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Jakarta (AFP) – The Indonesian government's plans to issue new history books have sparked fears that mention of deadly riots in 1998 targeting mostly ethnic Chinese in the country will be scrubbed from the text.

The 10-volume account was ordered by the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general accused of abducting activists in the unrest that preceded dictator Suharto's fall, claims he denies.

Scholars fear his government could use the exercise to rewrite history and cover up past abuses.

Draft volume summaries and a chapter outline seen by AFP do not include any specific section on the 1998 violence.

A summary of Suharto's rule in the volume dedicated to him only mentions how "student demonstrations... became a factor" in his resignation.

"The writing was flawed since the beginning," said Andi Achdian, historian at Jakarta's National University, who has seen the outline.

"It has a very strong tendency to whitewash history."

Suharto ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades after grabbing power in the wake of a 1965-6 massacre.

The culture minister overseeing the government's history project, Fadli Zon, told lawmakers last week the account "does not discuss May '98... because it's small".

Neither does it promise to include most of the "gross human rights violations" acknowledged by former president Joko Widodo in 2023.

Jajat Burhanudin, a project editor, contradicted Fadli and dismissed concerns, telling AFP the new volumes would include 1998 events, with the draft outline just a "trigger for discussion".

Officials say the new historical account is needed to strengthen Indonesian identity, but warned that any omission about its darkest past will raise eyebrows over objectivity.

"What is feared is that... the cases that have been accepted by the previous government to be resolved will be ignored," said Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney general and head of a civil society coalition opposed to the volumes.

While it remains unclear how the government plans to use the books, Jajat said the volumes could be used as "one of the main sources" for history books taught in schools.

Neither historian Susanto Zuhdi, who is helming the project, nor the presidential palace responded to requests for comment.

The revisionist history garnered renewed scrutiny after the culture minister questioned whether mass rape had occurred at the end of Suharto's rule.

Ethnic Chinese Indonesians bore the brunt of the bloodshed during the riots, when rape squads -- purportedly led by army thugs -- roamed Jakarta's streets.

"Was there really mass rape? There was never any proof," Fadli told local media in an interview last month.

"If there is, show it."

A 1998 fact-finding report, commissioned by Indonesia's first president after Suharto, found at least 52 reported cases of rape in the unrest.

"This project risks erasing uncomfortable truths," said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

Fadli told AFP the nation-building project would go ahead despite criticism.

"The consensus (is) we continue," he said.

"This is an updated version of our history," he added, saying there would be a public debate "this month", without elaborating.

The project involves 113 academics including historians, but at least one of them has resigned.

Archaeologist Harry Truman Simanjuntak told AFP he quit in a dispute over language -- the term "early history" was used instead of "prehistory" for Indonesia's ancient civilisation.

Fadli told lawmakers the phrase was avoided because it was created by Indonesia's former Dutch rulers.

But Harry said it showed the political influence over the text.

"It was very obvious that editors' authority did not exist. They were under the control of the government," he said.

The furore around the project has caused some opposition lawmakers and critics to call for its suspension or cancellation.

Activist Maria Catarina Sumarsih, whose son was killed in a military crackdown after Suharto's fall, accused the writers of warping the past.

"The government is deceiving the public... especially young people," she said.

Others said documenting Indonesia's past was best left to academics.

"If the government feel this nation needs a history that could make us proud... it can't be through the government's version of historical propaganda," said Marzuki.

"It should be the result of the work of historians."

 

Lesotho's reliance on the United States has left the country on the brink of disaster following the Trump administration's decision to cut off aid. Its manufacturing sector too is under threat, thanks to uncertainty around the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Lesotho has declared a national state of disaster for the next two years, amid the fallout from tariffs and aid cuts imposed by the US.

With unemployment already around 30 percent, the government is warning of an additional 40,000 job losses in the textile sector if the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is not renewed by the end of September.

AGOA gave preferential access for African goods to the US markets, under certain conditions. Lesotho was one of its biggest beneficiaries, exporting textiles to the US.

In April, US President Donald Trump announced 50 percent tariffs – higher than any country – on goods from Lesotho. The tariffs have since been paused and a flat 10 percent rate is currently being applied to most countries.

Oscar van Heerden, senior research fellow at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg, told RFI that the Trump administration is weaponising trade through its use of tariffs.

"Trump doesn't care about the consequences for Lesotho. What he wants is a good deal for the United States and to recalibrate what he considers to be trade deficits for the US," he said. "There is clearly something – but we don't know what – he wants from Lesotho and that’s why he has slapped it with such a high tariff. The 50 percent tariffs makes no sense."

Van Heerden called the policies adopted by the Trump administration a step back into colonial times.

"The Trump administration with the weaponisation of tariffs are taking us back to the master-servant colonial era, where the weak must suffer and the strong will decide. That’s precisely what is happening with Lesotho," he said.

He added that Lesotho must think outside the box. The country's Prime Minister Sam Matekane said in June that the solution for unemployment lies in intensive labour and sectoral transformation.

"We are not only investing in traditional sectors but also embracing innovation and creativity. We aim to empower mostly women and young Basotho with meaningful jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities," Matekane said.

Finance minister Retselisitsoe Matlanyane described youth unemployment as a "significant" challenge for Lesotho. According to a coalition of youth organisations, 48.8 percent of young people in the country cannot find a job.

According to Van Heerden, the US administration – through Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth – has made it clear that it is not interested in AGOA.

"There's no way that AGOA is going to be renewed," he said. "The Trump administration is talking with a forked tongue. It gives the impression that there is room for negotiation, but the truth is they've made up their mind.

"They will negotiate with countries in Africa where they can benefit in terms of critical, strategic minerals and other sectors of interest to them. They're not really interested in doing business with Lesotho."

He added that it will be an uphill battle for the Lesotho government.

"I suspect they are going to turn to SACU [the Southern African Customs Union] and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for loans and bailouts, and where that fails, they will have to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to try and recover some funds, if indeed they have some collateral to bargain with in order to secure loans."

The abolition of USAID programmes to Lesotho, including the crucial Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, combined with the unemployment crisis, has compounded the risk of violence among young people, according to Van Heerden.

"There is potential for the pot to explode, given the level of dissatisfaction among the population. And that's why I think in preparation for any eventuality, the Lesotho government decided to declare a state of emergency to handle this situation.

"It is trying to keep the [heat] contained for now, if it is at all possible, while at the same time looking at alternatives, in terms of loans and markets."

In July last year, Lesotho declared a state of National Food Insecurity Disaster after a historic drought triggered by El Niño led to the lowest crop yields since the 2018-19 agricultural season.

 

Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump urged his political base on Saturday to stop attacking his administration over files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a case that has become an obsession for conspiracy theorists.

Trump's Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week there was no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures.

They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe.

The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right -- many of whom have backed Trump for years -- and strident criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

"What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" Trump said Saturday in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.

"We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," he added, referring to his "Make America Great Again" movement.

Many among the MAGA faithful have long contended that so-called "Deep State" actors were hiding information on Epstein's elite associates.

"Next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,'" furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted after last week's move. "This is over the top sickening."

Far-right influencer Laura Loomer called for Trump to fire Bondi over the issue, labeling her "an embarrassment."

But on Saturday, Trump came to the defense of his attorney general, suggesting that the so-called "Epstein Files" were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, without specifying what benefits they hoped to attain.

On Saturday, Trump struck an exasperated tone in his admonishment of his supporters.

"For years, it's Epstein, over and over again," he said. "Let's...not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about."

The US president called for Patel and Bondi to instead focus on what he terms "The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020," which Trump lost to Joe Biden.

The Republican has repeatedly perpetuated unfounded conspiracy theories about his loss being due to fraud.

He called for the FBI to be allowed to focus on that investigation "instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE'S GREAT!"

Trump, who appears in at least one decades-old video alongside Epstein at a party, has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier.

"The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been," said FBI Director Patel on Saturday, hours before Trump's social media post.

Not everyone, however, seemed to be on the same page.

US media reported that Dan Bongino -- an influential right-wing podcast host whom Trump appointed FBI deputy director -- had threatened to resign over the administration's handling of the issue.

 

Seoul (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his full support on the war in Ukraine during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media in Pyongyang said early Sunday.

Lavrov's visit to North Korea was the latest in a series of high-profile trips by top Moscow officials as both countries deepen military and political ties amid Russia's offensive against Kyiv.

Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to oust Ukrainian forces and provided the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles.

Kim and Lavrov met on Saturday in "an atmosphere full of warm comradely trust", North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported.

Russia's foreign ministry posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug, and said the talks were held in Wonsan, a city on North Korea's east coast where a massive resort was opened earlier this month.

Kim told Lavrov that Pyongyang was "ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis", KCNA said.

The North Korean leader also expressed a "firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country".

He lauded Putin's "outstanding leadership", the report said.

The two men otherwise discussed "important matters for faithfully implementing the agreements made at the historic DPRK-Russia summit talks in June 2024", KCNA said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.

Lavrov told Kim that Putin "hopes for continued direct contacts in the very near future", according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

Russian and North Korean state media have said Lavrov would stay until Sunday.

Earlier Saturday, Lavrov met with his counterpart Choe Son Hui and thanked the "heroic" North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to aid Russia, TASS said.

Both sides "emphasised their determination to jointly counter the hegemonic aspirations of extra-regional players, which are leading to escalating tensions in Northeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region", Russia's foreign ministry said.

Ahead of the visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Lavrov lauded Wonsan as "a good tourist attraction", adding: "We hope it will be popular not only with local citizens, but also with Russians."

 

Hakkari (Turkey) (AFP) – Southeast Turkey, where the army has battled Kurdish militants for decades, is not yet convinced that lasting peace is at hand.

In a slickly managed ceremony across the border in Iraq Friday, members of the Kurdish rebel group PKK destroyed their weapons as part of a peace process underway with the Turkish state.

But on the streets and in the tea houses of Hakkari, a Kurdish-majority town some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Iraqi border, few people express much hope that the deadly conflict is over.

Police, including undercover officers, patrol the streets of the small town and make their presence felt, an AFP team observed, which discouraged locals from wanting to talk to visiting reporters.

One tea drinker who was willing to speak asked not to be filmed.

"We don't talk about it because we never know what will happen tomorrow," he explained.

"We can say something now and tomorrow be punished for it," he added, noting that previous peace attempts have failed.

The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On the pavement in front of the restaurant where he works, Mehmet Duman raised his eyebrows. At 26, he's already seen enough to make him doubt.

"They segregated us, beat us, simply because we're Kurdish," he said. "We witnessed all kinds of persecution.

"So from now on, if the state wants a future for Turkey -- if they want Turkey to be a good environment for everyone -- they must stop all this," he said.

"The state must also take a step" to match the symbolic operation to destroy PKK weapons in Iraq.

"Turkey has won," Erdogan said Saturday, a day after the PKK's symbolic destruction of weapons signalling the start of the disarmament process.

"Eighty-six million citizens have won," he added.

While he has opened a peace process with the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, he has also continued his crackdown on opposition parties.

The government has arrested hundreds of members of the CHP, a social-democratic, secular party descended from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The main opposition force to Erdogan, it is rising in the polls.

"Since the beginning of the peace process, Turkey has become a much more authoritarian country," said political analyst Berk Esen.

"The disarmament of a terrorist organization should, or could, lead to democratization and social peace, but it probably won't."

Those arrested include the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, the party's likely candidate in the next presidential elections, and the mayors of other major cities who took power when CHP made major gains in March 2024 local elections.

Accused of "corruption", they deny the charges against them.

The crackdown has also hit opposition media outlets, such as the Sozcu channel. It was forced into silence after 16 fines and suspensions since January -- "one every two weeks", its director, Ozgur Cakmakci, noted Tuesday evening as lights went out.

"There is little doubt that there is an intention to liquidate opposition channels as part of an authoritarian project," said Erol Onderoglu, the Turkish representative of Reporters Without Borders.

"We know what we are doing. No one should worry, be afraid, or question anything. Everything we are doing is for Turkey, for our future and our independence," he insisted.

 

Caral (Peru) (AFP) – To the music of conch shell trumpets, a 3,800-year-old citadel of the Caral civilization -- one of the oldest in the world -- opened its doors to visitors in Peru on Saturday, after eight years of study and restoration work.

The archaeological site, known as Penico, was a meeting point for trade between the first human communities on the Pacific coast and those from the Andes and Amazon regions, researchers have said.

Located in the Supe valley, some 110 miles (180 kilometers) north of the Peruvian capital Lima and around 12 miles from the Pacific ocean, Penico was a hilly landscape before exploration work began in 2017.

Archaeologists believe it could hold insights into why the Caral civilization -- which flourished between 3,000 and 1,800 BC -- faded.

At the opening ceremony, artists from the region played pututus -- the traditional shell trumpets -- during an ancestral ritual offering to the Pachamama, Mother Earth, consisting of agricultural products, coca leaves and local drinks.

Penico was an "organized urban center devoted to agriculture and trade between the coast, the mountains and the forest," archaeologist Ruth Shady, who leads research on the site, told AFP.

The site itself dates back to between 1,800 and 1,500 BC, she added.

It was built on a geological terrace 2000 feet (600 meters) above sea level, parallel to a river to avoid flooding.

Research carried out by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture has identified 18 constructions, including buildings and residential complexes.

Researchers believe that it was built at the same time as the first civilizations in the Middle East and Asia.

Shady said researchers are hoping the site can shed light on the crisis they think helped hasten the end of the Caral civilization.

This crisis, she said, was linked to climatic changes that led to droughts and affected agricultural activities in the region.

"We want to understand how the Caral civilization formed and developed over time, and how it came to be in crisis as a result of climate change," she added.

 

London (AFP) – Police in several British cities on Saturday arrested scores of people for supporting Palestine Action, following a second consecutive weekend of protests over the government's decision to ban the activist group using anti-terror laws.

Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had announced the rallies "to defy" the ban, said 86 people had been arrested across five different cities.

They included four vicars, a lawyer, a civil servant, a social worker, a mechanical engineer and the daughter of a Polish resistance fighter, as well as veterans of the 1960s civil rights movement, the group added.

"We will not be deterred from opposing genocide, nor from defending those who refuse to be bystanders," the group said in a statement, referring to accusations levelled against Israel over its war in Gaza.

The protesters were also taking a stand "against the corruption of democracy and the rule of law", it added.

In London, the Metropolitan Police said its officers had made 41 arrests for "showing support for a proscribed organisation". Another person was arrested for common assault, the force added.

Footage showed police moving in on a small group of protesters displaying signs supporting Palestine Action. They had gathered at lunchtime at the steps of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square.

Greater Manchester Police arrested 16 people, while officers in the Welsh capital Cardiff detained 13, all for the same offence under the 2000 Terrorism Act, both forces confirmed.

"South Wales Police supports the right for people to make their voices heard through protest providing it is done lawfully," said a police statement.

The other arrests occurred in the Northern Irish city Londonderry -- also known as Derry -- and Leeds, in northern England, according to Defend Our Juries.

They come a week after 29 similar arrests at protests staged last Saturday, mainly in London.

Since the Palestine Action ban kicked in on July 5, police have warned that expressing support for the group was now a crime, after a last-ditch High Court challenge failed to stop its proscription becoming law.

The government announced plans for the ban under the 2000 Terrorism Act days after the group's activists claimed to be behind a break-in at an air force base in southern England.

Two aircraft there were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.55 million) in damage.

Four people charged in relation to the incident remain in custody.

Palestine Action has condemned its outlawing -- which makes it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison -- as an attack on free speech.

 

Tehran (AFP) – Iran said Saturday its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency "will take on a new form", expressing a desire for a diplomatic solution to resolve concerns over its nuclear programme.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran's cooperation with the IAEA "has not stopped, but will take on a new form", after the Islamic republic formally ended cooperation with the UN watchdog in early July.

Iran has blamed the IAEA in part for the June attacks on its nuclear facilities, which Israel says it launched to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon -- an ambition Tehran has repeatedly denied.

The United States, which had been in talks with Iran since April 12, joined Israel in carrying out its own strikes on June 22, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

Araghchi said requests to monitor nuclear sites "will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis... taking into account safety and security issues", and be managed by Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

In early July, a team of IAEA inspectors left Iran to return to the organisation's headquarters in Vienna after Tehran suspended cooperation.

The talks were aimed at regulating Iran's nuclear activites in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Before agreeing to any new meeting, "we are examining its timing, its location, its form, its ingredients, the assurances it requires", said Araghchi, who also serves as Iran's lead negotiator.

He said that any talks would focus only on Iran's nuclear activities, not its military capabilities.

"If negotiations are held... the subject of the negotiations will be only nuclear and creating confidence in Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions," he told diplomats in Tehran.

"No other issues will be subject to negotiation."

Araghchi also warned that reimposing UN sanctions could eliminate Europe's role in the process.

"Such measures would signify the end of Europe's role in the Iranian nuclear dossier," Araghchi said.

A clause in the 2015 nuclear agreement, which US President Donald Trump withdrew from during his first term, allows for UN sanctions to be reimposed if Iran is found to be in breach of the deal.

Araghchi stressed that any new nuclear deal must uphold Iran's right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

"I would like to emphasise that in any negotiated solution, the rights of the Iranian people on the nuclear issue, including the right to enrichment, must be respected," he said.

"We will not have any agreement in which enrichment is not included."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the BRICS summit in Rio on Monday that Moscow would remain a committed ally of Iran and support its nuclear programme.

"Russia has technological solutions for uranium depletion and is ready to work with Iran in this field," Lavrov said, as reported by Russian state news outlet TASS.

 

Paris (AFP) – France on Saturday announced a "historic" accord with New Caledonia in which the overseas territory, rocked by deadly separatist violence last year, would remain French but be declared a new state.

President Emmanuel Macron had called for talks to break a deadlock between forces loyal to France and those wanting independence, asking New Caledonian elected officials, as well as political, economic and civil society leaders to gather near Paris to hammer out a constitional framework for the territory.

After 10 days of talks, the parties agreed that a "State of New Caledonia" should be created.

The archipelago is to retain "a status within France, with Caledonians who will remain French", said Nicolas Metzdorf, an anti-independence deputy.

"No more referendums are planned, with the exception of the one confirming this agreement," he said in a message sent to AFP.

The priority now was New Caledonia's economic recovery after last year's violence that killed 14 and is estimated to have cost the territory two billion euros ($2.3 billion), shaving 10 percent off its gross domestic product (GDP), he said.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Saturday's deal -- which still requires parliamentary and referendum approval -- was of "historic dimensions".

Home to around 270,000 people and located nearly 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from Paris, New Caledonia is one of several overseas territories that remain an integral part of France.

It has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many indigenous Kanaks still resent France's power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.

Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, something Kanaks feared would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.

As part of the agreement, New Caledonia residents will in future only be allowed to vote after 10 years of living on the archipelago.

The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.

The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence.

Since the 2021 referendum the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock.

Macron declared in early June he wanted a "new project" for New Caledonia.

The 13-page agreement announced Saturday calls for a New Caledonian nationality, and the possibility for residents there to combine that status with the French nationality.

According to the deal, a "State of New Caledonia" will be enshrined in France's constitution, and other countries could recognise such a state.

The deal also calls for an economic and financial recovery pact that would include a renewal of the territory's nickel processing capabilities.

Both chambers of France's parliament are to meet in the fourth quarter of this year to approve the deal, which is then to be submitted to New Caledonians in a referendum in 2026.

 

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel's proposals to keep troops in the territory, two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday.

Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt [...].

Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he hoped to clinch a deal "in a few days", which could then lead to talks for a more permanent end to hostilities.

But one Palestinian source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the talks, said Israel's refusal to accept Hamas's demand to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress.

Another said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha.

"The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal," one Palestinian source said.

The source said Israel was proposing to maintain military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, they added.

"Hamas's delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," the source said.

A second Palestinian source accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and "stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination".

Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday.

More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said.

The second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza.

Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks.

That included the group giving up weapons, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force.

 

Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe's southernmost tip, a move rights groups and opposition parties have called illegal.

The ban comes amid a surge in migrants reaching the island of Crete and after talks with Libya's Benghazi-based government to stem the flow were this week.

It marks a further hardening of Greece's stance towards migrants under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which has built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols since it came to power in 2019.

Human rights groups accuse Greece of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.

The government denies wrongdoing.

The law, which received 177 votes in favour and 74 against, halts asylum processing for at least three months and allows authorities to quickly repatriate migrants without any prior identification process.

"Faced with the sharp increase in irregular arrivals by sea from North Africa, particularly from Libya to Crete, we have taken the difficult but absolutely necessary decision to temporarily suspend the examination of asylum applications," Mitsotakis was quoted by his office as telling the German newspaper Bild on Friday.

"Greece is not a gateway to Europe open to everyone."

Greece was on the front line of a migration crisis in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa passed through its islands and mainland.

Since then, flows have dropped off dramatically. While there has been a rise in arrivals to the outlying islands of Crete and Gavdos - those numbers have quadrupled to over 7,000 so far this year - sea arrivals to Greece as a whole dropped by 5.5 percent to 17,000 in the first half of this year, U.N. data show.

Rights groups and opposition parties said the ban approved by parliament violates human rights.

"Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser for aid group International Rescue Committee (IRC.)

Thousands of irregular migrants have been rescued by the Greek coastguard off Crete in recent days, the Athens government said. Hundreds of them, including children, were temporarily housed at an exhibition centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania in western Crete, amid sweltering summer temperatures.

Footage by the Reuters news agency on Friday showed a migrant who had fainted being taken out of the shelter on a stretcher.

Crete lacks an organised reception facility. The government said it would build a migrant camp there but the local tourist industry is worried the plan could harm the island's image.

“The weight is too great, the load is too big, and solutions now have to be found ... at a central level,” said George Tsapakos, a deputy governor for Crete.

(With newswires)

 

Thirty years on from Europe’s worst atrocity since the Second World War, the Bosnian town of Srebrenica is still marked by empty streets, rows of graves and families who have never stopped waiting. Home to 6,000 people before the war, it now has fewer than 800 residents, as many young people leave in search of a fresh start far from Bosnia’s old divisions.

On 11 July, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in a massacre that international courts later ruled was a genocide.

Srebrenica was at the time a United Nations Safe Area, under the protection of UN troops.

Daily life in the town now revolves around the vast cemetery at Potocari, where the victims are buried.

“It’s important that Srebrenica lives – and not only on 11 July,” Nerma, a florist whose shop faces the cemetery, told RFI. She has seen the crowds shrink as fewer foreign visitors come each year to pay their respects.

Nerma, who lost relatives in the massacre, said the town still struggles with things most people take for granted.

“It’s no longer about knowing who is Bosniak or Serb. We have no bakery, no butcher, no clothing shop. If we want to do shopping for the children’s return to school, we have to go to another town,” she said.

On Friday, thousands gathered at the Potocari Memorial Centre to bury seven more victims, including a 19-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman.

Many families wait years to lay loved ones to rest because remains are often found in fragments in secondary graves.

“Before the war, there were 6,000 inhabitants. During the war, there were up to 50,000 people, and even more. Today, there aren’t even 800,” explained Sadik, a local writer who has watched the town empty, year by year.

That emptiness weighs on families who never found all they lost. “For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls,” said Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica group.

Her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin were among those killed in the massacre. "Our children were killed, innocent, in the UN protected zone. Europe and the world watched in silence as our children were killed."

In May last year, the UN General Assembly named 11 July the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

Many young Bosnians now choose to build their lives in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada or Australia. They leave behind a country still divided by old rivalries and a web of overlapping governments.

Bosnia’s power-sharing deal – the Dayton Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War – created a complex political structure, with a total of 17 governments split between the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Serb-majority Republika Srpska controls nearly half the land and is still pushing for independence. Bosniaks support a single, united state. Croats, the third-largest ethnic group in the country, want an autonomous region of their own.

Some young people see the conflict through fresh eyes. “Some are interested and try to understand and visit memorial sites,” Aline Cateux, an anthropologist who studies post-war Bosnia, told RFI. "They want each community, Serb or Muslim, to be able to commemorate its dead, to better move on."

She added that young people often focus more on the problems of today, such as corruption or pollution, rather than old divides.

Still, daily trust can be fragile. Small choices remind people of the past.

"From the point of view of a survivor, what trust can you place in a Serb doctor? If you are a Bosniak Muslim woman, are you really going to choose a Serb gynaecologist?" asks Cateux.

Some Serb leaders continue to reject the word genocide. “A terrible crime was committed, but it was not genocide,” Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, told a rally last week.

That denial shapes what some children learn, Cateaux said. In Serb-run areas, textbooks no longer mention Srebrenica. "In schools following the Serb curriculum, Bosniak Muslim children learn that certain war criminals are heroes."

While Bosnian Serb wartime leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic were jailed for life by international courts, lower-level suspects are still being pursued.

Since the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia closed in 2017, which had been responsible for the prosecution of serious crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars, Bosnia’s prosecutors have taken on nearly 500 cases linked to the war, involving around 4,000 suspects. Many of them live in Serbia or Croatia, where extradition is slow and rare.

Earlier this year, Bosnian courts charged five police officers and four soldiers over their alleged roles in the killings. Around 7,000 victims have been identified and buried so far, but nearly 1,000 are still missing.

Some families are able to bury only a bone or two when remains are found.

For Nezira Mehmedovic, visiting the graves of her sons Sajib and Sinan, killed in their early twenties, brings her closer to what is left.

"I like the most to come here to my sons. I talk to them, I cry, I pray, I kiss them,” she told French news agency AFP. “My heart aches for them constantly. They say life goes on... but how?"

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Merci pour le partage.

This project has been discontinued and the repo archived. I am done with Lemmy, the Fediverse as a whole, and have no desire to continue developing for the platform or (especially) the demographic thereof.

The hosted instance will remain online until the 07/31/2025 when I shut down my own instance.

Thank you for your support, but this is the end of the road.

Peace,

Pat.

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

What a farce

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

La chance !

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

"You made brave decisions on Iran. Now make the brave decision to end the war in Gaza and bring them home."

(⓿_⓿)...

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Kenya anniversary protests turn violent, 8 dead

Nairobi (AFP) – Marches in Kenya to mark a year since massive anti-government demos turned violent on Wednesday, with eight killed and at least 400 injured as protesters held running battles with police, who flooded Nairobi's streets with tear gas and sealed off government buildings with barbed wire.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250625-kenya-anniversary-protests-turn-violent-8-dead

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

I wonder how many of these bastards have dual nationality and quietly return to Europe, without
being worried by the justice, after having committed massacres

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Early this morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed of the military operation launched by Israel which includes attacks on nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We are currently in contact with the Iranian nuclear safety authorities to ascertain the status of relevant nuclear facilities and to assess any wider impacts on nuclear safety and security. At present, the competent Iranian authorities have confirmed that the Natanz enrichment site has been impacted and that there are no elevated radiation levels. They have also reported that at present the Esfahan and Fordow sites have not been impacted.

This development is deeply concerning. I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment. Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security.

In this regard, the IAEA recalls the numerous General Conference resolutions on the topic of military attacks against nuclear facilities, in particular, GC(XXIX)/RES/444 and GC(XXXIV)/RES/533, which provide, inter alia, that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency”.

Furthermore, the IAEA has consistently underlined that “armed attacks on nuclear facilities could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked”, as was stated in GC(XXXIV)/RES/533.

As Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and consistent with the objectives of the IAEA under the IAEA Statute, I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation. I reiterate that any military action that jeopardizes the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond.

Yesterday, the Board of Governors adopted an important resolution on Iran’s safeguards obligations. In addition to this, the Board resolution stressed its support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear programme.

The IAEA continues to monitor the situation closely, stands ready to provide technical assistance, and remains committed to its nuclear safety, security and safeguards mandate in all circumstances. I stand ready to engage with all relevant parties to help ensure the protection of nuclear facilities and the continued peaceful use of nuclear technology in accordance with the Agency mandate, including, deploying Agency nuclear security and safety experts (in addition to our safeguards inspectors in Iran) wherever necessary to ensure that nuclear installations are fully protected and continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.

I wish to inform the Board that I have indicated to the respective authorities my readiness to travel at the earliest to assess the situation and ensure safety, security and non-proliferation in Iran.

I have also been in contact with our inspectors in Iran and Israel. The safety of our staff is of paramount importance. All necessary actions are being taken to ensure they are not harmed.

Despite the current military actions and heightened tensions, it is clear that the only sustainable path forward—for Iran, for Israel, the entire region, and the international community—is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace, stability, and cooperation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, as the International technical institution entrusted with overseeing the peaceful use of nuclear energy, remains the unique and vital forum for dialogue, especially now.

In accordance with its Statute and longstanding mandate, the IAEA provides the framework and natural platform where facts prevail over rhetoric and where engagement can replace escalation.

I reaffirm the Agency’s readiness to facilitate technical discussions and support efforts that promote transparency, safety, security and the peaceful resolution of nuclear-related issues in Iran.

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

'Deeply worried' : China

"The Chinese side... is deeply worried about the severe consequences that such actions might bring," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, calling "on relevant parties to take actions that promote regional peace and stability and to avoid further escalation of tensions".

'Reasonable reaction': Czech Republic -

Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Iran "is supporting so many players, including the Hezbollah and Hamas movements, with the intention to destroy the state of Israel, and also seeking a nuclear bomb", that "I see that this was a reasonable reaction from the state of Israel towards a possible threat of a nuclear bomb".

Avoid any escalation' : France

"We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation that could undermine regional stability," France's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.

No 'battleground': Jordan

"Jordan has not and will not allow any violation of its airspace, reaffirming that the Kingdom will not be a battleground for any conflict," a government spokesperson told AFP after Jordan closed its airspace.

'Aggressive actions': Turkey

"Israel must put an immediate end to its aggressive actions that could lead to further conflicts," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.

'Legitimate right to defend itself': Yemen's Huthi rebels

Tehran-backed Huthi rebels said on Telegram they backed "Iran's full and legitimate right to... develop its nuclear programme" and that "we strongly condemn the brutal Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and affirm its full and legitimate right to respond by all possible means".

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250613-avoid-escalation-world-reacts-to-israel-strike-on-iran

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago

It is obvious that Israel obtained its nuclear force without deceit, is led by democratically elected humanists and is now a haven of peace in the region. 😊

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 month ago

Existing research links standard bicycle lanes with increased levels of bicyclist commuting. Here we question how newer facility types fare relative to standard bicycle lanes. Using 6 years of longitudinal data across 14,011 block groups in 28 US cities, we find that block groups that installed protected bicycle lanes experienced bicycle commuter increases 1.8 times larger than standard bicycle lane block groups, 1.6 times larger than shared-lane marking block groups and 4.3 times larger than block groups that did not install bicycle facilities. Focusing on mileage, protected bicycle lane mileage installed was significantly associated with bicycle commuter increases 52.5% stronger than standard bicycle lane mileage and 281.2% stronger than shared-lane marking mileage. The results suggest that lower-stress bicycle facilities—such as protected bicycle lanes—are significantly associated with larger increases in ridership at the block-group level compared with higher-stress facilities such as standard bicycle lanes and shared-lane markings.

[–] xiao@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

Bravo à eux

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