immigration

Dutch government seeks opt-out from EU asylum rules

  • - 'Asylum crisis' - Prime Minister Dick Schoof unveiled the country's new immigration policy on Friday, which he said was in response to an "asylum crisis".
  • The Netherlands announced Wednesday that it had requested from Brussels an opt-out from the European Union's rules on asylum, days after the coalition government unveiled the country's toughest-ever immigration policy.
  • - 'Asylum crisis' - Prime Minister Dick Schoof unveiled the country's new immigration policy on Friday, which he said was in response to an "asylum crisis".
The Netherlands announced Wednesday that it had requested from Brussels an opt-out from the European Union's rules on asylum, days after the coalition government unveiled the country's toughest-ever immigration policy.
"I have just informed the European Commission that I want a migration 'opt-out' on migration matters in Europe for the Netherlands," Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber posted on X. 
"We have to handle our own asylum policy once more!" said Faber, a member of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders.
Denmark has already managed to negotiate an agreement to keep it outside the EU's common asylum policy.
The Dutch coalition government, which took power in July, has been promising this move for several months, but Wilders himself told AFP in May that getting such an opt-out could take years.
Some experts have also expressed reservations.
"A Dutch opt-out can only be realised by amending the treaty," the Dutch Advisory Council on Migration said, pointing out that all 27 EU member states had to agree to the move.
"This is not very likely because the number of asylum seekers must then be distributed among fewer other member states," council members Mark Klaassen and Laura Kok wrote on its website.
"Not every member state will be enthusiastic about this," they said.

'Asylum crisis'

Prime Minister Dick Schoof unveiled the country's new immigration policy on Friday, which he said was in response to an "asylum crisis".
"We cannot continue to bear the large influx of migrants into our country," he said.
King Willem-Alexander, in his speech setting out the government's priorities at the opening of parliament on Tuesday, described it as a "faster, stricter and more modest" asylum.
Cracks are already emerging in the coalition, which includes Wilders's PVV, the farmers' party BBB, the right-wing liberal VVD and the anti-corruption NSC.
NSC acting parliamentary leader Nicolien van Vroonhoven said Monday that her party would vote for tough immigration measures only if the Council of State advisory body approved it.
That sparked a furious reaction from Wilders, who posted on X: "The Netherlands has a huge asylum crisis and it will not be solved by running away in advance and threatening... to vote no."
Wilders was the surprise winner of elections in November but gave up his prime minister ambitions after at least one coalition party threatened to quit the talks.
jcp/jj/js

tech

Global police sting targets users of organised crime app

BY LAURA CHUNG

  • The "computer geek" was driven by profit and was "slightly surprised" when police arrested him Tuesday, McCartney said.
  • A 32-year-old Australian "computer geek" has been arrested on suspicion of building an encrypted messaging app used by hundreds of criminals worldwide to arrange drug deals and order killings, police said Wednesday.
  • The "computer geek" was driven by profit and was "slightly surprised" when police arrested him Tuesday, McCartney said.
A 32-year-old Australian "computer geek" has been arrested on suspicion of building an encrypted messaging app used by hundreds of criminals worldwide to arrange drug deals and order killings, police said Wednesday.
Australian Federal Police said the Ghost app was marketed to underworld figures as "unhackable" and was used by hundreds of suspected criminals from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 
But, unbeknownst to users, global policing authorities had hacked the network and were watching as the criminals discussed illicit drug trafficking, money laundering, homicides and serious violence.
Authorities made their move on Tuesday and Wednesday, arresting criminals from Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Canada and Australia -- including Jay Je Yoon Jung, the alleged "mastermind" of the app.
Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle said law enforcement from nine countries had been involved in the international sting.
"Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can't evade our collective effort," she said.
Authorities dismantled an Australian drug lab while weapons, drugs and more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in cash have been seized globally, the EU policing agency added.
Ghost, a kind of WhatsApp for criminals, was created nine years ago and could only be accessed via modified smartphones that sold for about Aus$2,350 (US$1,590). 
The hefty price tag included a six-month subscription to the Ghost app and tech support, Australian police said Wednesday, and users were required to purchase an ongoing subscription.
French police traced the creator's location to Australia and joined forces with local police to target the platform.
The app's creator regularly pushed out software updates but in 2022, Australian police were able to hijack those updates to access encrypted content.
For two years, authorities watched as Ghost became more popular and criminals exchanged messages -- including 50 death threats that Australian police said they were able to thwart.
Several thousand people worldwide use Ghost and around 1,000 messages are exchanged on it every day, according to Europol.
There were 376 phones with the Ghost app installed in Australia alone.
In one case, police intercepted an image of a gun to someone's head and were able to save that person within the hour, Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Kirsty Schofield said.

Breaking the unbreakable

Hacking into encrypted apps on phones has become increasingly challenging for authorities, but not impossible. 
Three years ago, a similar network -- called ANOM -- led to 800 arrests worldwide. 
Little did they know, ANOM was produced and distributed by the FBI, allowing US and other nations' law enforcement to decrypt 27 million messages, many of which related to criminal activity.
Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Ian McCartney said after the ANOM network unravelled, Ghost started to "fill that space". 
He added that law enforcement was aware of other similar encrypted apps and that he hoped some of these would be shut down within 12 months.
Europol said encrypted communications had become "increasingly fragmented" after other services were disrupted or shut down, leading criminals to diversify their methods.

Element of 'surprise'

McCartney said the Ghost app creator from New South Wales lived at home with his parents and did not have a criminal history. 
The "computer geek" was driven by profit and was "slightly surprised" when police arrested him Tuesday, McCartney said.
Schofield added that police had to act quickly given the man had the ability to "wipe the communications on the system". 
"Our tactical teams were able to secure him and the devices within 30 seconds of entry," she said.
The 32-year-old was charged with five offences, including supporting a criminal organisation, which carries a sentence of up to three years' imprisonment.
He appeared in a Sydney court on Wednesday and was denied bail, with no future court date set.
Another 38 people have been arrested across Australia.
lec/arb/imm/js

family

Chile birth rate plummets as women say no to motherhood

BY PAULINA ABRAMOVICH

  • I just disappear," said Ramirez, who is balancing her job with a master's degree.
  • Chilean lawyer Camila Ramirez, 29, does not want to give up her freedom and well-being to become a mother, and she is not alone.
  • I just disappear," said Ramirez, who is balancing her job with a master's degree.
Chilean lawyer Camila Ramirez, 29, does not want to give up her freedom and well-being to become a mother, and she is not alone.
In the past decade, births have fallen by 29 percent in Chile, now the country with the lowest birth rate in the Americas.
With 1.17 children being born per woman, the Latin American nation is far from the 2.1 needed to maintain its population, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
"Being a mother is an absolutely selfless task. I love to travel and when I go on a trip, I do it alone. I don't ask anyone. I just disappear," said Ramirez, who is balancing her job with a master's degree.
"I can't see myself being in charge of feeding and entertaining a child, always prioritizing the wellbeing and care of a child over my own wellbeing," she added.
Declining birth rates are sparking alarm across the globe, especially in developed economies. Even Pope Francis has weighed in, suggesting couples who have pets instead of children are selfish and a threat to humanity.
Chile's birthrate is below that of developed economies such as Italy, Japan, and Spain, according to the UN Population Division.
"The changes around reproduction in Chilean society have been very fast and abrupt. What took decades in Europe has happened in 10 or 20 years in Chile," said Catholic University sociologist Martina Yopo.
Chilean women have gained greater access to education -- especially since universities became free in 2008 -- and entered the workforce in higher numbers.
And with greater reproductive autonomy, "today being a woman does not necessarily mean being a mother, and having a family does not necessarily require children," added Yopo.

'An emergency'

The INE predicts Chile's birthrate will continue to fall in coming years, and not even an increase in immigration is managing to reverse the situation.
"It is an emergency, a health crisis. I can think of few things more important than this from an economic, social and ethical point of view," said Anibal Scarella, president of the Chilean Society of Reproductive Medicine.
Economist Jorge Berrios said the drop in birth rate means "there will be many older people and that they will most likely have to continue working."
"There is no generational renewal in people, in the economy."
As in many countries, gender inequality means that many working women know that if they become mothers, they will bear the main load of parenting. 
There is also little support from the state in areas such as childcare, said Yopo.
And women are choosing to have children later, with a third of all births in Chile last year to women aged between 30 and 34. The trend has led to a rise in infertility.
"We are not helping people to be able to reconcile the development of their careers and the desire to fall pregnant," said Scarella, who wants to improve access to assisted fertility and egg preservation.
Physiotherapist Tamara Guzman never dreamed of being a mother, and kept postponing the decision. Now 41, and married, she feels she can't afford the lifestyle she enjoys and raise a child.
"Everything is very expensive. I see it in my friends who are mothers and are super tired, with dark circles under their eyes, and stressed because they have to pay the nanny or the kindergarten, diapers and milk. If I had more income, yes, I would think about it," she said.

Dire state of the world

Angered by violence against women and the state of the world, banking executive Isidora Rugeronni decided to get sterilized four years ago, aged just 21.
"I felt that there was a lot of evil in the world, a lot of injustice and I came to 'Antinatalism', which is a philosophy that states that it is not ethical to have biological children with the world as it is," she said.
"I can do much stronger activism and impact society as a woman without biological children," she said.
Rugeronni said she would like to be a foster mother, and also "adopt all the animals I want."
Chile has seen an 80 percent drop in teen pregnancies over the past two decades, according to the INE.
And it is not only women balking at parenthood: the number of vasectomies performed in Chile has risen almost ten-fold in the past decade, from 768 in 2013 to 7,580 in 2023, said the agency. 
Meanwhile, female sterilization in public hospitals increased by 54 percent in the same period.
pa/vel/mar/fb/mlr/st

Texas

Author John Grisham joins bid to save Texas death row inmate

  • They argued that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where the child died, was erroneous.
  • Lawmakers in Texas, medical experts and the best-selling novelist John Grisham are pushing to save an autistic death row inmate whose daughter died in 2002 in a tragedy blamed on shaken baby syndrome.
  • They argued that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where the child died, was erroneous.
Lawmakers in Texas, medical experts and the best-selling novelist John Grisham are pushing to save an autistic death row inmate whose daughter died in 2002 in a tragedy blamed on shaken baby syndrome.
Robert Roberson, 57, is scheduled to be executed on October 17 for the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002.
Roberson took the girl to a hospital with severe head trauma and the child died the next day.
Lawyers for Roberson filed papers Tuesday with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles seeking clemency, or failing that, a 180-day stay of execution.
They argued that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where the child died, was erroneous.
In a letter to Texas officials, 34 doctors argued that the cause of death was in fact severe pneumonia, aggravated by the little girl's being prescribed the wrong medication.
The appeal also argues that Roberson's autism, which was not officially diagnosed until 2018, was misconstrued at the time as showing indifference to the death of the toddler and that this perception weighed heavily in his conviction.
"What's amazing about Robert's case is that there was no crime," Grisham, author of best-selling thrillers such as "The Firm" and "A Time to Kill," told a news conference. Grisham is a former lawyer who has been active in fighting cases of wrongful conviction.
"When you get into wrongful convictions you realize how many innocent people are in prison and how we could stop it, if we had the political gumption to do so. These cases really keep me awake at night," he said.
Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said "the state of Texas is preparing, in essence, to execute Forrest Gump." She was alluding to the gentle, mildly disabled character played by Tom Hanks in the 1994 film of the same name.
Sween argued that during the medical crisis involving his daughter, Roberson "shut down, and his external lack of affect was judged as a lack of caring."
Former police officer Brian Wharton, who led the investigation at the time, said the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome "led the investigation from that point forward to the exclusion of all other possibilities."
"Knowing everything that I know now, I am firmly convinced that Robert is an innocent man," said Wharton, who is now a Methodist minister.
Wharton said that for the rest of his life he will regret his role in Roberson's arrest and prosecution.
Eighty-four Texas lawmakers signed a letter in support of the request for clemency for Roberson, more than a third of them Republicans.
These legislators said they are acting out of "grave concern that Texas may put him to death for a crime that did not occur, as new evidence suggests."
sst/mdz/dw/st

drugs

'I am a rapist,' Frenchman tells trial over mass rape of wife

BY DAVID COURBET AND PHILIPPE SIUBERSKI

  • With her auburn bob and sunglasses, 71-year-old Gisele has become a feminist icon since she demanded that the trial be made open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
  • "I am a rapist," said a Frenchman accused of drugging his wife for years so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her, his first testimony in a trial that has horrified France.
  • With her auburn bob and sunglasses, 71-year-old Gisele has become a feminist icon since she demanded that the trial be made open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
"I am a rapist," said a Frenchman accused of drugging his wife for years so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her, his first testimony in a trial that has horrified France.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, begged her forgiveness.
But he said he was no different from 50 other men he recruited online to take part in the sexual abuse, adding they all knew what they were signing up for.
"I am a rapist, like the others in this room," he said, referring to his co-defendants.
"She did not deserve this," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pelicot used a walking stick to slowly enter the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon, where his now ex-wife Gisele was present for the testimony.
With her auburn bob and sunglasses, 71-year-old Gisele has become a feminist icon since she demanded that the trial be made open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
Pelicot is accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to his wife over a period of almost a decade, from 2011 to 2020, so that he and others could rape her while she was unconscious, mostly at their home in the small southern town of Mazan.
He has admitted the charges but Tuesday was the first time he spoke at any length since the trial began on September 2.
He recounted having a "difficult" childhood, saying his parents "assaulted each other".
He briefly mentioned the "traumatic" experiences of being raped when he was nine years old and again on a construction site where he was an apprentice.
"I always carried these traumatising events with me," he said, his eyes welling up and his voice shaking.
"You're not born this way. You become it."

'I must pay for it'

His ex-wife, who obtained a divorce from him last month, remained stoic as he spoke, then took the stand herself.
"Not for a single second did I doubt this man," she said.
"I loved this man for 50 years. I would have sacrificed my own two hands for him."
Her former husband asked her for forgiveness.
"I am guilty of what I have done. I beg my wife, my children, my grandchildren... to accept my apologies. I ask for forgiveness, even though it is unacceptable," he said.
"I messed it all up... I must pay for it."
He also presented his apologies to another woman, whose husband and he are accused of raping her using the same modus operandi.
"This is a confessional trial," said Pelicot's lawyer Beatrice Zavarro. "It will continue like this, you can be sure of it. At the end of this trial we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot," she told reporters.
Pelicot said he "never touched" his two sons and daughter, although investigators found naked pictures of his daughter and intimate photos of his two daughters-in-law on his computer, taken without their knowledge.
He was only found out in 2020 after he was caught filming up women's skirts in a supermarket.
Police discovered he had meticulously documented the abuse of his wife, stored in files on his computer.
"There was a certain pleasure to it," he said of the filing, "but it was also a sort of guarantee."
He pointed out that it had helped track down suspects, causing several co-defendants to look up or smile nervously.

Fireman, nurse, journalist

Investigators listed 72 men suspected of having taken part in abusing Gisele Pelicot other than her husband.
They succeeded in identifying 50, aged from 26 to 74, all of whom are on trial.
Pelicot's testimony is expected to be decisive for all these co-defendants, four of whose cases are set to be heard in the coming days.
Some of the accused have admitted he told them he was drugging his then-wife, while others claim they believed they were participating in a swinger couple's fantasy.
Seventeen are in custody, as is Pelicot himself, while 32 other defendants are attending as free men.
One co-defendant is being tried in absentia.
The suspects include a fireman, a male nurse, a prison guard and a journalist.
The case has prompted outrage across France, with thousands demonstrating in cities at the weekend to demand an end to rape.
Pelicot was excused from hearings for much of last week for health reasons and did not attend court on Monday.
But he returned to the dock on Tuesday after a green light from doctors, with his lawyer saying he would be allowed "regular rest".
dac-siu/jh/yad

rights

Activist urges repatriation of Native Americans dead in Paris 'human zoo'

BY FLORIAN ROYER

  • - 'Descendants of Moliko' - Toka Devilliers grew up hearing their tale because her ancestor Moliko, a teenage girl at the time, was among them and survived.
  • The descendant of a Native American teenager who survived being exhibited at a "human zoo" in 19th-century Paris is urging France to repatriate the remains of six others who died there. 
  • - 'Descendants of Moliko' - Toka Devilliers grew up hearing their tale because her ancestor Moliko, a teenage girl at the time, was among them and survived.
The descendant of a Native American teenager who survived being exhibited at a "human zoo" in 19th-century Paris is urging France to repatriate the remains of six others who died there. 
Corinne Toka Devilliers says the bones of these six human beings have been lingering in storage at the French capital's Musee de l'Homme (Museum of Mankind) for more than a century. 
"They've been in a box for 132 years," she told AFP, indignant. 
She is campaigning for them to be returned to their ancestral land in French Guiana, an overseas territory in South America, so they can receive the proper rituals. 
In early 1892, 33 Native Americans boarded a ship in Paramaribo, the capital of then Dutch Guiana, which became Suriname after independence, according to Devilliers' research. 
Aged just three months to 60 years old, they were children, women and men from the Kali'na and Arawak tribes from the mouth of the Maroni river that today runs between French Guiana and neighbouring Suriname. 
Since 1877, a park in Paris had been organising so-called "ethnological shows" of human beings from far-flung continents -- today denounced as "human zoos". 
The manager of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, an attractions park in Paris, had requested French explorer Francois Laveau bring back Native Americans to be part of the latest exhibit. 
Laveau had promised the 33 indigenous people that he would pay them and that they would return, according to Toka Devilliers. 
But "they were never paid and eight of them never again saw their homeland," she said. 

'Descendants of Moliko'

Toka Devilliers grew up hearing their tale because her ancestor Moliko, a teenage girl at the time, was among them and survived.
"My grandfather often told me her story, but I didn't pay attention," she said.
But after seeing a 2018 documentary about these deeply racist "human zoos", she decided to take action.
She created the Moliko Alet+Po non-governmental organisation, whose name means "The Descendants of Moliko" in the Kali'na language, to seek reparations for the treatment of her ancestors. 
From 1877 to 1931, the Jardin d'Acclimatation hosted around 30 "ethnological shows", according to its website.
They featured people then called "savages" from Africa, the Americas, Oceania, the Arctic and sub-Arctic, some who were paid, it says.
Only "some anthropologists" denounced the events. 
Toka Devilliers says that, of the 33 who left Guiana to arrive in Paris in the middle of winter, eight developed "bronchitis or other lung problems". 
Of those eight, one was buried and a second was dissected for alleged scientific research. 
The remains of the six others are at the Musee de l'Homme.
"If they had known, they would never have got onto that boat," she said. 
Toka Devilliers's efforts to repatriate them have so far been in vain. 
France's parliament last year passed a bill that paves the way towards human remains contained in its museum collections being repatriated to their countries of origin.
But that law did not include provisions for French territories overseas.
Contacted by AFP, the French culture ministry said it was looking into the issue.
"Discussions are underway to allow us to find the appropriate judicial framework," it said.

Shamanic ceremony

Until a solution is found, Toka Devilliers has brought over a shaman -- a spiritual healer -- to conduct a ceremony around the remains at the museum on Tuesday. 
Toka Devilliers and her team were able to identify 27 of the 33 people who arrived in 1892.
She is now looking for a copy of the contract between Laveau and the then governor of Dutch Guiana, hoping it will include a complete list of names and details of promised payment.
"Maybe it was just an oral contract," she said.
"Or perhaps the document ended up in the Netherlands after the independence of Suriname" in 1975.
Once she has managed to return the remains of the six, Toka Devilliers says she will continue fighting for the memory of her ancestors. 
Next she will seek a plaque inside the Paris park that showed off her people's ancestors to curious visitors, she said.
And she would also like one in France's western port of Saint-Nazaire where they docked, and another in the Paris train station of Saint-Lazare where they arrived in the capital.
The only memorial so far exists in French Guiana.
In August two statues were erected there in memory of those taken to France to be exhibited.
They commemorated another smaller group of people who left in 1882. 
fro-jt/ah/sjw/rox 

abortion

Harris slams death of woman after abortion ban delayed medical care

  • Georgia had just passed a law that made performing dilation and curettage (D&C) a felony offense with medical exceptions that doctors had warned were vague and difficult to interpret.
  • Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris condemned anti-abortion laws in Georgia on Tuesday after a report in ProPublica revealed that a woman there died from delayed medical care caused by the US state's restrictive regulations.
  • Georgia had just passed a law that made performing dilation and curettage (D&C) a felony offense with medical exceptions that doctors had warned were vague and difficult to interpret.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris condemned anti-abortion laws in Georgia on Tuesday after a report in ProPublica revealed that a woman there died from delayed medical care caused by the US state's restrictive regulations.
Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, developed a rare complication from abortion pills and died during emergency surgery in August 2022, with an official state committee blaming the fatal outcome on a "preventable" lag in performing a critical procedure.
Georgia had just passed a law that made performing dilation and curettage (D&C) a felony offense with medical exceptions that doctors had warned were vague and difficult to interpret.
The US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn national abortion rights unleashed a wave of bans and restrictions in 22 states, thrusting reproductive rights to the forefront of the upcoming presidential election.
"Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again," Harris said in a statement following the report's release.
"This is exactly what we feared when Roe was struck down," she said, referring to the Supreme Court decision that had protected the national right to abortion.
ProPublica said the case marked the first abortion-related death officially deemed "preventable" and plans to publish details of a second case soon.
These official reviews are not made public, but ProPublica obtained copies of the reports.
"This young mother should be alive, raising her son, and pursuing her dream of attending nursing school," Harris said.

'Blood on their hands'

Thurman, an otherwise healthy medical assistant and mother of a six-year-old boy, made the decision to terminate a twin pregnancy to preserve her newfound stability, her best friend Ricaria Baker told ProPublica.
She and her son had recently moved to a new apartment complex and she planned to enroll in nursing school. She wanted a surgical abortion, but Georgia's six-week abortion ban forced her to seek care at a clinic in North Carolina.
On the day of the procedure, the hours-long drive was hampered by traffic, and Thurman missed her 15-minute appointment window. 
The clinic offered a medication abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol. While overwhelmingly safe, rare complications can occur.
Thurman's condition worsened over several days, turning into heavy bleeding and vomiting blood. She was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge.
Doctors found she had not expelled all the fetal tissue from her body and she was diagnosed with "acute severe sepsis."
But despite her rapidly deteriorating health, the hospital delayed Thurman's dilation and curettage procedure for 17 hours.
By the time they operated, the situation was so dire it required open abdominal surgery. The doctor performed the operation and found a hysterectomy was also required -- but during the procedure, Thurman's heart stopped.
Her mother recalled her last words: "Promise me you'll take care of my son."
The state committee found there was a "good chance" that an earlier procedure could have saved Thurman's life.
"Life of the mother" exceptions have widely proven inadequate, forcing women to cross state lines in desperate bids for lifesaving care.
Reproductive rights groups erupted in outrage following the report.
"Amber would be alive right now if it wasn't for Donald Trump and Brian Kemp's abortion ban," said Mini Timmara, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, referring to the former president and the governor of Georgia. "They have blood on their hands."
The Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion access in June 2022 with the help of a super-conservative majority built under Trump's presidency.
"Survivors of rape and incest are being told they cannot make decisions about what happens next to their bodies. And now women are dying," Harris said. "These are the consequences of Donald Trump's actions."
ia/bfm/dhw

Global Edition

More than 95,000 Japanese aged over 100, most of them women

  • On Sunday separate government data showed that the number of over-65s has hit a record high of 36.25 million, accounting for 29.3 percent of Japan's population.
  • The number of people in Japan aged 100 or older has hit a record high of more than 95,000 -- almost 90 percent of them women -- government data showed Tuesday.
  • On Sunday separate government data showed that the number of over-65s has hit a record high of 36.25 million, accounting for 29.3 percent of Japan's population.
The number of people in Japan aged 100 or older has hit a record high of more than 95,000 -- almost 90 percent of them women -- government data showed Tuesday.
The figures further highlight the slow-burning demographic crisis gripping the world's fourth-biggest economy as its population ages and shrinks.
As of September 1, Japan had 95,119 centenarians, up 2,980 year-on-year, with 83,958 of them women and 11,161 men, the health ministry said in a statement.
On Sunday separate government data showed that the number of over-65s has hit a record high of 36.25 million, accounting for 29.3 percent of Japan's population.
The proportion puts Japan at the top of a list of 200 countries and regions with a population of over 100,000 people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Japan is currently home to the world's oldest living person Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908 and is 116 years old, according to the US-based Gerontology Research Group.
The previous record-holder, Maria Branyas Morera, died last month in Spain at the age of 117.
Itooka lives in a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo prefecture in western Japan, the ministry said.
She often says "thank you" to the nursing home staff and expresses nostalgia about her hometown, the ministry said.
"I have no idea at all about what's the secret of my long life," Japan's oldest man, Kiyotaka Mizuno, who is 110, told local media.
Mizuno, who lives in Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture in central Japan with his family, gets up at 6:30 am every morning and eats three meals a day -- without being picky about his food.
His hobby is listening to live sports, including sumo wrestling, the ministry said.
Japan is facing a steadily worsening population crisis, as its expanding elderly population leads to soaring medical and welfare costs, with a shrinking labour force to pay for it.
The country's overall population is 124 million, after declining by 595,000 in the previous,  according to previous government data.
The government has attempted to slow the decline and ageing of its population without meaningful success, while gradually extending the retirement age -- with 65 becoming the rule for all employers from fiscal 2025.
kh/stu/fox

environment

'Virus hunters' track threats to head off next pandemic

BY SARA HUSSEIN

  • And there is a growing need to track these threats as climate change expands the range of infectious disease globally.
  • A global network of doctors and laboratories is working to pinpoint emerging viral threats, including many driven by climate change, in a bid to head off the world's next pandemic.
  • And there is a growing need to track these threats as climate change expands the range of infectious disease globally.
A global network of doctors and laboratories is working to pinpoint emerging viral threats, including many driven by climate change, in a bid to head off the world's next pandemic.
The coalition of self-described "virus hunters" has uncovered everything from an unusual tick-borne disease in Thailand to a surprise outbreak in Colombia of an infection spread by midges.
"The roster of things that we have to worry about, as we saw with Covid-19, is not static," said Gavin Cloherty, an infectious disease expert who heads the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition.
"We have to be very vigilant about how the bad guys that we know about are changing... But also if there's new kids on the block," he told AFP.
The coalition brings together doctors and scientists at universities and health institutions across the world, with funding from healthcare and medical devices giant Abbott.
By uncovering new threats, the coalition gives Abbott a potential headstart in designing the kinds of testing kits that were central to the Covid-19 response.
And its involvement gives the coalition deep pockets and the ability to detect and sequence but also respond to new viruses.
"When we find something, we're able to very quickly make diagnostic tests at industry level," Cloherty said.
"The idea is to ringfence an outbreak, so that we would be able to hopefully prevent a pandemic."
The coalition has sequenced approximately 13,000 samples since it began operating in 2021.
In Colombia, it found an outbreak of Oropouche, a virus spread by midges and mosquitoes, that had rarely been seen there before.
Phylogenetic work to trace the strain's family tree revealed it came from Peru or Ecuador, rather than Brazil, another hotspot.
"You can see where things are moving from. It's important from a public health perspective," said Cloherty.

Difficult and costly

More recently, the coalition worked with doctors in Thailand to reveal that a tick-bourne virus was behind a mysterious cluster of patient cases.
"At the time, we didn't know what virus caused this syndrome," explained Pakpoom Phoompoung, associate professor of infectious disease at Siriraj Hospital.
Testing and sequencing of samples that dated back as far as 2014 found many were positive for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTSV).
"Less than 10 patients had (previously) been diagnosed with SFTSV in Thailand... we don't have PCR diagnosis, we don't have serology for this viral infection diagnosis," Pakpoom told AFP.
Diagnosing it "is difficult, labour intensive and also is costly".
And there is a growing need to track these threats as climate change expands the range of infectious disease globally.
The link between climate change and infectious disease is well-established and multi-faceted.
Warmer conditions allow vectors like mosquitoes to live in new locations, more rain creates more breeding pools, and extreme weather forces people into the open where they are more vulnerable to bites.
Human impact on the planet is also driving the spread and evolution of infectious disease in other ways: biodiversity loss forces viruses to evolve into new hosts, and can push animals into closer contact with humans.

'You have to be vigilant'

Phylogenetic analysis of the SFTSV strain in Thailand gives a snapshot of the complex interplay.
It showed the virus had evolved from one tick with a smaller geographic range into the hardier Asian longhorned tick.
The analysis suggested its evolution was driven largely by pesticide use that reduced the numbers of the original tick host.
Once the virus evolved, it could spread further in part because Asian longhorned ticks can live on birds, which are travelling further and faster because of changing climate conditions.
"It's almost like they're an airline," said Cloherty.
Climate change's fingerprints are in everything from record outbreaks of dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean to the spread of West Nile Virus in the United States.
While the coalition grew from work that preceded the pandemic, the global spread of Covid-19 offered a potent reminder of the risks of infectious disease.
But Cloherty fears people are already forgetting those lessons.
"You have to be vigilant," he said.
"Something that happens in Bangkok could be happening in Boston tomorrow."
sah/sw

Entertainment

Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested amid assault lawsuits

BY MAGGY DONALDSON

  • His legal team said Monday that Combs was being "cooperative with this investigation" and "looks forward to clearing his name in court."
  • Sean "Diddy" Combs -- the rap mogul whose star has plunged after a wave of sex trafficking accusations and assault lawsuits -- was arrested by federal agents in Manhattan late Monday, a US federal court said.
  • His legal team said Monday that Combs was being "cooperative with this investigation" and "looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Sean "Diddy" Combs -- the rap mogul whose star has plunged after a wave of sex trafficking accusations and assault lawsuits -- was arrested by federal agents in Manhattan late Monday, a US federal court said.
The attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said in a statement that the arrest stemmed from a sealed indictment filed by his office.
"We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time," he said, without providing further details of the charges.
Diddy's lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement provided to AFP that Combs had voluntarily relocated to New York anticipating the charges.
Combs's lawyer said their team is "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney's Office."
The rapper is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims.
His homes were raided in March by federal agents, in a heavily publicized bicoastal operation that indicated a federal investigation and potential criminal case was mounting against Combs.
Armed agents entered his sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, marking a rapid downfall for the powerful music industry figure who in recent years has vied to rebrand himself as "Brother Love."
His legal team said Monday that Combs was being "cooperative with this investigation" and "looks forward to clearing his name in court."

Bombshell suit

The artist, who's gone by various monikers including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was widely credited as being key to hip hop's journey from the streets to the bottle-service club. 
Over the decades he's amassed vast wealth not least due to his ventures in the liquor industry.
But despite his efforts to cultivate an image of a smooth party kingpin and business magnate, a spate of lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.
The artist has denied all accusations against him.
He has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back well into the 1990s.
Late last year the floodgates opened after singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
The pair met when Ventura was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.
The bombshell suit was quickly settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed -- including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17.
Disturbing surveillance video then emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in the now-settled case.

Global fame with dark shadow

Born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969 in Harlem, the artist entered the industry as an intern in 1990 at Uptown Records where he eventually became a talent director.
He gained a reputation as a party planner, which would be central to his brand as his fame rose.
In 1991 he promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at the City College of New York that left nine people dead after a stampede.
The event was over capacity by the thousands and resulted in a string of lawsuits, with Combs blamed for hiring inadequate security.
He was fired from Uptown, and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records.
Thus began a quick ascent to the top of East Coast hip hop, along with his disciple, the late The Notorious B.I.G.
Combs boasted a number of major signed acts and production collaborations with the likes of Mary J Blige, Usher, Lil' Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.
He was also a Grammy-winning rapper in his own right, debuting with the chart-topping single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and his album "No Way Out."
He built an image as a brash hustler with unapologetic swagger, a major producer who also ventured into Hollywood, reality television and fashion and had high-profile romantic links with the likes of Jennifer Lopez.
But a dark history of violence and serious misconduct has long haunted his fame -- and now appears to be eclipsing it.
mdo/dw

diplomacy

UK PM Starmer praises Italy's Meloni for reducing illegal migration

BY ALEXANDRIA SAGE

  • - 'Pragmatism' - Starmer said he had discussed with his Italian counterpart a deal Rome signed with Albania in November to open two Italian-operated centres to house undocumented migrants while their asylum claims are processed. 
  • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Monday for her efforts in reducing illegal migration, saying his "government of pragmatism" sought new approaches to the hot-button topic.
  • - 'Pragmatism' - Starmer said he had discussed with his Italian counterpart a deal Rome signed with Albania in November to open two Italian-operated centres to house undocumented migrants while their asylum claims are processed. 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Monday for her efforts in reducing illegal migration, saying his "government of pragmatism" sought new approaches to the hot-button topic.
On his first visit to Italy since his centre-left Labour Party's landslide victory in July, Starmer expressed interest in the immigration policies of far-right leader Meloni -- including plans to operate Italian-run migrant centres in Albania -- and stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation. 
"You've made remarkable progress working with countries along migration routes as equals to address the drivers of migration at the source and to tackle the gangs," Starmer told Meloni during a joint press conference in Rome. 
"As a result, irregular arrivals to Italy by sea are down 60 percent since 2022," said Starmer, who has vowed to fight illegal migration at home. 
His visit, in which he toured a national immigration coordination centre with Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, came a day after the latest migrant shipwreck in the Channel claimed eight lives. 
The latest incident brings to 46 the number of people who have died this year trying to reach British shores. 
Starmer has rejected the previous Conservative government's plan to expel all undocumented migrants to Rwanda while their asylum claims are examined.
As a former chief prosecutor, he said, he saw the value of cross-border collaboration on fighting terrorism. 
"And I've never accepted... that we can't do the same with smuggling gangs," he said. 
"And now of course Italy has shown that we can." 
In Britain, the perilous cross-Channel journeys that migrants attempt from northern France have posed a fiendishly difficult problem for successive governments.
On Saturday, about 800 people crossed the Channel -- the second-highest figure since the start of the year, according to the UK interior ministry. 

'Pragmatism'

Starmer said he had discussed with his Italian counterpart a deal Rome signed with Albania in November to open two Italian-operated centres to house undocumented migrants while their asylum claims are processed. 
Asked directly whether he would consider such a plan for Britain, Starmer noted that the centres were not yet operational and "we don't yet know the outcome". 
Lower migrant arrivals to Italy were currently due to Meloni's efforts, said Starmer, referring to Italy's deals with Tunisia and Libya where funding is provided in exchange for help stemming the departure of Italy-bound migrants. 
"I've always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived in any of our countries," he said.
"Today was a return, if you like, to British pragmatism. We are pragmatists first and foremost, when we see a challenge, we discuss with our friends and allies, the different approaches that are being taken," he said. 
Under Italy's migrant plan with Albania, migrants with rejected asylum claims will be sent back to their country of origin, whereas those with accepted applications will be granted entry to Italy.
But under the former UK government's Rwanda scheme, migrants sent to the East African nation could never have settled in Britain irrespective of the outcome of their claim.
The two migration centres in Albania were supposed to have opened in early August, but have been delayed, with Meloni saying Monday it was a matter of "a few weeks". 

Fewer arriving migrants

Starmer's trip to Italy has already spurred criticism, even within his own party.
Labour MP Kim Johnson told The Guardian it was "disturbing that Starmer is seeking to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government, particularly after the anti-refugee riots and far-right racist terrorism that swept Britain this summer". 
Besides the Tunisia deal, Meloni's hard-right government has renewed a controversial deal with the UN-backed Libyan government in Tripoli dating from 2017, in which Rome provides training and funding to the Libyan coastguard for help deterring departures of migrants, or returning those already at sea back to Libya. 
Human rights groups say the policy pushes thousands of migrants back to Libya to face torture and abuse under arbitrary detention. 
Migrant arrivals to Italy by sea have dropped markedly, according to the interior ministry.
Between January 1 and September 13, 44,675 people arrived in Italy compared to a figure of 125,806 for the same period in 2023.
Across all the EU borders, meanwhile, the number of migrants crossing has dropped by 39 percent, according to border agency Frontex.
But multiple factors are behind these trends, experts say, with many migrants seeking entry into the EU having changed their route. 
Crossings are up 13 percent over the Channel this year, Frontex said. 
adm/ams/rox

Taekwondo

France probes online threats against Afghan taekwondo fighter

  • They added that a specialist online hate unit was investigating.
  • Paris prosecutors said Monday they were investigating online threats against female Afghan taekwondo fighter Marzieh Hamidi, who fled to France in 2021 after the Taliban seized power in Kabul.
  • They added that a specialist online hate unit was investigating.
Paris prosecutors said Monday they were investigating online threats against female Afghan taekwondo fighter Marzieh Hamidi, who fled to France in 2021 after the Taliban seized power in Kabul.
Hamidi had suffered "cyber-harassment including death, rape and other threats via social media," the prosecutors said.
They added that a specialist online hate unit was investigating.
"I want the terrorists threatening me with death to be identified and tried in court, so that I can live freely without fear and in full safety," Hamidi said in a statement sent to AFP.
The martial artist "has been placed under police protection for an indefinite period," said her lawyers Ines Davau, adding that "we hope the perpetrators of the threats will be swiftly identified".
Hamadi did not manage to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics in her under-57 kilogrammes (126 pounds) category.
But she has been in the media spotlight in France for "speaking out publicly about women's rights and the Taliban regime," according to her September 3 criminal complaint, seen by AFP.
The document states that the current wave of threats followed her denunciation on social media of an August Taliban law barring women's voices from being heard in public.
Hamidi reiterated her opposition to the law in a press interview and launched the social media hashtag #letusexist.
From the afternoon of September 1, "a vast wave of hatred smashed down on her... her Afghan Whatsapp phone number was shared and she received hundreds of calls and thousands of messages in the space of just a few hours," the complaint read.
Hamidi's criminal complaint specifies the offences of sharing private information, malicious phone calls, death or rape threats, online harassment and online sexual harassment.
gd/tgb/jh/cw

Entertainment

Swifties raise $40k in wake of Trump post hating on star

  • , which the "Swifties for Kamala" organization capitalized on to raise money for his Democratic rival.
  • An organization of Taylor Swift fans said Monday they raised more than $40,000 for the Kamala Harris campaign following Donald Trump's post that he hates the pop megastar.
  • , which the "Swifties for Kamala" organization capitalized on to raise money for his Democratic rival.
An organization of Taylor Swift fans said Monday they raised more than $40,000 for the Kamala Harris campaign following Donald Trump's post that he hates the pop megastar.
The Republican hopeful fired a Sunday morning missive on Truth Social saying "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!", which the "Swifties for Kamala" organization capitalized on to raise money for his Democratic rival.
"As soon as we saw the post, we knew this was an opportunity. Our team was ready to go with lyric response ideas and ways to tie in our calls to donate and volunteer," said Carly Long, a member of the group's communications team, in a statement. 
"We use the memes to catch people's attention, and then tell them how to turn that emotion into action. Swifties know that haters gonna hate, but we also know we can do more than just shake, shake, shake."
The superfans stumping for Kamala Harris are not formally affiliated with the artist who unites them.
They say they've now raised more than $207,000 since kicking off their fundraising and outreach efforts less than two months ago.
A few weeks ago they held an inaugural fundraising call that was joined by 27,000 viewers, and featured appearances from stars like Carole King along with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Ed Markey.
Since then Swift herself has endorsed Harris and her running mate Tim Walz over Donald Trump, calling the Democrat and current vice president a "steady-handed, gifted leader."
"I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," Swift posted in the minutes following the Harris-Trump debate last week.
In addition to fundraising and phone banking, the Swifties For Kamala outfit says they are planning additional outreach efforts particularly in swing states and at remaining dates of the blockbuster Eras Tour, which is currently on break.
It's scheduled to pick back up in Miami on October 18.
Irene Kim, a Swifties For Kamala cofounder, said in a statement that the group is "proof of the power Swifties have."
"We're building off our existing fandom culture to make voting and politics accessible."
mdo/md

television

Japan celebrates historic Emmys triumph for 'Shogun'

BY ATISH PATEL IN OSAKA

  • "Shogun" smashed all-time records at the television awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home an astounding 18 statuettes and becoming the first non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.
  • Japan celebrated on Monday the record-breaking Emmy Awards triumph of "Shogun", although many confessed not having watched the series about the country's warring dynasties in the feudal era.
  • "Shogun" smashed all-time records at the television awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home an astounding 18 statuettes and becoming the first non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.
Japan celebrated on Monday the record-breaking Emmy Awards triumph of "Shogun", although many confessed not having watched the series about the country's warring dynasties in the feudal era.
"Shogun" smashed all-time records at the television awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home an astounding 18 statuettes and becoming the first non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.
Lead Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Lord Toranaga, became the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy, while Anna Sawai achieved the same for her performance as Lady Mariko.
"As a Japanese, I'm happy Sanada won," Kiyoko Kanda, a 70-year-old pensioner, told AFP in Tokyo.
"He worked so hard since he moved to Los Angeles," she said.
"In 'Last Samurai', Tom Cruise was the lead, but it's exciting Sanada is the main character in 'Shogun'," Kanda added.
But she admitted that she only watched the trailer.
The series is available only on Disney's streaming platform, which is relatively new in Japan.
"I want to watch it. I'm curious to know how Japan is portrayed," Kanda said.
Otsuka, who declined to give her first name, said she, too, has not watched the show. 
"But I saw the news and I'm happy he won." Sanada, now 63, began his acting career at the age of five in Tokyo and moved to LA after appearing in "Last Samurai" in 2003. 
The words "historic achievements" and "Hiroyuki Sanada" were trending on X in Japanese, while Sanada's speech at the awards racked up tens of thousands of views.
Yusuke Takizawa, 41, also only watched a trailer but he said he was amazed by the quality of the show.
"I was impressed by the high-spirited acting, the attention to detail and the film technology," Takizawa told AFP outside Osaka Castle, a major historical location for the series.
"I think many young people will want to try their hand in Hollywood after watching Sanada," he said.
Tourists at the castle also welcomed the record Emmy win. 
"I think was the best TV show that I've seen this year," said Zara Ferjani, a visitor from London. 
"I thought it was amazing... The direction was beautiful, and I really enjoyed watching something that wasn't in English as well," the 33-year-old said.
She said she had planned to watch "Shogun" after returning home from Japan.
"But one of my friends strongly advised me to watch it beforehand, just to appreciate the culture more and definitely Osaka Castle more," she added.

Breaking from cliches

Many in the Japanese film industry were also jubilant. 
"He won after many years of trying hard in Hollywood. It's too cool," wrote Shinichiro Ueda, director of the hit low-budget film "One Cut of the Dead", on X.
Video game creator and movie fan Hideo Kojima, who has described the show as "Game of Thrones in 17th-century Japan", reposted a news story on the win.
The drama, adapted from a popular novel by James Clavell and filmed in Canada, tells the tale of Lord Toranaga, who fights for his life against his enemies alongside Mariko and British sailor John Blackthorne.
A previous TV adaptation made in 1980 was centred on Blackthorne's perspective.
But the new "Shogun" breaks away from decades of cliched and often bungled depictions of Japan in Western cinema, with Japanese spoken throughout most of the show.
Sanada, who also co-produced the drama, is credited with bringing a new level of cultural and historical authenticity to "Shogun".
An army of experts, including several wig technicians from Japan, worked behind the scenes to make the series realistic, poring over sets, costumes and the actors' movements.
nf-ap/stu/nf/dhw

television

Sho-what? Japan celebrates little heard-of Emmys winner

  • She said she had planned to watch "Shogun" after returning home from Japan.
  • Japan celebrated on Monday the record-breaking Emmy Awards triumph of "Shogun", although many confessed not having watched the series about the country's warring dynasties in the feudal era.
  • She said she had planned to watch "Shogun" after returning home from Japan.
Japan celebrated on Monday the record-breaking Emmy Awards triumph of "Shogun", although many confessed not having watched the series about the country's warring dynasties in the feudal era.
"Shogun" smashed all-time records at the television awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home an astounding 18 statuettes and becoming the first non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.
Lead Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Lord Toranaga, became the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy, while Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko achieved the same feat with the best actress award.
"As a Japanese, I'm happy Sanada won," Kiyoko Kanda, a 70-year-old pensioner, told AFP in Tokyo.
"He worked so hard since he moved to Los Angeles," she said.
"In 'Last Samurai', Tom Cruise was the lead, but it's exciting Sanada is the main character in 'Shogun'," Kanda added.
But she admitted that she only watched the trailer.
The series is available only on the Disney platform, which is relatively new in Japan.
"I want to watch it. I'm curious to know how Japan is portrayed," Kanda said.
Otsuka, who declined to give her first name, said she, too, has not watched the show. 
"But I saw the news and I'm happy he won."
The words "historic achievements" and "Hiroyuki Sanada" were trending on X in Japanese, while Sanada's speech at the awards racked up tens of thousands of views.
Yusuke Takizawa, 41, also only watched a trailer but he said he was amazed by the quality of the show.
"I was impressed by the high-spirited acting, the attention to detail and the film technology," Takizawa told AFP outside Osaka Castle, a major historical location for the series.
"I think many young people will want to try their hand in Hollywood after watching Sanada," he said.
Tourists at the castle also welcomed the record Emmy win. 
"I think was the best TV show that I've seen this year," said Zara Ferjani, a visitor from London. 
"I thought it was amazing... The direction was beautiful, and I really enjoyed watching something that wasn't in English as well," the 33-year-old said.
She said she had planned to watch "Shogun" after returning home from Japan.
"But one of my friends strongly advised me to watch it beforehand, just to appreciate the culture more and definitely Osaka Castle more," she added.
nf-ap/stu/dhw

television

'Shogun' smashes Emmys record as 'Hacks' and 'Baby Reindeer' shine

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • - 'Baby Reindeer' - Sunday's other big winner was Netflix's word-of-mouth smash "Baby Reindeer," based on a relatively unknown Scottish comedian's harrowing one-man show about sexual abuse.
  • Japan-set historical epic "Shogun" smashed all-time records and was named best drama at television's Emmy Awards on Sunday, as "Hacks" and "Baby Reindeer" racked up big wins at the glitzy gala in Los Angeles.
  • - 'Baby Reindeer' - Sunday's other big winner was Netflix's word-of-mouth smash "Baby Reindeer," based on a relatively unknown Scottish comedian's harrowing one-man show about sexual abuse.
Japan-set historical epic "Shogun" smashed all-time records and was named best drama at television's Emmy Awards on Sunday, as "Hacks" and "Baby Reindeer" racked up big wins at the glitzy gala in Los Angeles.
"Shogun," the tale of warring dynasties in feudal Japan, ended the night with an astounding 18 statuettes, becoming the first ever non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for best drama series.
The previous record for any season of a television show was 13. 
"It was an East-meets-West dream project, with respect," said veteran leading man Hiroyuki Sanada, who became the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy. 
Anna Sawai followed him onto the Emmys stage minutes later with a best actress win, before the cast and producers of "Shogun" returned for the overall best drama award.
The series from Disney-owned FX, based on James Clavell's historical fiction, had led the nominations with 25 overall.
Shot in Canada, it features a primarily Japanese cast and subtitles.
Showrunner Justin Marks thanked producers for commissioning "a very expensive, subtitled, Japanese period piece, whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition."
"Shogun is a show about translation -- not what is lost, but what is found, when you do safety meetings in two languages, and you learn not to walk on tatami mats with your utility boots," he said. 
It also won the Emmy for best directing of a drama series, in addition to the 14 won in minor categories at a separate gala last weekend.
Mini-series "John Adams" won 13 Emmys in 2008. "Game of Thrones" had held the record for dramas at 12.

'Hacks' surprise

This was the second Emmys gala this year, after crippling twin strikes in Hollywood last year bumped the 2023 ceremony to January.
In the night's biggest surprise, the final award for best comedy series went to "Hacks."
The show -- starring Jean Smart as a diva comedienne who repeatedly locks horns with her dysfunctional millennial assistant -- fended off previous winner and hot favorite "The Bear."
Smart claimed her third lead actress Emmy for her role, quipping: "I appreciate this, because I just don't get enough attention."
"The Bear" still managed a whopping 11 awards, including Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as best lead and supporting actor.
Co-star Liza Colon-Zayas sprung a surprise by besting the likes of Meryl Streep ("Only Murders in the Building") to win best supporting actress.
"To all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing. And vote -- vote for your rights," she said, in one of several political notes at a gala taking place less than two months before the US presidential election.
The dark satire set in a Chicago restaurant dominated the last Emmys, despite controversy over whether it is actually a comedy.
Eugene Levy, hosting with his son Daniel, poked fun at the criticisms, insisting: "In the true spirit of 'The Bear,' we will not be making any jokes."

'Baby Reindeer'

Sunday's other big winner was Netflix's word-of-mouth smash "Baby Reindeer," based on a relatively unknown Scottish comedian's harrowing one-man show about sexual abuse.
It won best limited series -- a prestigious category for shows that end in a single season.
"Ten years ago, I was down and out... I never ever thought I'd be able to rectify myself for what had happened to me, and get myself back on my feet again," said the show's creator Richard Gadd, who won best actor and a writing award.
Part of the attention stemmed from the show's claim to be "a true story" -- an insistence that earned the streamer a $170 million lawsuit from a British woman who claims she was the inspiration for Gadd's obsessive and violent stalker.
Jessica Gunning, who played the stalker, won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited series.
"Thank you for trusting me to be your Martha -- I will never ever forget her, or you," she told Gadd, who is also nominated for best actor honors.
Jodie Foster won her first Emmy with best actress for her turn as an Alaskan cop in "True Detective: Night Country," besting fellow Oscar winner Brie Larson ("Lessons in Chemistry").

'Shogun' rivals

"Shogun" dominated the drama sections as expected.
It was only the second non-English-language show to earn a best drama nomination, after South Korea's "Squid Game" two years ago.
But there were key prizes for rival shows. 
The final season of Netflix's British royal saga drew a lukewarm response from critics, but Elizabeth Debicki won best supporting actress as Princess Diana.
Billy Crudup won best supporting actor in a drama for Apple's "The Morning Show." 
amz/sst

synthetics

'Easy, convenient, cheap': how single-use plastic rules the world

BY AFP BUREAUX

  • Thailand produces two million tons of plastic waste a year, according to the country's Pollution Control Department. 
  • Each year the world produces around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste, much of it discarded after just a few minutes of use.
  • Thailand produces two million tons of plastic waste a year, according to the country's Pollution Control Department. 
Each year the world produces around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste, much of it discarded after just a few minutes of use.
Negotiators hope to reach the world's first treaty on plastic pollution this year, but across five very different countries, AFP found single-use plastic remains hugely popular as a cheap and convenient choice, illustrating the challenges ahead:
Bangkok
On a Bangkok street lined with food vendors, customers line up for Maliwan's famed traditional sweets.
Steamed layer cakes -- green with pandan leaf or blue with butterfly pea -- sit in clear plastic bags alongside rows of taro pudding in plastic boxes.
Each day, the 40-year-old business uses at least two kilos of single-use plastic.
"Plastic is easy, convenient and cheap," said 44-year-old owner Watchararas Tamrongpattarakit.
Banana leaves used to be standard, but they are increasingly expensive and hard to source.
They are also onerous to use because each one must be cleaned and checked for tears.
It "isn't practical for our pace of sales", said Watchararas.
Thailand started limiting single-use plastic before the pandemic, asking major retailers to stop handing out bags for free.
But the policy has largely fallen by the wayside, with little uptake among the country's street food vendors.
Thailand produces two million tons of plastic waste a year, according to the country's Pollution Control Department. 
The World Bank estimates 11 percent goes uncollected, and is burned, disposed of on land or leaks into rivers and the ocean.
Watchararas tries to consolidate purchases into fewer bags and said some customers bring their own reusable containers and totes.
But Radeerut Sakulpongpaisal, a Maliwan customer for 30 years, said she finds plastic "convenient".
"I also understand the environmental impact," the bank worker said.
But "it's probably easier for both the shop and the customers".
Lagos
In the Obalende market at the heart of Nigeria's economic capital Lagos, emptied water sachets litter the ground.
Each day, Lisebeth Ajayi watches dozens of customers use their teeth to tear open the bags of "pure water" and drink.
"They don't have the money to buy the bottle water, that's why they do the pure water," said the 58-year-old, who sells bottles and bags of water, soap and sponges.
Two 500-millilitre sachets sell for between 50 to 250 naira (3-15 US cents), compared to 250-300 naira for a 750-ml bottle.
Since they appeared in the 1990s, water sachets have become a major pollutant across much of Africa, but they remain popular for drinking, cooking and even washing.
Some 200 firms produce the sachets in Lagos, and several hundred more recycle plastic, but supply vastly outstrips capacity in a country with few public wastebins and little environmental education.
Lagos banned single-use plastic in January, but with little impact so far.
The United Nations estimates up to 60 million water sachets are discarded across Nigeria every day.
Rio
Each day, vendors walk the sands of some of Rio de Janeiro's most beautiful beaches, lugging metal containers filled with the tea-like drink mate.
The iced beverage, infused with fruit juice, is dispensed into plastic cups for eager sun worshippers dotted along the seafront.
"Drinking mate is part of Rio de Janeiro's culture," explained Arthur Jorge da Silva, 47, as he scouted for customers.
He acknowledged the environmental impacts of his towers of plastic cups, in a country ranked the fourth-biggest producer of plastic waste in 2019.
But "it's complicated" to find affordable alternatives, he told AFP.
The tanned salesman said mate vendors on the beach had used plastic for as long as he could remember.
He pays a dollar for a tower of 20 cups and charges customers $1.80 for each drink.
Bins along Rio's beaches receive about 130 tons of waste a day, but plastic is not separated, and just three percent of Brazil's waste is recycled annually.
Evelyn Talavera, 24, said she does her best to clean up when leaving the beach.
"We have to take care of our planet, throw the garbage away, keep the environment clean."
Plastic straws have been banned in Rio's restaurants and bars since 2018, and shops are no longer required to offer free plastic bags -- though many still do.
Congress is also considering legislation that would ban all single-use plastic.
Paris
In France, single-use plastic has been banned since 2016, but while items like straws and plastic cutlery have disappeared, plastic bags remain stubbornly common.
At Paris' Aligre market, stalls are piled with fruit, vegetables and stacks of bags ready to be handed out.
Most are stamped "reusable and 100-percent recyclable", and some are described as compostable or produced from natural materials.
But experts have cast doubt on the environmental relevance of some of these claims.
Vendor Laurent Benacer gets through a 24-euro ($26) box of 2,000 bags each week.
"In Paris, everyone asks for a bag," he told AFP.
"I'd stopped, but my neighbours continued, so I had to restart."
There are alternatives like paper bags, but some customers are simply not convinced.
"Plastic bags remain practical, so everything doesn't spill everywhere," insisted 80-year-old customer Catherine Sale.
Dubai
At the Allo Beirut restaurant in Dubai, plastic containers are piled high, waiting to be filled and delivered across the city.
"We receive more than 1,200 orders a day," said delivery manager Mohammed Chanane.
"We use plastic boxes because they are more airtight, and better preserve the food," he said.
With few pedestrians and an often-scorching climate, many of Dubai's 3.7 million residents rely on delivery for everything from petrol to coffee.
Residents of the United Arab Emirates have one of the highest volumes of waste per capita in the world.
And single-use plastic accounts for 40 percent of all plastic used in the country.
Since June, single-use plastic bags and several similar items have been banned. Polystyrene containers will follow next year.
Allo Beirut is considering using cardboard containers, a move customer Youmna Asmar would welcome.
She admitted horror at the build-up of plastic in her bins after a weekend of family orders. 
"I say to myself, if all of us are doing this, it's a lot."
burs/sah/sco

Global Edition

Environment takes centre stage as global summits loom

BY JULIEN MIVIELLE

  • The summit, known as COP29, is expected to land a new agreement on "climate finance": money from rich nations most responsible for global warming to developing countries vulnerable to climate change.
  • Global warming.
  • The summit, known as COP29, is expected to land a new agreement on "climate finance": money from rich nations most responsible for global warming to developing countries vulnerable to climate change.
Global warming. Disappearing plant and animal species. Fertile land turning to desert. Plastic in the oceans, on land, and the air we breathe.
These urgent environmental challenges will be in the spotlight over the next few months as the United Nations hosts four major sessions to address key threats to the planet.

Biodiversity

First up is a "Conference of the Parties" -- a COP -- dedicated to biodiversity being held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1.
These are called every two years to debate how the world can cooperate to better protect the rich variety of plant and animal life in the natural world.
The COP16 isn't expected to break new ground but is more a stocktake of progress since the last summit secured historic assurances for biodiversity.
In 2022 in Montreal, nations agreed to place 30 percent of the planet under environmental protection by 2030 in a landmark pact aimed at arresting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems to health.
In Cali, countries will put forward national strategies to meet this global objective, and observers hope Colombia as host will provide a model for others to follow.
WWF has commended the leadership shown so far by Colombia, which hosts close to 10 percent of Earth's biodiversity, including countless bird, butterfly, and orchid species.

Climate

The world's most important conference on climate change is this year being hosted by Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, from November 11 to 22.
While the last summit in Dubai in 2023 delivered a historic commitment to transition the world away from fossil fuels, supporting poorer countries with climate change will top this year's agenda.
The summit, known as COP29, is expected to land a new agreement on "climate finance": money from rich nations most responsible for global warming to developing countries vulnerable to climate change.
There isn't an agreed figure yet, or even consensus on where the money should come from, who should receive it, and what form it could take.
But developing countries are pushing for much more than the $100 billion pledged in 2009. This was only reached for the first time in full in 2022.
"COP29 offers an opportunity to unlock more climate investments from a wider range of public and private sources and to improve the quality of this finance," said the World Resources Institute, a US think tank. 
The result of the US election, just six days before COP29 begins, could throw a last-minute curveball into the final negotiations, which have proved divisive so far.
It also remains to be seen how many world leaders travel to Baku, the capital on the Caspian Sea, with some expected to focus their energy on COP30 in Brazil next year.

Desertification

The least high profile of the three COPs, this session in Saudi Arabia addressing the loss of fertile land to desert is nonetheless critical.
Climate variation like droughts and human activities like overgrazing can result in desertification, a process mainly in dry areas where land degrades and becomes unproductive.
Experts hope the COP16 on desertification, scheduled to take place in Riyadh from December 2 to 13, can act as a turning point in addressing this problem.   
"Discussions will focus on ways to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030, as well as putting in place agreements to manage the droughts that are already affecting many regions of the globe," said Arona Diedhiou from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.

Plastic

In 2022, some 175 nations agreed to fast-track negotiations toward a world-first treaty on plastic pollution, and the final session gets underway on November 25 in South Korea.
The treaty aims to marshal an international response to the plastic trash choking the environment, from oceans and rivers to mountains and sea ice.  
Some nations want the treaty to restrict how much plastic can be made while others -- particularly oil and gas producing countries that provide the raw materials to make plastic -- want a focus on recycling. 
Hellen Kahaso Dena, head of Greenpeace's Pan-African Plastics Project, hopes that countries "will agree on a treaty that prioritises reducing plastic production". 
"There is no time to waste with approaches that will not solve the problem," the activist told AFP.
jmi-eab/np/giv

rights

Iran two years after Mahsa Amini: persecution and defiance

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • Persecution of bereaved relatives.
Persecution of bereaved relatives. Impunity for perpetrators. Rampant executions and infighting among the opposition.
A bleak picture confronts opponents of Iran's clerical authorities two years after a protest movement erupted that they hoped would be a turning point in the four-and-a-half-decade history of the Islamic republic.
Activists and exiles still hope that the protests sparked by the September 16, 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini -- an Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women -- left an indelible mark on Iran and that her tragic death aged 22 was not in vain.
The women-led protests after Amini's death challenged not only the rule of the obligatory headscarf that has been a key pillar of the regime but also the very existence of the clerical-based system, rattling Iran's leadership over autumn and winter 2022-2023.
But they were crushed and defeated in a crackdown Amnesty International said saw security forces use assault rifles and shotguns against protesters.
Human rights groups say at least 551 people were killed. Thousands more were arrested, according to the United Nations.
Iran has executed 10 men in cases related to the protests, the latest being Gholamreza Rasaei who was hanged in August after being convicted of killing a Revolutionary Guard.
Activists said his confession was obtained under torture.
"Countless people in Iran are still reeling from the consequences of the authorities' brutal crackdown," said Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy.
To mark the two-year anniversary, the foundation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, jailed in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, said 34 women prisoners there went on a hunger strike "in solidarity with the protesting people of Iran, against the government's oppressive policies".

'Brutalising twice over'

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), family members of dozens of people killed, executed or imprisoned during the protests have been arrested on trumped up charges, threatened or harassed.
"Iranian authorities are brutalising people twice over: executing or killing a family member and then arresting their loved ones for demanding accountability," said HRW's acting Iran researcher, Nahid Naghshbandi.
Among those jailed is Mashallah Karami, father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami who was executed in January 2023 aged just 22 in a case related to the protests.
Mashallah Karami, who had campaigned for his son's memory, was sentenced to six years in jail in May and then in August to another term of almost nine years.
Meanwhile, the authorities are enforcing the wearing of the headscarf with a vengeance. Its abolition was a key demand of the protesters, and the authorities had initially given grounds for hope of a more lenient policy.
Security forces are implementing the so-called "Nour" ("Light") plan to enforce the rule, with a "visible increase of security patrols on foot, motorbikes, car and police vans in public spaces", according to Amnesty.
Women in Iran have long regarded their vehicles as a safe space, but they have been increasingly targeted there, often with facial recognition technology, rights groups say. Cars can be impounded as punishment.
UN experts said Iran has "intensified" the repression of women, also resorting to "beating, kicking, and slapping women and girls".
Amnesty has highlighted the case of 31-year-old Arezou Badri, who it says was left paralysed after police shot her in her car in northern Iran in July, in an incident related to the dress code.
Even though a UN fact-finding mission in March found that many of the violations in the crackdown amount to crimes against humanity, not one official has been brought to account.

'Not going back'

Yet observers outside Iran insist that while the crackdown has allowed the clerical authorities under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to restore order, Iranian society has changed forever.
"Many young women remain defiant," said a co-founder of the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, Roya Boroumand.
"Two years after the protests, the Islamic Republic's leadership has neither restored the status quo ante nor regained its lost legitimacy."
Rights groups said August's execution of Gholamreza Rasaei showed no let-up in Iran's use of the death penalty under new President Masoud Pezeshkian, elected in July after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash.
The Amini protests have exposed deep divisions within the opposition, with no unified group emerging to champion the protesters' demands.
Abroad, attempts at finding harmony between disparate groups of monarchists, nationalists and liberals have collapsed amid acrimony.
The protest movement "shook the Iranian regime to the core and further affirmed just how deeply disillusioned Iranians have been with the status quo", said Arash Azizi, visiting fellow at Boston University and author of a book titled "What Iranians Want".
"But the movement also showed the absolute bankruptcy of the opposition alternatives to the regime."
He added: "I still believe Iran is not going back to pre-2022 and, within the next few years, the Islamic Republic will likely see some fundamental shifts."
sjw/ah/kir/smw/yad/srm

migration

In Springfield, Ohio, chaos, bomb threats -- and English lessons

BY NICHOLAS ROLL

  • - 'Poetic' vocabulary - But frustrations over the growing pains of the city -- where some 10-15,000 Haitians have arrived, in a town that had less than 60,000 people in 2020 -- eventually spiraled into racist rumors the immigrants were stealing and eating people's pets, putting the city in the national spotlight.
  • At a low, squat building in Springfield, Ohio, housing a Haitian community center, the FBI has arrived to investigate menacing phone calls telling this small US town's immigrant community to get out.
  • - 'Poetic' vocabulary - But frustrations over the growing pains of the city -- where some 10-15,000 Haitians have arrived, in a town that had less than 60,000 people in 2020 -- eventually spiraled into racist rumors the immigrants were stealing and eating people's pets, putting the city in the national spotlight.
At a low, squat building in Springfield, Ohio, housing a Haitian community center, the FBI has arrived to investigate menacing phone calls telling this small US town's immigrant community to get out.
But a few rooms over attention has turned to more immediate concerns: how to pronounce "refrigerator."
The syllables mash together, ground up by the five Haitian students seated in front of the white board as they try to flex muscles in their mouth they've never thought about before.
The local volunteers putting on English class are part of a different side of Springfield, which has been drawn into the national spotlight after racist rumors about the immigrants -- amplified by Republican politicians -- have spiraled into bomb threats and harassment.
As the class goes through parts of a house, they find an easier time with "cabinet," as sing-song, Creole-accented cries of "cab-i-net" light up the room.
"I just want to help," says Hope Kaufman, the retiree leading the class. "It's hard to be thrown into a new culture, with a new language. If there's something I can do, even if it's little, that's what I want to do."
The mostly white city in the American Midwest has seen a boom in population in recent years, fueled mostly by Haitians attracted by its economic revival, and new businesses happy to attract laborers.

'Poetic' vocabulary

But frustrations over the growing pains of the city -- where some 10-15,000 Haitians have arrived, in a town that had less than 60,000 people in 2020 -- eventually spiraled into racist rumors the immigrants were stealing and eating people's pets, putting the city in the national spotlight.
None of that chaos, however, is present during the hour-long class, as Kaufman and her colleagues add vocabulary words to the white board, quizzing the Haitians on "sinks," "couches" and "closets."
"In my living room, I have more than one chair," laughs Kaufman explaining, with a smile, the difference between plural and singular.
"OK," deadpans student Edougie Joseph, his eyes locked on the board, laser focused on the lesson.
With nervous giggles students then draw cards for a memory game -- which quickly goes off the rails when they insist on sharing their answers and helping each other.
"I live in this country, and if you don't speak English, you can't work, you can't express yourself to people," Joseph, a factory worker, tells AFP. 
But it's not easy.
"The most difficult is refri… refrigere," Yranor Estime adds, before giving up on "refrigerator."
But "cabinet," he adds, "is poetic."
Eventually, the hour is up. Much of the house has been conquered, from "stoves" to "sofas." 
Up next week: the bathroom.
nro/md