UK to reintroduce nuclear weapon-capable aircraft under NATO

WELFARE NOT WARFARE

By AFP
June 25, 2025

             
Britain will purchase 12 nuclear weapon-capable F-35A fighters, expanding the country's deterrence arsenal, which is currently limited to submarine-launched missiles - Copyright AFP/File CHANDAN KHANNA

Clara LALANNE

Britain will reintroduce fighter jets capable of carrying atomic weapons to support NATO’s nuclear mission, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said, as he prepares for a Nato summit Wednesday.

The country will purchase 12 nuclear weapon-capable F-35A fighters, expanding the country’s deterrence arsenal, which is currently limited to submarine-launched missiles.

“These F35 dual capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our Allies,” Starmer said in a statement on Tuesday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was quoted in the statement as saying: “I strongly welcome today’s announcement,” calling it “yet another robust British contribution to NATO”.

Downing Street described it as the “biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation”, adding that Starmer would announce the plan at summit on Wednesday.

Since the end of the Cold War, British nuclear deterrence within the Atlantic alliance was provided solely by missiles aboard Royal Navy submarines.

Heloise Fayet, a nuclear specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), told AFP the announcement illustrates “the continued re-nuclearization of Europe, the renewed need for nuclear weapons, and the strengthening of NATO’s deterrence, in the face of an adversary, Russia”.

The F-35A, manufactured by US company Lockheed Martin, is a variant of the F-35B already used by the United Kingdom, but which can carry nuclear warheads in addition to conventional weapons.

The acquisition has been a long-standing request from the Royal Air Force.

The planes are expected to be stationed at Marham Air Force Base in eastern England.



– ‘New risks’-



Leaders from NATO countries are gathering in The Hague this week where they are expected to pledge that they will spend five percent of GDP on defence by 2035, under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

The UK had already committed on Monday that it would meet the spending target.

London said in February that it would hike its defence budget to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 and three percent after 2029.

British Defence Secretary John Healey warned on Tuesday that the UK faced “new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals”.

Seven NATO members, including the US, Germany and Italy, currently have dual-capable aircraft stored on European soil that can carry American B61 nuclear warheads — the same type that Britain is expected to use.

In June, Britain announced that it would build up to 12 new attack submarines and six munitions factories as part of efforts to re-arm the country in the face of “threats”, particularly from Russia.

The dozen nuclear-powered subs will be equipped with conventional weapons and form part of the AUKUS military alliance between the UK, the US and Australia.

Starmer also confirmed that London would spend £15 billion ($20.4 billion) on its nuclear warhead programme.

BRIGHTON BEACH POSTCARD  

UK carbon emissions cut by half since 1990: experts


By AFP
June 25, 2025


Wind turbines at an onshore wind farm in Wales - Copyright AFP/File CHANDAN KHANNA

The UK has cut its carbon emissions by 50.4 percent since 1990 levels, a group of experts tasked with advising the government said on Wednesday.

The figures are included in the first assessment of the new Labour government’s progress on reducing emissions by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) since it took office last July.

The report covers carbon pollution from power generation, industry, road transport, residential buildings, aviation and farming.

It does not take account of emissions from UK consumption of goods, wherever in the world this pollution arises along the supply chain.

Emissions relating to imports rose 80 percent between 1996 and 2022, particularly from China, as the UK shifted away from manufacturing to services, according to a separate government report published in May.

Much of the drop in emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases was the due to the closure of the UK’s coal-fired power generation plants, the CCC said in its report to parliament.

“The UK can be proud of our progress in reducing emissions. We’ve cut them by over 50 percent since 1990,” interim committee chair Piers Forster.

“Progress to date has been primarily driven by decarbonisation of the electricity system, with renewables replacing both coal and, increasingly, gas,” the report said.



– Aviation emissions –



This improvement was partially offset by an increase in emissions from flying, it said.

“As a result of this increase, aviation now contributes a greater share of total UK emissions than the entire electricity supply sector. Continued emissions growth in this sector could put future targets at risk.”

Forster said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government needed to do ensure people saw the benefits of moving away from fossil fuels, namely by making their electricity bills cheaper.

“Given increasingly unstable geopolitics, it is also important to get off unreliable fossil fuels and onto homegrown, renewable energy as quickly as possible,” he added.

The report said that more than 80 percent of the emissions savings the UK needed to make between now and 2030 needed to come from sectors other than energy supply.

It said there had already been progress in curbing pollution from road transport, with electric vehicles now representing 19.6 percent of the car market.

There are now 1.5 million electric cars on UK roads, a doubling in the past two years.

Heat pump installations were also up by 56 percent in 2024, although this still represented only around of one percent of homes, among the lowest in Europe.

And planting trees to absorb carbon increased too increased by 59 percent in 2023-24, the highest planting rate in two decades.



– Greater reductions –



The CCC said the emissions covered in its assessment fell by 2.5 percent in 2024 — the 10th consecutive year they had dropped, excluding the Covid 19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Much of the progress could be attributed to the policies of the previous Conservative government, the report said.

But it credited Starmer’s government with “bold policy decisions this year”.

These included “removing planning barriers on renewable deployment, clarity on the clean power mission and the reinstatement of the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel vehicles”, the experts said in a statement.

The government’s relaxation of planning rules has proved divisive, however, with environment groups saying inappropriately sited renewables developments, such as on peatlands, could lead to a rise in emissions of powerful greenhouse gases such as methane.

The committee is charged with reviewing the UK’s progress on adapting to climate change every two years.

Starmer pledged in November to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 81 percent on 1990 levels by 2035, strengthening the UK government’s ambitions to help curb climate change.

Starmer unveiled the revised target — the latest environmental policy change since winning power — at the start of the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

COPPER THEFT 

Cable theft in north France disrupts Eurostar traffic


By AFP
June 25, 2025


More than 600 metres (650 yards) of cables were stolen or severed south of the Eurostar station in northern France - Copyright AFP/File CHANDAN KHANNA
Kenan Augeard

The theft of cables along train tracks in northern France on Wednesday disrupted Eurostar trips between London and Paris for a second day in a row, the company and French railway operator said.

Overnight, “more than 600 metres (650 yards) of cable were stolen or severed south of the Lille Europe station” on the way between the two capitals, French railway operator SNCF said.

“The impact is essentially on high-speed train traffic,” it added.

Around 15 workers, including cable layers, were dispatched to solve the issue, but repairs were expected to take a good part of the day, the operator added.

In Lille’s southern district of Mont-de-Terre, AFP saw workers in orange vests placing cables back along the railway.

They worked to reconnected dozens of multicoloured cables one by one inside thick tubes.

Contacted by AFP, the police did not immediately provide more details on the cable theft.

The Eurostar website showed that six trips between London and Paris — three in each direction — were cancelled on Wednesday, while other trains were still expected to run.

Several trips between London and Brussels were delayed.

“Due to a cable theft near Lille Europe, our trains are likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations,” Eurostar said, advising passengers to cancel or postpone their trip free of charge.

It was the second day of disruptions after “two persons struck by trains near Lille Europe” upset traffic on Tuesday evening.

Eurostar spokeswoman Juliette Clement told AFP trains were for the moment “being redirected via secondary routes, which increases travel times”.

Several passengers took to X to vent their frustration.

“My journey out was cancelled due to ‘technical difficulties’. Return now cancelled due to a fatality,” one user who appeared to be in Paris wrote on Tuesday evening.

“My rescheduled train is cancelled again. No seats today Paris to London,” they added in a new post on Wednesday morning.

SNCF said around 10 high-speed train trips between Lille and the French capital had also been cancelled.

At the train station in Lille, 51-year-old Belgian holidaymaker Marie-Line Ponville was deeply disappointed.

She and her daughter had been planning to board a ship in Marseille for a week-long cruise around the Mediterranean but look likely to miss the boat’s departure.

“We can’t even stay here as we packed our bags for somewhere sunny. I think we will just cancel and go home,” she said.

Tesla sales skid in Europe in May despite EV rebound

By AFP
June 25, 2025


The drop in demand for Tesla cars has been linked to its ageing fleet, competition, and consumer distaste for owner Elon Musk's (L) work in the Donald Trump (R) administration - Copyright AFP/File CHANDAN KHANNA

Tesla sales sank again in Europe last month as rising competition and Elon Musk’s ties to US President Donald Trump cut into demand despite a growing electric car market, industry figures showed on Wednesday.

Sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped by 25 percent in Europe in May compared to the same month last year, according to the ACEA, the trade association of European car manufacturers.

Tesla, meanwhile, sold 40.2 percent fewer cars in May.

The drop in demand for Tesla cars has been linked to its ageing fleet, competition from European and Chinese rivals, and consumer distaste for Musk’s work in the Trump administration.

Musk left his role as the US government’s cost-cutter at the end of May and had a public falling-out with Trump earlier this month over the US president’s spending bill.

During the first five months of 2025, Tesla sales fell 45.2 percent from the same period last year.

The US company’s market share of Europe’s total automobile market has fallen to 1.1 percent from two percent last year.

Tesla’s slump comes as EV sales in Europe rebounded by 26.1 percent in the first five months of the year.

Battery-electric cars accounted for 15.4 percent of all cars sold in May, up from 12.1 percent in the same month last year.

The EV market share is “still far from where it needs and was expected to be”, said ACEA chief Sigrid de Vries.

The EU aims to end sales of new internal combustion engine cars in 2035, but high prices and a perceived lack of charging infrastructure have given consumers pause.

“Consumer reluctance is by no means a myth, and we need to incentivise a supportive ecosystem — from charging infrastructure to fiscal incentives — to ensure the uptake of battery-electric models can meaningfully accelerate,” added de Vries.

Overall, car sales rose by 1.6 percent in Europe last month, but were down by 0.6 percent in the first five months of the year.

France orders Tesla to end ‘deceptive commercial practices’


By AFP
June 24, 2025


Tesla shares slumped after the auto giant posted poor European sales data - Copyright AFP CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

French anti-fraud authorities said on Tuesday they have ordered US electric car giant Tesla’s local subsidiary to stop “deceptive commercial practices” after an investigation found several violations harmful to consumers and contrary to law.

The fraud prevention and consumer protection agency (DGCCRF) said its agents investigated Tesla’s French subsidiary between 2023 and 2024 after reports were filed on a consumer complaint platform.

The probe revealed “deceptive commercial practices regarding the fully autonomous driving capabilities of Tesla vehicles, the availability of certain options and vehicle trade-in offers”, it said.

The agency also cited delays in refunding cancelled orders, a lack of information on the location of deliveries and incomplete sales contracts, among other violations.

Tesla was given four months to comply with regulations.

It faces a daily fine of 50,000 euros ($58,000) if it fails to stop deceptive commercial practices over the fully autonomous driving option of certain Tesla models.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Tesla sales have tanked in Europe in recent months owing to an ageing fleet of cars, rising competition and consumer distaste for Elon Musk’s role in US President Donald Trump’s administration.

New CEO of Jeep owner Stellantis starts with leadership shake-up


By AFP
June 23, 2025


North America, Stellantis' most profitable market. — © AFP Daniel LEAL

Par Frédérique PRIS et Taimaz SZIRNIKS

Antonio Filosa began his tenure as chief executive of US-European auto giant Stellantis on Monday with a leadership shake-up, as he seeks to jump-start performance at the struggling maker of Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat vehicles.

The company veteran, an Italian who led Stellantis in North and South America, was named last month to succeed Portuguese CEO Carlos Tavares, who was sacked in December.

Italian executive Antonio Filosa has kept his role as head of North America at Stellantis – Copyright AFP Atta KENARE

Filosa, who turns 52 this week, is at the top of a 13-person leadership team with six members from France, four from Italy and three from the United States.

“The team I’m announcing today draws on all that is best in Stellantis,” Filosa said in a statement.

Filosa will retain oversight of the North American region, the region that accounts for most company profits whose struggles last year precipitated the fall of Tavares.

Doug Ostermann, an American who was chief financial officer, will oversee mergers and acquisitions while Monica Genovese replaces Maxime Picat as head of purchasing.

Picat, who was once seen as a potential successor of Tavares, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Renault’s departing chief executive Luca de Meo.

Q&A: Earth’s water can’t breathe. New ‘gas infusion’ technology might save its life


By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 24, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL

An area of polluted water. Image by Tim Sandle

Earth’s water is having an oxygen problem. Recent research suggests that, over the past 100 years, hypoxia – the technical term for oxygen depletion in water – has been accelerated by human activities such as farming (specifically, pesticide use), wastewater, dams, and a warming climate, all of which disrupt the normal functions of our freshwater ecosystems. This is resulting in disruptions to critical habitats and ultimately damages our drinking water.

But there is a way to breathe life back into “dead” water. One such remedy comes in the form of new “gas infusion” technology that has already proven effective – reviving a stagnant pond on Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

To learn more about the technology and the solutions it offers, Digital Journal sat down with Max MacKenzie, Founder and CEO of Prosper Technologies, which is developing applications to license its gas infusion technology to various sectors including consumer goods, healthcare and wellness, agriculture, aquaculture, energy, environmental, and water treatment.

Digital Journal: How are our freshwater ponds, lakes and reservoirs running out of oxygen?

Max MacKenzie: According to the available research, and in the simplest terms, these waters are consuming more oxygen than they are producing. This is being caused by the introduction of nutrients that feed algae growth. If the algae blooms grow large enough, they can suffocate the water by consuming oxygen during their decomposition cycle. When this happens, the fish die, and the ecosystem falls like dominos.

DJ: You say your technology can help. How?

MacKenzie: The primary solution to hypoxia is to infuse oxygen back into the water. Until now, there have been few technologies that perform this task with enough efficiency and consistency – and at a low enough cost – to make a substantial difference. What we have created is a way to instantaneously infuse supersaturated levels of oxygen into liquids, while simultaneously removing other harmful gases.

DJ: How do you accomplish this?

MacKenzie: We have developed a patented nanotechnology called Gas Infusion (GI) that utilizes a gas infusion module consisting of Microporous Hollow Fibers (MHF). The value proposition of our technology is the MHF modules allow for the infusion of gases such as oxygen in a bubble-less manner, creating a stable liquid stream containing enormous quantities of dissolved gas via the most cost and energy efficient process in the world.

DJ: You’ve tested this method?

MacKenzie: Yes. In fact, our technology has been proven in the marketplace for over a decade and has been the basis of many peer-reviewed and published papers. Prosper’s GI process has been independently reviewed by government agencies such as the National Resource Council and RPC Scientific & Engineering in Canada.

DJ: You say Richard Branson has endorsed your process. How did that happen?

MacKenzie: Prosper was presented with the opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of our oxygen infusion technology on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. The area targeted for demonstration was the Necker Lake and Flamingo Pond. Both bodies of water are salt ponds that had experienced declining health to the point they were anoxic. We installed our patented oxygen infusers in the lake in November 2016. The chemical-free application increased oxygen levels in the lake by over 1,500% in just 35 days, triggering a bioremediation process that consumed and removed harmful elements and their associated odor.

The health of the lake has significantly changed and now supports aquatic life, with the flamingos and other wildlife once again becoming a vital living part of the island’s ecosystem. Mr. Branson rarely puts his stamp of approval on a product or technology solution. We’re proud that he offered a testimonial that we are allowed to share with the public!

DJ: You say that your technology offers significant cost-savings over existing methods. Can you explain?

MacKenzie: Unlike bubble-based aeration systems that lose most of the oxygen to the atmosphere, Prosper’s technology uses microporous hollow fiber membranes to infuse oxygen directly into water without forming bubbles, enabling stable supersaturation and dramatically higher transfer efficiency. Our system achieves greater oxygen saturation at just 20–30 psi, compared to the 100 psi or more required by competing diffuser and injector technologies—cutting energy use and lowering operating costs by 30–50%, while enhancing biological treatment and overall water quality.

DJ: Can this process be used in any body of water?

MacKenzie: Yes. Our technology is designed to adapt to various industries and ecosystems including both saltwater and freshwater, from preventing toxic algae blooms to enhancing wastewater treatment and improving aquatic habitats. Also, not only can it infuse oxygen, but we can deploy our technology for any gas in nearly any environment, from municipal drinking water reservoirs to live fish shipping containers to beverage distilleries. We can even support mining operations by enhancing mineral extraction and improving environmental remediation.

DJ: How is the technology being deployed now?

MacKenzie: We are currently completing the installation of our 1st aeration system at a wastewater facility in Brazil, which we will announce soon. We are also engaged with five of the six largest water companies in South America on projects ranging from improving process efficiency at industrial wastewater treatment plants, to drinking water pretreatment at reservoirs, to restoring oxygen in vital marine eco-systems.

DJ: What’s next for Prosper Technologies?

MacKenzie: Following our successful deployment in Brazil, we’re looking to expand into key markets across the U.S. and Europe, where municipalities are actively seeking sustainable solutions for wastewater reservoir treatment, and marine ecosystem restoration. We’re currently in active negotiations with several public and private sector partners and expect to announce the launch of two groundbreaking water treatment systems designed to leverage green energy and AI to further enhance Prosper’s ability to address some of the world’s most pressing water challenges.

WAIT, WHAT?!

US judge allows using pirated books to train AI


By AFP
June 24, 2025


A ruling by a US judge that Anthropic, led by CEO Dario Amodei, did not violate copyright law by training its artificial intelligence on pirated books could be cited by other firms defending themselves in similar lawsuits filed by authors - Copyright AFP/File SAUL LOEB

A federal judge has sided with the AI company Anthropic in its practice of training a chatbot on copyrighted books without permission from the authors.

In a decision with the potential to set legal precedent, District Court Judge William Asup ruled on Monday that Anthropic’s training of its artificial intelligence creation Claude with millions of pirated books was allowed under a “fair use” doctrine in a law called the Copyright Act.

“Use of the books at issue to train Claude and its precursors was exceedingly transformative and was a fair use,” Alsup wrote in his decision.

Tremendous amounts of data are needed to train large language models powering generative AI.

Musicians, book authors, visual artists and news publications have sued AI companies that used their data without permission or payment.

Alsup’s decision in favor of Anthropic is a first in the United States and could be sited in other cases as a legal precedent by AI firms defending themselves in court.

AI companies generally defend their practices by claiming fair use, arguing that training AI on large data sets fundamentally changes the original content and is necessary for innovation.

Though most of these lawsuits are still in early stages, their outcomes could have a profound effect on the shape of the AI industry.

Along with downloading for free millions of books from websites offering pirated works, Anthropic bought copyrighted books, scanned the pages and stored them in digital format, according to court documents.

Anthropic’s aim was to amass a library of “all the books in the world”, training AI models on content as deemed fit, the judge said in his ruling.

“Anthropic had no entitlement to use pirated copies for its central library,” Alsup ruled, ordering a trial on that portion of the copyright lawsuit filed by authors to determine damages.

Anthropic, valued at $61.5 billion and heavily backed by Amazon, was founded in 2021 by former executives from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

The company, known for its Claude chatbot and AI models, bills itself as focused on AI safety and responsible development.

Anthropic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Global cocaine market hit new record highs: UNODC

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS


By AFP
June 26, 2025


Global cocaine seizures recorded a high of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent rise in the four years to 2023 - Copyright AFP Guillaume LAVALLÉE

Cocaine production, seizures and use all hit record highs in 2023, the UN drug agency said on Thursday, with the illicit drug’s market the world’s fastest-growing.

Illegal production jumped to 3,708 tons, nearly 34 percent more than in 2022, and more than four times higher than 10 years earlier, when it was at a low, the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual report.

The current surge is mainly due to an increase in the size of the area under illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia and updated yield data, it added.

Global cocaine seizures, too, recorded a high of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent rise in the four years to 2023.

The number of cocaine users also grew to 25 million in 2023, up from 17 million ten years earlier.

“Cocaine has become fashionable for the more affluent society,” UNODC chief researcher Angela Me said, noting a “vicious cycle” of increased use and production.

While Colombia remains the key producer, cocaine traffickers are breaking into new markets across Asia and Africa, according to the report, with organised crime groups from the Western Balkans increasing their influence.



– Captagon –



“A new era of global instability has intensified challenges in addressing the world drug problem, empowering organised crime groups and pushing drug use to historically high levels,” UNODC noted.

In 2023, six percent of the population aged between 15 and 64 are estimated to have used a drug, compared to 5.2 percent of the population in 2013. Cannabis remains the most widely used drug.

Seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants also reached a record high in 2023, making up almost half of all global seizures of synthetic drugs, followed by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, UNODC said.

The fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria last December has “created uncertainty around the future of the captagon trade”, UNODC added.

Earlier this month, Syria said authorities had seized all production facilities of the illicit stimulant, which became Syria’s largest export under Assad.

“The latest seizure data from 2024 and 2025 confirm that captagon is continuing to flow — primarily to countries of the Arabian peninsula –- possibly indicating the release of previously-accumulated stockpiles or continued production in different locations,” UNODC said.

#1 - The diary of a drug fiend / by Aleister Crowley - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library

Spain PM alleges ‘genocide’ in Gaza as rescuers say 35 killed


By AFP
June 26, 2025


Aid distribution in Gaza has been marred by chaotic scenes and nearly daily deaths - Copyright AFP Alessandro RAMPAZZO

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a “genocide”, as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 35 people.

After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza’s population of more than two million face famine-like conditions.

Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following a blockade of more than two months, but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to pick up rations.

Israel meanwhile is pressing its bombardment of the Palestinian territory, in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating militant group Hamas — whose unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.

Spain’s Sanchez on Thursday said Gaza was in a “catastrophic situation of genocide” and urged the European Union to immediately suspend its cooperation deal with Israel.

The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel’s offensive who is one of the first European leaders, and the most senior, to use the term “genocide” to describe the situation in Gaza.

Speaking ahead of an EU summit in Brussels, Sanchez mentioned a recent human rights report by the EU’s diplomatic service which found “indications” that Israel was breaching its human rights obligations under the cooperation deal, which forms the basis for trade ties.

The text cited Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory, the high number of civilian casualties, attacks on journalists and the massive displacement and destruction caused by the war.

On the ground in Gaza, the spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP that Israeli forces killed 35 more people on Thursday in various locations across the territory, including four who were waiting to collect aid.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment, saying it required further information.



– ‘Only two girls survived’ –



Israel began its offensive Gaza to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages seized by militants during the October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 56,259 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.

AFP footage from a hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on Wednesday showed Palestinians sobbing over bloodied body bags containing their loved ones who had been killed in an Israeli strike.

“They (killed) the father, mother and brothers, only two girls survived. One of them is a baby girl aged one year and two months and the other one is five years old,” one mourner said.

Beyond daily bombardment, Gaza’s health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies.

The United Nations has condemned the “weaponisation of food” in Gaza, and slammed a US- and Israeli-backed body that has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations there.

The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns.

The GHF has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory.



– Ceasefire push –



US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that progress was being made to end the Israel-Hamas war, telling reporters: “I think great progress is being made on Gaza.”

He linked his optimism about imminent “very good news” to a ceasefire agreed on Tuesday between Israel and Hamas’s backer Iran to end their 12-day war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing calls from opposition politicians, relatives of hostages being held in Gaza and even members of his ruling coalition to bring an end to the fighting.

Key mediator Qatar announced Tuesday that it would launch a new push for a ceasefire.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Wednesday that talks with mediators had “intensified” but said the group had “not yet received any new proposals” to end the war.

The Israeli government declined to comment on any new ceasefire talks beyond saying that efforts to return Israeli hostages in Gaza were ongoing “on the battlefield and via negotiations”.

Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

The reluctant fame of Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza


By AFP
June 26, 2025


Palestinian photographer Motaz Azaiza has amassed nearly 17 million followers on Instagram since the start of the war in Gaza - Copyright AFP Guillaume LAVALLÉE
Guillaume LAVALLÉE

At a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hundreds of people gathered recently for a weeknight charity fundraiser hosted by a celebrity guest.

The venue was not announced in advance due to security concerns, and attendance cost at least $60 a pop — with some spending $1,000 to get a photo with the host.

Yet, the event was not a gala hosted by a movie star or famed politician, but by a photojournalist: Gaza native Motaz Azaiza, whose images of the Israeli assault following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas launched him to international recognition.

Wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and gold-framed glasses, the 26-year-old boasts nearly 17 million followers on Instagram for his images from the war in Gaza.

“I wish you would have known me without the genocide,” Azaiza told the crowd, his voice faltering.

Before the war, Azaiza was a relative unknown, posting photos from his daily life in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to his roughly 25,000 Instagram followers at the time.

But as soon as the first strikes from Israel hit Gaza, he became a war photographer by virtue of circumstance, and his wartime posts soon went viral.

“As a photojournalist, I can’t watch this like anyone else, I’m from there, this is my home,” Azaiza said.

– ‘I want to go back’ –

After surviving 108 days of Israeli bombardment, Azaiza managed to escape Gaza via Egypt, and he has since become an ambassador of sorts for the Palestinian territory, sharing the story of his people as the conflict rages on.

“Every time you feel like you regret leaving, but then you lose a friend, you lose a family, you say, OK, I saved my life,” Azaiza said.

Before the war, Azaiza had been hired to manage the online content for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the humanitarian agency accused by Israel of providing cover for Hamas militants.

This month, he is touring the United States to raise money for UNRWA USA, a nonprofit which collects funding for the agency.

“I can’t handle this much of fame…it’s a real big responsibility,” Azaiza told AFP from the fundraiser in Philadelphia.

“This is not me… I’m waiting to the genocide to stop. I want to go back to Gaza, continue my work capturing pictures,” he added.

At one point he embedded himself in the crowd, posing for a selfie before shaking hands with donors.

At the fundraiser, a UNRWA USA official solicited donations.

“Is there someone who wants to give $20,000? I would like to have $20,000. Nobody? Is there someone who want to give $10,000? I would like to have $10,000,” the official calls out.

Once the call lowered to $5,000, five hands raised, and even more went up when asked for donations of $2,000 and $1,000.

One of the donors, Nabeel Sarwar, told AFP Azaiza’s photographs “humanize” the people in Gaza.

“When you see a picture, when you see a child, you relate to that child, you relate to the body language, you relate to the dust on their face, the hunger, the sadness on their face,” Sarwar said.

“I think it’s those pictures that really brought home towards the real tragedy of what’s going on in Gaza.”

– ‘A million words’ –

Veronica Murgulescu, a 25-year-old medical student from Philadelphia, concurred.

“I think that people like Motaz and other Gazan journalists have really stuck a chord with us, because you can sense the authenticity,” she said.

“The mainstream media that we have here in the US, at least, and in the West, it lacks authenticity,” she added.

Sahar Khamis, a communications professor at the University of Maryland who specializes in Arab and Muslim media in the Middle East, said Gazan journalists like Azaiza who have become social media influencers “reshape public opinion, especially among youth, not just in the Arab world, not just in the Middle East, but globally and internationally, including in the United States.”

“The visuals are very, very important and very powerful and very compelling…as we know in journalism, that one picture equals a thousand words.

“And in the case of war and conflict, it can equal a million words, because you can tell through these short videos and short images and photos a lot of things that you cannot say in a whole essay.”

Amnesty International: Cambodian Government allows slavery and torture to flourish


By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 26, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL

Campaigners from one of Cambodia's few environmental activism groups were sentenced to between six and eight years in jail for plotting to commit crimes in their activism - Copyright AFP TANG CHHIN SOTHY

The human rights situation in Cambodia is facing growing criticisms both within the country and from an increasingly alarmed international community. For example, the United Nations has outlined Cambodia’s increasing lack of press freedom and freedom of expression

As a serious example, apparent police collusion is allowing the trafficking and enslavement of huge numbers of people, which has been reported by the human rights group Amnesty International in relation to Cambodia.

Specifically, this occurs at so-termed ‘scamming compounds’, despite efforts to close these bases down.

More than two-thirds of the scamming compounds identified continue to operate after police raids. Within these centres, first-hand testimony exposes massive and extremely violent criminal operation.

According to Amnesty, the Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labour and torture that are being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than fifty scamming compounds located across the country.

A scamming compound is a collection of large fraud organisations usually involved in human trafficking operations, generally found in Southeast Asia and usually operated by a criminal gang.

Survivors interviewed for the 240-page report “I Was Someone Else’s Property”, believed they were applying for genuine jobs but were instead trafficked to Cambodia, where they were held in prison-like compounds and forced to conduct online scams in a billion-dollar shadow economy defrauding people around the world.

The situation has led Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, to state: “Deceived, trafficked and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare enlisted in criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government.”

Callamard adds: “Jobseekers from Asia and beyond are lured by the promise of well-paid work into hellish labour camps run by well-organised gangs, where they are forced to scam under the very real threat of violence.”

Amnesty’s findings suggest there has been coordination and possibly collusion between Chinese compound bosses and the Cambodian police, who have failed to shut down compounds despite the slew of human rights abuses taking place inside.

The report has identified at least 53 scamming compounds in Cambodia and interviewed 58 survivors of eight different nationalities, including nine children. Amnesty also reviewed the records of 336 other victims of Cambodian compounds. Those interviewed had either escaped from compounds, been rescued or had a ransom paid by their families.

As part of its 18-month-long research, Amnesty visited all but one of the 53 scamming compounds located in 16 towns and cities across Cambodia, as well as 45 similar sites also strongly suspected to be scamming compounds. Many of the buildings were formerly casinos and hotels repurposed by criminal gangs – mostly from China – after Cambodia banned online gambling in 2019.

Compounds appeared designed to keep people inside, with features such as surveillance cameras, barbed wire around perimeter walls and large numbers of security personnel, often carrying electric shock batons and in some cases firearms. Survivors reported that “escape was impossible”.

Amnesty presented the findings of the report in a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in Bangkok on Thursday 26 June, 2025.

‘Mass scale’ abuses in Cambodia scam centres: Amnesty


By AFP
June 26, 2025


Cambodia has become a Southeast Asian hotspot within the multibillion-dollar illicit scam industry that has defrauded victims around the world - Copyright AFP/File STR
Sally JENSEN

While looking for jobs on Facebook, Jett thought he had found a well-paying opportunity working in online customer service in his home country of Thailand.

Following instructions to travel across the kingdom, the 18-year-old ended up being trafficked across the border to a compound in Svay Rieng, Cambodia.

There Jett was beaten, tortured and forced to perpetrate cyberscams, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry that has defrauded victims around the world.

He was forcibly held at the compound for seven months, during which “there was no monetary compensation, and contacting family for help was not an option”, he told AFP.

“Will I survive, or will I die?” Jett (a pseudonym to protect his identity) recalled asking himself.

Abuses in Cambodia’s scam centres are happening on a “mass scale”, a report published Thursday by Amnesty International said, accusing the Cambodian government of being “acquiescent” and “complicit” in the exploitation of thousands of workers.

The report says there are at least 53 scam compounds in Cambodia, clustered mostly around border areas, in which organised criminal groups carry out human trafficking, forced labour, child labour, torture, deprivation of liberty and slavery.

Amnesty’s Montse Ferrer said that despite law enforcement raids on some scam compounds, the number of compounds in Cambodia has increased, “growing and building” in the last few months and years.

“Scamming compounds are allowed to thrive and flourish by the Cambodian government,” she told AFP.

The Cambodian government has denied the allegations.

Jett was made to romance his wealthy, middle-aged compatriots on social media, gaining their trust until they could be tricked into investing in a fake business.

“If the target fell into the trap, they would be lured to keep investing more until they were financially drained — selling their land, cars, or all their assets,” he said.

Scam bosses demanded exorbitant targets of one million baht ($31,000) per month from overworked employees –- a target only about two percent of them reached, he said.

“Initially, new recruits wouldn’t face physical harm, but later, reprimands escalated to beatings, electric shocks, and severe intimidation,” Jett told AFP.



– ‘Woefully ineffective’ –



The other employees in his multi-storey building were mostly Chinese, with some Vietnamese and some Thais.

Amnesty International says none of the ex-scammers of the 58 they interviewed for the report were Cambodian, and “overwhelmingly” were not paid for their labour.

Most of the scam centre bosses were Chinese, Jett said, adding that they used Thai interpreters when meting out punishments to those who performed poorly.

“Sometimes they’d hold meetings to decide who would be eliminated tomorrow,” he said. “Or who will be sold (to another scam compound)? Or did anyone do something wrong that day? Did they break the company rules?”

He claims a colleague falsely accused him of wrongdoing to the Chinese bosses for a bounty. He pleaded his innocence but they “just didn’t listen”.

Ferrer said Cambodian government interventions against the scam centres had been “woefully ineffective”, often linked to corruption by individual police officers at a “systemic and widespread level”.

Government spokesman Pen Bona told AFP: “Cambodia is a victimised country used by criminals to commit online scams. We do recognise that there is such thing, but Cambodia has taken serious measures against the problem.”

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in April that the scam industry was expanding outside hotspots in Southeast Asia, with criminal gangs building up operations as far as South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific islands.

In Cambodia, Jett ultimately staged a dramatic escape after a particularly severe beating in which his arm was broken. He jumped out of a building, passed out and later woke up in hospital.

“Whether I died or survived, both options seemed good to me at the time,” he said. “Consider it a blessing that I jumped.”

He is now seeking legal recourse with assistance from Thai government agencies who have categorised him as a victim of human trafficking.

But Ferrer said effective action to help end the industry must come from the Cambodian government.

“We are convinced that if the Cambodian government wanted to put a stop they would be able to put a stop. At the very least they would be able to do much more than what we’re seeing,” she said.