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AFP

  • Jennifer Lawrence to get San Sebastian Festival award

    Jennifer Lawrence to get San Sebastian Festival award

    Oscar-winning actor and producer Jennifer Lawrence will receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain next month, organisers said Tuesday.

    35-year-old Jennifer Lawrence will get a special ‘Donostia’ award at the festival, where her latest movie ‘Die, My Love’ will be shown.

    The festival described Lawrence as ‘one of the most influential actors of our time’ in announcing the award.

    The new movie, which Lawrence also produced, will be shown on September 26, the same day as she receives the award.

    The Spanish festival, which runs from September 19 to 27, will also give a lifetime achievement award to Esther Garcia, a producer closely linked to many of the films of Pedro Almodovar and other top Spanish directors.

    Also Read: ‘Jennifer Lawrence is the last movie star,’ says Sean Penn

  • China says will not participate in denuclearisation talks with US, Russia

    China says will not participate in denuclearisation talks with US, Russia

    BEIJING: China said Wednesday that it would not participate in denuclearisation talks with the United States and Russia, after President Donald Trump said he hoped to include Beijing in negotiations.

    Trump on Monday said the United States was trying to pursue denuclearisation with both countries.

    “I think the denuclearisation is a very — it’s a big aim. But Russia’s willing to do it and I think China is going to be willing to do it too,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

    “We can’t let nuclear weapons proliferate. We have to stop nuclear weapons,” he added.

    Russia and the United States — former Cold War rivals — possess almost 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons between them, but Moscow pulled out of the last remaining arms control agreement with Washington in 2023.

    When asked about Trump’s comments, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Wednesday it was “neither reasonable nor realistic” to expect China to participate in trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States and Russia.

    “China and the United States are not at the same level at all in terms of nuclear capabilities,” Guo told reporters.

    “The countries with the largest nuclear arsenal should earnestly fulfil their special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament,” he said.

    Beijing says it favours disarmament in principle but has regularly rejected Washington’s invitations to join US-Russian talks on reducing their nuclear arsenals.

    According to 2024 estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United States has 3,708 nuclear warheads and Russia 4,380, excluding retired warheads.

    China had 500, 90 more than in 2023. Behind them were France (290) and Britain (225).

    Beijing said on Wednesday it maintains its nuclear forces “at the minimum level required for national security, and does not engage in an arms race with any country”.

  • Russia rejects EU troops in Ukraine and speedy Zelensky meeting

    Russia rejects EU troops in Ukraine and speedy Zelensky meeting

    MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was against European countries sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine and pushed back against the idea of a speedy meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

    “We view such discussions negatively,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked for Moscow’s view on a possible European peacekeeping force as part of any deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

    He said Russia’s desire to prevent NATO countries from having a military presence in Ukraine was one of the initial reasons behind the conflict, which Moscow launched in February 2022 with its offensive.

    Ukraine is pushing for Western-backed security guarantees as a part of any agreement to ensure Russia does not attack again, while Moscow is demanding Kyiv cedes more territory in its east.

    The security guarantees for Ukraine are “one of the most important topics” in talks over a settlement, Peskov said, adding Moscow would not discuss specifics of what they could look like publicly.

    The Kremlin also further pushed back on the idea that a summit between President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky was likely to take place soon.

    “Any high-level or top-level contact must be well-prepared in order to be effective,” Peskov told reporters, including AFP, in a briefing call.

    He also said the heads of Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams were “in touch” but no date had been set for future talks.

  • Taiwan prosecutors charge three with stealing TSMC trade secrets

    Taiwan prosecutors charge three with stealing TSMC trade secrets

    TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwanese prosecutors charged on Wednesday three people with stealing trade secrets from TSMC, the world’s biggest maker of semiconductor chips.

    “This case involves critical national core technologies vital to Taiwan’s industrial lifeline, gravely threatening the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s semiconductor sector,” the High Prosecutors Office’s Intellectual Property Branch said in a statement.

    The three people — including a former TSMC engineer and two staff working for the chipmaker at the time of the alleged theft — were charged under the National Security Act and the Trade Secrets Act.

    In a previous statement, TSMC said it had taken “strict disciplinary actions against the personnel involved” in the “potential trade secret leaks”.

    TSMC did not provide details about the technology involved in the suspected leaks.

  • Israeli protesters demand hostage deal as cabinet meets

    Israeli protesters demand hostage deal as cabinet meets

    Tel Aviv: Thousands of demonstrators massed in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, seeking to push the government to end the war in Gaza and strike a deal to return hostages, as the security cabinet convened.

    The first protests began at daybreak as demonstrators blocked roads in the commercial hub, where they waved Israeli flags and held up pictures of the hostages, AFP journalists reported.

    Israeli media said others rallied near the US embassy branch in the city, as well as outside the houses of various ministers.

    Hours later as the sun set over Tel Aviv, thousands more gathered in “Hostage Square”, which has served as a focal point for the protest movement for months.

    People in the crowd sounded air horns, blew whistles and banged on drums as they chanted: “The government is failing us, we won’t give up until every hostage is home.”

    “I’m here first and foremost to protest, and to call for the government to make a deal and bring all the hostages home and to end the war,” said demonstrator Yoav Vider, 29.

    Following the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later spoke at an event Tuesday evening, remaining vague about the government’s intentions as Israeli media reported the meeting had been inconclusive.

    “We have just come from a cabinet meeting. I don’t think I can elaborate too much,” said Netanyahu.

    “But I will say one thing: It started in Gaza, and it will end in Gaza.”

    Israel is under mounting international pressure to wrap up its Gaza campaign, with Donald Trump’s envoy saying the US president would host a meeting on post-war plans for the shattered enclave Wednesday.

    “We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day,” Steve Witkoff said on Fox News Tuesday, without offering more details.

    – Cabinet meeting –

    The security cabinet approved a plan in early August for the military to take over Gaza City, triggering fresh fears for the safety of the hostages and a new wave of protests that has seen tens of thousands take to the streets.

    Netanyahu last week ordered immediate talks aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives in Gaza, while also doubling down on the plans for a new offensive to seize Gaza’s largest city.

    That came days after Hamas said it had accepted a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators that would see the staggered release of hostages over an initial 60-day period in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

    In Doha on Tuesday, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a regular news conference that mediators were still “waiting for an answer” from Israel to the latest proposal.

    “The responsibility now lies on the Israeli side to respond to an offer that is on the table. Anything else is political posturing by the Israeli side.”

    Earlier in the day, the families of hostages in Tel Aviv lambasted the government for failing to prioritise a deal that could see those still held captive in Gaza released.

    “Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu prioritises the destruction of Hamas over releasing the hostages,” said Ruby Chen, whose son was abducted by militants in October 2023.

    “He believes it is OK and it is a valid alternative to sacrifice 50 hostages for political needs,” he said in a speech to one of Tuesday’s demonstrations.

    – Journalists killed –

    Pressure is building on Israel both at home and abroad to end its campaign in Gaza, where famine has been declared and much of the territory has been devastated.

    On Monday, Israeli strikes hit a Gaza hospital, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists working for Al Jazeera, the Associated Press and Reuters, among other outlets.

    Governments around the world, including staunch Israeli allies, expressed shock at the attack.

    The Israeli military on Tuesday said its forces were targeting a camera operated by Hamas in two strikes that killed the reporters.

    Hamas later rejected the allegations, calling them baseless.

    The war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest for journalists, with around 200 media workers killed in the nearly two-year Israeli assault, according to press watchdogs.

    Later Tuesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that at least 35 people were killed in attacks throughout the Palestinian territory.

  • UN nuclear watchdog chief says inspectors ‘back in Iran’

    UN nuclear watchdog chief says inspectors ‘back in Iran’

    WASHINGTON: The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has said a team of its inspectors are “back in Iran,” the first to enter since Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities this year.

    Iran suspended cooperation with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency following a 12-day war with Israel in June, with Tehran pointing to the IAEA’s failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

    “Now the first team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran, and we are about to restart,” director general Rafael Grossi told Fox News’ “The Story” in an interview aired on Tuesday.

    “When it comes to Iran, as you know, there are many facilities. Some were attacked, some were not,” Grossi said.

    “So we are discussing what kind of… practical modalities can be implemented in order to facilitate the restart of our work there.”

    The announcement came as Iran held talks with Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Tuesday, with Tehran seeking to avert a sanctions snapback which the European powers have threatened to impose under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal.

    Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks, said it was “high time” for the European trio “to make the right choice and give diplomacy time and space”.

    Britain, France and Germany — parties to the 2015 deal — have threatened to trigger the accord’s “snapback mechanism” by the end of August.

    Tuesday’s meeting was the second round of talks with European diplomats since the end of the June war, which was triggered by an unprecedented Israeli attack.

    The conflict derailed Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the United States.

    It also cast a chill on Iran’s ties with the IAEA, with Tehran blaming the UN agency in part for the attacks on its nuclear facilities.

    The 2015 nuclear deal was torpedoed in 2018 by Donald Trump, during his first term as president, when he unilaterally withdrew the United States and slapped sanctions on Iran.

  • Trump to chair ‘large meeting’ on post-war Gaza: US envoy

    Trump to chair ‘large meeting’ on post-war Gaza: US envoy

    WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will host a meeting on Wednesday on post-war plans for Gaza, his envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday.

    “We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day,” Witkoff said in a Fox News interview, without providing more details.

    He was asked if there was “a plan for a day after in Gaza,” referencing the end of Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory that began in October 2023.

    Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its two million inhabitants and build seaside real estate.

    Trump said the United States would remove rubble and unexploded bombs and turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal, which was heavily criticized by many European and Arab states.

    Witkoff did not elaborate on the plan he touted Tuesday, but said he believed that people would “see how robust it is and how it’s, how well meaning, it is.”

    The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

    Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed at least 62,819 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

  • US 50% tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil take effect

    US 50% tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil take effect

    WASHINGTON: US tariffs of 50 percent took effect Wednesday on many Indian products, doubling an existing duty as President Donald Trump sought to punish New Delhi for buying Russian oil.

    Trump has raised pressure on India over the energy transactions, a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, as part of a campaign to end the conflict.

    The latest salvo strains US-India ties, giving New Delhi fresh incentive to improve relations with Beijing.

    While Trump has slapped fresh duties on allies and competitors alike since returning to the presidency in January, this 50-percent level is among the highest that US trading partners face.

    Crucially, however, exemptions remain for sectors that could be hit with separate levies — like pharmaceuticals and computer chips.

    The Trump administration has launched investigations into these and other sectors that could culminate in further duties. Smartphones are in the list of exempted products as well.

    Industries that have already been singled out, such as steel, aluminum and automobiles, are similarly spared these countrywide levies.

    The United States was India’s top export destination in 2024, with shipments worth $87.3 billion.

    But analysts have cautioned that a 50-percent duty is akin to a trade embargo and is likely to harm smaller firms.

    Exporters of textiles, seafood and jewelry were already reporting cancelled US orders and losses to rivals such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, raising fears of heavy job cuts.

    ‘Eroded trust’

    New Delhi has criticized Washington’s move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”

    The world’s fifth-largest economy is looking to cushion the blow, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising to lower the tax burden on citizens during an annual speech to mark India’s independence.

    Modi earlier vowed self-reliance as well, pledging to defend his country’s interests.

    The foreign ministry previously said India had begun importing oil from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    It noted that Washington actively encouraged such imports at the time to strengthen stability in the global energy market.

    Russia accounted for nearly 36 percent of India’s total crude oil imports in 2024. Buying Russian oil saved India billions of dollars on import costs, keeping domestic fuel prices relatively stable.

    But the Trump administration held firm on its tariff plans in the lead-up to Wednesday’s deadline.

    Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters last week that “India doesn’t appear to want to recognize its role in the bloodshed.”

    “It’s cozying up to Xi Jinping,” Navarro added, referring to the Chinese president.

    Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told AFP: “One of the most troubling developments in the Trump tariff saga is how India moved from a promising candidate for an early trade deal to a nation facing among the highest tariffs imposed by the US against any trading partner.”

    Cutler, a former US trade official, said India has been reforming and opening despite its history of being tough on trade matters.

    But these trends may be called into question with Trump’s sharp levies.

    “The high tariffs have quickly eroded trust between the two countries, which could take years to rebuild,” she said.

    Trump has used tariffs as a tool for addressing everything from what Washington deems as unfair trade practices to trade imbalances.

    US trade deficits were a key justification behind his higher duties on dozens of economies taking effect in early August — hitting partners from the European Union to Indonesia.

    But the 79-year-old Republican has also taken aim at specific countries such as Brazil over the trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.

    US tariffs on many Brazilian goods surged to 50 percent this month, but with broad exemptions.

  • Typhoon death toll rises in Vietnam as downed trees hamper rescuers

    Typhoon death toll rises in Vietnam as downed trees hamper rescuers

    VINH, Vietnam: The death toll from Typhoon Kajiki rose to three in Vietnam on Tuesday, as rescue workers battled uprooted trees and downed power lines and widespread flooding brought chaos to the streets of the capital Hanoi.

    The typhoon hit central Vietnam on Monday with winds of up to 130 km/h (80 mph), tearing roofs off thousands of homes and knocking out power to more than 1.6 million people.

    Authorities on Tuesday said three people had been killed and 13 injured, and warned of possible flash floods and landslides in eight provinces as Kajiki’s torrential rains continue to wreak havoc.

    On the streets of Vinh, in central Vietnam, AFP journalists saw soldiers and rescue workers using cutting equipment to clear dozens of trees and roof panels that had blocked the roads.

    “A huge steel roof was blown down from the eighth floor of a building, landing right in the middle of the street,” Tran Van Hung, 65, told AFP.

    “It was so lucky that no one was hurt. This typhoon was absolutely terrifying.”

    Vietnam has long been affected by seasonal typhoons, but human-caused climate change is driving more intense and unpredictable weather patterns.

    This can make destructive floods and storms more likely, particularly in the tropics.

    “The wind yesterday night was so strong. The sound from trees twisting and the noise of the flying steel panels were all over the place,” Vinh resident Nguyen Thi Hoa, 60, told AFP.

    “We are used to heavy rain and floods but I think I have never experienced that strong wind and its gust like this yesterday.”

    Flooding has cut off 27 villages in mountainous areas inland, authorities said, while more than 44,000 people were evacuated as the storm approached.

    – Chaos in Hanoi –

    Further north in Hanoi, the heavy rains left many streets under water, bringing traffic chaos on Tuesday morning.

    “It was impossible to move around this morning. My front yard is also flooded,” Nguyen Thuy Lan, 44, told AFP.

    Another Hanoi resident, Tran Luu Phuc, said he was stuck in one place for more than an hour, unable to escape the logjam of vehicles trapped by the murky brown waters.

    “The flooding and the traffic this morning are terrible. It’s a big mess everywhere,” he told AFP.

    After hitting Vietnam and weakening to a tropical depression, Kajiki swept westwards over northern Laos, bringing intense rains.

    The high-speed Laos-China railway halted all services on Monday and Tuesday, and some roads have been cut, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

    In Vietnam, more than 100 people have been killed or left missing from natural disasters in the first seven months of 2025, according to the agriculture ministry.

    In September last year Typhoon Yagi battered northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, triggering floods and landslides that left more than 700 people dead and causing billions of dollars’ worth of economic losses.

  • Tokyo protests to Beijing over gas field in East China Sea

    Tokyo protests to Beijing over gas field in East China Sea

    TOKYO: Japan has lodged a protest with China after discovering what it says were efforts by Beijing to develop gas fields in disputed waters of the East China Sea.

    Tokyo’s foreign ministry said late Monday it had confirmed that Beijing was setting up drilling rigs in the area — where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) claims overlap — and submitted a complaint to the Chinese embassy.

    “It is extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development,” the ministry said, noting it had taken place on the Chinese side of the de facto maritime border.

    The ministry accused China of positioning 21 suspected drilling rigs, with Tokyo fearing gas on the Japanese side could also be extracted.

    Japan “issued a strong protest” to the Chinese embassy, the ministry said.

    It “strongly urged China for an early resumption of talks on the implementation” of a 2008 bilateral agreement regarding the development of resources in the East China Sea, it added.

    That agreement saw Japan and China agree to jointly develop undersea gas reserves in the disputed area, with a ban on independent drilling by either country.

    But negotiations over how to implement the deal were suspended in 2010.

    Japan has long insisted the median line between the two nations should mark the limits of their respective EEZs.

    China, however, insists the border should be drawn closer to Japan, taking into account the continental shelf and other ocean features.

    The two countries are embroiled in a separate row over disputed islands elsewhere in the East China Sea.

    China claims the string of islands — which Japan refers to as the Senkakus and are known as the Diaoyu by Beijing — as its own, and regularly sends ships and aircraft into the area to test Tokyo’s response times.

    China also has disputes with several other nations in the South China Sea, which it claims in its entirety.