ethics

'We're already living in science fiction': The neurotech revolution

BY JULIEN DURY

  • Many experts are concerned about the ethical implications of neurotechnology -- particularly because some companies are looking well beyond healthcare applications, instead hoping to use computers to improve our cognitive abilities.
  • From translating thoughts into words to allowing paralysed people to walk, the field of neurotechnology has been quietly surging ahead, raising hopes of medical breakthroughs -- and profound ethical concerns.
  • Many experts are concerned about the ethical implications of neurotechnology -- particularly because some companies are looking well beyond healthcare applications, instead hoping to use computers to improve our cognitive abilities.
From translating thoughts into words to allowing paralysed people to walk, the field of neurotechnology has been quietly surging ahead, raising hopes of medical breakthroughs -- and profound ethical concerns.
Some observers even think that neurotech could end up being as revolutionary as the far more hyped rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
"People do not realise how much we're already living in science fiction," King's College London researcher Anne Vanhoestenberghe told AFP.
The scientist leads a laboratory developing electronic devices which are implanted into a person's nervous system -- not just the brain, but also the spinal cord that transmits signals to the rest of the body.
It has been a big couple of years for neurotech research. In June, Californian scientists revealed that a brain implant they developed could translate the thoughts of a man with the neurodegenerative disease ALS into words almost instantly, in just one-fortieth of a second.
Swiss researchers meanwhile have enabled several paralysed people to regain significant control of their body -- including walking again -- by implanting electrodes into their spinal cords. 
These experiments, and other trailblazers in the field, are still far from restoring full capability to patients who have lost the ability to talk or walk.
It also remains to be seen how such technology, some of which requires invasive brain surgery, could be made available to people in need across the world.
But still, "the general public is unaware of what is already out there and changing lives," Vanhoestenberghe said.
And these devices are becoming more effective at a remarkable rate, she emphasised.
"Previously it took thousands of hours of training before someone could compose several words using their thoughts," she said. "Now it only takes a couple."

Musk wants human-AI 'symbiosis'

Neurotechnology has been propelled by a combination of scientific advances -- including growing understanding of the human brain -- and technological progress which has shrunk devices down so small they can slot into our skulls.
Algorithms using artificial intelligence have significantly sped things along, helping to interpret and transform the data coming from brains.
Numerous start-ups that have emerged since the late 2000s have raised tens of billions of dollars for research that has only recently started translating into concrete achievements.
The most publicised company is billionaire Elon Musk's Neuralink, which says that it has now implanted 12 people with its chip.
While Musk has made characteristically lofty claims, experts have remained cautious about his firm's accomplishments.
"Neuralink is currently just smoke and mirrors, with a lot of hype," Herve Chneiweiss, a neurologist and expert in ethics at France's research organisation INSERM, told AFP.
However, "the day they manage to produce commercial products -- and it won't be long -- it will be too late to worry about it," he cautioned.
Many experts are concerned about the ethical implications of neurotechnology -- particularly because some companies are looking well beyond healthcare applications, instead hoping to use computers to improve our cognitive abilities.
Musk, for one, has repeatedly said he ultimately wants Neuralink to allow humans to achieve "symbiosis" with AI.

'Innermost thoughts under threat'

Against this background, the United Nations' agency for science and culture UNESCO recently approved recommendations for how nations can regulate neurotechnology. 
These recommendations -- which are not legally binding -- are due to come into effect on Wednesday.
The authors, who include Chneiweiss, adopted a broad definition of neurotech. It includes devices already widely available such as smartwatches and headsets that do not directly interact with the brain, but instead measure indicators providing an idea of the user's mental state.
"Today, the main risk is invasion of privacy: our innermost thoughts are under threat," Chneiweiss said.
He warned, for example, that neurotech data could "fall into the hands of your boss", who could then decide that you are not spending enough time thinking about work.
Some have already started trying to address such concerns.
Late last year, the US state of California, a global hub of neurotech research, passed a law protecting the brain data of consumers.
jdy-dl/rlp/kjm

UN

Indigenous protesters clash with security at COP30 summit in Brazil

BY MADELEINE PRADEL

  • The incident caused "minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue," a spokesperson for United Nations Climate Change told AFP. "Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols," the spokesperson said.
  • Dozens of Indigenous protesters clashed with security guards Tuesday at the COP30 summit in Brazil, causing minor injuries in a rare incident of violence at the UN climate talks. 
  • The incident caused "minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue," a spokesperson for United Nations Climate Change told AFP. "Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols," the spokesperson said.
Dozens of Indigenous protesters clashed with security guards Tuesday at the COP30 summit in Brazil, causing minor injuries in a rare incident of violence at the UN climate talks. 
In the evening, Indigenous demonstrators and their supporters breached security barriers at the main entrance to the conference hall in Belem and scuffled with security officers there. 
The incident caused "minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue," a spokesperson for United Nations Climate Change told AFP.
"Brazilian and UN security personnel took protective actions to secure the venue, following all established security protocols," the spokesperson said.
Calm was quickly restored and security staff used tables and chairs to barricade the entrance to the high-level "blue zone" at the heart of the conference venue.
An AFP journalist saw a police officer being evacuated in a wheelchair.
Security inside the COP30 venue falls under the responsibility of the UN, while local authorities take charge of the surrounding area.
UN police officers were asking those still inside the COP30 venue to evacuate the vast site of giant air-conditioned tents.
"The Indigenous movement wanted to present its demands inside the blue zone but were not allowed in," said Joao Santiago, a professor at the Federal University of Para.

'Voices ignored'

Maria Clara, a protester with the Rede Sustentabilidade Bahia association, told AFP she wanted to draw attention to the plight of Indigenous peoples.
"These voices are ignored," she said.
"They entered the COP30 venue to protest the fact that the COP will end but the destruction continues."
The March for Health and Climate, the organizers behind the protest, sought to distance themselves from the incident.
"The march, which concluded before the COP30 venue, was a legitimate, peaceful, and organized expression of popular mobilisation, built through dialogue, responsibility, and collective commitment," the group said in a statement.
The UN spokesperson said "the venue is fully secured, and COP negotiations continue." Brazilian and UN authorities were investigating the incident, the spokesperson added. 
Last week, Brazil's Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, said the UN summit would be "the best COP in terms of Indigenous participation."
bur-ico/ia/np/jgc

indicator

UK unemployment jumps to 5% before key govt budget

  • The rate increased from 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, ahead of the Labour government's annual budget due November 26 which is set to feature tax rises amid weak UK economic growth.
  • Britain's unemployment rate rose more than expected to five percent in the third quarter, the highest level since early 2021, official data showed Tuesday ahead of a key UK government budget.
  • The rate increased from 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, ahead of the Labour government's annual budget due November 26 which is set to feature tax rises amid weak UK economic growth.
Britain's unemployment rate rose more than expected to five percent in the third quarter, the highest level since early 2021, official data showed Tuesday ahead of a key UK government budget.
The rate increased from 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, ahead of the Labour government's annual budget due November 26 which is set to feature tax rises amid weak UK economic growth.
Analysts' consensus forecast for the third quarter, running from July to September, had been for an increase to 4.9 percent.
"The number of people on payroll is falling, with revised tax data now showing falls in most of the last 12 months," ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said in comments accompanying the latest figures.
The data deals a further blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ruling Labour party, which is trailing badly in popularity polls 16 months after winning a general election.
"There will be no pre-budget comforts that can be taken from today's employment data," noted Isaac Stell, an analyst at investment manager Wealth Club.
"Not only has the unemployment rate risen, but wage growth... continues to shrink." 
Stell added that "with speculation around the budget reaching fever pitch, businesses have postponed hiring and are less likely to commit to any form of investment until they know where the economic land lies".
Analysts said, however, that the weak data increased chances of the Bank of England cutting its main interest rate at its next monetary policy meeting in December, which would ease some pressure.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves has indicated that taxes will rise in the budget to help drive down government debt and to fund public services.
bcp/aks/rmb

cybercrime

AI agents open door to new hacking threats

BY THOMAS URBAIN

  • AI agents are programs that use artificial intelligence chatbots to do the work humans do online, like buy a plane ticket or add events to a calendar.
  • Cybersecurity experts are warning that artificial intelligence agents, widely considered the next frontier in the generative AI revolution, could wind up getting hijacked and doing the dirty work for hackers.
  • AI agents are programs that use artificial intelligence chatbots to do the work humans do online, like buy a plane ticket or add events to a calendar.
Cybersecurity experts are warning that artificial intelligence agents, widely considered the next frontier in the generative AI revolution, could wind up getting hijacked and doing the dirty work for hackers.
AI agents are programs that use artificial intelligence chatbots to do the work humans do online, like buy a plane ticket or add events to a calendar.
But the ability to order around AI agents with plain language makes it possible for even the technically non-proficient to do mischief.
"We're entering an era where cybersecurity is no longer about protecting users from bad actors with a highly technical skillset," AI startup Perplexity said in a blog post.
"For the first time in decades, we're seeing new and novel attack vectors that can come from anywhere."
These so-called injection attacks are not new in the hacker world, but previously required cleverly written and concealed computer code to cause damage.
But as AI tools evolved from just generating text, images or video to being "agents" that can independently scour the internet, the potential for them to be commandeered by prompts slipped in by hackers has grown.
"People need to understand there are specific dangers using AI in the security sense," said software engineer Marti Jorda Roca at NeuralTrust, which specializes in large language model security.
Meta calls this query injection threat a "vulnerability." OpenAI chief information security officer Dane Stuckey has referred to it as "an unresolved security issue."
Both companies are pouring billions of dollars into AI, the use of which is ramping up rapidly along with its capabilities.

AI 'off track'

Query injection can in some cases take place in real time when a user prompt -- "book me a hotel reservation" -- is gerrymandered by a hostile actor into something else -- "wire $100 to this account."
But these nefarious prompts can also be hiding out on the internet as AI agents built into browsers encounter online data of dubious quality or origin, and potentially booby-trapped with hidden commands from hackers.
Eli Smadja of Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point sees query injection as the "number one security problem" for large language models that power AI agents and assistants that are fast emerging from the ChatGPT revolution.
Major rivals in the AI industry have installed defenses and published recommendations to thwart such cyberattacks.
Microsoft has integrated a tool to detect malicious commands based on factors including where instructions for AI agents originate.
OpenAI alerts users when agents doing their bidding visit sensitive websites and blocks proceeding until the software is supervised in real time by the human user.
Some security professionals suggest requiring AI agents to get user approval before performing any important task - like exporting data or accessing bank accounts.
"One huge mistake that I see happening a lot is to give the same AI agent all the power to do everything," Smadja told AFP.
In the eyes of cybersecurity researcher Johann Rehberger, known in the industry as "wunderwuzzi," the biggest challenge is that attacks are rapidly improving.
"They only get better," Rehberger said of hacker tactics.
Part of the challenge, according to the researcher, is striking a balance between security and ease of use since people want the convenience of AI doing things for them without constant checks and monitoring.
Rehberger argues that AI agents are not mature enough to be trusted yet with important missions or data.
"I don't think we are in a position where you can have an agentic AI go off for a long time and safely do a certain task," the researcher said.
"It just goes off track."
tu-gc/arp

media

Show shines light on Mormons' unique place in US culture

BY RAPHAëLLE PELTIER

  • After being discovered on TikTok, the heroines of "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives" are their direct descendants. 
  • The breakout success of the US reality TV show "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives," the third season of which begins Thursday, shines a light on America's fascination with the Christian religious movement. 
  • After being discovered on TikTok, the heroines of "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives" are their direct descendants. 
The breakout success of the US reality TV show "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives," the third season of which begins Thursday, shines a light on America's fascination with the Christian religious movement. 
The main Mormon Church, known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has seven million US members -- two percent of the country's population.
Fundamentalist Mormon groups, which practice polygamy, account for fewer than 100,000 people.
Mormons are still "prominent and unique in American imagination," said Brenda Weber, a professor at Indiana University and author of a book on Mormonism in media and culture.
The movement began in 1830 in New York state, coinciding with the rise of the printing press which served as a springboard for the belief system, Weber said.
Mormonism, and particularly the practice of polygamy, also inspired the Sherlock Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet," and silent cinema hit "Trapped by the Mormons" in 1922.
The Church, which emphasizes singing and dancing, has been home to many hit artists including Donny Osmond and actor Ryan Gosling.
The 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah -- which is the Church's stronghold -- marked the start of a cultural "Mormon moment."
The presidential ambitions of Republican Mormon Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012 coincided with television programs dedicated to polygamous families in Utah.
The series "Big Love" aired between 2006 and 2011, while the reality show "Sister Wives" has broadcast since 2010.
On Broadway, the parody musical "The Book of Mormon," named after a religious text, has been a hit since 2011.
Around the same time, "Momfluencers" began gaining traction on social media -- including Mormon matriarchs who are more likely to be stay-at-home mothers with more education and wealth than other American women.
Matthew Bowman, a specialist in American religions at Claremont Graduate University, said that combination of factors created "potent possibilities for social media." 

'Very sensitive'

Being a proselytizing religion -- meaning followers seek to convert others -- the Mormon women active online "create media to attract people," said Weber. 
After being discovered on TikTok, the heroines of "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives" are their direct descendants. 
But the swinging practices of one of the stars serves as the basis for the show, the first season of which released on Hulu in 2024 and outperformed the Kardashians series.
Show stars Taylor Frankie Paul, Mayci Neeley, Jen Affleck, and others -- recently invited onto hit shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelorette" -- claim to want to modernize the image of Mormons.
They regularly discuss their roles in a culture where men are traditionally family heads and breadwinners. Even though the women claim they earn more than their husbands, many also paint themselves as "tradwives," according to Weber.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not respond to AFP's request for comments on the program.
A statement published shortly before season one criticized media representations that "depict lifestyles and practices blatantly inconsistent with the teachings of the Church."
Bowman said the Church has been struggling with something ever since 'The Book of Mormon' musical came out: "how does it grapple with publicity that may not, on the face of it, seem very favorable?"
The Church responded to the hit musical with tongue-in-cheek advertisements inviting people to read its founding text.
But overall, it "has often tended to be very sensitive about this sort of thing, and in many of its responses or public statements, it can be rather defensive," said Bowman.
pel-gw/mlm

UN

Brazil's Lula urges 'defeat' of climate deniers as COP30 opens

BY ISSAM AHMED, NICK PERRY WITH LAURENT THOMET IN PARIS

  • Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to well below 2C relative to pre-industrial levels, while striving for 1.5C. But Jim Skea, head of the UN's expert climate science body, warned Monday it was "almost inevitable" that the world will cross the crucial warming threshold at least temporarily.
  • The United Nations climate conference opened Monday in the Brazilian Amazon with pleas for the world to keep up the fight against global warming, even as the United States turns its back.
  • Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to well below 2C relative to pre-industrial levels, while striving for 1.5C. But Jim Skea, head of the UN's expert climate science body, warned Monday it was "almost inevitable" that the world will cross the crucial warming threshold at least temporarily.
The United Nations climate conference opened Monday in the Brazilian Amazon with pleas for the world to keep up the fight against global warming, even as the United States turns its back.
Feeble progress toward weaning off fossil fuels and cutting planet-warming emissions have opened fault lines between countries in Belem, the hot and sticky city on the edge of the rainforest hosting the two-week COP30 summit.
"It's time to inflict a new defeat on the deniers," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thundered in his opening address, which followed a traditional performance from Indigenous people in feathered headpieces.
He pointedly slammed those who "spread fear, attack institutions, science, and universities."
Weighing on the talks is the absence of the United States, the world's top oil producer and second-largest polluter.
But American state and local leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, are set to take the stage Tuesday to show the country isn't entirely missing in action, highlighting their own climate policies and solidarity with global efforts.
"Make no mistake, humanity is still in this fight," said UN climate chief Simon Stiell. "We have some tough opponents, no doubt, but we also have some heavyweights on our side." 
He pointed to "the brute power of market forces" beginning to tip in favor of renewables, which this year overtook coal as the world's top energy source: "extraordinary progress that was unimaginable a decade ago."
The summit opens in the wake of destructive storms in the Caribbean and Asia and a growing fear that geopolitical tensions -- from wars to trade feuds -- are distracting from the fight against climate change.
In a stark reminder of what's at stake, the UN's top climate scientist reaffirmed that a temporary breach of the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) benchmark -- the safer warming goal of the Paris Agreement -- was now inevitable.
Those challenges and more were compounded by logistical problems in Belem, including a dire shortage of hotel rooms.
Organisers say just over 42,000 delegates have gathered, fewer than at recent editions, as sky-high accommodation costs appear to have kept many away.
Lula has defended the choice of location, saying he wanted to bring the world's attention to the Amazon's role in combating climate change, a shift mainly driven by burning coal, oil and gas.

Tough negotiations

A tough two weeks lies ahead for diplomats meeting in a cavernous conference hall, where the din of negotiations are occasionally drowned out by tropical rainfall hammering the roof overhead.
Rich nations and developing countries regularly clash at COPs over how to raise the money needed for poorer regions to adapt to climate change and shift to a low-carbon future.
"Our 44 countries did not light this fire, but we are bearing its heat," Evans Njewa, a Malawian diplomat who chairs the Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc that represents more than one billion people, told reporters.
Major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have traditionally opposed efforts at COPs to focus on fossil fuels. At COP28 in 2023, nations historically agreed to transition away from fossil fuels for the first time.
Lula has floated the idea of a "roadmap" on fossil fuels at COP30, but the proposal so far lacks details.
For 30 years, the countries party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change -- adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro -- have met annually to strengthen the global climate regime.
Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to well below 2C relative to pre-industrial levels, while striving for 1.5C.
But Jim Skea, head of the UN's expert climate science body, warned Monday it was "almost inevitable" that the world will cross the crucial warming threshold at least temporarily.
The world's failure to rein in global temperature rises is the focus of an effort by small island nations to put this on the official agenda.
A Western diplomat told AFP that such nations "are ready to upend the COP" if they don't see a stronger official response to these efforts assured at COP30.
"If they don't deliver on 1.5C, that spells our demise," Tuvalu minister for climate affairs and environment Maina Vakafua Talia told AFP.
burs-lth/ia/np/mlm

religion

Top US court hears case of Rastafarian whose hair was cut in prison

  • He presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs.
  • The US Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a devout Rastafarian who is seeking damages after his knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly shorn while he was in prison in Louisiana.
  • He presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs.
The US Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a devout Rastafarian who is seeking damages after his knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly shorn while he was in prison in Louisiana.
Damon Landor is seeking permission to sue individual officials of the Louisiana Department of Corrections for monetary damages for violating his religious rights.
"Without damages, officials can literally treat the law like garbage," Landor's lawyer Zachary Tripp told the court, where conservatives hold a 6-3 majority.
Louisiana has acknowledged that the treatment of Landor by prison guards was "antithetical to religious freedom" and has amended its prison grooming policy.
But the southern US state insists that federal law does not permit money damages against a state official sued in his individual capacity -- an argument that appeared to gain traction Monday among a majority of the conservative justices.
Landor, who had been growing his hair for nearly two decades, was serving the final three weeks of a five-month sentence for drug possession in 2020 when his hair was cut.
He presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs.
A prison guard threw the document away and Landor was handcuffed to a chair and had his head shaved, according to court records.
An appeals court condemned Landor's "egregious" treatment but ruled that he is not eligible to sue individual prison officials for damages.
Rastafarians let their hair grow, typically in dreadlocks, as part of their beliefs in the religion which originated in Jamaica and was popularized by the late reggae singer Bob Marley.
The case unusually brought together legal advocates on both the left and the right.  
The Supreme Court is generally hostile to approving damages actions against individual government officials but at the same time the right-leaning court has tended to side with the plaintiffs in religious liberty cases.
cl/mlm

virus

Deadly measles surge sees Canada lose eradicated status

BY BEN SIMON

  • Health Canada, a government agency, said in a statement that it has officially been informed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) "that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
  • Canada has lost its measles elimination status, health officials said Monday, a major setback caused by a year-long resurgence of the disease largely among unvaccinated groups.
  • Health Canada, a government agency, said in a statement that it has officially been informed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) "that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, health officials said Monday, a major setback caused by a year-long resurgence of the disease largely among unvaccinated groups.
Canada was formally declared measles-free in 1998, an achievement credited to years of consistently high childhood vaccination rates.
But an outbreak that began in the eastern part of the country in October 2024 has since spread nationwide, notably among certain groups of Mennonite Christians who have refused to vaccinate their children on religious grounds.
Canada has recorded 5,138 measles cases so far in 2025, with the provinces of Ontario and Alberta the hardest hit.
Two newborns, born to unvaccinated mothers, have died from the virus.
Health Canada, a government agency, said in a statement that it has officially been informed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) "that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
The update came after PAHO, the UN's regional health office, confirmed "sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year."
Provincial health ministers are "discussing coordinated actions, including strategies to build trust (in vaccines) through community engagement," Health Canada said.
The agency noted that while measles transmission "has slowed recently," the outbreak has persisted "primarily within under-vaccinated communities."
Samira Jeimy, from Western University's Schulich School of Medicine, told AFP that Canada lost its status "because two-dose vaccine coverage dropped below the 95 percent threshold required to stop sustained transmission."
The spread of the virus in under-vaccinated communities was, for experts, "easily visible as a signal of system fragility," Jeimy said.
Pediatric doctors in Ontario have stressed that the outbreak is not confined to Mennonite groups.
Infections have also occurred among new immigrants from the developing world who, for various reasons, did not keep up with immunizations after settling in Canada -- including due to an acute shortage of family doctors.

Regional spread

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus spread through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or simply breathes.
It causes fever, respiratory symptoms, and a rash, but can also lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death.
In a regional update Monday, PAHO confirmed Canada was the only country in the Americas to lose its elimination status, but said several others were facing active measles transmission, including the United States.
In 2025, the United States experienced its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years, with over 1,600 confirmed cases.
A September Washington Post poll found that one in six American parents has delayed or skipped some or all of the standard childhood vaccines.
Some nine percent have opted out of administering polio or MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shots to their children, the poll found.
Vaccine resistance has mushroomed in the United States in recent years, stoked in large part by debunked claims linking vaccines to autism.
The US health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has played a significant role in fueling those fears by repeating the false claims.
bs/des

marriage

US Supreme Court declines to hear case challenging same-sex marriage

  • Conservatives have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court and Davis's appeal of the award had raised concerns among the LGBTQ community that the court -- which struck down the constitutional right to abortion three years ago -- may agree to revisit the decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
  • The US Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a case challenging the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
  • Conservatives have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court and Davis's appeal of the award had raised concerns among the LGBTQ community that the court -- which struck down the constitutional right to abortion three years ago -- may agree to revisit the decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
The US Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a case challenging the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
The conservative-dominated court, as is customary, did not provide any explanation for its decision to reject the case.
Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, had asked the top court to overturn its landmark 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriage.
Davis was ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to a gay couple who were among those she refused a marriage license.
Conservatives have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court and Davis's appeal of the award had raised concerns among the LGBTQ community that the court -- which struck down the constitutional right to abortion three years ago -- may agree to revisit the decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
At least four votes would have been needed for the top court to accept the case.
Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, welcomed the court's decision not to hear the case brought by Davis, who had cited her Christian religious beliefs for her refusal to issue the marriage licenses.
"Today, love won again," Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
"When public officials take an oath to serve their communities, that promise extends to everyone —- including LGBTQ+ people," Robinson said.
"The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences."
cl/des

justice

Japan death row inmate's sister still fighting, even after release

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA

  • Hakamada was the fifth death row inmate to be exonerated in Japan's post-war history.
  • Hideko Hakamada campaigned for almost six decades to get her little brother, the world's longest-serving death row inmate, cleared.
  • Hakamada was the fifth death row inmate to be exonerated in Japan's post-war history.
Hideko Hakamada campaigned for almost six decades to get her little brother, the world's longest-serving death row inmate, cleared. But at 92 she refuses to relax, campaigning against capital punishment in Japan and beyond.
"Courts are run by people and they obviously make mistakes," Hideko told AFP in an interview at a congress in Tokyo on the death penalty in East Asia where she was a keynote speaker.
"I fought for 58 years. I cannot just be sad and slow down," she said at the weekend event that included campaigners from China -- the country that executes the most people, rights groups say -- North Korea and elsewhere.
Her brother Iwao Hakamada was finally exonerated in 2024 after being convicted for a 1966 quadruple murder, in one of Japan's biggest miscarriages of justice in modern history.
The ex-boxer spent 46 of those years waiting to be hanged, mostly in solitary confinement. In Japan, death row inmates are only informed that they will be executed on the morning of their final day.
In his acquittal, a court ruled that police tampered with evidence and that Iwao suffered "inhumane interrogations" to force a confession, which he later withdrew.
Cheery and lively, his sister said that Iwao, 89, now spends his days taking naps and going for drives with his supporters, but that he is a broken man.
The lasting effects of his incarceration "cannot be cured", she said.
"He says silly things. I go with his silly tales and live this silly life," she said with a smile.
"There is no point in being sad now. If I stay happy and bright, then Iwao should also feel that."
In March Iwao won compensation of some 200 million yen ($1.3 million) -- around $80 per day in detention -- and other lawsuits are ongoing.

'Loud and clear'

The United States and Japan are the only G7 countries to retain capital punishment, and strong support remains among the Japanese public, surveys show.
Japan has more than 100 inmates on death row and the most recent execution was in June this year, the first since 2022.
Recently back from Italy where she spoke at a conference on the death penalty, Hideko said her brother's case changed her mind on the subject.
"The death penalty has existed since I was a child. So it seemed normal to me," she told AFP.
"But Iwao's case happened. I became absolutely determined not to let them kill an innocent person for a crime he didn't commit," she said.
Hakamada was the fifth death row inmate to be exonerated in Japan's post-war history.
"People are blase about this. It doesn't affect them, so why bother. But I experienced it myself. I need to speak out, loud and clear."
The weekend regional congress organised by France-based group Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) comes ahead of a global conference it is convening in Paris in 2026.
Worldwide, 1,151 people were executed in 2024, but since Chinese executions are a state secret, this likely falls "far short" of the reality, ECPM says. 
At least 30,000 people are on death row, with 47 states still handing down death sentences, ECPM says. Behind China, the leaders in capital punishment are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
hih/stu/mtp

dance

Saudi belly dancers break taboos behind closed doors

BY RANIA SANJAR

  • In Arab communities, belly dancing has played many roles.
  • In a fitness studio in Saudi Arabia, dozens of women sway to Arabic music as they practise belly dancing -- an activity that many feel compelled to keep secret.
  • In Arab communities, belly dancing has played many roles.
In a fitness studio in Saudi Arabia, dozens of women sway to Arabic music as they practise belly dancing -- an activity that many feel compelled to keep secret.
Despite their enthusiasm, none of them would give their real name or show their faces on camera, underlining the stigma and cultural prejudices surrounding the ancient dance.
In Arab communities, belly dancing has played many roles. It is a form of artistic expression, popular entertainment and a staple of classic Egyptian cinema.
More recently, many women around the world have taken it up as a group fitness routine and form of empowering self-expression.
But in Saudi Arabia, even closed-door all-female sessions remain taboo.
"We're a conservative society," one participant said. "Belly dancing is seen as something sexy, and no family or husband would accept that men see you like that."
It took AFP months to gain access to the class in Riyadh, a fiercely private affair where identities were strictly guarded.
Most of the participants said they feared how their families and friends would react.
"I won't tell my family... out of respect for their dignity -- they're elderly," the same participant, said on condition of anonymity.
It is a reminder of the deep-seated conservatism that still prevails in Saudi Arabia, despite a roll-back of social strictures in recent times.
Chief among the women's concerns is that their families will see images of them dancing. Phone use is carefully monitored by the gym staff.
"Someone might harm me and record me, so there is always fear," one dancer said.
Another said she could not tell her father she enjoyed belly dancing, knowing he would never accept it.

'Sense of modesty'

Saudi Arabia is the cradle of the austere Sunni doctrine known as Wahhabism, which embraces a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Under its 40-year-old de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has loosened its arch-conservatism, allowing women to drive and shed their veils.
But cultural traditions remain and belly dancing, despite being a centuries-old art form, retains the stigma of being too suggestive.
To some, the dance with its revealing costumes and glittering sequins is linked to prostitution, but at the class in Riyadh the women are dancing for fitness and themselves.
The two instructors do not describe themselves as dancers, but coaches. They play up the fitness benefits.
"We've transformed dancing into a sport," said one of them, calling herself Oni, the name she uses when sharing dance videos on social media -- where she also hides her face.
"Saudis love to enjoy, have fun and appreciate life, but always within the boundaries of our religion and our sense of modesty," added Oni.

Female empowerment 

Around her, dancers of all ages shook their hips to Arabic music, shimmying barefoot as a woman with a neck tattoo played the derbake, a traditional drum.
The atmosphere was festive, like a "women-only party", said another instructor, who also gave only her alias, Roro.
"All of us have fun and it's considered to be stress relief," she said.
Yoga studios and boxing gyms catering to women, as well as belly dancing classes, have sprouted around the capital -- a far cry from the days when they were banned from sport.
Gyms and studios continue to be strictly divided along gender lines, with men and women prevented from exercising together. 
Belly dancing, which originated outside the Arabian Peninsula, is "a bit more provocative than regional dance", said Lisa Urkevich, professor of musicology and ethnomusicology at Georgetown University.
"So one's family may not want a girl to dance it at all at an event," she told AFP.
But Saudi Arabia is a large, diverse country and, she added, "even among families themselves there are different perspectives on women and dance".
The instructors told AFP they viewed dancing as more than a pastime or a way of keeping fit.
Classes are "deeply committed to female empowerment" and helping women feel confident, Oni said.
"Dance fosters those feelings -- it brings a sense of community and strength."
rs-sar/aya/th/dc

women

Big lips and botox: In Trump's world, fashion and makeup get political

BY AURéLIA END

  • Clad in skirts and dresses, almost always wearing their hair long, they can be recognized by heavy makeup, which includes well-defined eyebrows and "contouring," a technique that uses dark and light shades to sculpt the face. 
  • Long, blond, wavy hair, heavy makeup and cosmetic injections: like many women in Donald Trump's orbit, political consultant Melissa Rein Lively wears her support for the US president on her face.
  • Clad in skirts and dresses, almost always wearing their hair long, they can be recognized by heavy makeup, which includes well-defined eyebrows and "contouring," a technique that uses dark and light shades to sculpt the face. 
Long, blond, wavy hair, heavy makeup and cosmetic injections: like many women in Donald Trump's orbit, political consultant Melissa Rein Lively wears her support for the US president on her face.
With the rise of Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, a group of well-connected and well-off Republican women have come into the spotlight sporting what the US media have dubbed the "MAGA look."
"This has always been my look. I just found my tribe," said Rein Lively, 40, founder of "America First," a public relations agency that provides "anti-woke" services.
"It's so much bigger than politics. It's friendships. It's relationships," she told AFP in a recent interview. "That MAGA look really signals to other people that you're on the same team."
These new-style conservatives, almost always devout Christians, espouse traditional values while pursuing personal ambition.
Since the September assassination of top MAGA influencer and Trump ally Charlie Kirk, his widow Erika has taken the reins of his youth mobilization group.
During a memorial service for her husband, the 36-year-old former Miss Arizona dabbed her impeccably made-up eyes with a handkerchief and praised a Christian marriage. She cited a New Testament passage that instructs wives to submit to their husbands for protection.
"It's so hard to articulate the beauty of an Ephesians 5 marriage when you actually have a man that's worth following," she said.

Not just fashion

While professing family values and religious beliefs, these MAGA women are anything but shy in their appearance.
Clad in skirts and dresses, almost always wearing their hair long, they can be recognized by heavy makeup, which includes well-defined eyebrows and "contouring," a technique that uses dark and light shades to sculpt the face. 
Many opt for cosmetic interventions, including fillers and surgery to achieve fuller cheeks, plumper lips and a refined nose.
Rein Lively points to Trump's daughter Ivanka and his daughter-in-law Lara as her role models.
"It's a mistake to dismiss this as just about fashion, just about makeup," said Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at UCLA. "It's actually absolutely central because this Trump MAGA movement was able to return to the White House in 2024, I believe, essentially because of leveraging the gender war."

'Two hours in the gym every day'

The 79-year-old Trump has mobilized many young voters with his nationalist, pro-business and macho appeal.
The MAGA face is political because it is "a way of signaling to all women that your value depends on your attractiveness to men," said Williams, adding that Trump used to run a beauty pageant.
Rein Lively, however, rejects any idea of submission or coercion.
"By absolutely nobody's volition other than my own do I spend two hours in the gym every day, get my hair done every three and a half weeks on the button, get my nails done, get my eyebrows done, get my skincare done, get Botox," she said.
The PR consultant vied for the job of White House spokesperson for Trump's second term, but the president ultimately picked long-time loyalist Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt, 28, has surrounded herself with young assistants who emulate her impeccably groomed look, which includes high heels, even on trips that involve a lot of running around.
"I look at these MAGA women and I don't see them as fashion victims... but I see it as war paint," Williams said. "And, you know, embracing a system that is ultimately designed to work against them."

'It is ironic'

One of the women most frequently cited as embodying the so-called "MAGA face" is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has led Trump's hardline immigration policy.
"The long-hair extensions, the big lips, the big cheeks, the makeup, the lash extensions, it's like she's doing drag," said Daniel Belkin, a dermatologist in New York.
Belkin finds it paradoxical that MAGA supporters are hostile to drag queen shows and condemn breast augmentation and facial reconstruction surgery for transgender people. They often resort to similar procedures to accentuate their femininity and masculinity.
"It is ironic, because they're so against gender-affirming care for trans people, but they're doing gender affirming care for themselves," Belkin said.
In a recent episode, the popular animated series "South Park" ridiculed Noem as a shrew with a face butchered by cosmetic procedures, which her assistants must constantly patch up for the cameras.
"It's so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look," Noem protested during a recent interview.
aue/md/iv/mlm

auto

Tanzania Maasai fear VW 'greenwashing' carbon credit scheme

BY JORIS FIORITI

  • - 'Scam' - Several researchers and NGOs believe the Maasai are unwitting participants in a vast "greenwashing" scheme by Volkswagen.
  • Namnyak, a Maasai herder in north Tanzania, fears a carbon credit scheme linked to Volkswagen -- dismissed by NGOs as "greenwashing" -- could destroy her community's way of life.
  • - 'Scam' - Several researchers and NGOs believe the Maasai are unwitting participants in a vast "greenwashing" scheme by Volkswagen.
Namnyak, a Maasai herder in north Tanzania, fears a carbon credit scheme linked to Volkswagen -- dismissed by NGOs as "greenwashing" -- could destroy her community's way of life.
Under the scheme, local Maasai are being offered money to keep their cattle on a strict "rotational grazing" scheme so that the grass grows longer and captures more carbon. 
The idea is that Volkswagen, and possibly other companies, will pay for this through "carbon credits" which are supposed to offset carbon emissions from its factories and operations.
Many researchers and NGOs question the whole concept, saying such schemes disrupt local communities while doing little to improve the environment, existing only to allow companies to keep polluting elsewhere.
The scheme in northern Tanzania is run by Volkswagen partner Soils for the Future Tanzania (SftFTZ), covering the districts of Longido and Monduli, an area of 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 square miles) -- roughly 20 times the size of New York City. 
For Namnyak, a 33-year-old mother of three in Longido, it seems absurd.
Local Maasai have been sustainably living on the land -- rotating grazing in line with the weather and seasons -- for centuries.
Many locals, she said, fear the company has ulterior motives and may one day seize their land.
"It does not matter how much money they give us. We depend on our land for our cattle, our crops and our beekeeping. This is our lives, and the ones of the future generations," she told AFP. 

'Implausible'

SftFTZ and Volkswagen deny any desire to take their land, but many locals remain suspicious and feel they are getting money for nothing. 
A 2023 study of a similar scheme in neighbouring Kenya by Survival International, an NGO supporting Indigenous communities around the world, found it was "highly implausible" that the new grazing regime was actually being implemented.
"To the contrary, the vegetation appears to continue to deteriorate in large parts of the project area," it said.
Verra, the main international body that validates carbon credit projects, suspended credits from a major forestry project in Zimbabwe in September, for which Volkswagen was also a client, saying its benefits had been exaggerated.
Verra told AFP it had yet to audit the project in Tanzania, or a competing carbon credit scheme proposed by US-based Nature Conservancy in the same region.

'Scam'

Several researchers and NGOs believe the Maasai are unwitting participants in a vast "greenwashing" scheme by Volkswagen.
"Ultimately, there is nothing done for the land, not even a tree is being planted," said Maasai lawyer Joseph Oleshangay, calling the whole thing a "scam". 
"Why is Volkswagen not doing this in Frankfurt or New York? Because they feel people here are easier to manipulate," he added.
SftFTZ is offering the local Maasai $2 per hectare to sign a 40-year contract, under which they promise to move their cattle roughly every two weeks.
Some have agreed since that amounts to huge sums by local standards, said Namnyak: "If someone gives you free money, who will refuse it?"
Sherie Gakii, advocacy officer for Greenpeace, said such projects only existed to let companies like Volkswagen "continue polluting and making big profits on the backs of indigenous people trying to protect their ancestral land".
Volkswagen's environmental arm, ClimatePartner, strongly disagrees.
It told AFP the carbon credits would be "based on scientifically validated measurements" including regular soil samples to ensure that carbon capture was increasing.
A Verra spokesperson defended carbon credit schemes as "one of the few vehicles that bring sustained investment into rural areas". 
The SftFTZ contract promises to give 51 percent of the value of all carbon credits sold to the local community. 
But the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance, an NGO, questions whether that money will ever materialise and has called for a five-year pause on all such schemes until they can be properly evaluated. 
Benja Faecks of think tank Carbon Market Watch told AFP the focus should be on getting companies to stop polluting in the first place. 
"When a company like Volkswagen or Danone or Nestle can buy these credits and claim they are carbon neutral... that's misleading and false," said Faecks.
"Volkswagen should focus on phasing out the internal combustion engine."
jf/er/rh

Shein

Shein bans sex dolls after France outrage over 'childlike' ones

  • It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
  • Asian e-commerce giant Shein said Monday it was banning sex dolls from sale on its sites globally after French authorities condemned it for featuring ones resembling children.
  • It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
Asian e-commerce giant Shein said Monday it was banning sex dolls from sale on its sites globally after French authorities condemned it for featuring ones resembling children.
France's finance minister had threatened to ban the retailer from the country if it resumed selling the childlike dolls, just days before it opens its first physical store in Paris.
The Paris prosecutors' office said it had opened investigations against Shein, and also rival online retailer AliExpress, over the sale of sex dolls.
The probes were also for distributing "messages that are violent, pornographic or improper, (and) accessible to minors", the office told AFP.
The investigations were launched after France's anti-fraud unit reported on Saturday that Shein was selling "childlike" dolls of a likely pornographic nature.
French daily Le Parisien published a photo of one of the dolls sold on the platform, accompanied by an explicitly sexual caption.
The pictured doll measured around 80 centimetres (30 inches) in height and held a teddy bear.
Shortly after the fraud watchdog's statement, Shein announced the dolls had been withdrawn from its platform and it had launched an internal inquiry.
It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
A spokesperson told AFP the ban applied globally.
"These publications came from third-party vendors, but I take personal responsibility," said Shein's chief executive Donald Tang.

French warning

France's finance Minister Roland Lescure had warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
"These horrible items are illegal," he told the BFMTV broadcaster, promising a judicial investigation.
Shein said it was setting up a dedicated team to ensure the "integrity" of content on the sales platform.
France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, said several websites were being investigated, after French media reported Chinese shopping platform AliExpress sold the same dolls.
AliExpress said it had immediately removed the items from its website.
The anti-fraud office said in a statement later Monday that it was taking legal action against AliExpress for selling "child-porn-style dolls".

Shein store in Paris

Shein is due on Wednesday to open its first physical store in the world inside the prestigious BHV Marais department store in central Paris, a move that has sparked outrage in France.
Frederic Merlin, the director of the company that owns BHV, said selling the childlike dolls was "unacceptable", but on Monday defended his decision to allow Shein into the department store.
"Only clothes and items conceived directly by Shein for BHV will be sold in store," he said.
Shein, a Singapore-based company which was originally founded in China, has faced criticism over working conditions at its factories and the environmental impact of its ultra-fast fashion business model.
Some brands have pulled their products from BHV Marais since the announcement.
France has already fined Shein three times in 2025 for a total of 191 million euros ($220 million).
Those sanctions were imposed for failing to comply with online cookie legislation, false advertising, misleading information and not declaring the presence of plastic microfibres in its products.
The European Commission is also investigating Shein over risks linked to illegal products, while EU lawmakers have approved legislation aimed at curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion.
mpa-cac-bur/rmb/sla/jhb

entertainment

Japan to screen #MeToo film months after Oscar nomination

  • It was unclear if other movie theatres would screen the film, which was nominated but did not win the best documentary feature category at this year's Academy Awards.
  • Japan will for the first time screen a documentary directed by a prominent campaigner in the country's #MeToo movement, months after it was nominated for an Oscar.
  • It was unclear if other movie theatres would screen the film, which was nominated but did not win the best documentary feature category at this year's Academy Awards.
Japan will for the first time screen a documentary directed by a prominent campaigner in the country's #MeToo movement, months after it was nominated for an Oscar.
Shiori Ito won a landmark 2019 civil case against a Japanese TV reporter accused of raping her -- a charge he denies -- and turned her ordeal into a film screened worldwide.
But "Black Box Diaries" has until now not been distributed in Japan, where her former lawyers raised concerns over video and audio that was covertly shot or meant for use in court.
The documentary will finally be shown at one cinema in Tokyo from December, according to publicist Toei Advertising.
It was unclear if other movie theatres would screen the film, which was nominated but did not win the best documentary feature category at this year's Academy Awards.
"The version released in Japan has been finalised with some revisions and adjustments made based on feedback received from the parties involved," the publicist said in an undated press release.
Ito was quoted as saying she hoped the film would help ignite conversations to "protect the next person, and move society little by little".
Lawyer Yoko Nishihiro, who represented Ito for more than eight years, said she had felt "completely shattered" after realising that a secretly recorded phone conversation had been featured in the documentary.
Nishihiro and her team highlighted other footage used without permission, including hotel CCTV shown in court.
The lawyers said earlier this year that "Black Box Diaries" was not "banned" in Japan or shunned over to its subject matter, but rather had not been shown due to these concerns.
Ito apologised for the incident.
Despite several high-profile cases, Japan has never seen an outpouring of #MeToo allegations, Ito -- who received vicious online criticism for going public -- has said.
Government surveys in Japan show few rape victims report the crime to the police, although the number of consultations at sexual violence support centres is rising.
Ito alleges that ex-journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi -- who had close links to then-prime minister Shinzo Abe -- raped her in 2015 after inviting her to dinner to discuss a job.
Having told Ito there was insufficient evidence, police then said they would arrest Yamaguchi, before suddenly backing off.
In the documentary, Ito records one police investigator telling her the order came from "higher-ups".
In 2019, she won $30,000 in damages in a civil case that was followed by a toughening of Japan's rape laws.
mac-aph/dhw

royals

UK's Andrew asked to testify over Epstein as he formally loses titles

  • Sixteen Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a "transcribed interview" with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.
  • US lawmakers wrote to Britain's disgraced former prince Andrew on Thursday requesting he sit for an interview about his friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
  • Sixteen Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a "transcribed interview" with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.
US lawmakers wrote to Britain's disgraced former prince Andrew on Thursday requesting he sit for an interview about his friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The letter was disclosed as King Charles III formally stripped his younger brother of his titles after last week's announcement that Andrew was being banished from the monarchy.
Sixteen Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a "transcribed interview" with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.
"The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein's co-conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations," the letter read.
"Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation."
The letter asked Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, to respond by November 20.
It was signed by Democrats who are in a minority in the House. US Congress also has no power to compel testimony from foreigners, making it unlikely that Andrew will give evidence.
A spokesperson for the former prince did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Emails recently released by the committee as well as a posthumous memoir written by Andrew's sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre reignited UK anger over Andrew's ties to Epstein.
It culminated in Charles deciding to remove all of Andrew's royal titles and honours and announcing that he would be ousted from his 30-room mansion on the royal estate at Windsor, west of London.
Charles has formally made the changes with an announcement published Wednesday in The Gazette, the UK's official public record.
Andrew has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was just 17.
After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.
Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, died by suicide at her home in Australia in April.
pdh/jkb/phz

politics

US Supreme Court backs Trump admin's passport gender policy

  • In line with the order, passports issued by the State Department are now required to state the biological sex -- "M" or "F" -- of their holder at birth.
  • The US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Thursday to require passport applicants to be identified on the document by their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity.
  • In line with the order, passports issued by the State Department are now required to state the biological sex -- "M" or "F" -- of their holder at birth.
The US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Thursday to require passport applicants to be identified on the document by their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity.
The move is the latest blow to the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans from the conservative-majority court, which includes three justices appointed by Republican President Donald Trump.
Trump, after taking office in January, issued an executive order declaring that only two genders would now be recognized -- male and female -- ending recognition of a third gender, denoted by an "X" on US passports.
In line with the order, passports issued by the State Department are now required to state the biological sex -- "M" or "F" -- of their holder at birth.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the move and a district court judge ordered the State Department to resume issuing "X" passports to transgender and nonbinary people affected by the policy change.
An appeals court denied a Trump administration bid to overturn the district judge's order, and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency stay.
In a brief unsigned order, the top court said the Trump administration's passport policy could remain in place for now while the case proceeds in the lower courts. 
"Displaying passport holders' sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth -- in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment," the court said.
The three liberal justices on the nine-member court dissented.
The State Department first issued "X" passports in October 2021 under president Joe Biden, with the "X" gender marker reserved for nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals.
Senior ACLU counsel Jon Davidson condemned the Supreme Court order and said the legal fight would continue.
"This is a heartbreaking setback for the freedom of all people to be themselves, and fuel on the fire the Trump administration is stoking against transgender people and their constitutional rights," Davidson said in a statement.
"We will continue to fight this policy and work for a future where no one is denied self-determination over their identity," Davidson added.
Trump also issued an executive order in January banning transgender Americans from military service, and the Supreme Court ruled in June that the ban could take effect while litigation challenging it plays out.
cl/sst

Brazil

World leaders ditch ties at sweaty climate summit

  • Last month, COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago announced the Belem Conference of Parties would be "tie-less" to boost delegates' comfort and give the event "a certain Brazilian informality."
  • Diplomacy ditched its stuffy tie for once at a climate meeting in Belem, Brazil, where Thursday's Amazonian heat saw leaders and bureaucrats eagerly remove what is normally considered a summit fashion must.
  • Last month, COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago announced the Belem Conference of Parties would be "tie-less" to boost delegates' comfort and give the event "a certain Brazilian informality."
Diplomacy ditched its stuffy tie for once at a climate meeting in Belem, Brazil, where Thursday's Amazonian heat saw leaders and bureaucrats eagerly remove what is normally considered a summit fashion must.
Despite a more relaxed dress code suggested by organizers ahead of time, several heads of state and government donned full business attire as they arrived for a warm welcome from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Lula -- himself wearing a dapper suit and collared shirt -- set the tone by forgoing his "lucky tie" in the green, yellow and blue colors of the Brazilian flag, which he wears proudly for most of his international engagements.
As temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the humid riverine city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, many delegates soon followed Lula's lead and ripped off their own ties.
The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, did so before even leaving the staging area after a light-hearted exchange with Lula.
Last month, COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago announced the Belem Conference of Parties would be "tie-less" to boost delegates' comfort and give the event "a certain Brazilian informality."
As soon as attendees made the long walk Thursday under a blazing sun into the venue, and then realized eating areas and some meetings were another outdoor stroll from the facility, neckwear seemed low priority.
Outside, many summit attendees sported sweaty patches under their arms and on their shirt backs, but inside, most areas of the expansive domed conference center were vigorously air-conditioned.
Brazil has vowed to offset all planet-warming carbon emissions generated as a result of this cooling.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and the presidents of Finland, Chile, Mozambique and Colombia were among those to opt for open collars on the first day of a two-day summit preceding the 30th UN climate COP opening Monday.
ll/app/mlr/mlm

abuse

Mexico's Sheinbaum to boost reporting of sexual abuse after being groped

  • Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behavior and groping.
  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday unveiled proposals to boost reporting and prosecution of sexual abuse after herself being groped in the street in an attack that caused outrage.
  • Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behavior and groping.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday unveiled proposals to boost reporting and prosecution of sexual abuse after herself being groped in the street in an attack that caused outrage.
Mexico's first woman president, 63, was assaulted on Tuesday by a drunken man while walking through the streets of the capital.
The assault made global headlines and focused attention on the dangers and harassment suffered by many women in the Latin American country.
Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behavior and groping.
She has also ordered a review of the widely diverging laws on sexual harassment and abuse across Mexico's 32 states.
Sexual harassment in public spaces is so prevalent in Mexico that in the last decade the authorities have created women-only spaces on the metro.
Other cities with similar arrangements include Mumbai and Rio.
"May what happened serve so that women do not feel alone in situations of harassment or abuse... and for this to happen, there must be institutions and a government that supports them," Sheinbaum told her regular morning press conference.
The UN says around 70 percent of Mexican girls and women aged 15 and over will experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives.
Sheinbaum said that 45 percent had experienced sexual "abuse."
The man who assaulted her put one arm around her shoulder while she was greeting supporters and with his other hand touched her hip and chest, while attempting to kiss her neck.
A member of Sheinbaum's security detail pulled him away.
Citlalli Hernandez, Secretary for Women, said more than 25,000 complaints for sexual harassment have been filed so far this year.
The scale of the problem is believed to be far greater, however, with many women in Mexico, as elsewhere, hesitant to press charges for fear of being victim-shamed or not taken seriously.
Sheinbaum called for an "efficient and quick" reporting system "that truly allows justice to be served," but gave no details of what that might look like.
The attack raised eyebrows over the left-wing president's insistence on mixing with the public despite Mexican politicians regularly being a target for cartel violence.
The former Mexico City mayor has ruled out increasing her security.
"We need to be close to the people," she said.
sem/acc/cb/bgs

vote

Five things to know about New York's new mayor

BY GREGORY WALTON, WITH RAPHAELLE PELTIER

  • - End of an era - Cuomo's loss lowers the curtain for now on the family's long presence on the political scene as well as one-term mayor Adams's career after he exited the race.
  • New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to be their next mayor, setting up a likely showdown with his political foe President Donald Trump.
  • - End of an era - Cuomo's loss lowers the curtain for now on the family's long presence on the political scene as well as one-term mayor Adams's career after he exited the race.
New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to be their next mayor, setting up a likely showdown with his political foe President Donald Trump.
Here are five things to know about the Muslim candidate's history-making victory, and what comes as he prepares to take office on January 1:

Landslide victory

Mamdani, 34, broke one million votes, earning 50 percent of ballots cast compared to his closest rival, 67-year-old former state governor Andrew Cuomo, who won just shy of 42 percent of the vote on the largest turnout since 1969.
A comprehensive ground game that Mamdani claimed involved 100,000 volunteers meant his campaign touched every corner of New York and every demographic.
The leftist's overwhelmingly positive message about making New York City more livable for all its inhabitants resonated with migrant families, young progressives and working-class voters alike.

Trump on horizon

Mamdani certainly has caught the attention of the commander-in-chief after calling for people to "reject Trump's fascism."
The president has repeatedly attacked Mamdani as a "little Communist" and threatened to cut off federal funds to the city where he made his name if he was elected.
Trump has threatened to subject New York to the same immigration enforcement as Los Angeles, Chicago and other major cities.

Time to prepare

Mamdani has less than two months to prepare to run the nation's most populous city -- which is also America's financial engine room.
He will need to assemble a cabinet to deliver his ambitious promises to The Big Apple including city-run supermarkets, free daycare and free bus routes.
On Wednesday he named five women to co-chair his transition team -- among them Maria Torres-Springer, who resigned her post as deputy mayor under outgoing Eric Adams due to his engagement with Trump.
Major issues awaiting Mamdani include efforts by Adams to hobble his ability to freeze rents, as well as the prospect of some 1.8 million New Yorkers losing food assistance under the federal government shutdown.
"His vision for New York is not crazy," said Lincoln Mitchell, a Columbia University politics professor. "It's filling in some of the gaps in our tattered social safety net."
Mamdani would need a team capable of navigating both City Hall and the state capital Albany, Mitchell added.

Jewish outreach

New York has the largest Jewish community outside of Israel and Mamdani has emphasized the threats posed by antisemitism, particularly towards the end of his campaign.
Mamdani was attacked by pro-Israel groups for his unwavering support for Palestinian rights and his criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza which he called "a genocide."
The Anti-Defamation League announced Wednesday the launch of a tracking mechanism to scrutinize Mamdani's policies and appointments.
Mamdani said he doubted the ADL's ability "to do so honestly."
"We will build a city hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism," Mamdani said in his victory speech.    
Mayor Adams has previously said 57 percent of hate crimes in New York are against Jewish people.

End of an era

Cuomo's loss lowers the curtain for now on the family's long presence on the political scene as well as one-term mayor Adams's career after he exited the race.
"We have toppled a political dynasty," Mamdani said after vanquishing the Cuomo name made famous by Andrew's father Mario Cuomo who was also governor of New York.
Mamdani's insurgent campaign backed by leftist figures including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez relied on a fresh team raising the prospect he will sweep a broom through City Hall, bringing a new approach and fresh ideas. 
It marks a leftward shift for the Democratic Party brand, and Mamdani was not endorsed by some in the party center like New York's Senator Chuck Schumer.
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