Chinese tech giant Huawei posts 34.3% rise in first-half sales

Beijing (AFP) – Chinese tech giant Huawei said Thursday that sales surged in the first half of the year, even as it struggles under the weight of sanctions that have deprived it of technology from the United States.

Issued on: 29/08/2024 -

Chinese tech giant Huawei has for several years been at the centre of an intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington © STR, STR, STR / AFP

The Shenzhen-based company has for several years been at the centre of an intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington, with US officials warning its equipment could be used to spy on behalf of Chinese authorities -- allegations it denies.

Since 2019, the sanctions have cut Huawei off from global supply chains for technology and US-made components, hammering its production of smartphones at the time.

On Thursday it posted sales of $58.72 billion in January-June, an on-year increase of 34.3 percent. That compares with 3.1 percent growth in the same period last year.

It did not break down net profit. Huawei is a private company that is not publicly traded and is therefore not subject to the same obligations as other companies to publish detailed results.

The firm's profit margin reached 13.2 percent in the period, down from 15 percent a year earlier, it said. It did not provide other financial details.

"We grew our revenue in the first half of 2024 by making the most of opportunities in digitalization, intelligence, and decarbonization," a Huawei spokesperson said.

"Our consumer and intelligent automotive solution businesses grew rapidly," they said, adding "our ICT infrastructure, cloud, and digital power businesses remained steady."

Huawei remains the world's leading equipment manufacturer for 5G, the fifth generation of mobile internet, and has been involved in infrastructure projects in several countries.

It was once among the world's top three smartphone makers, alongside Samsung and Apple.

But US sanctions have forced it to refocus on sectors such as software, enterprise computing, and even electric vehicles with the Aito brand.

The electric vehicle sector is booming in China, the world's largest market, where local brands have risen in popularity in recent years.

© 2024 AFP

Divas never die: Eternal appeal of opera singer Maria Callas

Paris (AFP) – Nearly 47 years after her death, one of opera's greatest stars, Greek soprano Maria Callas, is again taking centre stage at the Venice Film Festival played by Angelina Jolie in a new biopic.

Issued on: 29/08/2024 

Greek opera star Maria Callas, pictured in April 1971 in Paris, six years before her death 

The film "Maria" by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain -- who has previously tackled other female icons including Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana -- portrays the final days of a singer whose voice and style forever marked the world of opera.

Here are some of the turning points in the life of "La Divina".

A star is born

Callas received a standing ovation hailing her arrival as a new star as the curtain fell on the last act of Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" in Verona, Italy, on August 2, 1947.

Maria Callas and her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini © / AFP/File

She was born Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou on December 2, 1923, in New York -- her family name later shortened to Callas.

Her family later moved back to Greece, where she started performing at the age of eight.

In Verona she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a wealthy industrialist who was passionate about opera. Twenty-eight years her senior, he became her impresario and then husband in 1949.

In 1954 she lost around 30 kilos (66 pounds) and transformed herself into the ultimate diva, taking top parts in the most well-known operas.
The Rome scandal

On January 2, 1958, Callas opened the Rome season with "Norma" in the presence of Italy's president, Giovanni Gronchi. But at the end of the first act, she lost her voice and refused to continue.

The temperamental diva was accused of being capricious as there had been whistles during one of her arias. But she insisted to the media: "As you could see, I could no longer speak."
Onassis, her great love

Greek opera diva Maria Callas and Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis had a passionate nine-year relationship 

In 1959 Callas left Meneghini to embark on a passionate nine-year affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

"Late at night one could see him, with Callas, in an Athens taverna where, having taken off his jacket and undone his tie, he showered the orchestra with gold and broke, as is Greek custom, piles of plates," AFP reported.

In 1968 Onassis left Callas to marry Jackie Kennedy, the widow of assassinated US president John F. Kennedy.
Curtain call
Greek opera diva Maria Callas, who will be portrayed by Angelina Jolie in a biopic at the Venice Film Festival © - / AFP/File

Callas turned her back on opera in 1965. On February 20 she triumphed in "Tosca" in Paris.

"The moment she appeared in the church in the first act, in a pink dress wrapped in a large deep-orange scarf, her arms full of flowers, the applause was such that it drowned out the music and the first lines were inaudible," AFP wrote.

But during a performance on May 29, she fell ill.

On July 5, she took to the stage despite the advice of her doctor for the last time in London, with Queen Elizabeth II in the audience.

A final tour

Greek opera diva Maria Callas gets a standing ovation after her last appearance in Paris in 1973 © - / AFP/File

In 1973 Callas undertook an international tour of recitals.

In Paris, "bouquets rained onto the stage", accompanied by standing ovations and cries of "Vive Maria!", AFP wrote, even if the critics were "less enthusiastic".
Her last breath

Callas died at her Paris home on September 16, 1977, aged 53, after a heart attack.

"I have just seen her on her bed," said Michel Glotz, her former artistic director, in an AFP report.

"It was the image itself of 'La Traviata' as she performed it in 1956 at Milan's La Scala. There was not a line on her face. It seems like she was just resting," he said.

© 2024 AFP

Stop using our songs, ABBA tells Trump

Stockholm (AFP) – The record label for iconic Swedish pop group ABBA said Thursday it has demanded that US presidential hopeful Donald Trump stop playing its music at his campaign rallies.

Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

Sweden's ABBA is one of the most popular music groups of all time

© Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP/File

Universal Music in Sweden said videos had surfaced of ABBA's music being played at at least one Trump event.

"We have demanded that (the material) be taken down and removed," Universal Music AB told AFP in an email.

"Universal Music Publishing AB and (record company) Polar Music International AB have not received any request (to use the music), so no permission or licence has been given to Trump," it said.

Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet said its reporter had in July attended a Trump rally in Minnesota -- known for its strong Swedish community -- where "The Winner Takes it All" was played.

The reporter said the song was followed by a 10-minute video clip, projected on a big screen, of ABBA in its heyday playing some of its biggest hits, including "Money, Money, Money" and "Dancing Queen".

Universal Music in Sweden said videos had surfaced of ABBA's music being played at at least one Trump event © Olivier TOURON / AFP

With their catchy melodies and glittering costumes, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid -- whose initials make up the name of the group -- personified disco around the globe until they stopped performing in 1982.

The group is the latest in a slew of artists who have asked the US Republican presidential candidate to refrain from using their music at rallies and events, including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Celine Dion and the Rolling Stones.

© 2024 AFP

Separatist group claims deadliest day in recent history in Pakistan's Balochistan


Issued on: 29/08/2024 

Video by:Shahzaib WAHLAH

At least 70 people died in coordinated attacks in Balochistan, southwest Pakistan, on Monday in assault claimed by the BLA, the Balochistan Liberation Army, raising questions about the deteriorating security situation in the province as it struggles with a pro-independence insurgency and Islamist armed groups. Our correspondent Shahzaib Wahlah reports from Balochistan with the collaboration of Mujib Achikzia.

Hong Kong journalists found guilty of sedition in landmark case

Human rights groups have condemned a Hong Kong court ruling on Thursday, which found two former chief editors of the shuttered news outlet Stand News guilty of sedition. Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were the first journalists to be convicted of sedition since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of Hong Kong's Stand News, leaves a Hong Kong court on August 29, 2024. 

© Peter Parks, AFP

By: NEWS WIRES

Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Stand News and its two former chief editors were found guilty of sedition on Thursday, the first conviction of its kind since the city came under Chinese rule in 1997.

The verdict is part of a crackdown on free speech in the former British colony that has seen critics of China jailed or forced into exile, following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Editors Chung Pui-kuen, 54, and Patrick Lam, 36, are the first journalists to be convicted of sedition since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997, and the ruling drew resounding international condemnation.

Chung and Lam were in charge of Stand News, a Chinese-language website that gained a massive following during the protests in 2019, before it was raided and shut down in December 2021.

On Thursday, district court judge Kwok Wai-kin said the pair were guilty of "conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications". The parent company of Stand News, Best Pencil Limited, was also found guilty.

"The line (Stand News) took was to support and promote Hong Kong local autonomy," according to a written judgement by Kwok.

"It even became a tool to smear and vilify the Central Authorities (Beijing) and the (Hong Kong) SAR Government."

Kwok also pointed to 11 articles published by Stand News that "caused potential detrimental consequences to national security" and had the intention of "seriously undermining" authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Lam was absent from court on Thursday due to illness.

The judge granted the duo bail before their sentencing on September 26.
Colonial-era law


Chung and Lam were charged under a colonial-era law, which punishes sedition with a maximum jail term of two years.

A recent security law enacted in March raised the jail term for sedition to seven years.

In response to the verdict, the European Union called on Hong Kong to "stop prosecuting journalists".

"The ruling risks inhibiting the pluralistic exchange of ideas and the free flow of information, both cornerstones of the economic success of Hong Kong," a EU spokesperson said.

Speaking outside court, police chief superintendent Steve Li said the verdict "clearly illustrated the necessity and lawfulness" of the enforcement actions in 2021 against Stand News.

Asked if the verdict would further affect press freedom, Li said it would "actually help".

"It would let everyone know what kind of problems could risk breaching the law," he said.

'Not seditious'


But Beh Lih Yi from the Committee to Protect Journalists said the ruling showed that Hong Kong was "descending further into authoritarianism".

"Journalism is not seditious," she said.

Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International's China Director, called the verdict "one more nail in the coffin for press freedom in Hong Kong".

Hong Kong has seen its standing in global press freedom rankings plummet in recent years.


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Chung had testified that the outlet was a platform for free speech and defended his decisions to publish articles critical of the government.

But prosecutors accused them of bringing "hatred or contempt" to the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.

More than 100 people, including supporters and media professionals, queued up for spots in the public gallery on Thursday morning.

The verdict was also attended by representatives from various consulates -- including the United States, Britain, France, European Union, and Australia.

(AFP)


'Hit my heart': trial of Hong Kong editors leave journalists in tears

Hong Kong (AFP) – When sedition charges against Hong Kong news editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were first read out in court, former employees of the now-shuttered Stand News broke down in tears in the public gallery.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 16:05

Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of Hong Kong's now shuttered pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, leaves the district court in Hong Kong 

© Peter PARKS / AFP
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The courtroom in the landmark trial became a battleground for debate about the merits and limits of press freedom in Hong Kong.

The former British colony once boasted one of the freest media environments in the world. But after Hong Kong saw pro-democracy protests in 2019, an ensuing government crackdown and the enactment of security laws have effectively quelled dissent.

"It was like a humiliation," recalled a former Stand News reporter who did not want to give his real name -- as with all other ex-employees who spoke to AFP in the months following the trial that began in October 2022.

"We were all very emotional and cried when we heard the allegations."

Similar scenes unfolded Thursday after Chung, 54, and Lam, 36, were found guilty of "conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications".

Their Chinese-language website gained prominence for its coverage of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, with its reporters often livestreaming events before authorities quashed the movement.

Stand News chief editor Patrick Lam was arrested in December 2021 after the police raided the newsroom © Daniel SUEN / AFP

By late 2021, police raided Stand News offices and froze its assets under a sweeping security law.

Another former employee, who worked there for three years, burst into tears on Thursday when a defence lawyer read out a letter penned by Lam after the verdict was announced.

"We documented Hong Kong as best we could, trying to leave a first draft of history before these people and events disappeared," wrote Lam, who was not present in court due to illness.

"The only way for journalists to defend the freedom of the press is to report, just like everyone who is still holding fast to their posts today."

The teary reporter, who now works for a different publication, said Lam's letter "really hit my heart".

"He was trying to remind us what values and principles we should adhere to," he told AFP after the ruling.

"The very simple essence of being a journalist is to keep reporting."

- 'Muddy the waters' -

Hong Kong was once known for its freewheeling media scene, a sharp contrast to mainland China which remains one of the most oppressive places for journalists worldwide.

Police raided the offices of pro-democracy news outlet Stand News in December 2021 © Daniel SUEN / AFP

Thursday's verdict made Chung and Lam the first journalists to be convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since the finance hub was handed over to China in 1997.

Prosecutors cited the outlet's interviews with pro-democracy activists and op-eds critical of a security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 as proof of sedition, but during the trial, Chung defended the decision to publish diverse viewpoints.

Former Stand News employees attending the trial saw their work dissected by prosecutors for any hint of sedition.

One columnist said he realised it was dangerous for journalists to question the security law, which prompted further self-censorship across the industry.

"The overall strategy was to muddy the waters, so as to keep (the media) guessing."

Another former reporter said she felt enraged watching prosecutors use "absurd excuses to shut down and delete our work".

In the end, she decided to quit journalism.

"I don't want anyone else to pay a high price for what I wrote," she said.

- 'Pay the price' -

For some, the parrying Chung did on the witness stand sent a message.

"The real audience was the public," an ex-Stand News features writer said.

"In terms of conveying his views on independent media and how it used to exist in this society, I think the message was delivered."

Media researcher Carol Lai, who attended the verdict on Thursday, agreed.

The media wait outside the district court ahead of sedition verdict of Stand News and its two editors © Peter PARKS / AFP

"The trial is not just about them but about the whole industry... It's very depressing, but (Chung's testimony) gave me a lot of positive inspiration."

After he and Lam were granted bail pending their sentencing next month, Chung left the court to face a sea of reporters.

He paused briefly for photographers, then left without saying a word.

But in a letter submitted to court by his lawyers post-verdict, Chung said many Hong Kong journalists, including his former employees, were "determined" to stay in news.

"Some (Hong Kongers) are so concerned about the freedom and dignity of the people in their communities that they are willing to pay the price of losing their own freedom. It is the inescapable responsibility of journalists to faithfully record and report."

© 2024 AFP

EU top diplomat seeks sanctions on Israeli ministers

Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

03:17

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday he will urge the bloc's 27 member states Thursday to back sanctions on Israeli ministers accused of fomenting "hatred" towards Palestinians.

Paraguay's abundant hydropower draws crypto miners, legal and not

Hernandarias (Paraguay) (AFP) – In the Paraguayan city of Hernandarias, a data center with row upon row of supercomputers stands as a testament to a burgeoning crypto mining sector fueled by the South American country's abundance of green electricity.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 -

More than 60 crypto-mining sites have opened in Paraguay in the last three years 

© DANIEL DUARTE / AFP

Run purely on renewable power, the soccer field-sized site was erected by local company Penguin Group near the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, one of the world's largest, on the Parana river.

Landlocked Paraguay, whose economy is driven by agriculture, is home to three hydropower plants.

This has helped attract more than 60 crypto mining sites in the last three years alone -- representing more than $1.1 billion in investments, Penguin spokesman Bruno Vaccotti told AFP.

Penguin, with a US partner, built its Hernandarias data center for Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence training models and cloud services as part of its vision for turning Paraguay into "Latin America's tech hub."

The only problem is that illegal crypto miners are also attracted to the country, siphoning off power and angering companies like Penguin in a country with a well-documented corruption problem.

Just this month, police and officers from the state-owned ANDE utility company announced they had dismantled a massive illegal crypto farm near Hernandarias capable of diverting some $60,000 worth of power per month.

They confiscated nearly 700 computers and a transformer, but did not say how long the site had been operating for.

In May, another 2,700 computers and five transformers were seized in Saltos del Guaira in Paraguay's south -- the largest such operation to date.

Bribes

The Itaipu hydroelectric power plant is one of the world's largest

 © DANIEL DUARTE / AFP

ANDE has conceded it loses almost a third of all the power it produces, though not exclusively to illegal crypto mining, which involves computers solving complicated equations that require enormous quantities of computing power.

Vaccotti estimates losses at nearly $3 million per month.

And this in a country where 23 percent of households still cook on wood or charcoal -- still a cheaper source of energy despite Paraguay having some of the lowest electricity prices in Latin America.

This number is almost doubled in rural areas.

And despite being a net exporter, Paraguay's population battles frequent energy cuts due to poor maintenance and lack of investment in its own network.

Opposition politician Salyn Buzarquis has accused government officials of protecting illegal crypto mines in exchange for bribes.

"Why don't they discover more (illegal mines)?" he questioned in an interview with AFP.

"They are easy to detect," he added, as they "consume the equivalent of what a whole city consumes" in electricity.
'Serious struggle'

ANDE director Felix Sosa insisted the entity was doing everything possible to expose electricity thieves.

It had opened criminal proceedings in 71 cases, and has seized some 10,000 computers and 50 transformers in operations, he said.

Companies like Penguin accuse the government of not doing enough to combat illegal crypto mining © DANIEL DUARTE / AFP

Deputy mining minister Mauricio Bejarano has described this as a "serious struggle," and last month, the Senate passed a law increasing the maximum sentence for energy thieves to 10 years in prison.

Companies like Penguin accuse the government of not doing enough, and lament a lack of "predictability" as well as a recent price increase for high energy consumption.

ANDE generates some $12 million a month from crypto mining, said Jimmy Kim of Paraguay's Digital Assets Mining Chamber (Capamad) -- yet charges the industry over 50 percent more than the conventional rate.

"Our companies are looking at Brazil," Kim told AFP, as "there is no legal security" in Paraguay.

© 2024 AFP

Profile

From Gaza to Paris: Paralympian Fadi Deeb vows to show ‘Palestine is not dying’

Shot putter Fadi Deeb, the only member of the Palestinian Olympic delegation from Gaza and the only Paralympian athlete from Palestine, will take part in the Paris Paralympics on August 30. He speaks to FRANCE 24 about training with rocks and scrap metal in war-torn Gaza – and carrying his people’s hopes and dreams at the Paris Games.


FRANCE 24 / AFP
Issued on: 29/08/2024

Palestinian shot putter Fadi Deeb celebrates winning a bronze medal in shot put at the Tunis International Athletics Meetings for the Disabled in 2009 in Tunis, Tunisia. © provided by Fadi Deeb

By:  Mariamne EVERETT

While Fadi Deeb, 39, has been diligently training in Paris in preparation for the Paralympic Games, the Gaza war is never far from his thoughts. “I am raising my flag here in Paris to show people that Palestine is not dying,” Deeb told FRANCE 24 in an interview. “We are still here, we are still fighting and we are still alive.”

Deeb – who has lost over 15 members of his family, including his brother, in the Israel-Hamas war – is the only member of the Palestinian Olympic delegation from Gaza and the only Paralympic athlete from Palestine. His presence is significant, given that about 400 athletes and supporting staff have been killed since the October 7 Hamas attacks that triggered the Israel-Hamas war, and others have been unable to train or travel due to Israeli bombing or restrictions, according to the Palestine Olympic Committee (POC).

 

Born in Gaza City’s Shuja’iyaa district in 1984, Deeb was introduced to the world of sports when he was 10 years old by his primary school gym teacher and international referee Mohammed Elshekh Khalil, during which time he learned how to play football, volleyball, basketball, tennis and volleyball. Khalil also entered him into national competitions, including with the local Shuja’iyaa club. Upon starting secondary school, Deeb became even more interested in volleyball, eventually joining the Palestinian volleyball team in Gaza when he was just 16 years old.

‘This is not the end of my life’

While Deeb was perfecting his sporting prowess and preparing to pursue his studies in computer science at Gaza's Al-Azhar University – which was hit by Israeli strikes in November – tensions were rising further between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, culminating in the Second Intifada from September 2000 to February 2005. Deeb remembers the exact day when he was shot in the back by an Israeli sniper, leaving him paralysed: October 4, 2001, when he was 17 years old.

Read more‘Our way of showing resistance’: Olympians raise Palestinian flag at Paris Games

“After I got my disability … we have an expression in the Arab language, which says ‘you must be like the water’, meaning you have to be flexible, nothing can stop you,” said Deeb. “I told myself ‘this is not the end of my life, it’s hard, but it’s not the end of my life’. You have to think positively. This powerful mentality and my religion helped me become more flexible when it comes to sport. I decided I would go from playing, for instance, table tennis and basketball to playing wheelchair table tennis and basketball.”

Following a meeting with the technical manager of the Palestinian national athletics team in 2007, Deeb also began training and competing in shot put, discus and javelin, going on to win six medals in all three events at the Tunis International Athletics Meetings for the Disabled. While Deeb said he had ventured towards athletics as there is less need for expensive specialist equipment, training in Gaza is still a challenge. “Sometimes we don’t have enough equipment [in the Gaza Strip], even like shot put or discus,” said Deeb. “So we use something that looks like and is about the same weight like a rock, the wheels of a car or a piece of metal, something like that. Some of these items are heavier than the normal disk, but it’s no problem.”

Basketball player and coach

While the Paris 2024 Paralympic Committee selected Deeb to compete in the shot put event, he is also an accomplished basketball player. Deeb has played for wheelchair basketball teams in Turkey, Greece and France, including his current first-division club Hurricane 92 Basketball, based in the Paris suburbs. He also joined the newly established Palestinian national basketball team in 2019, though Israel’s tight restrictions on travel from Gaza to the West Bank make it difficult for Palestinians to compete at home, let alone on the international stage.

Palestinian Paralympian Fadi Deeb poses for a photo during a basketball practice session at Gymnase des Poissonniers in the 18th district of Paris, France. © photo provided by Fadi Deeb

Palestinian Paralympian Fadi Deeb poses with his players and fellow coaches from the association Paris Basket Fauteuil at Gymnase des Poissonniers in the 18th district of Paris, France on August 20, 2024. © Mariamne Everett, France 24

Deeb also believes in the importance of giving back, as he coaches the fourth and fifth divisions of Paris Basket Fauteuil (PBF), a sports association created in May 2021 to help and encourage young people with disabilities to play wheelchair basketball.

“As a player, every time I have information, I share it. ... Just because I’m Palestinian doesn’t mean I only do this in Palestine, I share my information with everyone, to provide love and support to people of different cultures and religions,” said Deeb.

PBF’s outreach goes further, as Deeb regularly goes to schools and universities to teach “normal people (as Deeb calls them) about the disabled life”.

Deeb has a powerful message for those who attend his workshops: “You can use your disability to be talented … Don’t think ‘If I get my disability, I cannot do something’. Don’t look at me like I’m different, no I’m the same as you, I’m using my mind, like you, I’m using my body, like you.”

FRANCE 24 had the opportunity to watch Deeb coach a PBF practice session, during which he provided individualised feedback and encouragement to each player during the five-player matches, demonstrating a supportive and effective coaching style.

Palestinian Paralympian Fadi Deeb coaches players from the association Paris Basket Fauteuil at Gymnase des Poissonniers in the 18th district of Paris, France on August 20, 2024. 

© Mariamne Everett, France 24

Representing the people of Gaza and Palestine

The Paralympic Games officially kicked off on Wednesday and Deeb is very aware that he is not only competing on a personal level but is seen as a representative for his country and people. “I’m competing for the more than 40,000 killed and more than 90,000 injured in Gaza,” said Deeb. “I get at least 15-20 messages daily from my friends in Gaza saying, ‘try to keep going’, ‘I support you’, ‘you are our voice for the world’, ‘you are our hero’, despite their very hard situation in this genocide, they are still sending me messages encouraging me to keep going.”

In July, the head of the International Olympic Committee and French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the POC’s demand that Israel be barred from the Games over the Gaza war. Still angry over this ruling, Deeb wonders what message Israeli athletes want to convey through their participation. “What is your message to the world? What do you want to show and tell to the world? Do you want to show the genocide that has happened in Gaza?”

Read moreEight Palestinian Olympic athletes to compete in Paris under the shadow of Gaza war

Even before the Israel-Hamas war, there were more than 120,000 people with disabilities living in Gaza, according to Deeb, with 45 clubs dedicated to a wide range of sports set up under the Palestinian Paralympic Committee. “This latest genocide” has produced an additional 10,000 people with disabilities, said Deeb, necessitating even more facilities and encouragement that people with disabilities pursue sports. “The Israeli occupation in Gaza causes mass disability and death,” sports journalist Leyla Hamed told US monthly magazine The Nation. “According to Save The Children, more than 10 children per day have lost one or both of their legs since the conflict erupted. In the middle of all these atrocities, people in Gaza will see Deeb insist on making his dream come true, on representing Palestine and the Palestinian cause. It’s a message to the children whose dreams have been shattered by bombs and rockets.”

Throughout his interview with FRANCE 24, Deeb was regularly checking his phone. At one point, Deeb – feeling like he owed an explanation – shared the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death. “On December 6, after I had played a match under the French Basketball Federation and taken a shower, I looked at my phone and saw that I had four missed Whatsapp and international calls from my brother,” said Deeb, adding that there is poor internet connectivity in Gaza. “On the evening of December 7, I found out that my brother had died..and that is why I always keep my phone near me, because I never know when a conversation with someone will be my last one.” Deeb shared the message he hopes to convey through his presence at the Games. “My message as a sportsman, as an athlete, to the world is that the people of Gaza are human. We Palestinians have hopes, we have dreams, we just want to have the same human rights and have the world treat us the same as other countries.”

Deeb will take part in one of the shot put final events of the Paris Paralympics on August 30.

WWI REDUX

Russia using ‘meat-grinding’ military tactics in Pokrovsk


Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

03:45  Video by:  Robert PARSONS

Russia has been pouring forces, using “meat-grinding” military tactics in its campaign around the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk, says FRANCE 24’s Rob Parsons as he explains the strategic importance of the eastern Ukrainian transport hub.

NO SMALL VICTORY

Court rules S. Korea climate goals 'unconstitutional'

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that much of the country's climate goals were unconstitutional, handing a landmark victory to young environmental activists, who wept for joy on the court steps.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

Children play in a water fountain during a heatwave in Seoul. The country's constitutional court will decide Thursday a case brought by child plaintiffs against official carbon emmission goals 

© ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP

The first such case in Asia, brought by children and teenagers who named an embryo as a lead plaintiff, claimed that South Korea's legally binding climate commitments were insufficient and unmet, violating their constitutionally guaranteed human rights.

"Just now, the Constitutional Court ruled that it is unconstitutional that there is no government goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2031 to 2050," said Yoon Hyeon-jeong, one of the young activists involved.

"It was ruled that our right to live a safe life from the climate crisis should be guaranteed," she added, barely managing to finish her sentence as she choked up with tears.

The court ruled that the government's limited climate targets "violates the Constitution as it does not sufficiently protect the basic rights of the people," the legal representatives of the plaintiffs said after the hearing.

The case -- known as "Woodpecker et al. v. South Korea" after the in-utero nickname of an embryo, now toddler, involved -- included four petitions by children.

In 2021, South Korea made a legally binding commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 290 million tons by 2030 -- and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

To meet this goal, the country needs to reduce emissions by 5.4 percent every year from 2023 -- a target they have so far failed to meet.

As a result of the ruling, Seoul will now have to revise its climate goals, said Youn Se-jong, a lawyer for the plaintiffs

"The National Assembly and the government of the Republic of Korea will have to revise regulations related to the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and present greenhouse gas reduction goals considering the rights of future generations," Youn said.

"With today's ruling, we have confirmed that climate change is a matter of our fundamental rights and that everyone has the right to be safe from it," he said.
'Wish came true'

A similar youth-led effort recently succeeded in the US state of Montana, while another is being heard at the European Higher Court.

The plaintiffs had argued that unless Seoul moved more quickly on climate goals, future generations would not only have to live in a degraded environment, but also have to bear the burden of undertaking massive greenhouse gas reductions.

This, the case claims, would mean that the state has violated its duty to protect their fundamental rights.

Similar climate cases globally have found success, for example, in Germany in 2021, where climate targets were ruled insufficient and unconstitutional.

But a child-led suit in California over alleged government failures to curb pollution was thrown out in May.

"I started this case when I was 10 years old and I'm happy and proud of today's results, like a wish came true" said 12-year-old plaintiff, Han Jeah.

"We have the right to live safely and happily even in the climate crisis. This right should be protected under any circumstances and cannot be infringed upon by anyone," Han Jeah said.

"So I wanted to show people through this lawsuit how much we (young people) know and how deeply we worry about climate change."

© 2024 AFP