, and police said another person was detained for carrying a knife and hammer. 
More arrests are possible as police investigate suspects behind Nazi salutes, racist slurs and homophobic insults made during the procession and caught on video shared online, the local prefecture said.
Some residents living along the route hung signs from their windows reading "Lyon is antifa" or "Love is greater than hate".

'Defend his memory'

Mourners had first gathered in the church frequented by Deranque before his death and his portrait was hung from the facade of the administrative headquarters of the Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes region.
Laurent, a friend of Deranque, attended "to defend his memory" in the setting "where Quentin expressed himself most intensely, namely the Catholic Church and the traditional rite," he said.
One of the rally's organisers, Aliette Espieux, former spokesperson for the anti-abortion movement, told AFP she wished for a "peaceful tribute". 
She hit out, however, at Jordan Bardella, the president of the far-right National Rally party, which senses its best chance ever of scoring the presidency in next year's vote. 
Bardella had urged his supporters not to attend the rally, with Espieux saying, "I don't find that very honourable." 
According to the Deranque family's lawyer, Fabien Rajon, his parents would not take part in the rally, adding they hoped would go ahead "without violence" and "without political statements". 
Several ultra-right-wing groups, including Deranque's nationalist Allobroges Bourgoin faction, had nonetheless heavily publicised the march on social media, stoking authorities' concerns of unrest.
- Calls to ban rally - 
Ahead of the rally, some residents barricaded the ground floor windows of their apartments in fear. 
"At my age, I'm not going to play the tough guy. If I have to go out somewhere, I'll avoid the places where they're marching," said Lyon local Jean Echeverria, 87.
"They'll just keep fighting each other, it'll never end. Between the extreme of this and the extreme of that, it's non-stop," he added. 
The event went ahead despite calls from Lyon's left-wing green mayor, Gregory Doucet, and LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard for the state to ban it.
But Interior Minister Laurent Nunez declined to ban the rally, arguing that he had to "strike a balance between maintaining public order and freedom of expression". 
Deranque's death has provoked a reaction from US President Donald Trump's administration, with State Department official Sarah Rogers on Friday branding the killing "terrorism" and claiming that "violent radical leftism is on the rise".
That came a day after Macron pushed back at comments by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the death, suggesting she refrain from commenting on France's internal affairs.
Six men suspected of involvement in the fatal assault have been charged over the killing, while a parliamentary assistant to a radical left-wing MP has also been charged with complicity.
burs/giv/jj

film

First all-Pakistani production makes history at Berlin film fest

BY JASTINDER KHERA

  • Could films like "Lali" bring Pakistani cinema new recognition?
  • The Berlin film festival, which draws to a close on Saturday, made a piece of film history earlier this week when it screened its first all-Pakistani produced feature film.
  • Could films like "Lali" bring Pakistani cinema new recognition?
The Berlin film festival, which draws to a close on Saturday, made a piece of film history earlier this week when it screened its first all-Pakistani produced feature film.
"Lali", by director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, had its world premiere on Thursday at a packed screening where it was warmly welcomed by members of Berlin's own Pakistani community, which included the country's ambassador to Germany.
The Punjabi-language black comedy tells the story of Sajawal (Channan Hanif) and his new bride Zeba (Mamya Shajaffar).
The locals in their working-class part of the city of Sahiwal mutter that Zeba is living under a curse after her previous suitors died in mysterious circumstances.
Khoosat told AFP that making Pakistan's debut at the festival came with "a good sense of achievement, but also with a sense of responsibility".
He said it was a "sign of validation" to achieve recognition with a story "deeply rooted in its own idiom".
Part of that idiom is the boisterous humour that the Punjab region is known for, portrayed in part through Sajawal's mother, the imposing matriarch Sohni Ammi.
The film opens with her encouraging the men of the neighbourhood to fire guns in celebration of Sajawal's wedding -- only for her to get shot in the leg.

'New generation' of filmmakers

The mordant humour alternates with more serious themes like desire, sexuality and unhealed trauma and occasional suggestions of magic and the supernatural.
Although Khoosat pointed out nothing that takes place on screen is physically impossible.
"Lali"'s premiere at Berlin has echoes of the trajectory of "Joyland" by Saim Sadiq, which became the first ever Pakistani entry in competition at the Cannes film festival in 2022.
That film tells the story of a man falling for the trans director of a dance troupe and received critical acclaim as well the Jury Prize and the "Queer Palm" at Cannes.
Khoosat was a producer on that film and Sadiq in turn worked as an editor on "Lali".
Is Khoosat hopeful that such films can raise the profile of Pakistani cinema?
He said that the industry in Pakistan has been struggling, suffering a "semi-gradual kind of demise" over the past 20 years or so. 
"Before that, we had a big cinema scene... which would produce, you know, more than 100 films a year. "
But Khoosat said Pakistani cinema has struggled to rise of other media and did not "cater to a newer audience". 
Could films like "Lali" bring Pakistani cinema new recognition?
"This opportunity of visibility on such platforms -- I just wish that, you know, it would translate into a more thriving" domestic film industry, Khoosat said.
"There's definitely a whole new generation of filmmakers, and they need to be facilitated to produce more work."
jsk/giv