US sanctions Belarus Red Cross chief over Ukraine child deportations

Washington (AFP) – The United States unveiled sanctions on Tuesday against the head of the Belarus Red Cross, accusing him of being complicit in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.


Issued on: 05/12/2023
T

SERGEY BOBOK / AFP

Since its invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Russia has been accused of forcibly deporting thousands of Ukrainian children -- with Belarus's support -- from schools, hospitals and orphanages in parts of the country controlled by its forces.

Moscow has not denied transferring thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but claims it did so for their own protection.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that the head of the Belarus Red Cross, Dzmitry Shautsou, had been sanctioned for assisting the Russian president's Children's Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, who has been accused of enacting the deportations.

Lvova-Belova is the subject of a recent arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for "the war crime" of the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Belarus Red Cross suspended

In July, Shautsou received fierce international criticism when he claimed that the Belarus Red Cross had been involved in bringing Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas of the country to Belarus.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called on the Belarus Red Cross to sack Shautsou, and suspended the chapter as a member when it failed to do so.

Shautsou was among the 11 entities and eight individuals sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Tuesday in a bid to ramp up the pressure on the Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko.

The Treasury's actions reaffirm its efforts to hold Lukashenko, "his family, and his regime accountable for their anti-democratic actions and human rights abuses, both in Belarus and around the world," the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.

© 2023 AFP

US facing growing Middle East crisis tied to Israel-Hamas war

Washington (AFP) – Washington is facing an increasingly complex and dangerous crisis resulting from the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked repeated militant attacks and drawn US military attention and assets back to the Middle East.


Issued on: 06/12/2023 -

A handout picture courtesy of the US Navy shows the guided missile destroyer USS Carney firing on missiles and drones launched from Yemen on October 19, 2023 

© Aaron Lau / US NAVY/AFP/File

The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers and other forces in a bid to deter a devastating region-wide conflict. But the current violence in the Middle East -- while not rising to that level -- still carries significant danger.

Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen raised the stakes over the weekend by striking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, while a US Navy destroyer shot down several inbound drones as it operated in the area and responded to distress calls.

"Without question there's been escalation," but all parties, especially the United States, "are trying to manage these clashes in ways that do not explode into a regional war," said Jeffrey Feltman, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs.

However, "I think we should be deeply, deeply worried that step-by-step escalation, while perhaps no party intends it to turn into a regional conflagration, could lead us there," he said.

'Have their cake'

The Huthis said they targeted two of the three ships that were hit in the Red Sea on Sunday, claiming they were Israeli vessels and that such attacks would continue "until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops."

The US Navy shot down three drones launched from Yemen the same day -- the targets of which were unclear -- and others as well as missiles during the past six weeks, while the Huthis downed an American drone last month.

Feltman said the Huthis and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has repeatedly traded fire with Israel since the outbreak of the war with Hamas on October 7, "are basically trying to have their cake and eat it too."

"They're trying to say that they are part of the resistance, that they are standing in solidarity with the beleaguered Palestinian population in Gaza," but "they're doing it in a way, I think, that they believe will prevent a full-scale war," he said.

The latest round of conflict between Israel and Hamas began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack that Israeli officials say killed 1,200 people.

Israel responded with a relentless land and air campaign that the Hamas-run government in Gaza says has left more than 16,200 people dead.

In addition to the attacks launched from Yemen and Lebanon, US troops in Iraq and Syria have been targeted by rockets and drones on dozens of occasions since mid-October, with the militants who claimed responsibility repeatedly citing the situation in Gaza.

Washington has blamed Iran-backed groups for the attacks and has carried out multiple strikes against those forces as well as sites in the region it said were linked to Tehran.

'Testing limits'

The US military fought a bloody war in Iraq from 2003 to 2011, later provided support to local forces in that country and Syria as they battled the Islamic State jihadist group, and has carried out numerous raids and strikes against militants in the region over the years.

But Washington is seeking to move on from the counterinsurgency-centric "War on Terror" conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan to put greater focus on countering China, which it has identified as its most consequential challenge.

The United States has shifted significant military assets to the Middle East since October 7, but that does not necessarily undermine efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

"While a long-term focus on the Middle East would detract from readiness in East Asia, near-term responses are unlikely to provoke a near-term crisis in East Asia," said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Additionally, "the demonstrated ability to deploy quickly to defend allies and interests is watched carefully in Asia, among allies and adversaries alike," he said.

Alterman said the situation in the Middle East could potentially "go in a bad direction," but that he does not see the conflict as being out of control at this point.

"The United States remains the preponderant power," he said, while America's adversaries are "carefully testing limits."

© 2023 AFP

In rare Israel rebuke, US restricts visas on extremist settlers

Washington (AFP) – The United States said Tuesday it would refuse visas for extremist Israeli settlers behind a wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as it also asked Israel to do more to spare civilians in Gaza.


Issued on: 05/12/2023

A relative of Palestinian Bilal Saleh, who was shot in the chest while picking olives, points at an Israeli settlement near the village of As-Sawiyah in the occupied West Bank in on November 

© Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP/File

The visa measures amount to a rare concrete repercussion by the United States against Israelis in the nearly two-month-old war, in which President Joe Biden has nudged the US ally privately but also promised strong support.

"We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"As President Biden has repeatedly said, those attacks are unacceptable," he said.

Blinken said the United States would refuse entry to anyone involved in "undermining peace, security or stability in the West Bank" or who takes actions that "unduly restrict civilians' access to essential services and basic necessities."

"Instability in the West Bank both harms the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel's national security interests. Those responsible for it must be held accountable," Blinken said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that dozens of settlers, who were not publicly named, would be affected. The visa ban also applies to their immediate family members.

Restrictions on entering the United States will not apply to extremist settlers who are US citizens.

Wave of violence

Hamas militants stormed out of Gaza into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and has carried out air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed around 15,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Ramallah on November 30, 2023 

© SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File

Even though Hamas does not control the West Bank, some 250 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli soldiers and settlers since October 7, according to a Palestinian government tally.

The Palestinian Authority holds limited autonomy in the West Bank where Palestinians have complained of impunity over attacks and harassment carried out by settlers, some of whom have been serving in the Israeli military as forces are shifted to Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a coalition with far-right parties that strongly support Jewish settlement of lands seized in 1967, construction that is considered illegal under international law.

Blinken visited both Israel and the West Bank last week just as a pause ended between Hamas and Israel.

The State Department said that Israel has shown "improvement" in targeting its strikes in Gaza as it voiced concern about a repeat of the widespread bombing at the start of the war.

"We will continue to monitor what's happening and will continue to press them to do everything they can to minimize civilian harm," said Miller, the State Department spokesman.

The United States has also promised more than $100 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians but has faced strong criticism in much of the Arab world for its diplomatic and military support of Israel.

J Street, the left-leaning pro-Israel US group that is frequently critical of Netanyahu, praised the visa restrictions as an "important first step."

It said that the Biden administration should specifically restrict two far-right ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet, Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Before entering politics, Ben-Gvir hung a portrait in his living room of Baruch Goldstein, the US-born settler who killed 29 Palestinian worshippers at a mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The Biden administration has returned to the traditional US and international position of opposing settlements, although until now its stance has largely been rhetorical.

Previous president Donald Trump switched course, with Blinken's predecessor Mike Pompeo dropping objections to settlements and visiting one late in his term.

© 2023 AFP

'We're now witnessing an open-ended Israeli war upon Hamas but also upon civilians in Gaza'

Issued on: 05/12/2023 - 

 The situation in the Gaza Strip is getting worse all the time and approaching humanity's "darkest hour", the World Health Organization said Tuesday. Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and which saw around 240 hostages taken back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and secure the release of all the hostages. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the war has killed nearly 15,900 people in the territory. As Gaza reaches 'humanity's darkest hour', according to the WHO, FRANCE 24 is joined by Scott Lucas, Political Analyst and Professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin.

Released Palestinians allege mistreatment in Israeli prisons

Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Released under a prisoner-hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, former Palestinian detainees have described beatings, deprivation and a radical deterioration in conditions in Israeli jails following Hamas's bloody October 7 attacks.

Issued on: 05/12/2023 -

Rouba Assi, released last week, says conditions in Israeli jail severely deteriorated after October 7

 © Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

On that day, Hamas fighters streamed across the Gaza Strip's militarised border into Israel, kidnapping around 240 people and killing 1,200 others, most of them civilians, Israeli officials say.

In response, the Israeli military launched a campaign to eradicate Hamas that has since killed nearly 15,900 people, most of them women and minors, according to Gaza's Hamas-run government.

The only respite in fighting was a seven-day truce that ended Friday and saw scores of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas in exchange for more than 200 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

One of those prisoners, 23-year-old activist Rouba Assi, told reporters after her release last week that Israeli prison authorities "took everything away" from Palestinian detainees.

Since October 7, they had been subject to a "state of emergency" announced by prison officials.

For detained Palestinians, there would be no more leaving their cell -- and therefore no more visits -- no more buying food from the canteen, no more power in their electrical outlets, and more frequent surprise searches, authorities said in a statement.

- Red Cross visits 'stopped'-

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club, an advocacy group that keeps a tally of detainees from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, has said visits from representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also stopped.

Under its guidelines on confidentiality, the ICRC has not commented on that claim.

Assi is uniquely placed to compare life on the inside before and during the war.

Between 2020 and 2022 she was jailed for 21 months on charges of throwing stones and belonging to an illegal organisation, the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

She was arrested again after the start of the current war, along with 3,580 other Palestinians detained so far, according to the Prisoners' Club.

There are around 7,800 Palestinians prisoners in Israeli jails, the Club says.

Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners during the truce last week in exchange for dozens of hostages held in Gaza 

© Fadel SENNA / AFP

During her latest stint, Assi found things were very different.

"In Damon prison (in northeast Israel) seven of us slept in a cell designed for three detainees, on the bare floor, without a mattress or a cover, despite the cold and regardless of one's age," she said.

"We often went to bed without having eaten, and the portions we received were meagre," she continued. "All the gains made over the years of struggle by Palestinian prisoners were wiped out in a single stroke."

In a statement earlier this month, Amnesty International regional director Heba Morayef said: "Testimonies and video evidence also point to numerous incidents of torture and other ill-treatment by Israeli forces including severe beatings and deliberate humiliation of Palestinians who are detained in dire conditions."
'Beat us day and night'

Ramzi Abbasi, a Palestinian activist from east Jerusalem, was freed under the Israel-Hamas deal from Ketziot prison in the Negev desert, where he was serving time after being sentenced in April for inciting violence.

"They beat us day and night," the 36-year-old told AFP. "Some prisoners had their legs or arms broken after October 7 and received no care."

Ketziot, he said, is "a cemetery for the living. The inmates there live without food, without clean clothes -- they're neglected."

Approached several times by AFP, Israeli prison authorities declined to comment on the allegations.

Amnesty said it had received an account from a Palestinian from east Jerusalem who was subjected to "severe beatings which left him with bruises and three broken ribs".

The unnamed detainee said police ordered prisoners to "praise Israel and curse Hamas", but even after they did, the "beating and humiliation did not stop".

In an letter to the ICRC delivered from prison by one the recently released detainees, inmates denounced the "revenge" allegedly meted out by Israeli authorities.

The message said six prisoners had died in Israeli jails since the start of the war.

The Israeli prisons administration responded that the inmates underwent autopsies and were found to have died due to health issues unrelated to the conditions of their detention.

The prisoner-hostage exchange deal has brought the long-simmering question of Palestinian detainees back to the fore, with Hamas and its allies -- who have hundreds of militants in Israeli prisons -- saying those kidnapped on October 7 will be used as bargaining chips to "empty" Israeli prisons.

But during the same week of exchanges that saw 240 Palestinian prisoners released in return for 80 Israeli hostages, 240 other Palestinians were incarcerated, according to the Prisoners' Club.

© 2023 AFP

US senators square off at Ukraine briefing after Zelensky pulls out

Washington (AFP) – Several Republican senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine Tuesday as it descended into a row over the border crisis, after President Volodymyr Zelensky unexpectedly canceled a videolink appearance to appeal for continued US funding.

"Ukraine is just running out of money," Yellen said.

Issued on: 05/12/2023 -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Zelensky was to appear during a classified US Senate briefing, a day before it takes the first procedural vote on an emergency aid package

 © TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/File

Zelensky had been due to update the senators on the latest developments in the conflict with Russia and press for them to support a procedural vote expected Wednesday on an emergency aid package that includes more than $60 billion for Kyiv.

The cash has been held up for weeks by a dispute in Congress, as the White House has warned that existing funds will run out by the end of the year and that Russia's President Vladimir Putin could win the war if lawmakers fail to act.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Zelensky had been prevented from taking part by a "last minute" hiccup, but he pressed ahead with the briefing anyway -- only for the proceedings to turn into a war of words.

Utah's Mitt Romney left early, confirming that "a number" of his Republican colleagues had followed suit, angry that they heard nothing on their demand that Ukraine aid be coupled with action on the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border.

"The briefers were saying things we've all known, we can read about in any newspaper, had been said publicly," Romney told reporters.

"There's nothing new in what they're describing, and Republicans are saying that there's support for Ukraine, but there has to be security of our border."

Congress is more divided over backing for Ukraine than it has been at any time during the nearly two-year conflict, with the country fast exhausting the military aid provided by the United States so far.

Senate Republicans are making their support for extra Ukraine funding contingent on President Joe Biden's Democrats accepting reforms of the asylum system and tightened border security -- measures the Democrats have already rejected.

"Republicans are just walking out of the briefing because the people there are not willing to actually discuss what it takes to get a deal done," Romney said.

As day turned to evening, Biden voiced deepening frustration.

"The failure to support Ukraine is just absolutely crazy. It's against US interests," Biden said. "It's just wrong."

'Everything has been said'

Schumer was quoted by Fox News as saying the briefing had been "immediately hijacked" by Republicans choosing to make a speech on border security rather than asking questions about Ukraine.

One member was "screaming" an admonishment at briefers about not having visited the border, Schumer reportedly said.

The Democrat has teed up a vote Wednesday on clearing the first procedural hurdle for addressing Biden's $106 billion aid request for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

But it needs 60 votes in the 100-member Senate, and the 49-strong Republican minority looks likely to defeat the package as it leaves out their immigration reforms.

"The number one most immediate threat to our national security is an open border," Kansas Republican Roger Marshall said outside the briefing room.

"Look, everything has been said about Ukraine that can be said. And what's not being said is what's so critical here."

Even if the two sides manage to hammer out a deal in the Senate, it will be a much tougher sell for the Republican-led House, where conservatives have been more skeptical about funding Ukraine, and just as keen to leverage the issue to secure border reforms.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R) said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured (C) during a Washington visit in September 2023, had been prevented from taking part in the briefing by a "last minute" hiccup

 © PEDRO UGARTE / AFP/File

House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed publicly for the first time in a letter to the White House Tuesday that his party will not pass Ukraine aid unless Congress enacts "transformative change to our nation's border security laws."

But Democrats reacted angrily to what they see as an attempt by Republicans to leverage the conflict to secure domestic priorities.

"I have lots of domestic issues I care about too. I'm not holding Ukraine hostage to the resolution of health care or gun violence," Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters.

"They made a choice to put Ukraine funding in jeopardy and they will all have to live with that choice when Vladimir Putin marches into Kyiv and through into Europe."

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the situation in Ukraine is indeed dire.

"We can hold ourselves responsible for Ukraine's defeat if we don't manage to get this funding to Ukraine," she said Tuesday as she began a three-day trip to Mexico.

"Ukraine is just running out of money," Yellen said.

© 2023 AFP

Taliban rule 'made girlhood illegal', says Malala

Johannesburg (AFP) – Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said Tuesday that Taliban rule in Afghanistan has made "girlhood illegal", as she called for gender apartheid to be made a crime against humanity.

Issued on: 05/12/2023 - 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai delivers the 21st Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the Johannesburg Theatre 

© Roberta Ciuccio / AFP

In a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the death of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, the Pakistani activist said: "The Taliban have made girlhood illegal, and it is taking a toll."

She highlighted how Afghan girls frozen out of school are "experiencing depression", "turning to narcotics" and "attempting suicide".

Malala was the keynote speaker at an annual event held by the Mandela Foundation to commemorate the anti-apartheid icon and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner.

After slamming what she called the "unjust bombardment of Gaza" by Israel since the unprecedented October 7 attacks by Hamas, she said crises in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan had diverted attention from the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.

"Our first imperative is to call the regime in Afghanistan what it really is. It is a gender apartheid," said Malala who was 15 when a Pakistani group shot her in the head over her campaign for girls' education.

Access to education and work for girls and women has been severely restricted since the Taliban leaders took back power in August 2021.

Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel listens to Malala give her lecture 

© PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP

Teenage girls and women are barred from schools and universities. Thousands of women have lost their government jobs -- or are being paid to stay home.

Girls and women are also prohibited from entering parks, funfairs or gyms.

"South Africans fought for racial apartheid to be recognised and criminalised at the international level. In the process, they drew more of the world's attention to the horrors of apartheid," Malala told a packed Johannesburg theatre.

"We have an opportunity to do that right now," she added, calling for the definition to be inserted in a new UN treaty that is currently being debated.

Malala, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and other leading activists are campaigning for UN member states to amend a draft crimes against humanity treaty to include gender apartheid.

© 2023 AFP

FRIENDLY FIRE
Drone strike accidently kills 85 civilians in Nigeria

A Nigerian army drone strike accidently killed at least 85 civilians in a village in northwest Kaduna State, officials said, in one of the country's deadliest military bombing mishaps.


Issued on: 05/12/2023 - 

Victims of the bombing in a hospital, in Kaduna State, Nigeria, on 3 December 2023. 

© Daily Trust

By: Melissa Chemam with RFI

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday ordered an investigation after the army acknowledged one of its drones aimed at armed groups had accidently struck the Tudun Biri village as residents were celebrating a religious holiday.

The army did not give any casualty figures, but local residents said at least 85 people were killed on Sunday, many of them women, children, and elderly, who had been feasting for the Muslim festival of Maulud.

The attack left civilians dead and injured in Tudun Biri, a locality in Kaduna State.

"Rescue and relief operations continue," the local minister of information, Samuel Aruwan, told RFI. "And dozens of injured people were evacuated to hospital by the authorities."

Dozens of families in mourning

"I was at home when I heard a sound," Ashiru Ibrahim, a local, told RFI's correspondent in Kaduna, Aminu Sado. 

"I came out quickly and saw an explosion with many dead bodies lying on the ground," he added. "We took those that were still alive and rushed them to a nearby hospital in Buruku. Before reaching [it], the second explosion occurred. Those who came to assist the injured ones, also died in the second explosion."

Ibrahim lost his daughter, Aisha, in the strikes, including his two children, his uncle and many other family members.

"We were able to count eighty dead bodies," he said. "The funeral is  ongoing as we speak. We are here in the hospital with about forty-eight injured persons, including Firdausi and Sadiya Ashiru, my biological daughters."

Another victim, Hauwa Yakubu, told RFI, "We were having a Maulud celebration, when we heard a sound of an aeroplane. Before we  realised what was happening, a bomb was dropped from the air. Many people died , instantly. We were injured but managed to run for our lives, some youth came out to rescue those that were injured but unfortunately they all died in the second explosion."

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) added that another 66 people are receiving treatment in hospital.

"The Northwest Zonal Office has received details from the local authorities that 85 dead bodies have so far been buried while search is still ongoing," NEMA said in a statement.

Emergency officials say they are still negotiating with community leaders to calm tensions so they can reach the village.

Map of Nigeria locating Kaduna state AFP

   (with AFP) 

Niger coup leader repeals law aimed at slowing migration to Europe

The head of Niger's military regime has repealed a law criminalising the trafficking of migrants. The country is a hub for those seeking to reach Europe via neighbouring Libya and Algeria.


Issued on: 28/11/2023 -

A crowd of migrants gather in Assamaka, Niger, on March 29, 2023. 

AFP - STANISLAS POYET

By:Melissa Chemam with RFI

General Abdourahamane Tiani signed an order repealing the 2015 law relating to the illegal trafficking of migrants on Saturday, a government statement said.

This law was in "flagrant contradiction" with local rules and "did not take into account the interests of Niger and its citizens," Tiani said.

The order also says that convictions handed down under the 2015 law are to be erased.

Since the law came into force, surveillance has been stepped up in the desert in the northern Agadez region, a major transit point for thousands of West African nationals seeking to emigrate to Europe via Algeria or Libya, with financial support from the European Union.

Dozens of people working in illegal migration networks have consequently been arrested and imprisoned, and many vehicles used to transport migrants have been confiscated.

But migrants have instead taken alternative, more dangerous routes through the desert along new tracks with no water points or landmarks and no chance of being rescued if they get into trouble.

Many migrants from West Africa gather in Agadez, where networks of smugglers are based.

Welcome news

Some in the region have already welcomed the news, including smugglers.

Andre Chani, who used to earn thousands of dollars a month driving migrants through the desert before police impounded his trucks in 2016, told Reuters he plans to restart his "business" once he has the money.

""We are very happy," he said via text message from Agadez.

Among the media, many reacted positively, notably the daily newspaper L'Événement, which denounced the law as a form of “externalisation of European borders”.

The Regional Council of Agadez also welcomed the decision, as a good move for the local economy, linked to travels in and around the city.

Local expert Azizou Chehou, president of the group Nigerien Youth for Sustainable Development, told RFI that the influx of travellers around Agadez brought work to young Nigeriens and made the area "safer".

However the European Commission said on Tuesday it is "very concerned" by the repeal of this law.

Diplomatic tensions

General Tiani has ruled Niger since 26 July, following a coup that overthrew president Mohamed Bazoum, who is still sequestered in his residence in Niamey.

The military regime has distanced itself from Niger's close European partners, notably France. Instead, it has drawn closer to its nearest neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also run by military juntas.

Western and European countries have since suspended aid to Niger for health, security and infrastructure.EU agrees on framework for Niger sanctions

Niger, as one of the least industrialised nations in the world, relies heavily on foreign support.

The sanctions have resulted in economic hardship for Nigeriens and emboldened the junta, which has set up a transitional government that could remain in power for up to three years.

(with newswires)

European rights court probes France over protester losing eye

Europe's top rights court is investigating France for alleged "torture" and "inhumane and degrading treatment" after a French union activist lost an eye at a protest in 2016, his lawyers and the court have said.

Issued on: 05/12/2023 - 

Protestors wearing yellow vests ("gilets jaunes"), clash with French riot police during a demonstration against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes in Mondeville near Caen, northwestern France, on December 8, 2018. 

© CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP

By: RFI

Laurent Theron, then aged 46, lost the use of his right eye after being struck by a rubber-ball grenade shot by police during a demonstration against labour reforms on 15 September 2016.

His lawyers argued the policeman who fired it was not under any threat at the time, but a French court acquitted the officer last year for having acted in "legitimate defence".

"After a seven-year legal battle, the Theron case has taken an unprecedented turn with the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) launching legal proceedings against the French state," his lawyers Celine Moreau, Olivier Peter and Lucie Simon said in a statement on Monday.

Significant legal repercussions

Their petition to the ECHR invoked article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits "torture" and "inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment", according to another statement from the court.

Theron's lawyers said the proceedings could have significant repercussions in other cases of injured protesters in France, including during the 2018-2019 "Yellow Vest" movement against President Emmanuel Macron's policies during his first term.'Macron forced me to become more political': a tale of two Yellow Vests
5 ways Yellow Vest protests shook up Paris and France

The case "raises vital questions on the responsibility of the French state in the protection of protesters' rights, especially with regards to excessive use of force", they said.

The Yellow Vest protests left 2,500 demonstrators injured in a year, 23 of whom lost an eye. Around 1,800 officers were also injured.

(with AFP)

Protest in Paris against immigration law as parliamentary debate continues

A thousand people demonstrated peacefully in Paris on Sunday against the government's immigration law, at the call of several groups, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the "march against racism" of 1983.


Issued on: 04/12/2023 - 

People take part in a demonstration against racism and an immigration law at the occasion of 40th anniversary of 1983 equality march, in Paris on 3 December 2023. 

AFP - DIMITAR DILKOFF

By:RFI

"Forty years later, we are still marching for equal rights and justice, against racism and the Darmanin law," read one of the banner at the procession which went from Montparnasse to Place d’Italie, drawing a crowd of around 1,100 people, according to police.

"Forty years later, the problems are the same. Racism is still there. We are all here to protest against this lack of equality", added François Sauterey, co-president of Mrap (Movement against racism and friendship between peoples).

"It is absolutely necessary today that this Darmanin law is not a law which ends up excluding people who want to get here and who are already here," he added.

• Macron charts controversial path for French referendum on immigration

MP Eric Coquerel from the far-left France Unbowed party took the microphone to demand "the regularisation of undocumented workers, undocumented students, we must welcome them with dignity on our territory".

Co-organised by the UCIJ (United against Disposable Immigration, for a welcoming migration policy), Sunday's demonstration took place 40 years after the historic march "against racism and for equal rights" on 3 December 1983.

French media nicknamed it the "Marche des Beurs" (Arabs in slang French) a term rejected by its initiators.

Protesters hold a banner reading "mobilised for equality and against racism" during a demonstration against racism and an immigration law at the occasion of 40th anniversary of 1983 equality march, in Paris on 3 December 2023. AFP - DIMITAR DILKOFF

"Whole or in pieces, your law will be torn to shreds," read another sign, referring to the immigration bill which is being debated by the parliament.

France's upper house Senate on 14 November passed a bill aimed at controlling immigration, toughening the language and measures of the legislation in a manner likely to complicate the government's search for compromise in the lower house.

• France debates scrapping free healthcare for undocumented migrants

Originally proposed by the government with a mix of steps to expel more undocumented people and improve integration, the text – voted through by 210 to 115 – now leans firmly towards enforcement after its passage through the Senate, which is controlled by the right.

France is less racist, sexist and homophobic than 20 years ago: report

French society is less racist, less sexist and less homophobic today compared to 20 years ago, a report this week has found, but intolerant sections of society are becoming more aggressive when voicing their views.

Issued on: 30/11/2023 

A French study has found that 85 percent of people are less homophobic in 2023 compared to 2003.

 AFP - NICOLAS TUCAT

By: RFI

Published by the Observatory of Inequalities, the report said French society was more open than it was in 2003, with sexism, racism and homophobia on the decline.

On the other hand, violence linked to certain "expressions of intolerance" remains stable, and in some cases has even been increasing.

The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) maintains that between 2003 and 2023 the proportion of French people who say they are "not at all racist" has doubled, rising from 30 percent to 60 percent.

In addition, three times fewer French people believe that "superior races" exist: five percent today, compared with 14 percent 20 years ago.

There has also been a downward trend in homophobia, with 85 percent of those questioned believing that homosexuality is "just another way of experiencing one's sexuality", according to Ifop.

This compares with 67 percent 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Solidarity indicates that sexism is also less prevalent among the French.

The proportion of people who believe that "ideally, women should stay at home to bring up their children" was halved, falling from 40 percent to 20 percent.Homophobic and transphobic physical attacks on the rise in France
Sexism and workplace inequality is rife in most areas of French life, research shows
'Crimes of intolerance' still on rise

Despite the improvements, "the most violent expressions of racism, sexism and LGBTphobia are not diminishing", the study found, citing data from the Ministry of the Interior.

In 2022, 12,500 racist crimes and offences were recorded by the police, along with some 2,400 anti-LGBTQI+ crimes and offences the same year – figures that have risen steadily over the past five years.

Some 200,000 sexist crimes were reported in 2020, with disabled people 60 percent more likely than able-bodied people to experience physical or sexual violence.

"More than 500,000 people report having been subjected to racist abuse, 150,000 to homophobic abuse and 1.4 million women to sexist abuse in the course of a year," the report said.

These figures, however, are partly linked to people more readily speaking out about violent forms of discrimination – incidents that were previously hushed up are more often reported and better recorded.

Three months after quake, Morocco villages face winter chill

Ouirgane (Morocco) (AFP) – Temporary camps set up following a deadly earthquake in southern Morocco three months ago are starting to look worryingly permanent as sub-zero winter temperatures hit the mountainous region.

Issued on: 06/12/2023

The slow pace of reconstruction has spurred concerns in a Moroccan region where poverty was high even before the devastating September quake 

© - / AFP
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Almost 3,000 died and more than two million people suffered damage to their homes when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on September 8.

Imzilne, a hamlet of 250 residents some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Marrakesh was partly destroyed, killing three and forcing many into temporary camps.

The locals are making the most of the situation, turning stopgap shelters into communal living spaces where they can prepare bread, share duties and have meals together. An electrician has connected the camp into the village's network, and a plumber has installed running water.

This way everyone can "live in good conditions" and no one has to "remain in their own corner," Taoufiq Jaidi, a camp coordinator, told AFP.

Donors from both the private and public sectors provided equipment including portable toilets and showers equipped with gas water heaters, which are proving vital as winter arrives.

Located 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) above sea level, temperatures waver around zero degrees here.

But many are worried about the slow pace of reconstruction in this region where poverty was close to double the national rate before the quake. More than 60,000 homes in the High Atlas range and surrounding areas were damaged.

Displaced Moroccan women at a camp set up following the September 8 earthquake, in a mountain area where winter can be freezing 

© - / AFP

The government announced an emergency aid budget of 11 billion euros, but "some have received it, others not yet," said Jaidi.

"We think about it every day," said resident Malika Abbenay of the cold, as she stood between tents covered with plastic sheeting. "The last time it rained, it was hard to manage."
'It will last'

Another camp was set up nearby for the 600 inhabitants of El Bour village, which lost 40 people and 90 percent of its houses to the quake, according to a community activist.

Omar Biddar, 71, stood outside his tent.

"Life in a tent is not easy, and I have a feeling it will last," he told AFP.

Biddar receives monthly aid from the state, and was also given just over 1,800 euros to help rebuild.

Morocco says nearly 24,000 quake victims have received financial aid and more than 3,300 requests for reconstruction funds approved 

© - / AFP

But he said he was still waiting for a permit to do the reconstruction, and didn't know why it was taking so long.

A few families from El Bour have moved into converted containers.

"It's still better than a tent, but I want to go back home," said Kalthoum Boussaboun, 60, who cares for two grandchildren after their mother died in the quake.

The government says nearly 24,000 victims had received financial aid by mid-November and more than 3,300 requests for reconstruction aid were approved.

In the meantime, the villagers do what they can to cheer themselves up.

In late November, Imzilne celebrated a wedding that had been postponed because of the quake.

"Life goes on despite everything," said Latifa Amzil, the 24-year-old newlywed. "We spent three months under intense stress. My wedding was a moment of joy."

As she spoke, a pregnant woman emerged from her tent, prompting a playful comment from a neighbour: "And soon we will celebrate a birth!"

© 2023 AFP

Hollywood actors ratify new contract deal to formally end strike

Hollywood actors overwhelmingly ratified a new, hard-fought deal with studios on Tuesday that paves the way for a rebound of an entertainment industry that had seen film and television production come to a halt during a months-long strike.


Issued on: 06/12/2023 

A Writers Guild of America (WGA) striker walks the picket line early, outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California, US, July 25, 2023. 

© Mike Blake, Reuters

By: NEWS WIRES


The Screen Actors Guild, known as SAG-AFTRA, said 78 percent of members who voted approved the multiyear contract.

"This is a golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our union has never been more powerful," union president Fran Drescher said in a statement.

The deal includes more than $1 billion in new compensation and benefits as well as protections for actors from the use of artificial intelligence by studios, the union said.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Netflix Inc., Walt Disney and other studios, hailed the union contract ratification.

"With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force," the AMPTP said in a statement.

Voting ended at 5:00 pm on the US West Coast (0100 Wednesday GMT), with a simple majority of members required to finally seal the agreement.

The union said 38 percent of its members cast votes.

The tentative deal between SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios to end the actors' 118-day strike was agreed last month, and actors had gone back to work before the ratification vote.

The proposed contract contained higher pay, better bonuses for starring in hit shows or films, and the first-ever protections against the use of artificial intelligence to replace human actors.

It was ratified by the union's leadership two days later, though not unanimously.

Union leaders have since held meetings and sent out emails and social media posts to members, strongly urging them to approve the deal.

"Today is the day," said SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, before the release of the voting results.

"This is a big $1 billion deal with a lot of really important gains in areas like AI, minimums, streaming money," he said. "It's a deal that I'm really proud of."
Shortcomings?

The vote outcome was not assured, and as details of the agreement emerged in recent weeks, warnings began to circulate online about its shortcomings, particularly over the issue of AI.


Performers feared they could soon be replaced by entirely synthetic "actors," generated by AI using the body parts of many different humans, whose likenesses have been scraped from film archives.

The deal does not prevent studios from using generative AI, but it has a clause requiring them to inform the union each time the technology is used.

SAG-AFTRA would then have the right to bargain for compensation on behalf of the actors involved -- though critics say it would be hard to identify who they are.

Actors also say that the massive number of viewers a show or film needs to attract to trigger bonuses for its performers is too high for all but the very top echelon of hit shows.

(AFP)

WW3 BEGINS WITH A PETRO WAR

Guyana says will seek UN help if Venezuela moves on disputed region of Essequibo

PUTIN SHOULD HAVE HAD A REFERENDUM TO INVADE UKRAINE
Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.


Issued on: 06/12/2023 -

A government supporter holds a sign that reads: “The Essequibo is ours, vote YES 5 times” in Caracas, Venezuela November 15, 2023.

 © Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Reuters

By:  NEWS WIRES

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro proposed at a government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a "Guyana Esequiba" province in the region Guyana has administered for over a century.

He also said oil, gas and mining licenses must be issued immediately.

Venezuela held a controversial non-binding referendum on the region's fate Sunday that yielded an overwhelming 95-percent "yes" vote for Caracas' designs on Essequibo, or Esequiba as it is known in Venezuela.

Maduro gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions given by Guyana to withdraw their operations within three months.

He also said a town bordering the disputed area, Tumeremo, would become headquarters of Venezuelan efforts to defend its interests there, saying authorities would conduct a census and begin issuing identity cards without giving details of how that would occur.

Earlier Tuesday, Guyana said it would approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves following the referendum, which Guyana had sought to stop with an urgent application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorise the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of ICJ orders, Nandlall said.
'Existential' threat

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century. The region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory and is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela -- which does not accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognised as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote, which it considered an existential threat.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

Instead, it ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

Voters were asked to respond to five questions in the referendum, including whether Venezuela should reject the 1899 arbitration decision as well as the ICJ's jurisdiction.

They were also asked whether Venezuelan citizenship should be granted to the people -- currently Guyanese -- of a new "Guyana Esequiba State."

(AFP)

Venezuela, Guyana tensions rise over disputed oil-rich region

Georgetown (Guyana) (AFP) – Tensions rose between Venezuela and Guyana Tuesday as Caracas proposed a bill to declare a Venezuelan province in a disputed oil-rich region and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude there.

Issued on: 06/12/2023 - 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro displays a map showing an oil-rich region it disputes with Guyana 

© ZURIMAR CAMPOS / Venezuelan Presidency/AFP

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro proposed at a government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a "Guyana Esequiba" province in the region Guyana has administered for over a century.

He also said oil, gas and mining licenses must be issued immediately.

Venezuela held a controversial non-binding referendum on the region's fate Sunday that yielded an overwhelming 95-percent "yes" vote for Caracas' designs on Essequibo, or Esequiba as it is known in Venezuela.

Maduro gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions given by Guyana to withdraw their operations within three months.

He also said a town bordering the disputed area, Tumeremo, would become headquarters of Venezuelan efforts to defend its interests there, saying authorities would conduct a census and begin issuing identity cards without giving details of how that would occur.

Earlier Tuesday, Guyana said it would approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves following the referendum, which Guyana had sought to stop with an urgent application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorize the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of ICJ orders, Nandlall said.
'Existential' threat

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century. The region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory and is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

Guyana has adminstered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory

 © Martín SILVA / AFP

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela -- which does not accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognized as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote, which it considered an existential threat.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

Instead, it ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

Voters were asked to respond to five questions in the referendum, including whether Venezuela should reject the 1899 arbitration decision as well as the ICJ's jurisdiction.

They were also asked whether Venezuelan citizenship should be granted to the people -- currently Guyanese -- of a new "Guyana Esequiba State."

© 2023 AFP

Guyana says will approach UN if Venezuela moves on disputed region

Georgetown (Guyana) (AFP) – Guyana said Tuesday it will approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves on a disputed oil-rich region following a referendum Caracas says bolstered its claim to it.

Issued on: 05/12/2023 

Guyana has adminstered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory

 © Martín SILVA / AFP


Officials in Caracas said Sunday's referendum yielded a 95-percent "yes" response on whether to lay claim to the Essequibo region and grant Venezuelan citizenship to its inhabitants.

On Tuesday, Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall told AFP that "any action or any attempt to take any action pursuant to the referendum will necessitate a resort to the UN Security Council as an injured party."

He said Guyana would invoke Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter which can authorize sanctions or military action to maintain or restore international peace and security.

"In terms of military, it (the UNSC) can authorize the use of armed forces by member states to assist in the enforcement" of any orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Nandlall said.

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century and the region makes up more than two-thirds of its territory.

Litigation is pending before the ICJ over where the borders should lie.

Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

Essequibo is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

But Venezuela -- which does not recognize the ICJ's jurisdiction in the matter -- claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border and had historically been recognized as such.

The dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015.

Caracas called Sunday's referendum after Georgetown started auctioning off oil blocks in Essequibo in August.

On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro claimed popular backing for Venezuela's claim on Essequibo following the referendum, whose outcome he said was a "powerful, vital boost."

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the vote.

On Friday, the court urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, but did not grant Georgetown's request for urgent intervention.

It ruled that Venezuela "shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute."

On Sunday, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali warned that if Venezuela ignored the court order, "it will be a great injustice to the people of Venezuela because ultimately that path would lead to the suffering of the people of Venezuela."

© 2023 AFP