Venice

Venice Film Festival opens with star power, and Gaza protesters

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • Israel's nearly two-year bombardment of Gaza also featured prominently during the Cannes film festival in May where hundreds of movie figures signed a petition saying they were "ashamed" of their industry's "passivity" about the war.
  • The Venice Film Festival kicked off Wednesday with Hollywood royalty arriving for Italy's glitzy movie showcase where a strong line up of star-packed films will vie with protests about the Gaza war for public attention. 
  • Israel's nearly two-year bombardment of Gaza also featured prominently during the Cannes film festival in May where hundreds of movie figures signed a petition saying they were "ashamed" of their industry's "passivity" about the war.
The Venice Film Festival kicked off Wednesday with Hollywood royalty arriving for Italy's glitzy movie showcase where a strong line up of star-packed films will vie with protests about the Gaza war for public attention. 
Julia Roberts and George Clooney are some of the biggest names at the 82nd edition of the world's longest-running festival, with top directors from Kathryn Bigelow to Jim Jarmusch all due on the sandy Lido across the Venice lagoon.
The main event in Wednesday evening's opening ceremony was Francis Ford Coppola awarding a Lifetime Achievement award to German director Werner Herzog ("Grizzly Man", "Fitzcarraldo") for his canon of more than 70 films.
Herzog, who said he always searched for the "sublime" in his films, will showcase his latest documentary, "Ghost Elephants", about a lost herd in Angola, on Thursday.
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's "La Grazia" -- about an Italian president grappling with doubts over whether to sign a euthanasia bill into law -- was the first main in-competition movie presented on Wednesday.
"Dwelling on doubt and then allowing that doubt to mature into a decision is something that is increasingly rare," Sorrentino told journalists.
"Mother", a film depicting Mother Teresa as a sometimes ruthless figure struggling to reconcile her views on motherhood and abortion, opened the secondary Orizzonti section. 
Eyes were set to quickly turn to Hollywood's favourite leading man, Clooney, who stepped off a water taxi in Venice with his wife Amal on Tuesday.
On Thursday, he will be seen in the premiere of Netflix-produced comedy "Jay Kelly", directed by Noah Baumbach, in which he plays a top Hollywood actor with an identity crisis.
On the same night is the premiere of sci-fi comedy "Bugonia" from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, which stars Emma Stone as a pharmaceutical executive kidnapped by people who mistake her for an alien.
Roberts, meanwhile, will appear at Venice for the first time on Friday in the out-of-competition cancel-culture drama "After the Hunt", from Italy's Luca Guadagnino.
Winners of the festival's prestigious Golden Bear top prize often go on to Oscar glory, such as "Nomadland" or "Joker" in previous years.

Pro-Palestinian protest

Though the festival and this year's jury president Alexander Payne ("Sideways") were keen to focus on the roster of movies making their world premieres in the next 11 days, world events dominated their day-one press conference.
Protesters held up a "Free Palestine" banner in front of the festival's main building, while a group of Italian film professionals have called on organisers to openly condemn Israel's invasion and siege of Gaza.
A demonstration to condemn Israel and the war in Gaza has been called for Saturday in Venice by hundreds of local political and rights groups. 
The festival had already declared "huge sadness and suffering vis-a-vis what is happening in Gaza and Palestine", its director Alberto Barbera told reporters. But he ruled out rescinding invitations to pro-Israeli actors.
Israel's nearly two-year bombardment of Gaza also featured prominently during the Cannes film festival in May where hundreds of movie figures signed a petition saying they were "ashamed" of their industry's "passivity" about the war.
The festival has selected a film about the war for its main competition -- "The Voice of Hind Rajab" by Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which reconstructs the death of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who was killed last year by Israeli forces.

'Frankestein'

The flurry of premieres to be screened in Venice also include Guillermo del Toro big-budget remake of "Frankenstein", starring Oscar Isaac, or Bigelow's political thriller "A House of Dynamite", starring Idris Elba.
In one of the boldest casting choices, British actor Jude Law will try his hand at Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas's "The Wizard of the Kremlin", while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson portrays mixed martial arts champion Mark Kerr in much-hyped "The Smashing Machine" from Benny Safdie.
Jarmusch marks his first time in Venice's main lineup with "Father Mother Sister Brother", bringing together Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, while Taiwan-born model and actress Shu Qi makes her directorial debut with "Nuhai (Girl)".
ams-adp/rmb

Venice

Globetrotting German director Herzog honoured at Venice festival

  • Herzog "has never ceased from testing the limits of the film language," said festival artistic director Alberto Barbera in announcing the award in April.
  • Globetrotting filmmaker Werner Herzog, an eclectic risk-taker whose monumental works often explore humankind's conflict with nature, was honoured with a special award on Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival.
  • Herzog "has never ceased from testing the limits of the film language," said festival artistic director Alberto Barbera in announcing the award in April.
Globetrotting filmmaker Werner Herzog, an eclectic risk-taker whose monumental works often explore humankind's conflict with nature, was honoured with a special award on Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival.
The 82-year-old arthouse giant, who helped launch New German Cinema in the 1960s, received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement ahead of the debut of his latest documentary, "Ghost Elephants," about a lost herd in Angola, on Thursday.
He was handed a special winged Golden Lion statue by "The Godfather" director and friend Francis Ford Coppola who praised the German's "limitless creativity".
"I have always tried to strive for something that goes deeper beyond what you normally see in movie theatres, a deep form of poetry that is possible in cinema," Herzog told a star-studded audience in an acceptance speech. 
Guided by a search "for truth in unusual ways", he added: "I always try to do something which was sublime, or something transcendental."
Herzog has made more than 70 movies, rising to fame in the 1970s and 80s with sweeping films about obsessive megalomaniacs and struggles with the natural world.
The German director and daredevil explorer has made a series of documentaries in recent years, many in exotic locales, while continuing to make film appearances, including cameos in "The Simpsons".
Herzog "has never ceased from testing the limits of the film language," said festival artistic director Alberto Barbera in announcing the award in April.

Outdoors director

Born in Munich in 1942, Herzog began experimenting with film at age 15, going on to make his name as a writer, producer and director.
A long and contentious collaboration with German screen icon Klaus Kinski resulted in epic films like 1972's "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", about the search for El Dorado in the Amazon jungle, or 1982's "Fitzcarraldo", about a mad dreamer hellbent on building an opera house in the jungle -- in which Herzog had the extras haul a huge steamship up a hill.
Other noteworthy films include 1979's gothic horror film "Nosferatu the Vampyre", the 2005 documentary "Grizzly Man" and "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" in 2009, with Nicolas Cage.
An inveterate traveller, Herzog is known for shunning studios for the outdoors, shooting in the Amazon, the Sahara desert or Antarctica.
Often placing himself at the centre of his documentaries -- a genre for which Herzog is particularly noted -- the director strayed dangerously close to active volcanoes in 2016's "Into the Inferno", while entering death row in Texas for "Into the Abyss" in 2011.
A prolific opera director -- including at Bayreuth and La Scala -- Herzog has also published poetry and prose, including his 2021 novel "The Twilight World", a 1978 diary and a memoir in 2023.
ams-adp/giv

investigation

French star chef to 'step back' after domestic abuse complaint

  • "I have decided to step back from my establishments while the justice system does its work," Imbert said on his Instagram account.
  • French celebrity chef Jean Imbert said Wednesday he would "step back" from his restaurants after prosecutors opened an investigation into a domestic violence complaint from his former partner.
  • "I have decided to step back from my establishments while the justice system does its work," Imbert said on his Instagram account.
French celebrity chef Jean Imbert said Wednesday he would "step back" from his restaurants after prosecutors opened an investigation into a domestic violence complaint from his former partner.
Lila Salet, a former actor, lodged the complaint on Saturday over incidents that she says took place between 2012 and 2013 when she was in a relationship with the 44-year-old "Top Chef" winner, according to Elle magazine.
Imbert, who rose to fame after winning the reality cooking show and then becoming a social media star, has denied the allegations.
"I have decided to step back from my establishments while the justice system does its work," Imbert said on his Instagram account.
The chef said he was "relieved" to have the matter referred to the courts, adding he had "no doubt" about the investigation's outcome.
"I won't comment on what has been said in recent months, because in the current media noise it's impossible to defend oneself with dignity," he added.
Salet filed the complaint after she and three other ex-partners of the chef at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris accused him of physical and psychological abuse in an April interview with Elle.
Former Miss France Alexandra Rosenfeld, who initially spoke out under a pseudonym, said last week that more than 10 years ago Imbert broke her nose, with an X-ray confirming the injury.
A spokesperson for the chef said Imbert "deeply regretted" the incident, adding that Rosenfeld's nose was broken during "a moment of violence" when Imbert was grabbed by his partner and "broke free".
Salet told AFP it was Rosenfeld's testimony that prompted her to file the complaint, adding the chef was "violent" with her.
Salet, who filed and withdrew a complaint against the chef in 2013, said she wants "justice to be done".
jt-ekf/as/gv

politics

Hungary web users lap up footage of PM Orban's family estate

  • Independent lawmaker Akos Hadhazy, an anti-corruption activist, published a video about the lavish manor on social media, which he made last week, when he walked into the premises uninvited.
  • Videos of a countryside estate owned by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's father have raked in hundreds of thousands of views online, with an anti-corruption campaigner sharing fresh footage Wednesday.
  • Independent lawmaker Akos Hadhazy, an anti-corruption activist, published a video about the lavish manor on social media, which he made last week, when he walked into the premises uninvited.
Videos of a countryside estate owned by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's father have raked in hundreds of thousands of views online, with an anti-corruption campaigner sharing fresh footage Wednesday.
The videos have tapped into a widespread frustration about corruption in Hungary, where Orban's inner circle has grown spectacularly wealthy from public tenders even as the European Union has frozen billions in funding over alleged graft among other things.
The nationalist leader denies claims that he is the real owner of the sprawling Hatvanpuszta manor and has played down the idea of it being a luxury estate, describing it as an agricultural facility still under construction.
Independent lawmaker Akos Hadhazy, an anti-corruption activist, published a video about the lavish manor on social media, which he made last week, when he walked into the premises uninvited.
The footage has been seen over 700,000 times on Facebook.
He said the video -- showing a well-kept garden, a swimming pool, and a huge dining room -- proves that it is not a humble farm but a "luxury castle complex".
Commenters under Hadhazy's videos congratulated him on his bravery but lamented the wider public's lack of knowledge about corruption.
Commenter Zsolt Andre said the videos showed "Orban and his cronies are building themselves a palace" from taxpayers' money.
Another commenter, Andras Kaukucsi, suggested the estate could be better used as an orphanage or a hospital.
But Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has accused Hadhazy of breaking the law by trespassing.
Many media reports over the years have suggested Orban uses Hatvanpuszta, close to his hometown of Felcsut west of Budapest, as a private retreat.
But his 84-year-old father, Gyozo, recently told pro-government tabloid Bors that he bought Hatvanpuszta in 2011 to re-create a historic model farm established there in the 19th century by a Habsburg duke.
Since Orban's return to power in 2010, Hungary has fallen from 50th to 82nd place in Transparency International's corruption perception index, ranking last among EU members in 2024.
The EU has frozen around 19 billion euros ($22 billion) in funds earmarked for central European country over alleged graft in public procurement, among other issues.
Orban's government denies corruption allegations and claims Brussels is withholding the funds to pressure it over its transformation into an "illiberal democracy".
ros/jxb

Venice

Italy's Sorrentino embraces doubt in euthanasia film at Venice

BY ALEXANDRIA SAGE

  • "I can only hope that a film, in this case my film, can bring attention back to a topic that I take for granted but which is fundamental, that of euthanasia.
  • Italian director Paolo Sorrentino hopes his latest film premiering Wednesday in Venice will bring attention to the controversial topic of euthanasia -- while encouraging those in power to reject the need for certainty and embrace doubt.
  • "I can only hope that a film, in this case my film, can bring attention back to a topic that I take for granted but which is fundamental, that of euthanasia.
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino hopes his latest film premiering Wednesday in Venice will bring attention to the controversial topic of euthanasia -- while encouraging those in power to reject the need for certainty and embrace doubt.
"La Grazia", about an Italian president grappling with indecision over whether to sign a euthanasia bill into law, is the latest from the Naples-born director, best known to non-Italian audiences for "The Great Beauty", winner of the best foreign film Oscar in 2014.
"Dwelling on doubt and then allowing that doubt to mature into a decision is something that is increasingly rare," Sorrentino told journalists, hours before his film was to kick off the 10-day Venice Film Festival. 
"I wanted to portray a politician who embodies a lofty idea of politics as I believe it should be and as it too often is not," he said, adding that too many today are in a "constant search for certainty".
Sorrentino's 11th film is the second euthanasia-themed film to play at Venice since last year, when Spanish director Pedro Almodovar won the coveted Golden Lion for his "The Room Next Door".
But "La Grazia" is miles apart in tone and scope, with the topic of euthanasia used to explore one man's self-reckoning as he approaches the end of his life and career.
Still, asked in a press conference whether he hoped the film could influence the debate over euthanasia, Sorrentino replied: "I think cinema can try."
"I can only hope that a film, in this case my film, can bring attention back to a topic that I take for granted but which is fundamental, that of euthanasia. So I hope so."

Moral consequences

Part love story, part legal drama, part provocation to Italy's political elite, Sorrentino's film is about finding the courage to act despite uncertainty. 
A current-day, fictionalised president, Mariano de Santis (played by Sorrentino regular Toni Servillo) is months away from the end of his presidential term but under pressure from his lawyer daughter (Anna Ferzetti) to sign an end-of-life bill that will make euthanasia legal. 
Although the measured and reflective Catholic widower has quelled many a political crisis in the past, he is stymied by his inability to make a decision either on the euthanasia bill or on two clemency requests on behalf of convicted murderers that are rife with moral consequences.
"For years, I've thought moral dilemmas were a formidable narrative engine, more so than any other narrative tool usually used in cinema," Sorrentino said. "From there came the idea of centring the film on a president of the republic."
De Santis' indecision is fuelled by demons from the past about his deceased wife, the love story weaving throughout the film that provides its emotional grounding. 
Sorrentino's latest film is highly topical, both politically and socially, in Catholic Italy where there is no national right-to-die law but there is a hot debate on a regional level over whether to legalise medically assisted suicide.
Moviegoers in Italy will also notice obvious echoes of the current inhabitants of the country's presidential Quirinale Palace -- Italian President Sergio Mattarella, a widower, and his daughter Laura, a lawyer, who is a constant companion of her father. 
Despite its serious subject matter, the film is peppered with deliciously surreal touches and quirky cameos that are a signature of Sorrentino.
The film also at times evokes famous moments from "The Great Beauty", such as Servillo staring deep into the camera at the film's start, or the film's pulsing rap and techno soundtrack.
ams/ide/adp/phz

LGBT

Former player comes out as bisexual in Australian Rules first

BY LAURA CHUNG

  • "Mitch's announcement breaks through decades of silence and opens the door for others who may be on their own journey."
  • A former Australian Rules star on Wednesday came out as the first openly bisexual or gay man in the sport's long history, a move hailed as "breaking decades of silence".
  • "Mitch's announcement breaks through decades of silence and opens the door for others who may be on their own journey."
A former Australian Rules star on Wednesday came out as the first openly bisexual or gay man in the sport's long history, a move hailed as "breaking decades of silence".
Australian Rules traces its roots back to 1858 and is the country's most popular spectator sport, but it has long been scarred by homophobia and racism.
Mitch Brown, who played 94 games for the Perth-based West Coast Eagles between 2007 and 2016, said his bisexuality was a "huge factor" in his retirement aged 28.
No current or former AFL player has previously said publicly that they were gay or bisexual, local media and LGBTQ advocates said.
Brown hopes others will now feel emboldened to follow his lead.
"I played in the AFL for 10 years for the West Coast Eagles, and I'm a bisexual man," Brown, now 36, told youth-focused publication The Daily Aus.
Australian Rules, a dynamic kicking and passing game similar to Gaelic football, is played in a "hyper-masculine environment", Brown said.
Adelaide's Izak Rankine was hit with a four-match ban last week for a homophobic slur against an opponent.
Brown said he became good at hiding parts of himself, not just his sexuality but also "my anxiety, my worries in life, I could bury them so deep". 
"It was never once an opportunity to speak openly or explore your feelings or questions in a safe way," he added.
The former player said he had often seen or heard homophobic remarks but had not spoken up for fear of "people thinking that I was gay or bisexual".
He said: "I remember two people having a conversation around how they would feel having a shower next to a gay man, and one of the players said, 'I'd rather be in a cage full of lions than have a shower next to a gay man'." 
"I don't believe that this is about me," Brown said.
"It's not about Mitch Brown being the first at all. For me, it's about sharing my experience so others can feel seen."

'Opens the door'

Brown's comments drew praise from gay rights groups as well as Australian Rules clubs and officials.
Australian LGBTQ advocacy group Health Equity Matters hailed his "strength and honesty".
"For over a century of AFL competition, no male player has identified as openly bisexual or gay," said chief executive Dash Heath-Paynter.
"Mitch's announcement breaks through decades of silence and opens the door for others who may be on their own journey."
He added: "The AFL must do some deep thinking about the measures needed to make the code safe and inclusive for players, officials and volunteers."
The AFL players' union last week called for a "more effective and united approach" in tackling homophobia following Rankine's suspension.
He was the sixth player banned for similar incidents in the past 16 months. 
The AFL, the governing body, has acknowledged that more work needs to be done to tackle the problem, without spelling out what was planned.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon praised Brown's "great courage today".
"This is an important moment for him, and for our entire game," he said.
West Coast Eagles called their former defender "courageous".
"His honesty about his experiences reminds us that we all have work to do in creating truly inclusive and welcoming spaces within our game across the country," the club said.
It added: "Thanks Mitch, we are incredibly proud to call you one of our own."
lec-pst/cwl

internet

'Old things work': Argentines giving new life to e-waste

BY TOMáS VIOLA

  • Visitors also lined up to play the "Ventilastation," a gaming console made from an industrial fan, and to learn how to run AI applications locally on old computers.
  • Need a new gaming console?
  • Visitors also lined up to play the "Ventilastation," a gaming console made from an industrial fan, and to learn how to run AI applications locally on old computers.
Need a new gaming console? Just make one yourself with an old ventilator. Got an old payment terminal? Turn it into a camera.
These are just some of the creations of Argentina's Cyber Dumpster Divers, a collective of ingenious tech aficionados who turn e-waste into new products.
"We experiment with technology by trying to recycle it and repurpose items that other people would simply throw away," said Esteban Palladino, a musician who goes by the pseudonym Uctumi on social media.
"It's a movement that has a charitable side, a techno-political side, and also a playful side," he added.
Argentina produces an estimated 520,000 tons of electronic waste per year, making it fifth in the Americas after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Canada, according to a 2024 report by the UN Research Institute.
In 2022, the world generated a record 62 million tons, the report said.
The manifesto of the Cyber Dumpster Divers, who have dozens of members across Argentina, says that faced with "the immorality of equipment thrown in the trash, the... diver rebels against the authority of the market."
The waste pickers see themselves as revolutionaries at war with the tech "oligarchy."
They call their provincial chapters cells, their manifesto is modelled on that of Karl Marx, and their posters feature a cyborg Che Guevara, who was born in Argentina.
The movement began in 2019 with hardware soup kitchens where people exchanged electronics parts.
During the Covid pandemic, it gained impetus because many people suddenly needed computers to study or work at home.
In stepped the recyclers.
They resurrected old machines from the rubbish heap, fitted them with free operating systems and donated them to people and organizations in need.

'Old things work'

The collective's third annual meeting in Buenos Aires included a workshop on reviving defunct smartphones.
Visitors also lined up to play the "Ventilastation," a gaming console made from an industrial fan, and to learn how to run AI applications locally on old computers.
"Old things work," read a slogan on the screen.
Electronics engineer Juan Carrique traveled 470 kilometers (290 miles) from the central province of Santa Fe to present "roboticlaje" or robotic recycling.
Carrique goes into schools to teach children how to use e-waste to build temperature sensors or motor controls.
"It's not the same to buy something ready-made as having to make it yourself, using pieces of trash," he said.
The 47-year-old diabetic is a fierce critic of planned obsolescence -- companies programming products to become out of date after a certain period.
He used a free app to make his blood sugar monitor compatible with his phone, extending the device's manufacturer-specified lifespan.
It's about "reclaiming the right to recognize when things work or don't work, not being told they work or don't work," he said. 
While giving a second life to old electronic devices may seem the height of geekiness, the Cyber Dumpster Divers are wary of the impact of smartphones, particularly on Argentina's youth.
"It's this ecosystem that is destroying the social fabric, destroying the psyche of young people," one of the recyclers, Cristian Rojo, said.
tev/lm/cb/dw/sco

education

What is swatting? Shooting hoaxes target campuses across US

BY BILL MCCARTHY

  • The University of South Carolina said two students received minor injuries in the rush out of its library.
  • Students at the University of South Carolina were sent into panic when they received an active shooter alert and police rushed to the library.
  • The University of South Carolina said two students received minor injuries in the rush out of its library.
Students at the University of South Carolina were sent into panic when they received an active shooter alert and police rushed to the library.
The university had fielded two separate calls on Sunday that included sounds of gunfire.
But the reports turned out to be false, part of a wave of so-called "swatting" hoaxes that have targeted American universities as students returned to campuses for fall classes.
Similarly baseless reports hit Villanova University and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga last week, and at least seven more schools on Monday, according to campus alerts and school and police statements.
West Virginia University responded to yet another hoax Tuesday morning.
Experts warn that swatting -- deliberately phoning in a false emergency to trigger a law enforcement response -- traumatizes students, depletes security resources and risks desensitizing Americans to alerts in a country where mass shootings are a legitimate threat.
"It plays on our fears because bad things really do happen," said former police chief John DeCarlo, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven.
"They can trigger, with just one call, lockdowns, mobilizations, closings of buildings and a lot of media coverage."
The FBI told AFP it is aware of the recent incidents targeting colleges and is "seeing an increase in swatting events across the country."
The agency said it has received thousands of swatting reports since creating a database for law enforcement agencies to log incidents in 2023, adding that the practice "drains law enforcement resources, costs thousands of dollars, and, most importantly, puts innocent people at risk."

Persistent problem

At the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, first responders from at least 10 agencies were mobilized to the campus and cleared multiple buildings before concluding there was no threat.
The University of South Carolina said two students received minor injuries in the rush out of its library.
A third was falsely branded as a gunman after social media users and Congresswoman Nancy Mace shared footage of him carrying an umbrella that resembled a firearm.
Swatting began in gamer and hacker communities and has been wielded against judges, election officials and lawmakers in recent years.
Schools are "especially vulnerable" due to their visibility and student populations, DeCarlo said.
Keven Hendricks, a cybercrime expert, told AFP perpetrators are frequently linked to extremist groups and ideologies and are often juveniles who are emboldened when they are not caught.
"A lot of swatters do it simply because they can."
Experts called for stronger laws to combat the problem, as well as investments in technologies to identify callers who conceal their voices or IP addresses.
"It is, in reality, a form of domestic terrorism that's very easy to get away with because we don't have the wherewithal to investigate or prosecute it well," DeCarlo said.
"It seems to be running away unbridled."
bmc/mgs/bgs/sco

conflict

Row over Bosnia's Jewish treasure raising funds for Gaza

BY RUSMIR SMAJILHODZIC

  • But museum director Mirsad Sijaric, 55, stood by the decision and said he had received numerous messages of support from Jewish people around the world.
  • Bosnia's national museum has defended a decision to donate funds from the display of a precious Jewish manuscript to the people of Gaza.
  • But museum director Mirsad Sijaric, 55, stood by the decision and said he had received numerous messages of support from Jewish people around the world.
Bosnia's national museum has defended a decision to donate funds from the display of a precious Jewish manuscript to the people of Gaza.
It said ticket sales to see the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the most precious religious manuscripts of the Middle Ages, would be donated to "support the people of Palestine who suffer systematic, calculated and cold-blooded terror, directly by the state of Israel".
The move drew intense criticism earlier this month from Jewish organisations, with some abroad accusing the museum of antisemitism.
But museum director Mirsad Sijaric, 55, stood by the decision and said he had received numerous messages of support from Jewish people around the world.
"Did we choose one of the sides? Yes, we chose one of the sides," Sijaric told AFP.

'Politicisation'

The museum's donation will also include sales from a book about the Haggadah.
Sijaric insisted the move was "absolutely not" directed against Jewish people, but was instead a message of opposition to what was happening in Gaza.
"Feigning neutrality is siding with evil. In my opinion, this is pure evil, and one must oppose it."
Several Jewish organisations criticised the museum's announcement, including the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, which labelled it a "politicisation" of a "symbol of heritage, survival, and coexistence".
Sitting in a glass cabinet in a specially designed room in the museum, the Haggadah has long been a treasured symbol of Sarajevo's diversity.
The majority-Muslim city is also home to just under a thousand Jewish people.

Symbol of 'shared life'

The Haggadah's illuminated and well-preserved parchment pages narrate the creation of the world and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.
Dating back to 1350, the intricately illustrated manuscript is believed to have been written near Barcelona, and brought to Sarajevo by Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492.
It survived Nazi occupation and was kept safe during intensive shelling in the Bosnian War of the 1990s.
Jakob Finci, president of the Bosnian Jewish community, described the move as "bizarre" and "a bit offensive".
"It tarnishes Sarajevo's reputation and that of the Sarajevo Haggadah, the book that for many years has borne witness to Sarajevo's multiethnic character and our shared life," Finci said.
"I've heard a lot of criticism (of the move)... I have not seen any praise."
Long kept in a safe and rarely displayed, the book has been more accessible since the special room opened in 2018 after a renovation paid for by France.
Its rich history and rarity continue to draw visitors and academics to the museum.
"I think it's a way to support the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza," said Italian Egyptologist Silvia Einaudi after viewing the manuscript.
"Gaza, why not?" said French visitor Paul Hellec. "It's a tough topic at the moment. But there are also many other places where people are suffering."
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Hamas, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,819 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
rs/al/fg/jhb

WWII

China's rulers push party role before WWII anniversary

BY PETER CATTERALL

  • My uncle was also killed by the Japanese."
  • An elderly Chinese war veteran's shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he suffered when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui's scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people.
  • My uncle was also killed by the Japanese."
An elderly Chinese war veteran's shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he suffered when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II.
Eighty years on, Li Jinshui's scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people.
But the story behind China's overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested.
Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Nationalist army, the dominant Chinese force at the time. 
However, its leader, Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, laying the groundwork for decades of cross-strait tensions that continue to this day.
Beijing argues that the Communist Party (CCP) played a central role in the war, bolstered by the stories of Li and his comrades' courage and sacrifice.
It is a narrative expected to prevail at a major military parade on September 3.
"With the country in trouble, Chinese people with conscience had to stand up," said Li, who turned 98 on Wednesday and was a soldier in the CCP-run Eighth Route Army.
After Japan's full-scale invasion in 1937, the CCP resisted mainly by guerrilla fighting in the rural, hilly stretches of northern China outside of Nationalist control.
Li was shot in the leg while fighting the Japanese in his native Wuxiang County in China's rugged northern province of Shanxi.
Released from the hospital early, he returned to the battlefield despite not having fully recovered.
Dressed in a green military uniform topped by a cap with a red star, Li bent to pull up his left trouser leg, revealing the scar he has carried for decades.
"It was extremely hard for us," he said.
"We were just young lads."

Making grenades

At a government-organised media tour in July, veterans including Li touted the CCP's role in liberating China from the yoke of Japanese imperialism.
"The Kuomintang didn't play a major role in the war against Japanese aggression," said Wen Yunfu, 96, referring to Chiang's Nationalist Party by its Chinese name.
"It was mainly the Communist Party."
Wen's hometown of Shenzhou in northern Hebei was attacked by the Japanese army just a few months after their 1937 invasion.
Chiang's army was forced to retreat south in the face of the Japanese onslaught.
That left the people under the leadership of the Communist Party, Wen said.
"Life was extremely difficult for the people," he said.
"Our home was burned down. My uncle was also killed by the Japanese."
Wen later joined Mao's CCP at 16 in the final months of the war, and was put to work making grenades.
A truce was called in the civil war between the Kuomintang, which ruled most of the country at the time, and the insurgent Communist Party in the years leading up to the defeat of Japan in 1945.
That suspension came to an end in the wake of Japan's defeat, and the CCP was ultimately victorious in the ensuing domestic conflict. 

'Correct' history

Under Xi Jinping -- China's most powerful leader since Mao -- special attention has been paid to pushing the "correct" interpretation of the complex history of the victory over Japan, said Rana Mitter, author of multiple books on China's role in World War II.
"They're trying to find ways in which the Communist role can be brought more to the forefront," Mitter told AFP.
Mitter doesn't contest that the party's role was significant.
However, he said, "the primary role in terms of political and military resistance against the Japanese was played by the then-government of China, which was the Nationalist Kuomintang government".
There have been efforts in recent decades to recognise the contributions made by forces other than the Communists, including the Kuomintang and the United States.
One chapter that has received widespread attention is the "Flying Tigers" US air brigade that fought with the Kuomintang in the early 1940s, conducting dangerous assaults on enemy bombers.
A museum in Zhijiang, Hunan, sheds light on their assistance just a stone's throw away from a key airport from which they launched their missions.
In that central province's capital of Changsha, locals and patriotic tourism groups pay their respects at a monument to fallen Kuomintang soldiers.
Still, there are glimmers of the complicated history at play.
AFP could see the scars of three Chinese characters since removed from the monument. 
The erased name is likely Wang Tung-yuan, according to Ji Jianliang, a local Communist Party historian.
Wang, a general under Chiang and later Taiwan's ambassador to South Korea, had once provided an inscribed dedication for the monument.
Ji said his name had been removed for "complex political reasons".
pfc/oho/reb/djw/pbt/cwl

climate

Pakistan's monsoon misery: nature's fury, man's mistake

BY WITH SAMEER MANDHRO IN KARACHI

  • Days after villages were swept away in the north, a spell of rain in the south brought Pakistan's financial capital, Karachi, to a standstill.
  • Floodwaters gushing through mountain villages, cities rendered swamps, mourners gathered at fresh graves -- as Pakistan's monsoon season once again delivers scenes of calamity, it also lays bare woeful preparedness.
  • Days after villages were swept away in the north, a spell of rain in the south brought Pakistan's financial capital, Karachi, to a standstill.
Floodwaters gushing through mountain villages, cities rendered swamps, mourners gathered at fresh graves -- as Pakistan's monsoon season once again delivers scenes of calamity, it also lays bare woeful preparedness.
Without better regulation of construction and sewer maintenance, the annual downpours that have left hundreds dead in recent months will continue to kill, experts say.
Even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared to agree as he toured flood-stricken northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last week, where landslides killed more than 450 people. 
"Natural disasters are acts of God, but we cannot ignore the human blunders," he said.
"If we keep letting influence-peddlingand corruption control building permits, neither the people nor the governments will be forgiven." 
Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with limited resources for adaptation.
In the devastated mountain villages the prime minister visited, and beyond, residential areas are erected near riverbeds, blocking "natural storm drains," former climate change minister Sherry Rehman told AFP.
Entrepreneur Fazal Khan now recognises the "mistake" of building too close to the river.
His home in the Swat Valley was destroyed first by 2010 floods and then again in the 2022 inundation that affected nearly four million Pakistanis.
"On August 15, once again, the floodwater surged through the channel and entered our home," the 43-year-old father said.
– Man-made mistakes –
Since it began in June, this year's monsoon has killed around 800 people and damaged more than 7,000 homes, with further downpours expected through September. 
While South Asia's seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly across the region.
By the middle of this month, Pakistan had already received 50 percent more rainfall than this time last year, according to disaster authorities, while in neighbouring India, flash floods and sudden storms have killed hundreds.
Extractive practices have also compounded the climate-related disasters, with cash-strapped but mineral-rich Pakistan eager to meet growing American and Chinese demand.
Rehman, the former minister, said mining and logging have altered the natural watershed.
"When a flood comes down, especially in mountainous terrain, a dense forest is very often able to check the speed, scale and ferocity of the water, but Pakistan now only has five percent forest coverage, the lowest in South Asia," she said.
Urban infrastructure, too, has faltered. 
Days after villages were swept away in the north, a spell of rain in the south brought Pakistan's financial capital, Karachi, to a standstill.
The coastal megacity -- home to more than 20 million people -- recorded 10 deaths last week, with victims electrocuted or crushed by collapsing roofs.
A Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report said brown water inundating streets is not only the result of rain but "clogged drains, inadequate solid waste disposal, poor infrastructure, encroachments, elitist housing societies... and so on."
Published in the wake of 2020's deadly floods, the report still rings true today.

'Negligence'

According to the commission, the problems are "inherently political" as various parties use building permits to fuel their patronage networks -- often disregarding the risks of constructing on top of drainage canals.
In some areas, "the drain has become so narrow that when high tide occurs and it rains simultaneously, instead of the water flowing into the sea, it flows back into the river," urban planning expert Arif Hasan said in an interview after the 2022 floods.
In the sprawling, rapidly swelling city, the various authorities, both civil and military, have failed to coordinate urban planning, according to the rights commission. 
As a result, what infrastructure does get built can solve one problem while creating others.
"Karachi isn't being destroyed by rain, but by years of negligence," said Taha Ahmed Khan, an opposition lawmaker in the Sindh provincial assembly.
"Illegal construction and encroachments on stormwater drains, along with substandard roads... have only worsened the crisis," he added.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab says he has been asking Islamabad every year for help financing the revamping of drainage canals, to no avail.
"It's easy to suggest that drainage capacity should be enhanced, but the cost is so high that it might require spending almost the entire national budget," he told AFP.
Yet during June's budget vote, the opposition accused the city of having spent only 10 percent of funds earmarked for a massive development project.
The five-year plan, designed with international donors, was supposed to end the city's monsoon suffering by the end of 2024.
But nearly a year later, there is no respite.
stm-jma-sma/lb/jfx/cwl

crime

Nightlife falls silent as Ecuador's narco gangs take charge

  • As Ecuador has become an epicenter of the global cocaine trade -- and the port city of Guayaquil a major thoroughfare -- cartels and mafias have chewed through the city's lively 'Zonas Rosas' -- nightlife hotspots.
  • The sweat-and-salsa-infused nightlife that was once the beating heart of Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, has fallen silent, with bars, restaurants, and nightclubs pulling down the shutters to avoid cartel-linked violence.
  • As Ecuador has become an epicenter of the global cocaine trade -- and the port city of Guayaquil a major thoroughfare -- cartels and mafias have chewed through the city's lively 'Zonas Rosas' -- nightlife hotspots.
The sweat-and-salsa-infused nightlife that was once the beating heart of Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, has fallen silent, with bars, restaurants, and nightclubs pulling down the shutters to avoid cartel-linked violence.
As Ecuador has become an epicenter of the global cocaine trade -- and the port city of Guayaquil a major thoroughfare -- cartels and mafias have chewed through the city's lively 'Zonas Rosas' -- nightlife hotspots.
Valeria Buendia, a 36-year-old teacher, used to hit Panama Street about once a week with friends. 
A once buzzing and steamy area not far from the river, it is now empty after dark. 
She rattles off the names of old haunts -- Central, Exflogia, Nicanor -- but now, she said, "it's become dangerous."
"I'm afraid of stray bullets," she said. 
With over 5,200 homicides recorded so far this year, according to the government's tally, Ecuador has become the most dangerous country in South America.
More than 1,550 of those deaths -- roughly a third -- happened in Guayaquil, home to about 2.8 million people and the nation's commercial hub.
The bloodshed has been keenly felt on Panama Street. 
The neon lights, music, and uninhibited dancers have moved to luxurious neighborhoods on the outskirts, accessible only to the fortunate few. 
A 20-minute drive away in the upscale peninsula enclave of Samborondon, rich Ecuadorans can still enjoy a night out. 
There, rifle-wielding guards protect high-heeled women and well-tailored men as they pass by metal detectors. 
One nightclub owner who moved to Samborondon from the center laments: "It would be suicide to invest in Guayaquil" today.

'I couldn't keep up'

The bar owners who are left behind have to live with threats and extortion.
One former bar owner, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals, told AFP how extortion had destroyed his livelihood.
"At first, they asked for $50 a week, then $100, and it kept increasing until I couldn't keep up," he said.
Tired of paying protection money to keep his business running, the owner of a salsa nightclub in the center closed his venue in December 2024. 
He estimates it cost him "about $10,000." He now drives a taxi. 
Locals say most bars have to pay $300 a month, or up to $5,000 for large venues. Many payments go through the banking system, and are paid by bank transfer.

When night falls

In the first half of 2025, Ecuador registered 9,422 formal complaints of extortion. About a third of those were in Guayaquil.
That likely significantly underplays the real number, since it's unknown how many people are too fearful to go to the authorities.
A businessman with a quarter-century of experience in the hospitality sector remembered receiving an extortion message in 2021.
"I was stunned; I called my wife because they had mentioned my family," he said. 
He never reported the case to authorities and chose to close his establishment. 
Those who do not pay face consequences.
The businessman remembers a restaurant in the Urdesa area of Guayaquil that had a suitcase containing explosives thrown at it as a warning in July. 
The police managed to defuse it before it exploded. 
In May, ten people were gunned down in a nightclub, and three months later, an armed attack in a bar killed one and injured three. 
Ernesto Vasquez, of the city's nightclub association, estimates that 50 percent of the hundreds of bars in the city's center and south have closed. 
Drug gangs continue to grow more emboldened, despite President Daniel Noboa's strategy of confronting them militarily. 
str/arb/sla

Chiefs

Sports world congratulates Swift and Kelce on engagement

  • "Today is a fairytale," the Chiefs posted on social media with emojis of a heart and an engagement ring.
  • Pop singer Taylor Swift and NFL Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce announced their engagement on social media on Tuesday, prompting congratulations from across the sports world.
  • "Today is a fairytale," the Chiefs posted on social media with emojis of a heart and an engagement ring.
Pop singer Taylor Swift and NFL Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce announced their engagement on social media on Tuesday, prompting congratulations from across the sports world.
The celebrity couple, who made their relationship public in 2023, were congratulated by the Chiefs, with whom Kelce has won three Super Bowl crowns, most recently last year.
"Today is a fairytale," the Chiefs posted on social media with emojis of a heart and an engagement ring. "Congrats to Travis and Taylor — we're excited to have you as a permanent member of the Chiefs Kingdom family!"
The NFL got into the act as well, posting on X, "Congratulations to Travis and Taylor," with the photo of Kelce on his knees in front of Swift in a flower-filled garden.
The league also ran a video clip of Swift with Kelce as Super Bowl victory confetti was falling behind them, the singer saying, "This is so crazy. I cannot believe this is really happening. I'm in shock," with an NFL caption reading, "Same."
Chiefs defensive end Michael Danna, who was having a news conference at the time the engagement news went public, said: "I don't know nothing."
"Man, it's incredible. I was caught off guard but you know, great for them," Danna added. 
"That's a blessing. Any time you find that type of joy, blessing, love -- that's a beautiful thing."
Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, posted on Instagram: "Two of the most genuine people meet & fall in love. Just so happy for these two."
The ATP Tour posted a video of Swift and Kelce at the US Open tennis tournament saying congratulations and adding: "This is the moment we knew they were meant to be."
Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians had a joking take on the news, which came just after MLB had announced the 2026 season schedule.
"Thanks a lot, Taylor Swift. Now no one cares that next year's schedule is out," the Guardians posted on X.
The NBA's Boston Celtics did a countdown of sorts regarding Swift, the debut of her next album and the upcoming season, posting on X: "Days since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged: 0. Days until The Life of a Showgirl drops: 37. Days until Celtics basketball: 56."
Jarrett Payton, the son of legendary Chicago running back Walter Payton, posted a 2023 video of Swift walking with Kelce and sought a wedding invitation.
"I captured the first vid of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce together back in 2023. This vid literally broke the internet," Payton posted on X. 
"Congrats to them on their engagement. I think I deserve an invite to the wedding. Just saying."
The US Ryder Cup golf team, whose six captain's picks for next month's showdown against Europe are set to be announced on Wednesday, thanked Swift and Kelce for avoiding an announcement conflict.
"Thank you, Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce for getting your little news pushed through today," the team posted, claiming, "The BIG news is coming tomorrow."
js/bsp

Spain

Jennifer Lawrence to get San Sebastian Festival award

  • The Spanish festival, which runs from September 19 to 27, will also give a lifetime achievement award to Esther Garcia, a producer closely linked to many of the films of Pedro Almodovar and other top Spanish directors. du/tw/jhb
  • Oscar-winning actor and producer Jennifer Lawrence will receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain next month, organisers said Tuesday.
  • The Spanish festival, which runs from September 19 to 27, will also give a lifetime achievement award to Esther Garcia, a producer closely linked to many of the films of Pedro Almodovar and other top Spanish directors. du/tw/jhb
Oscar-winning actor and producer Jennifer Lawrence will receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain next month, organisers said Tuesday.
The 35-year-old will get a special "Donostia" award at the festival, where her latest movie "Die, My Love" will be shown.
The festival described Lawrence as "one of the most influential actors of our time" in announcing the award.
The new movie, which Lawrence also produced, will be shown on September 26, the same day as she receives the award.
The Spanish festival, which runs from September 19 to 27, will also give a lifetime achievement award to Esther Garcia, a producer closely linked to many of the films of Pedro Almodovar and other top Spanish directors.
du/tw/jhb

trade

The European laws curbing big tech... and irking Trump

  • But while he did not explicitly name the EU, the US leader cast new doubt on the status quo Monday by threatening fresh tariffs on countries with regulations that sought to "harm" American technology.
  • Fresh off a trade truce with Donald Trump, the EU is back in the US leader's crosshairs after he vowed to punish countries that seek to curb big tech's powers.
  • But while he did not explicitly name the EU, the US leader cast new doubt on the status quo Monday by threatening fresh tariffs on countries with regulations that sought to "harm" American technology.
Fresh off a trade truce with Donald Trump, the EU is back in the US leader's crosshairs after he vowed to punish countries that seek to curb big tech's powers.
Brussels has adopted a powerful legal arsenal aimed at reining in tech giants -- namely through its Digital Markets Act (DMA) covering competition and the Digital Services Act (DSA) on content moderation.
The EU has already slapped heavy fines on US behemoths including Meta and Apple under the new rules, which have faced strong pushback from Trump's administration.
The bloc's trade chief Maros Sefcovic insisted last week that Brussels successfully "kept these issues out of the trade negotiations" with Washington -- and that the bloc's "regulatory autonomy" was not up for debate.
But while he did not explicitly name the EU, the US leader cast new doubt on the status quo Monday by threatening fresh tariffs on countries with regulations that sought to "harm" American technology.
Here is a look at the EU rules drawing Trump's ire:

Digital Services Act

Rolled out in stages since 2023, the mammoth Digital Services Act forces online firms to aggressively police content in the 27 countries of the European Union -- or face major fines.
Aimed at protecting consumers from disinformation and hate speech as well as counterfeit or dangerous goods, it obliges platforms to swiftly remove illegal content or make it inaccessible.
Companies must inform authorities when they suspect a criminal offence that threatens people's lives or safety.
And the law instructs platforms to suspend users who frequently share illegal content such as hate speech -- a provision framed as "censorship" by detractors across the Atlantic.
Tougher rules apply to a designated list of "very large" platforms that include US giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Microsoft and Snapchat.
These giants must assess dangers linked to their services regarding illegal content and privacy, set up internal risk mitigation systems, and give regulators access to their data to verify compliance.
Violators can face fines or up to six percent of global turnover, and for repeated non-compliance, the EU has the power to ban offending platforms from Europe.

Digital Markets Act

Since March 2024, the world's biggest digital companies have faced strict EU rules intended to limit abuses linked to market dominance, favour the emergence of start-ups in Europe and improve options for consumers.
Brussels has so far named seven so-called gatekeepers covered by the Digital Markets Act: Google's Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, Microsoft and travel giant Booking.
In a bid to limit the ability of online giants to snuff out potential rivals, the rules require all buyouts to be notified to the European Commission, the EU's competition regulator.
Gatekeepers can be fined for locking in customers to use pre-installed services, such as a web browser, mapping or weather information.
The DMA has forced Google to overhaul its search display to avoid favouring its own services -- such as Google flights or shopping.
It requires that users be able to choose what app stores to use -- without going via the dominant two players, Apple's App Store and Google Play.
And it has forced Apple to allow developers to offer alternative payment options directly to consumers -- outside of the App Store.
The DMA has also imposed interoperability between messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger and competitors who request it.
And it imposes new obligations on the world's biggest online advertisers -- namely Google's search engine and Meta's Facebook and Instagram -- by forcing them to reveal much more to advertisers and publishers on how their ads work.
Failure to comply with the DMA can carry fines in the billions of dollars, reaching 20 percent of global turnover for repeat offenders.
bur-ec/del/fg

mountaineering

Japanese climber, 102, sets Mount Fuji record

  • The preparation for the climb up Mount Fuji -- which is also an active volcano -- came after he tripped while walking up a mountain near his home in January and then fell ill with shingles and was hospitalised with heart failure.
  • A 102-year-old Japanese man with a serious heart condition has been certified as the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji -- but still shrugged off the feat as nothing special.
  • The preparation for the climb up Mount Fuji -- which is also an active volcano -- came after he tripped while walking up a mountain near his home in January and then fell ill with shingles and was hospitalised with heart failure.
A 102-year-old Japanese man with a serious heart condition has been certified as the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji -- but still shrugged off the feat as nothing special.
Kokichi Akuzawa, who was born in 1923, summited Japan's highest peak after climbing a mountain on an almost weekly basis as part of his training.
His achievement in early August was recognised by Guinness World Records.
"I am six years older than the last time I climbed," Akuzawa told AFP, referring to his hike up the 3,776-metre (12,388 feet) peak at the age of 96.
"I have been there and seen the view many times, it wasn't anything special," he said. 
"I reached the summit last time too."
As well as an avid hiker, the retired livestock farmer from the central Gunma region volunteers at an elderly care centre and teaches painting.
The preparation for the climb up Mount Fuji -- which is also an active volcano -- came after he tripped while walking up a mountain near his home in January and then fell ill with shingles and was hospitalised with heart failure.
His physical condition worried his family, but Akuzawa was determined to climb, his daughter Yukiko, 75, told AFP.
"The recovery was so fast that his doctors could not believe it," Yukiko said.
To get back into shape, Akuzawa woke up early every morning and set off on an hour-long walk, and also hiked up a mountain almost every week.
Akuzawa stretched his Mount Fuji climb over three days and spent two nights in huts, but the high altitude almost forced him to give up.
He managed to force his way to the summit with the support of his travel companions including a granddaughter who is a nurse, Yukiko said.
Asked if he wanted to climb Mount Fuji again, Akuzawa gave a firm "no".
hih-aph/pst

health

1 in 4 people lack access to safe drinking water: UN

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • In 2024, 89 countries had universal access to at least basic drinking water, of which 31 had universal access to safely managed services.
  • More than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely-managed drinking water, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that progress towards universal coverage was moving nowhere near quickly enough.
  • In 2024, 89 countries had universal access to at least basic drinking water, of which 31 had universal access to safely managed services.
More than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely-managed drinking water, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that progress towards universal coverage was moving nowhere near quickly enough.
The UN's health and children's agencies said a full one in four people globally were without access to safely-managed drinking water last year, with over 100 million people remaining reliant on drinking surface water -- for example from rivers, ponds and canals.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF said lagging water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services were leaving billions at greater risk of disease.
They said in a joint study that the world remain far off track to reach a target of achieving universal coverage of such services by 2030.
Instead, that goal "is increasingly out of reach", they warned.
"Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges: they are basic human rights," said the WHO's environment chief Ruediger Krech.
"We must accelerate action, especially for the most marginalised communities."
The report looked at five levels of drinking water services.
Safely managed, the highest, is defined as drinking water accessible on the premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.
The four levels below are basic (improved water taking less than 30 minutes to access), limited (improved, but taking longer), unimproved (for example, from an unprotected well or spring), and surface water.

Drinking of surface water declines

Since 2015, 961 million people have gained access to safely-managed drinking water, with coverage rising from 68 percent to 74 percent, the report said.
Of the 2.1 billion people last year still lacking safely managed drinking water services, 106 million used surface water -- a decrease of 61 million over the past decade.
The number of countries that have eliminated the use of surface water for drinking meanwhile increased from 142 in 2015 to 154 in 2024, the study said.
In 2024, 89 countries had universal access to at least basic drinking water, of which 31 had universal access to safely managed services.
The 28 countries where more than one in four people still lacked basic services were largely concentrated in Africa.

Goals slipping from reach

As for sanitation, 1.2 billion people have gained access to safely managed sanitation services since 2015, with coverage rising from 48 percent to 58 percent, the study found.
These are defined as improved facilities that are not shared with other households, and where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or removed and treated off-site.
The number of people practising open defecation has decreased by 429 million to 354 million 2024, or to four percent of the global population.
Since 2015, 1.6 billion people have gained access to basic hygiene services -- a hand washing facility with soap and water at home -- with coverage increasing from 66 percent to 80 percent, the study found.
"When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk," warned Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF's director for WASH.
"These inequalities are especially stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation.
"At the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach."
rjm/nl/giv

mountains

Drones take on Everest's garbage

BY ANUP OJHA

  • "People in the fixing team were very happy," said record-holding climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest to summit all 14 of the world's highest peaks.
  • A team of drone operators joined climbers and guides at Everest Base Camp this climbing season, armed with heavy-duty drones to help clear rubbish from the world's highest peak.
  • "People in the fixing team were very happy," said record-holding climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest to summit all 14 of the world's highest peaks.
A team of drone operators joined climbers and guides at Everest Base Camp this climbing season, armed with heavy-duty drones to help clear rubbish from the world's highest peak.
Tonnes of trash -- from empty cans and gas canisters, to bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear -- have earned once-pristine Everest the grim nickname of the "highest dumpster in the world".
Two DJI FC 30 heavy-lifter drones were flown to Camp 1 at 6,065 metres (19,900 feet), where they airlifted 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of trash down during the spring climbing season, which usually lasts from April to early June.
"The only options were helicopters and manpower, with no option in between," said Raj Bikram Maharjan, of Nepal-based Airlift Technology, which developed the project.
"So, as a solution for this problem, we came up with a concept of using our heavy-lift drone to carry garbage."
After a successful pilot on Everest last year, the company tested the system on nearby Mount Ama Dablam, where it removed 641 kilos of waste.
"This is a revolutionary drive in the mountains to make it cleaner and safer," said Tashi Lhamu Sherpa, vice chairman of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which oversees the Everest area.

'Game changer'

The drones are proving to be far more efficient, cost-effective and safer than earlier methods, said Tshering Sherpa, chief of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee.
"In just 10 minutes, a drone can carry as much garbage as 10 people would take six hours to carry," Sherpa told AFP.
The powerful drones cost around $20,000 each, but were supplied by the China-headquartered manufacturer to support the cleanup operation and promote its brand.
Other costs were borne partially by the local authorities.
Beyond waste removal, the drones have also been deployed to deliver essential climbing gear such as oxygen cylinders, ladders, and ropes -- reducing the number of dangerous trips across the Khumbu Icefall, one of Everest's deadliest sections.
That can help improve safety for the guides and porters, especially the early "fixing" teams who establish routes at the start of the new season.
"People in the fixing team were very happy," said record-holding climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest to summit all 14 of the world's highest peaks.
"They can simply just go by themselves and the drone will carry ladders or the oxygen and ropes for them. It saves a lot of time and energy."
Next month, Airlift Technology will take the drones to Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest peak.
"It's not just in war that drones are useful," Maharjan said.
"They can save lives and protect the environment. For climate and humanitarian work, this technology is going to be a game changer."
str/pm/pjm/mtp/cwl

women

Women's Pro Baseball League completes four days of tryouts

  • Mo'ne Davis, a 24-year-old American, was the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history when she competed against boys in the 2014 youth baseball showdown.
  • About 100 women, some having already made baseball history, competed in Monday's final tryouts for the Women's Pro Baseball League with hopes of jobs for the inaugural 2026 campaign.
  • Mo'ne Davis, a 24-year-old American, was the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history when she competed against boys in the 2014 youth baseball showdown.
About 100 women, some having already made baseball history, competed in Monday's final tryouts for the Women's Pro Baseball League with hopes of jobs for the inaugural 2026 campaign.
More than 600 women from 10 nations began four days of evaluation at Nationals Park, the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals.
From there, the group was trimmed to the final top talent to compete on four teams over two seven-inning scrimmages on Monday as scouts begin to assemble ideas on talent for first-year clubs, all of them eligible for the first league draft in October ahead of next May's launch.
"Not a moment, a movement," the WPBL said in social media posting on X. "Not a trend, a transformation. More than a league, a turning point."
Mo'ne Davis, a 24-year-old American, was the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history when she competed against boys in the 2014 youth baseball showdown.
"This is probably some of the most fun I've had, these last four days," Davis told the MLB website. "The women here are incredible. They're very approachable.
"This is also my first time ever playing baseball with women, so I felt right at home. And it was just super fun out there. It's very competitive, and the energy is great. No matter what's going on, everyone's super supportive."
After a graduate degree at Columbia University, Davis almost left behind competitive sport, but was among those attracted to what the WPBL could offer, a group that included women from Australia, Japan and Canada as well as Americans.
The league "just encouraged me to go out, like, 'You're still young. You're still active. Why not give it a chance?'" Davis said. "I never wanted to have a regret of not trying so that's what went into it."
Kelsie Whitmore, who played in the men's minor leagues in 2022 for the Staten Island FerryHawks, has already signed a deal with the WPBL, the league posted on its Instagram site.
"It's a great opportunity," Whitmore said. “I'm grateful to be here and I want to thank everyone that's here because that means you support what we do and the passions that we have.
"Being able to have this league... it brings freedom... I'm really grateful for it, and I'm really looking forward to it."
js/sla

immigration

New school year in Washington marked by fear of anti-migrant raids

BY MARIA DANILOVA

  • The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said it would not target Washington schools on Monday.
  • Neighbors, volunteers and parents escorted children to the first day of the new school year across Washington on Monday, vowing to protect students from Donald Trump's deportation drive.
  • The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said it would not target Washington schools on Monday.
Neighbors, volunteers and parents escorted children to the first day of the new school year across Washington on Monday, vowing to protect students from Donald Trump's deportation drive.
At one elementary school in the US capital, crowds blew whistles, shook tambourines and cheered children on their way to class, ready to fend off any law enforcement action and to support a neighborhood with a high Latino population.
Throughout the city, chaperone groups, carpools and patrols were organized over fears that immigration agents, who have stepped up arrests and sweeps, could target school campuses.
Resident Helena Bonde, 36, showed up at the elementary school in her wheelchair to support immigrant families who she says have been terrorized by raids, with some neighbors afraid to go to the grocery store.
"Nobody's trying to arrest a disabled white woman right now, so I just figured I'll be wherever I can be," Bonde told AFP.
"Everybody really just wanted to help out in a way that could feel concrete and useful and help make our local families feel a little safer."
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said it would not target Washington schools on Monday.
But it has not ruled out activity on school campuses to conduct welfare checks on undocumented and unaccompanied children that the Trump administration says need to be rescued from sex trafficking and forced labor rings.
On Monday "you are not going to see ICE officers doing a raid or a sweep," ICE chief Todd Lyons told NBC News last week.
"But our goal... is finding those 300,000 undocumented children and those minors that came here through the last administration."

'It's about how you look'

Selene, a Mexican-American community organizer, admitted that the thought of not sending her daughter to school crossed her mind because even Latino families residing in the United States legally have been targeted and detained.
"This is not about status. It's about how you look, right? If you look Latino on the street, you're a target, unfortunately," Selene, who declined to give her last name, told AFP.
In the end, encouraged by her neighbors, Selene walked her daughter to school and urged others to do the same.
"The community is here for you, don't be afraid, and we're going to keep up the great work. We're going to keep helping our community members. Our kids who come to school need to feel safe, and we can do that together," she said.
Others, however, were too frightened.
Blanca, a middle-aged immigrant from El Salvador who stood near the school entrance with a sign that read "Every day is an opportunity" in English and in Spanish, said some families had kept their children home, at least temporarily, out of fear of being deported.
"Because they are scared," Blanca, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons, told AFP. "We are scared to go out. We don't know what's going to happen to us. We're not safe."

Compulsory education

According to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the US capital was home to about 25,000 undocumented migrants in 2023.
While city schools do not collect citizenship information on students, a 2022 Washington Post report quoted a DC council member as estimating that there are from 3,000 to 4,000 undocumented students in Washington schools. 
In California, home to the largest immigrant population in the United States, ICE raids that began after Trump's return to the White House in January have caused a spike in student absences, according to the National Education Association. 
Jeffrey Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, cited a landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling that established that states cannot prevent undocumented children from attending public schools.
"What they're doing, this is inhumane. This is trying to put fear into these communities," Freitas told AFP.
"Education is compulsory for every student in the United States. That's what we have to go by."
Lora Ries, of the conservative Heritage Foundation, confirmed that "kids are, no matter what their immigration status, under the Supreme Court decision, able to go to public schools, so they are not at risk."
But, she added, "If someone is here illegally, then they should get right with the law."
md/bgs