Washington (AFP) – Antarctica's winter sea ice has hit its third-lowest peak in nearly half a century of satellite monitoring, researchers said Tuesday, highlighting the growing influence of climate change on the planet's southern pole.

Each year during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, the ocean around Antarctica freezes hundreds of miles beyond the continent, with the maximum reach usually observed in September or October, before the thawing cycle begins.

This year, the ice appeared to peak on September 17 at 17.81 million square kilometers (6.88 million square miles), according to preliminary figures by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The 2025 maximum ranks as the third lowest in the 47-year record, behind the all-time low in 2023 and the second-lowest in 2024 -- but still well below the historic normal.

Senior research scientist Ted Scambos at CU Boulder told AFP that until 2016, measurements of Antarctic sea ice showed "an erratic but slight increase over time."

But "what seems to be happening is that warmth from the global ocean is now mixing into the water that's closest to Antarctica" -- meaning that climate change finally caught up with the southern continent's frozen seas.

Floating sea ice does not add to sea level when it melts.

But its retreat does replace white surfaces that reflect almost all of the Sun's energy back into space with deep blue water, which absorbs the same amount instead.

The sea ice also acts as a stabilizing buffer -- protecting the Antarctic Ice Sheet from entering the ocean and amplifying sea level rise by reducing the impact of waves before they reach the coast and lessening the effect of winds over the ocean.

On the other hand, it also triggers a competing effect.

"We may see more snowfall in Antarctica, because the humid air over the ocean would be closer to the coast... storms that arrive over the ice sheet would carry more moisture and therefore produce more snowfall over the continent, and that offsets sea level rise," said Scambos.

He added, however, that while increased snowfall could offset destabilization effects for decades, over longer timescales past records show that when the climate stays warmer, the ice sheet shrinks.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough land ice to raise seas high enough to inundate low-lying coastlines around the world, though such a catastrophic impact would likely unfold over centuries.

Ninety percent of the heat generated by human-caused global warming is soaked up by oceans.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — On a visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.

The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least four senior New Zealand security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.

Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law and possessing one requires an additional permit beyond a regular gun license. Law enforcement agencies didn’t specify whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but they couldn’t have legally kept the gifts if they didn’t.

It wasn’t clear what permissions Patel had sought to bring the weapons into the country. A spokesperson for Patel told the AP Tuesday that the FBI would not comment.

US FBI Director Kash Patel visits New Zealand, immediately provides local officials with 3d printed, potentially operable firearms...

... which is a crime, that could carry up to a 3 year prison/jail sentence in NZ...

... and would also potentially be somewhere between a misdemeanor and a felony depending on where you are in the US, as 3d printed firearms are generally without serial numbers and are thus 'ghost guns', which are illegal.

(Oh also, I guess he is so concerned about properly investigating the death of Charlie Kirk that he is uh, personally looking for leads in New Zealand, or something.)

Washington (AFP) – The Trump administration on Tuesday announced a deal granting Pfizer a three-year reprieve on planned tariffs as the pharmaceutical giant vowed to voluntarily lower the prices of unspecified drugs for US purchase.

President Donald Trump, flanked by top health officials, was scant on details regarding what or how many drugs were included in the agreement, the announcement of which came as Washington faced a looming government shutdown.

Under the deal Pfizer is to charge "Most Favored Nation" pricing -- matching the lowest price offered in other wealthy nations -- to Medicaid, the US health insurance program for low-income Americans.

The White House also said it would unveil a website -- called TrumpRx -- that would allow consumers to directly purchase some medications from manufacturers at discounted rates.

Like Trump, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla heralded the deal as a great achievement, although a statement from the company was equally vague on specifics.

The company did say a "large majority" of "primary care treatments and some select specialty brands" could be offered at savings from 50 percent to 85 percent.

"We now have the certainty and stability we need on two critical fronts, tariffs and pricing, that have suppressed the industry's valuations to historic lows," said Bourla.

Part of the deal included Pfizer agreeing to "invest $70 billion to reshore domestic manufacturing facilities" to the United States.

Trump's initiative revives drug-pricing efforts from his first term. The president has taken steps since returning to the White House to pressure pharmaceutical companies into voluntarily lowering their prices.

In July the US leader sent letters to leading pharmaceutical companies demanding they lower drug prices.

Democrats have long indicated that they, too, would like to lower drug prices.

In a report released Monday, independent Senator Bernie Sanders said that Trump's efforts on the issue had "made headlines" but had done "little beyond that."

The member of the Senate's health committee said in his report that since Trump sent the letters over the summer, the prices of 87 drugs actually increased.

Drug costs for consumers in the United States can depend on several variables, notably insurance coverage.

Many people receive insurance through an employer, the health insurance market or government programs including Medicare, which is for seniors, and the safety net Medicaid.

It is not clear how Tuesday's deal will impact drug pricing in the commercial insurance market.

The announcement comes as drugmakers gird for a 100-percent tariff Trump said he would impose on branded pharmaceutical products entering the country from October 1 -- unless companies were building manufacturing plants in the United States.

But details surrounding the rollout remain unclear.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed sector-specific tariffs on imports like steel, aluminum and autos, while launching investigations into other areas like pharmaceuticals that could lead to new levies.

Asked Tuesday about the timeline for fresh tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration plans to allow negotiations with companies to play out.

Hanoi (AFP) – A court in Vietnam sentenced on Tuesday 16 people at its only state-sanctioned producer of gold bars to lengthy prison terms in a corruption case involving millions of dollars and hundreds of kilograms of bullion, state media reported.

State-owned Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) has maintained a monopoly on gold bullion production in Vietnam since 2012.

But the State Bank of Vietnam announced in August that it will allow qualified commercial banks and enterprises to churn out gold bars starting October 10, replacing the former state-exclusive mechanism.

The court ruled on Tuesday that SJC's former CEO, Le Thuy Hang, had pocketed $2.7 million and caused a loss of $4 million to state coffers and SJC "through a series of fraudulent schemes", according to state media.

At the end of a five-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Hang was sentenced to prison for 25 years for property embezzlement and abuse of power, the report said.

Her 15 accomplices -- all SJC staff -- were given prison terms ranging from two years, suspended, to more than 22 years on the same charges.

Between 2021 and 2024, Hang directed her subordinates to inflate the loss rate when processing 10 tonnes of SJC-branded gold bars, appropriating nearly 3.6 kilograms of gold.

They falsified documents to legalise the surplus gold and sold it for personal gain, according to the report.

The court also said that while handling dented gold bars assigned by the central bank to process, Hang had around 235 kilograms of SJC gold bars and tens of thousands of gold rings illegally manufactured and sold for profit.

Hang also ordered her staff to create a fake customer list to smuggle out about 34 kilograms of gold.

"The defendants had conducted very sophisticated acts, bypassing the tight monitor by the State Bank of Vietnam," VNExpress said, quoting the verdict.

"They had abused state policy and their power to violate the state gold management mechanism, causing instability to the market."

The defendants were ordered to pay back a total of about 640 kilograms of gold to the state, the court ruled.

Families and businesses in Vietnam have long relied on the precious metal as a store of value, personal savings and a hedge against currency depreciation.

Its price in Vietnam is typically higher than the global trading price due to local taxes and market distortions.

Cebu (Philippines) (AFP) – A 6.9-magnitude quake struck off the coast of the central Philippines on Tuesday evening, damaging buildings and roads and knocking out power in parts of the region, with no immediate reports of casualties.

The local seismology office warned of a possible "minor sea-level disturbance" and urged residents of the central islands of Leyte, Cebu and Biliran to "stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast".

The epicentre of the quake was at sea off the northern tip of Cebu island and near Bogo, a city of more than 90,000 people, according to a Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, adding it expected both damage and aftershocks.

Cebu firefighter Joey Leeguid told AFP from San Fernando town: "We felt the shake here in our station, it was so strong. We saw our locker moving from left to right, we felt slightly dizzy for a while but we are all fine now."

Martham Pacilan, a 25-year-old resident of the resort town of Bantayan, near the epicentre, said he was at the town square near a church, which was damaged by the quake.

"I heard a loud booming noise from the direction of the church then I saw rocks falling from the structure. Luckily no one got hurt," he told AFP.

"I was in shock and in panic at the same time but my body couldn't move, I was just there waiting for the shake to stop."

Agnes Merza, a carer based in Bantayan, said her kitchen tiles had cracked.

"It felt as though we would all fall down. It's the first time I have experienced it. The neighbours all ran out of their homes. My two teenage assistants hid under a table because that's what they were taught in the boy scouts," the 65-year-old told AFP.

The Cebu provincial government reported a commercial building and a school in Bantayan had collapsed, while a number of village roads had also sustained damage.

However the fact the quake struck at 9:59 pm local time (1359 GMT) meant the buildings were likely not occupied at the time.

The quake caused power lines to trip, leading to outages across Cebu and nearby central islands, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said in an advisory, adding it was still assessing the extent of the damage.

In a live video message on her official Facebook account, Cebu provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro urged residents to "stay calm and move to open areas; keep away from walls or structures that may collapse and stay alert for aftershocks.

She said the provincial government was assessing the situation and reaching out to municipal officials.

The USGS had reported a magnitude reading of 7.0, before revising it down, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the earthquake.

Quakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Most are too weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive ones come at random, with no technology available to predict when and where they might strike.

Jerusalem (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas an ultimatum of "three or four days" to respond to his plan to end the war in Gaza, as the militant group reviewed the proposal backed by Israel.

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of Hamas and the gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas had yet to issue its response.

"We're going to do about three or four days," Trump told reporters when asked about any timeframe.

He later warned the militants would face severe consequences if they refused.

"We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don't sign," Trump told US generals and admirals gathered at a military base in Quantico, Virginia.

Trump announced his proposal at the White House on Monday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Tuesday, a Palestinian source said on condition of anonymity that Hamas had begun consultations on the plan "within its political and military leaderships, both inside Palestine and abroad".

"The discussions could take several days due to the complexities," the source said.

"It is still too early to speak about responses, but we are truly optimistic that this plan, as we said, is a comprehensive one," foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

The deal demands that Hamas militants fully disarm and be excluded from future roles in the government, but those who agree to "peaceful co-existence" would be given amnesty.

It would also see a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after nearly two years of war sparked [...].

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "all parties" to commit to "an agreement and its implementation".

He also reiterated his call for an "immediate and permanent ceasefire", a spokesman said.

But in a video statement posted after the joint press conference with Trump, Netanyahu said that the military would stay in most of Gaza, and that he did not agree to a Palestinian state during his talks in Washington.

"We will recover all our hostages, alive and well, while the (Israeli military) will remain in most of the Gaza Strip," he said.

Still, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Netanyahu's coalition government, blasted the plan as a "resounding diplomatic failure".

"In my estimation, it will also end in tears. Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again," he said.

Trump's plan includes deployment of a "temporary international stabilisation force" and the creation of a transitional authority headed by Trump himself and including former British premier Tony Blair.

During his press conference with Trump, Netanyahu cast doubt on whether the Palestinian Authority, which nominally runs Palestinian population centres in the occupied West Bank, would be allowed a role in Gaza's governance.

Trump noted that during their meeting Netanyahu strongly opposed any Palestinian statehood -- something that the US plan leaves room for.

"I support your plan to end the war in Gaza which achieves our war aims," Netanyahu said.

"If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself."

Trump said Israel would have his "full backing" to do so if Hamas did not accept the deal.

Key Arab and Muslim nations, including mediators Egypt and Qatar, hailed the agreement's "sincere efforts" in the wake of their own talks with Trump last week.

Washington's European allies including Britain, France, Germany and Italy voiced strong expressions of support, while China and Russia also declared their backing.

But in Gaza, people were sceptical.

"It's clear that this plan is unrealistic", 39-year-old Ibrahim Joudeh told AFP from his shelter in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

"It's drafted with conditions that the US and Israel know Hamas will never accept. For us, that means the war and the suffering will continue," said the computer programmer, originally from the southern city of Rafah, devastated by a military offensive that began in May.

Israeli air strikes and shelling continued across Gaza on Tuesday, according to the territory's civil defence agency and witnesses.

The Israeli military said its forces were carrying out operations across the territory, particularly in Gaza City.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed what it called Trump's "sincere and determined efforts."

But Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said the plan would fuel further aggression against Palestinians.

"Through this, Israel is attempting -- via the United States -- to impose what it could not achieve through war," the group said.

Tokyo (AFP) – An artificial intelligence tool that can detect tiny, hard-to-spot brain malformations in children with epilepsy could help patients access life-changing surgery quicker, Australian researchers said on Wednesday.

It is the latest example of how AI, which can crunch vast amounts of data, is changing healthcare by assisting doctors with diagnoses.

Epilepsy has several different causes, and overall around three in 10 cases are down to structural abnormalities in the brain, experts say.

These are often missed on MRI scans -- especially the smallest lesions, sometimes hidden at the bottom of a brain fold.

A team led by Emma Macdonald-Laurs, a paediatric neurologist at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, trained an AI tool on child brain images to find lesions the size of a blueberry or smaller.

"They're frequently missed and many children are not considered as surgical candidates," Macdonald-Laurs told a briefing ahead of the publication of her team's study in the journal Epilepsia.

"The tool doesn't replace radiologists or epilepsy doctors, but it's like a detective that helps us put the puzzle pieces together quicker so we can offer potentially life-changing surgery," she said.

Of the patients who took part, with conditions known as cortical dysplasia and focal epilepsy, 80 percent had previously had an MRI scan come back as normal.

When the researchers used the AI tool to analyse both MRI and another type of medical scan called a PET, its success rate was 94 percent for one test group and 91 percent for another.

Out of 17 children in the first group, 12 had surgery to remove their brain lesions, and 11 are now seizure-free, said Macdonald-Laurs's team at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

"Our next plans are to test this detector in more real-life hospital settings on new undiagnosed patients," she said.

Epilepsy, which causes recurrent seizures, affects about one in 200 children, and about a third of cases are drug-resistent.

"This work is really exciting" as a proof of concept and the results are "really impressive", Konrad Wagstyl, a biomedical computing expert at King's College London (KCL), told AFP.

Similar research published in February by a KCL team using AI on MRI data spotted 64 percent of epilepsy-linked brain lesions that were missed by radiologists.

The Australian researchers used MRI with PET, "but some caveats are that PET is expensive, it's not as widely available as MRI, and there is a dose of radiation like a CT scan or an X-ray associated with it," Wagstyl noted.

Youth-led demonstrators clashed with police over the weekend in some of Morocco’s largest anti-government protests in years, denouncing what they called the government’s misplaced priorities.

Hundreds of young Moroccans took to the streets of at least 11 cities across the North African nation, denouncing corruption and blasting the government for pouring money into international sporting events while neglecting health and education.

They drew a direct link between the country’s struggling health care system and its investments in the lead-up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, shouting slogans including, “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

Hanoi (AFP) – Long-lasting Typhoon Bualoi left swaths of Vietnam flooded on Tuesday, with the storm killing 19 people and wreaking havoc on homes, infrastructure and farmland.

Bualoi made landfall in central Vietnam late Sunday, packing winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour, and remaining over land for almost 12 hours.

The duration was "very rare" as compared to other typhoons, said Mai Van Khiem, head of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on Tuesday.

"This typhoon -- the tenth that hit Vietnam this year -- was a serious natural disaster, bringing a combination of strong winds, huge flash floods and widespread flooding," Khiem said.

By Tuesday, the typhoon and its aftermath, including a whirlwind in the north on Monday, had killed 19 people and injured more than 80, according to a report from the environment ministry.

A search for 21 others was ongoing -- including several sailors whose fishing vessels became unmoored by strong winds and currents.

More than 100,000 houses were damaged, and around 2,700 families were stranded in central Ha Tinh province, the ministry said.

"I have not experienced such a strong typhoon in several decades," Le Hong Luyen, 62, from Nghe An province told AFP. "My house and garden are all flooded."

The storm also devastated 225 square kilometres of rice and other cropland, uprooted more than 10,000 trees and downed electrical poles, causing power outages in several central areas on Tuesday.

Disaster and weather authorities were continuously updating alerts on Tuesday on rising river levels and possible landslides in mountainous areas.

The Southeast Asian nation is usually hit by up to 10 storms annually, but forecasters have warned of two to three more this year.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is turbocharging extreme weather events like typhoons, making them ever more deadly and destructive.

Storms in Vietnam have caused $371 million in damage from January to August, triple the amount from the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

Typhoon Yagi killed hundreds of people in Vietnam in September last year and caused economic losses worth $3.3 billion.

The capital Hanoi also suffered heavy rain from late Monday, with widespread flooding disrupting traffic.

"The floodwater reached almost the top of my motorbike. It was a terrible morning. My bike got damaged," said Hanoi resident Tran Thanh Huong, who never reached her office after almost two hours of trying.

Typhoon Bualoi also battered small islands in the centre of the Philippines last week, unleashing floods, killing 27 people and forcing 400,000 to evacuate.

Antananarivo (AFP) – Protesters in Madagascar called for fresh demonstrations Tuesday, a day after President Andry Rajoelina sacked his government in a bid to quell mounting unrest that has left 22 people dead, according to the UN.

Inspired by "Gen Z" protests in Indonesia and Nepal, the youth-led movement has taken aim at ingrained misgovernance, fuelled by anger over repeated water and power cuts across the Indian Ocean nation.

Rajoelina Monday fired his entire government and vowed to find a solution to the country's problems.

"When the Malagasy people suffer, I want you to know that I feel that pain too, and I have not slept, day or night, in my efforts to find solutions and improve the situation," he said.

But it was not enough to put paid to protests, with the organisers calling for a rally in the capital Tuesday at 11:00 am (0800 GMT).

Previous demonstrations have been met with a heavy police response, with at least 22 people killed and more than 100 injured, according to the UN.

The government has rejected the tally as unverified and "based on rumours".

Last week's protests in the capital Antananarivo were followed by widespread looting throughout the night.

"They call us the TikTok generation, a generation of idiots, and when we rise up, they won't even let us speak," a student protester said Monday, dressed in black in line with a call on social media to mourn those killed.

"Mr Andry Rajoelina, when you led protests, you were allowed to, it was fine. But when we young people rise to fight for our country, you try to silence us," she said.

Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, came to power on the back of a coup that ousted former president Marc Ravalomanana.

After not contesting the 2013 election due to international pressure, he was voted back into office in 2018.

Madagascar ranks among the world's poorest countries but is the leading producer of vanilla, one of the most expensive spices after saffron.

Soacha (Colombia) (AFP) – Colombian officials said Monday the country has produced its first combat rifle, a cheaper, lighter weapon aimed at replacing the arms that were once supplied its former military ally Israel.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro broke ties with Israel in 2024 to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

State-owned weapons manufacturer Indumil produced the arms -- the first combat rifle manufactured in Colombia -- to replace the Galil, a rifle that had been assembled in Colombia using Israeli components since the 1990s.

The goal is to manufacture 400,000 lighter and cheaper rifles in five years and "gradually replace current weapons in the armed forces," Indumil manager and retired Colonel Javier Carmago told AFP.

Experts have voiced doubt that the Latin American country can get up to production capacity without paying a steep price.

The new weapons, made of steel and polymer, are 15 to 25 percent lighter.

Petro also halted purchases of arms from the United States, after President Donald Trump removed Colombia from his list of allies in the fight against drugs.

For the past three decades, Colombia's leaders have taken up arms against guerrillas and drug traffickers involved in cocaine and illegal gold operations.

Jakarta (AFP) – Searchers raced Tuesday to rescue at least 38 people still believed trapped after the collapse of an Islamic school building in Indonesia that has already left three dead, authorities said.

The building gave way Monday on Indonesia's main island Java where students were gathered for afternoon prayers, said local reports, citing a witness.

Families desperate for news of their loved ones and rescuers were crowded around the multi-storey building in the town of Sidoarjo.

"The number of victims is 102 people, consisting of 99 survivors, 3 deaths," National Search and Rescue Agency head Mohammad Syafii said.

He added that rescuers were working urgently to save the lives of survivors who are thought to still be trapped under the rubble.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said rescuers were still searching for 38 people thought to be trapped under the rubble.

Atok Irawan, the head of a local hospital in Sidoarjo, told reporters that two people died of their injuries on Tuesday while they were treated in the hospital's emergency room.

Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia.

Earlier this month, at least three people were killed and dozens injured after a building hosting a prayer recital collapsed in West Java.

The announcement is part of a larger agricultural program dubbed "Sin maíz no hay país," which aims to support corn producers.

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In a country haunted by Soviet memory and threatened by Russian influence, ordinary voters chose the path toward Europe.

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Doha (AFP) – Key Muslim nations on Monday threw their weight behind a plan by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, even as some Palestinians decried the proposal as a "farce".

Washington's European allies urged Hamas to accept the plan, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported as he warned the Palestinian armed group of more devastation if it did not comply.

Eight Arab or Muslim-majority nations said in a joint statement that they "welcome the role of the American president and his sincere efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza".

They said they "affirm their readiness to engage positively and constructively with the United States and the parties toward finalising the agreement and ensuring its implementation".

The countries include Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey -- which all recognise Israel, although some have turbulent relationships.

Also signing the statement were Qatar, which has played a key mediatory role, and Saudi Arabia, whose future normalisation with Israel is a key goal for Trump and Netanyahu.

Indonesia and Pakistan, the world's two most populous Muslim-majority countries, also joined the statement.

Indonesia has offered troops as part of a future Gaza force, while Pakistan has been eager to woo Trump and improve its relationship with Washington.

Trump hailed a statement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, posted on X even before the White House announcement, in which he voiced his "firm belief that President Trump is fully prepared to assist in whatever way necessary" to secure an end to the war.

The Palestinian Authority, which Netanyahu has sought to sideline, was also quick to offer support, welcoming Trump's "sincere and determined efforts".

Hamas has yet to comment in depth, saying the group had yet to receive the plan.

But Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, called the plan "a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people".

"Through this, Israel is attempting -- via the United States -- to impose what it could not achieve through war," it said.

Residents of war-torn Gaza expressed scepticism over the plan, dismissing it as a trick to release hostages that would not end the war.

"We as a people will not accept this farce," said Abu Mazen Nassar, 52.

Macron hailed Trump's "commitment to ending the war in Gaza".

"Hamas has no choice but to immediately free all hostages and follow this plan," Macron wrote on X.

He also called on Israel to commit "resolutely" to it.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said the UK "strongly" supported Trump's "efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza".

The plan includes a call for a transitional body in Gaza led by Trump and involving former British prime minister Tony Blair.

"President Trump has put down a bold and intelligent plan which, if agreed, can end the war, bring immediate relief to Gaza, the chance of a brighter and better future for its people, whilst ensuring Israel's absolute and enduring security and the release of all hostages," Blair said in a statement.

European Union chief Antonio Costa urged all parties to "seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance", adding that the "situation in Gaza is intolerable".

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government, which has faced growing pressure over its cautious stance, also hailed Trump's diplomacy.

In a statement, it called on "all sides to seize this opportunity and accept the plan".

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the Trump plan "offers a unique opportunity to end the terrible war in Gaza.

"Finally, there is hope for Israelis and Palestinians that this war could soon be over."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez -- who has accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza -- said Madrid "welcomes the peace proposal".

"We have to put an end to so much suffering," he said, adding that a two-state solution was "the only one possible".

Some EU member states paid more for Russian LNG than they gave in financial support for Ukraine, a new report by Greenpeace Belgium shows. With that €8bn Russia could have bought 270,000 Shahed attack drones.

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The countries are traditional allies but their relationship has been complex and strained at times.

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Phone and internet connections are down nationwide after the Taliban cut fibre-optic connections to prevent "immorality".

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura signed a decree increasing his authority over the military and certain public services, the Venezuelan VP said on Monday. The US has recently deployed warships in the Caribbean, leading Maduro's government to respond as if to an "undeclared war."

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250929224840/https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250929-maduro-security-powers-military-venezuela

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United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United Nations Security Council will vote on Tuesday on whether to beef up a UN-backed security mission in gang-dominated Haiti into a full-fledged force with troops.

Currently just 1,000 police officers, mostly from Kenya, are deployed in Haiti under the Multinational Security Mission (MSS) to support the overwhelmed Haitian police in their fight against rampant gang violence.

But the mission, which was approved in 2023, has had deeply mixed results.

"Every day, innocent lives are snuffed out by bullets, fire and fear," Laurent Saint-Cyr, who heads the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council, told the UN's signature diplomatic gathering last week.

"Entire neighborhoods are disappearing, forcing more than a million people into internal exile and reducing to nothing memories, investments, and infrastructure.

"This is the face of Haiti today, a country at war, a contemporary Guernica, a human tragedy on America's doorstep -- just a four-hour flight from here," he said.

Saint-Cyr has thrown his support behind the US and Panamanian proposal to evolve the MSS into a more resilient force for an initial period of one year.

The new force could comprise a maximum of 5,500 uniformed personnel, including police officers and military troops, unlike the MSS, which is just law enforcement.

Kenya's president William Ruto said last week that "with the right personnel, adequate resources, appropriate equipment and necessary logistics, Haiti's security can be restored."

The boost would be accompanied by the creation of a support office within the UN, suggested several months ago by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to provide the required logistical and financial support.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said last week: "This mandate would empower the force to proactively target gangs and restore security to Haiti while ensuring it has the appropriate tools to succeed the mission's anticipated objectives."

"Unfortunately, adopting this resolution is not a given. Despite the majority support of the Security Council, some might try to prevent its adoption or slow down our response to Haiti," Landau said.

China had already expressed skepticism about the role of the MSS without political transition in Haiti, but it abstained during the vote, as did Russia.

According to diplomatic sources, it is unclear what positions the two countries, which hold veto power, will take during Tuesday's vote.

The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has long suffered at the hands of violent criminal gangs that commit murders, rapes, looting, and kidnappings against a backdrop of chronic political instability.

The situation has worsened significantly since early 2024, when gangs drove then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.

The country, which has not held elections since 2016, has since been led by a Transitional Presidential Council.

Washington (AFP) – Michigan's governor on Monday asked Americans to "lower the temperature" after the latest violence in her state, as authorities search for a motive in a Mormon church attack the day before.

"We still are in the process of clearing out that church, but at this time everyone is accounted for," Grand Blanc police chief William Renye said as he confirmed a final toll of four victims killed and eight injured in Sunday's violence.

Police in the northern US state said the shooter first rammed the church with his vehicle before opening fire with an assault rifle, and then set the building on fire.

He was killed by police in the parking lot minutes later.

Images in the aftermath of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, near Flint, showed most of the building reduced to ashes.

FBI special agent for Michigan Reuben Coleman called the incident "an act of targeted violence" but declined to specify who or what the target was.

"We are continuing to work to determine a motive," Coleman told a press conference.

Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that "at this juncture, speculation is unhelpful and it can be downright dangerous.

"So, (I) just ask that people lower the temperature of rhetoric."

Sunday's attack comes a month after a shooting at a Catholic church and school in neighboring Minnesota, in which two children were killed while attending Mass, and several were severely wounded.

As partisan divisions deepen, political violence has become more frequent in the United States.

President Donald Trump called Sunday's violence "horrendous" and said it was "yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America."

Washington (AFP) – Video game giant Electronic Arts, known for The Sims and FIFA games, announced Monday it would be acquired for $55 billion by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

The group includes US investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the Miami-based firm founded by Jared Kushner, former White House advisor and son-in-law of President Donald Trump.

"This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work," EA Chairman and CEO Andrew Wilson said of the company's employees in a statement, adding the deal would help "unlock new opportunities on a global stage."

The deal would be the largest all-cash private equity buyout in history, the statement said.

EA, known for popular franchises including FIFA soccer games, Madden NFL, The Sims and Battlefield, reported revenue of $7.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

FIFA was updated annually from 1993 to 2023, before Electronic Arts lost the license following a financial disagreement between EA and the FIFA organization.

The game, now called EA Sports FC, has largely retained its player base, becoming the best-selling game in Western Europe in 2023, the year the first renamed edition launched.

The publisher also owns The Sims franchise, which allows players to create an avatar and develop characters and a city in a virtual world.

Twenty-five years after its launch, The Sims continues to attract new fans. In May 2024, EA revealed that 85 million people were playing the latest version, The Sims 4.

The California-based company is also counting on the release of the new version of its first-person shooter game Battlefield, called Battlefield 6, which will be its 13th installment in the series.

After seeing its revenue soar in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, the company founded by former Apple employee Trip Hawkins in 1982 has experienced a slowdown, in line with the sector as a whole.

This major new deal in the video game world comes two years after Microsoft's $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which also left the stock market.

On Wall Street, the shares of remaining listed gamers were up on Monday. Roblox rose 4.72 percent, while Take-Two Interactive gained 1.53 percent.

The acquisition is expected to close in early fiscal 2027 and requires approval from EA shareholders and regulatory authorities.

Saudi Arabia's PIF, which already holds a 9.9 percent stake in EA, will roll over its existing investment as part of the transaction.

This announcement follows a tour of the Gulf region in May by President Trump, which was marked by promises of huge investments.

Trump signed a "strategic economic partnership" agreement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto leader, which, according to the White House, will see Riyadh invest $600 billion in the United States.

Video games are at the heart of the crown prince's ambitious "Vision 2030" reform plan.

The oil-rich monarchy is passionate about gaming and eSports: 70 percent of Saudis are under 35, and Mohammed bin Salman, aged 40, is himself known to be a fan of the game Call of Duty.

The deal will be financed through approximately $36 billion in equity from the consortium members and $20 billion in debt committed by JPMorgan Chase. Upon completion, EA will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange and remain headquartered in Redwood City, California, under Wilson's continued leadership.

The agreement marks PIF's latest major investment in the gaming sector as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil revenues.

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – A North Korean minister said on Monday in a rare address to the UN that Pyongyang would never surrender its nuclear weapons but left open the door to diplomacy.

Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Kim Son Gyong made the trip to New York to attend the United Nation's annual high-level week -- a role previously performed at a lower level by the country's ambassador.

"(The) imposition of 'Denuclearization' on the DPRK is tantamount to demanding it to surrender sovereignty and right to existence and violate the Constitution," said Gyong.

"We will never give up nuclear which is our state law, national policy and sovereign power as well as the right to existence. Under any circumstances, we will never walk away from this position."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said last week that he was open to talks with the United States, provided that he can keep his nuclear arsenal, according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 is under rafts of UN sanctions for its banned weapons programs.

The country is believed to operate multiple uranium enrichment facilities, South Korea's spy agency has said, including one at its Yongbyon nuclear site, which Pyongyang purportedly decommissioned after talks -- although it later reactivated the facility in 2021.

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung vowed Tuesday at the United Nations to work to end the "vicious cycle" of tensions with the North as he promised not to seek regime change.

"The DPRK will, as in the past, so in the future, collaborate with all countries and nations that oppose and reject aggression, intervention, domination and subjugation and aspire after independence and justice, irrespective of differences in ideas and systems," said Gyong without specifically referring to any country.

Washington (AFP) – US sanctions went into effect Monday on a major Indian port project in Iran, as President Donald Trump again showed his willingness to punish longstanding partner New Delhi in aid of his wider regional goals -- in this case to pressure Tehran.

The sanctions on the Chabahar port come a day after wide UN sanctions also came back into force on Iran, as Trump, European allies and Israel have all targeted the country over its nuclear program.

The first Trump administration issued a rare exemption in 2018 to allow Indian companies to keep developing Chabahar when the United States imposed sweeping unilateral sanctions on Iran, whose main port at Bandar Abbas is overcapacity.

But much has changed since 2018. Kabul was then still controlled by a government backed by Washington, the European Union and India, who viewed Pakistan's role in Afghanistan with suspicion, accusing it of having ties to the Taliban.

Chabahar had been billed as an alternate gateway to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan, which has long controlled the lion's share of transit trade into Afghanistan.

The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, as US forces withdrew under a peace deal signed by Trump.

The US president has also broken with decades of US deference to India, in which his predecessors declined to press New Delhi on disagreements as they saw the rising power as a counterweight to China.

Trump, who appeared peeved after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declined to praise him over a ceasefire in a four-day conflict with Pakistan, has imposed major tariffs on India due to its purchases of oil from Russia.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott announced the end of the sanctions exemption on Chabahar in an earlier statement that said it was effective September 29.

The decision is "consistent with President Trump's maximum pressure policy to isolate the Iranian regime" and the exemption had been made "for Afghanistan reconstruction assistance and economic development," Pigott said.

Under US law, companies including state-run India Ports Global Limited will have 45 days to exit Chabahar or risk having any US-based assets frozen and US transactions barred.

Joshua Kretman, a counsel at law firm Dentons who formerly worked on sanctions at the State Department, said any inclusion of an Indian firm on the sanctioned list "has the potential to create a kind of cascading effect where banks and other companies may not transact with the designated business."

"If that sanctioned entity operates globally, needs access to major banks or dollar clearing, there is legitimate reason for concern," he said.

Commenting on the decision, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said only: "We are presently examining the implications that this revocation has for India."

Despite the closing of Afghanistan, India last year signed a 10-year contract in which the state-run India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) promised $370 million of investment in Chabahar.

The port remains strategic for India as it lies near the border with longtime adversary Pakistan, in the troubled Baluchistan region.

Barely 200 kilometers (125 miles) away on the Pakistani side, China is building a major port in Gwadar, which will give Beijing major new access into the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

Chabahar "has strategic value for India: regional connectivity with Iran and Afghanistan and the Middle East without being held back" by "friction with Pakistan," said Aparna Pande, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute.

But India is always careful not to violate sanctions, she said.

"At a time when there is an American administration which is imposing sanctions and tariffs as punitive action, India will likely adopt a wait-and-watch approach," she said.

India begrudgingly stopped buying Iranian oil after Trump imposed sanctions in his first term.

Nonetheless Kadira Pethiyagoda, a geopolitical strategist who has written on Indian foreign policy, said that India could use Iran ties as "leverage in its dealings with the US, Gulf states and Israel."

"India may choose to wear the sanctions as part of a broader effort amongst non-Western Great Powers, including China and Russia, to reduce reliance on the US economy and decouple from Western-controlled financial networks," he said.

The 2025 autumn draft in Russia, set for October to December, will conscript 135,000 young adults, per a new decree.

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