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Maghayer al-Deir (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinian residents of Maghayer al-Deir in the occupied West Bank told AFP on Thursday that they had begun packing their belonging and preparing to leave the village following repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.

Yusef Malihat, a resident of the tiny village east of Ramallah, told AFP his community had decided to leave because its members felt powerless in the face of the settler violence.

"No one provides us with protection at all," he said, a keffiyeh scarf protecting his head from the sun as he loaded a pickup truck with chain-link fencing previously used to pen up sheep and goats.

"They demolished the houses and threatened us with expulsion and killing," he said, as a group of settlers looked on from a new outpost a few hundred metres away.

The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Settlement outposts, built informally and sometimes overnight, are considered illegal under Israeli law too, although enforcement is relatively rare.

The Israeli military told AFP it was "looking into" the legality of the outpost at Maghayer al-Deir.

"It's very sad, what's happening now... even for an outpost," said Itamar Greenberg, an Israeli peace activist present at Maghayer al-Deir on Thursday.

"It's a new outpost 60 metres from the last house of the community, and on Sunday one settler told me that in one month, the Bedouins will not be here, but it (happened much) more quickly," he told AFP.

The Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission denounced Maghayer al-Deir's displacement, describing it as being the result of the "terrorism of the settler militias".

It said in a statement that a similar fate had befallen 29 other Bedouin communities, whose small size and isolation in rural areas make them more vulnerable.

In the area east of Ramallah, where hills slope down towards the Jordan Valley, Maghayer al-Deir was one of the last remaining communities after the residents of several others were recently displaced.

Its 124 residents will now be dispersed to other nearby areas.

Malihat told AFP some would go to the Christian village of Taybeh just over 10 kilometres (six miles) away, and others to Ramallah.

Uncertain they would be able to return, the families loaded all they could fit in their trucks, including furniture, irrigation pipes and bales of hay.

AMMAN/DAMASCUS, May 20 (Reuters) - Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters.

Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mossad had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday his pick for the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, defying the country's attorney general and a significant segment of the public.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu announced this evening his decision to appoint Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet," a statement from the premier's office said.

The decision is the latest development in a long-running controversy surrounding the role, which has seen mass protests against the incumbent chief's dismissal, as well as against moves pushed by Netanyahu's government to expand elected officials' power to appoint judges.

The supreme court on Wednesday ruled the government's decision to fire current domestic security chief Ronen Bar was "improper and unlawful".

Netanyahu's move to tap Zini to replace Bar directly defied Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had said that, given the court ruling, the premier "must refrain from any action related to the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet".

Netanyahu immediately responded in a rare press conference that his government would make an appointment despite Baharav-Miara's stance.

Following Thursday's announcement, the attorney general released a statement saying that the prime minister was acting "contrary to legal guidance".

"There is serious concern that he acted while in a conflict of interest, and the appointment process is flawed," the statement said.

Zini, the son of immigrants from France and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, has held "many" operational and command positions in the Israeli military, Thursday's announcement said, including for some elite units and combat brigades.

The announcement comes after more than two months of political and legal wrangling over who should head the powerful agency.

In March, Netanyahu said that he was dismissing Bar due to "ongoing lack of trust".

The move was challenged in court by non-profit organisations and the political opposition, which decried it as a sign of anti-democratic drift on the part of Netanyahu's right-wing government.

Following Thursday's announcement, opposition leader Yair Lapid called on "General Zini to announce that he cannot accept his appointment until the Supreme Court rules on the matter".

The NGO Movement for Quality Government in Israel, meanwhile, said it will file a legal petition "in the coming days against this invalid appointment, and will continue to stand firm against attempts to defy the legal system and the rule of law".

Bar himself suggested that his ouster was linked to investigations into Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack "and other serious matters".

He has since said he will step down in June.

Baharav-Miara has suggested Netanyahu's conflict of interest in removing Bar stems from a case, dubbed "Qatargate" by Israeli media, involving close advisers to the premier under investigation for allegedly receiving money from the Gulf emirate, which has long hosted the political office of Hamas.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday that "the authority to appoint the head of the Shin Bet is legally granted solely to the prime minister -- and it is good that the prime minister exercised this authority and appointed a very worthy individual".

Washington (AFP) – The US State Department said Thursday that Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela next week as scheduled, contradicting an envoy who told a podcast differently after Caracas freed an American.

President Donald Trump's administration has canceled an exemption in sanctions on Venezuela, run by leftist Nicolas Maduro, that had been granted by former president Joe Biden under a previous deal.

Ric Grenell, a Trump loyalist who holds a broad role of "special presidential envoy for special missions," on Tuesday flew back to the United States with a freed US military veteran, Joe St. Clair, who had been detained in Venezuela since November.

Grenell, who secured St. Clair's release in talks in Antigua, said after his return to Washington that Trump believed in "engagement."

Asked in an interview with pro-Trump media personality Steve Bannon about Chevron, Grenell said, "President Trump authorized that extension if we were able to get some progress, if we were able to build some confidence."

"We were able to do that today. So that extension will be granted," Grenell told Bannon's "War Room" podcast.

"We want to put America first and do what's best for America. That means making sure that the Chinese do not take the Venezuelan oil," he said.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Trump's national security advisor, promptly wrote on X late Wednesday: "The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th."

Asked about the contradicting messages, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Rubio was "making it clear that that license is going to expire."

"There's no confusion. I think many people, on every issue, can have a lot of opinions, but I think clearly who we look to are the people who have the power to have the impact and who make the decision," Bruce said.

Rubio, a Cuban-American and former senator from Florida, is a vociferous opponent of Latin American leftists including in Venezuela and Cuba.

Maduro is angling to sweep power in parliamentary and regional elections on Sunday, 10 months after his disputed re-election. Only a handful of countries, including longtime allies Russia and Cuba, have recognized the 62-year-old's presidency.

Grenell, early in Trump's term, traveled to Venezuela which agreed to send planes to bring back undocumented migrants, a key Trump priority.

The deal drew outrage from Florida Republicans in the narrowly divided House of Representatives who instead want more robust support for Venezuela's democratic opposition.

Rome (AFP) – Italy and eight other EU states, including Denmark and Poland, published an open letter Thursday urging a rethink of how the European Convention of Human Rights is interpreted, especially on migration.

The countries said they want "a new and open minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights", according to the text, released by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office.

"We have to restore the right balance," the signatories said.

The convention, which came into force in 1953, covers the right to life; a ban on slavery, torture and degrading treatment; freedom of expression; a prohibition on discrimination; and the right to family life.

Its provisions have to be followed by all 46 countries signed up to the convention, which includes all 27 EU member states, with the European Court of Human Rights issuing binding rulings.

A souring of public opinion on migration has fuelled hard-right electoral gains in several EU countries, upping pressure on governments.

The letter urging a review was made public following a meeting in Rome between Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, both of whom have taken a hardline stance on migration.

It was also signed by the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency Frontex.

But, led by hawks including Italy and Denmark, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess "innovative" ways to counter irregular migration.

The nine signatories to the letter said it was time for "a discussion about how the international conventions match the challenges that we face today".

They also called for "a look at how the European Court of Human Rights has developed its interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights," the letter said.

The European Court of Human Rights has recently heard cases against Latvia, Lithuania and Poland concerning alleged unlawful treatment of migrants, while Denmark was told to amend its family reunification rules.

The court has also issued multiple judgements against Italy over its treatment of migrants.

The states ask "whether the Court, in some cases, has extended the scope of the Convention too far... thus shifting the balance between the interests which should be protected," the letter said.

"We believe that the development in the Court’s interpretation has, in some cases, limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies", it added.

Like several other European leaders, Meloni has vowed to cut irregular migration -- but her flagship policy to operate migrant centres in Albania has hit a series of legal roadblocks and delays.

Italian judges have repeatedly refused to sign off on the detention in Albania of migrants intercepted by Italian authorities at sea, referring legal questions to the European Court of Justice, which has yet to weigh in.

While not a signatory to the letter, Britain saw its own scheme -- the deportation of migrants to Rwanda -- run afoul of the European Court of Human Rights.

Kinshasa (AFP) – The Democratic Republic of Congo's Senate on Thursday voted to lift the immunity of ex-president Joseph Kabila, whom the government accuses of supporting a Rwanda-backed militia in the mineral-rich east.

By 88 ballots to five, the upper house backed exposing the 53-year-old to prosecution on charges of supporting the M23 armed group, which has seized swathes of the eastern DRC with Rwandan support.

His successor, President Felix Tshisekedi, accuses Kabila of conspiring with the M23, whose recent lightning offensive has intensified the more than three-decade-long eastern conflict.

Kabila, who has been outside the country since 2023, was not present in the chamber at the time of the vote, while his entourage will not reveal his current whereabouts.

By the vote, "the Senate authorises the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila's immunity," declared the upper house's speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde.

The former president, who led the DRC between 2001 and 2019, now faces the prospect of being tried in military courts for "treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectionary movement".

On leaving power, Kabila became the first former DRC leader to obtain the honorific title of senator for life and with it, parliamentary immunity.

To allow legal proceedings to move forward, the Congolese army's public prosecutor lodged a request for the Senate to lift that privilege.

In response, the Senate created a special commission to rule on the matter, which presented its conclusions to the upper house on Thursday.

The 40-person commission voted unanimously in favour of that recommendation, said senator Carole Agito Amela, speaking for the commission.

Congolese constitutional experts had argued to AFP that the vote to strip him would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, where Tshisekedi's coalition enjoys a significant majority.

But as requested by the army prosecutor's office the Senate voted to accept that it was capable of ruling on the matter without calling on the National Assembly.

In large part, the army's case hinged on testimony by opposition figure Eric Nkuba, who when questioned claimed to have overheard Kabila advise the M23's leader to remove Tshisekedi by coup rather than by assassination.

Senior political researcher Ithiel Batumike of the Ebuteli research institute told AFP that confession was extracted under duress.

However in his hearing the army prosecutor insisted to the commission that his statement was "credible and constant", Agito Amela added.

While arguing that proof for both Kabila's travels in the M23 and the investigations into his financial backing for the M23 were covered by secrecy rules, the army prosecutor insisted to the commission such evidence was in existence, the senator said.

It comes after he hinted in recent months at making a comeback to the DRC and made increasingly vocal criticisms of Tshisekedi.

No evidence of his return however has ever emerged.

But since then, the government has suspended his People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), while security forces have raided several of his properties.

Batumike argued the move to lift his immunity was "a political act" which could be "interpreted as a means to weaken a political adversary".

PPRD Deputy Secretary-General Ferdinand Kambere told AFP that Kabila's prosecution was pure "theatre" designed to distract the Congolese people from debates on the conflict and corruption.

Congolese political analyst Christian Moleka likewise told AFP that the vote in favour could "reduce internal capacities for cohesion" and lead to a "risk of radicalisation and reinforcement of political rifts".

Vienna (AFP) – This year's Eurovision Song Contest winner Austrian singer JJ called for Israel to be excluded from next year's competition in an interview published Thursday.

He also expressed regret over Israel's participation in this year's competition despite the war in Gaza.

Eurovision has faced criticism for allowing Israel to participate in the contest despite the devastating Gaza war. This year, pro-Palestinian activists staged protests during the extravaganza in Switzerland over the weekend.

Russia has not been allowed to participate in Eurovision since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"It is very disappointing to see that Israel continues to participate in the contest," the 24-year-old countertenor told Spanish daily El Pais in an interview.

"I would like next year's Eurovision to take place in Vienna without Israel," he added.

"But the ball is in the court" of the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), he said.

"We, the artists, can only express our views on the subject."

JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, also called for "greater transparency" regarding the public vote, after Israeli singer Yuval Raphael was propelled into second place.

"This year, everything happened in a very strange way," said JJ.

The singer faced a backlash over his comments in Austria, one of Israel's staunchest supporters in Europe.

The country's public broadcaster ORF distanced itself from his remarks, saying they "reflected a personal opinion", APA news agency reported.

JJ said he was "sorry if his comments had been misinterpreted" via his record label Warner.

On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most outspoken critics of the Israeli government, said Israel should be excluded from Eurovision.

He expressed his solidarity with "the people of Palestine who are experiencing the injustice of war and bombardment".

"What we cannot allow is double standards in culture," Sanchez said in reference to Russia's ban.

Bucharest (AFP) – Romania's constitutional court on Thursday validated the results of the presidential run-off vote at the weekend, won by pro-European Nicusor Dan, after rejecting an appeal by his defeated far-right rival.

The court said it "unanimously rejected the request to annul the elections, deeming it unfounded".

Dan is expected to be sworn in as president on Monday.

"A new chapter now begins in Romania's recent and contemporary history," he told reporters.

He added that he was "fully aware of the responsibility" entrusted to him, as "many challenges" lie ahead in a deeply divided and heavily indebted country.

This month's election was a re-run of a presidential ballot in November that the constitutional court annulled over allegations of Russian interference and the massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, who was not allowed to stand again.

"The court continues its coup d'etat!" Simion reacted on Facebook after his appeal was rejected.

"All we can do is fight! I invite you to join me, today and in the weeks to come!" he posted.

After comfortably topping the first-round ballot on May 4, Simion was soundly defeated by Dan in Sunday's run-off vote, who won almost 54 percent of the vote.

Unlike the pro-European Union Dan, an independent who promised an "honest" Romania, Simion criticised what he said were the EU's "absurd policies" and vowed to stop aid to neighbouring war-torn Ukraine.

Makuhari (Japan) (AFP) – As Japan's biggest defence exhibition kicked off this week, visitors got a close-up look at a model of its futuristic "railgun" that its makers hope will be able to shoot down hypersonic missiles.

Instead of gunpowder, railgun technology uses electromagnetic energy to fire a projectile along a set of rails at ultra-high velocity.

The round will then in theory destroy the target, which could be an enemy ship, drone or incoming ballistic missile, solely with its vast kinetic energy.

Other countries, including the United States, China, France and Germany, are also developing the technology, but Japan's navy in 2023 claimed a world first by test-firing a railgun on a ship.

"A railgun is a gun of the future that fires bullets with electrical energy, unlike conventional artillery," an official from the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) within Japan's Ministry of Defence told AFP.

"It is expected that threats that can only be dealt with by railguns will emerge in the future," said the official, who did not want to be named.

The three-day DSEI Japan Conference defence fair, which began on Wednesday, comes as Japan adopts a more assertive defence policy and looks to sell more military equipment to other countries.

In particular, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Germany's Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) are competing for a major contract to supply the Australian navy with new warships.

Winning the multi-billion-dollar Project Sea 3000 contract to supply Australia with Mogami-class frigates would be Japan's largest postwar military export order, according to Japanese media.

Paris (AFP) – Fifty-five men were arrested in France this week as part of an operation to dismantle a suspected paedophile ring operating via the Telegram messaging app, authorities said Thursday.

The arrests took place in 42 departments over possession, distribution and regular viewing of pornography involving children "under the age of 10", France's OFMIN, which is tasked with preventing violence against minors, told AFP.

The OFMIN issued the warrant that led to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris in 2024, and he remains under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on the popular service.

The arrests of the 55 men, which followed a 10-month investigation, took place from Monday to Thursday.

The suspects, aged 25 to 75, come from all walks of life and include a priest, a paramedic and a music teacher.

The men exchanged messages on Telegram and were in contact with "extremely dangerous" paedophiles who have been in prison since last summer, Quentin Bevan, head of the OFMIN's operational unit, told AFP.

The large-scale operation began last summer with the arrest of individuals suspected of abusing children and posting images on Telegram.

The suspects are being investigated for human trafficking and face life imprisonment.

"It took ten months of investigation to track down these child abusers," Bevan said. "Ten months of undercover work involving thousands of exchanges, analysis and detection of paedophile images by a task force set up at the OFMIN."

The suspects either have children or grandchildren or come into contact with children at work.

Some of the suspects boasted of abusing children while they slept but now claim they did not actually commit any crimes, according to investigators.

One man, who denies committing any crime, could not explain why he had bought a thong for an 8-year-old girl.

https://archive.ph/G7OrP

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Lyudmila Vasilyeva, 84, survived the Siege of Leningrad in World War II as a child. Now, the Russian pensioner faces prosecution for calling for peace in Ukraine and says she feels "hurt" over what her country has become.

Like thousands since Russia launched its military offensive in February 2022, she has been charged with "discrediting" the armed forces and is due in court on Friday.

"Bitterness. That's what I feel. I'm unbearably hurt, unbearably hurt for the country," she told AFP in an interview in her Saint Petersburg apartment.

Dressed in a burgundy cardigan with patterned trim, she displayed the object at the centre of her legal troubles -- a handwritten placard with a simple message.

"People, let's stop the war. We are responsible for peace on the planet Earth. With love, Lyudmila Vasilyeva, child of the Leningrad blockade."

In March she had stood on the street holding it in front of her.

More than three years into Russia's offensive on Ukraine and an escalating domestic crackdown, such an act was enough for prosecutors to bring charges against Vasilyeva.

She faces a fine of up to 50,000 rubles ($620) for the administrative breach -- relatively lenient compared to the years-long jail sentences handed out to some who have criticised the Ukraine offensive in stronger terms and faced criminal punishment.

Russia's military campaign has left tens of thousands dead -- including many Russian soldiers -- and seen Moscow's army extend its control to around a fifth of Ukraine's territory.

At home, Moscow introduced military censorship and has escalated a crackdown on those who criticise the offensive.

Amnesty International, which Russia outlawed earlier this week, said laws against "discrediting" the army have "been used to criminalise the expression of any opinion critical" of the military campaign.

Vasilyeva is unapologetic.

"I have always been someone who is not indifferent, from childhood. I have always been on the side of the weak," she said.

Two elegant cats were frolicking among her books.

On the wall hung a portrait of her mother, who survived the siege with Lyudmila and her four siblings.

"Mum always said: 'We will get through everything, as long as there is no war'," Vasilyeva said.

The Siege of Leningrad -- the Soviet-era name of Saint Petersburg -- began in September 1941 and lasted 872 days.

Between 600,000 and 1.5 million people died, most from hunger, before the Red Army eventually broke the siege in January 1944.

It has totemic importance for many Russians, including President Vladimir Putin, whose brother died in the siege and who was himself born in the devastation of post-war Leningrad.

Vasilyeva said her mum "donated blood to get extra food rations".

The experience has influenced how she sees the Ukraine conflict.

"We always talked about peace. Remember what happened so that it never happens again. And what are people saying now?"

since authorities put down a wave of street protests in February 2022, when Russia launched its offensive, signs of domestic opposition have largely subsided.

Putin says the whole of Russia is behind the campaign, and pro-offensive voices and prosecutors cast dissenters as outliers to be punished and ostracised.

"There are lots of decent people. But they have been scared," said Vasilyeva, a veteran of Russian opposition movements

She saw the period of perestroika in the late 1980s -- Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms designed to open-up and revitalise the stale Soviet system -- as a "window to freedom".

After the Soviet Union collapsed, she joined the liberal Democratic Choice party, founded by reformist prime minister Yegor Gaidar.

"I have always participated in all opposition meetings," she said proudly.

"Let people live and choose for themselves what they want. Don't impose anything on them please," she said.

It was in that spirit that her placard appeal was aimed not at the authorities but at her fellow Russians.

"It is the people who can influence and stop (the war) and I addressed them," she said.

Russia calls its campaign against Ukraine a "special military operation".

Public calls for peace -- even without explicit references to Ukraine -- are essentially outlawed.

But Vasilyeya, who faces a fine and the possibility of harsher punishments if she is charged again, is unfazed.

"I'm 84 years old. I'm not afraid."

Washington (AFP) – Antarctica's icy wilderness is warming rapidly under the weight of human-driven climate change, yet a new study points to an unlikely ally in the fight to keep the continent cool: penguin poo.

Published Thursday in Communications Earth & Environment, the research shows that ammonia wafting off penguin guano seeds extra cloud cover above coastal Antarctica, likely blocking sunlight and nudging temperatures down.

Lead author Matthew Boyer, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Helsinki, told AFP that lab studies had long shown gaseous ammonia can help form clouds.

But "to actually quantify this process and to see its influence in Antarctica hasn't been done," he said.

Antarctica is an ideal natural laboratory. With virtually no human pollution and scant vegetation -- both alternative sources of cloud-forming gases -- penguin colonies dominate as ammonia emitters.

The birds' future, however, is under threat.

Shrinking sea ice disrupts their nesting, feeding and predator-avoidance routines -- making it all the more urgent to understand their broader ecological role.

Along with other seabirds such as Imperial Shags, penguins expel large amounts of ammonia through droppings, an acrid cocktail of feces and urine released via their multi-purpose cloacas.

When that ammonia mixes with sulfur-bearing gases from phytoplankton -- the microscopic algae that bloom in the surrounding ocean -- it boosts the formation of tiny aerosol particles that grow into clouds.

To capture the effect in the real world, Boyer and teammates set up instruments at Argentina's Marambio Base on Seymour Island, off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Over three summer months -- when penguin colonies are bustling and phytoplankton photosynthesis peaks -- they monitored wind direction, ammonia levels and newly minted aerosols.

When the breeze blew from a 60,000-strong Adelie penguin colony eight kilometers (five miles) away, atmospheric ammonia spiked to 13.5  parts per billion -- about a thousand times the background level.

For over a month after the birds had departed on their annual migration, concentrations stayed roughly 100 times higher, with the guano-soaked ground acting as a slow-release fertilizer.

Particle counters told the same story: cloud-seeding aerosols surged whenever air masses arrived from the colony, at times thick enough to generate a dense fog.

Chemical fingerprints in the particles pointed back to penguin-derived ammonia.

Boyer calls it a "synergistic process" between penguins and phytoplankton that supercharges aerosol production in the region.

"We provide evidence that declining penguin populations could cause a positive climate-warming feedback in the summertime Antarctic atmosphere," the authors write -- though Boyer emphasized that this remains a hypothesis, not a confirmed outcome.

Globally, clouds have a net cooling effect by reflecting solar radiation back into space. Based on Arctic modeling of seabird emissions, the team believes a similar mechanism is likely at play in Antarctica.

But the impact also depends on what's beneath the clouds.

Ice sheets and glaciers also reflect much of the Sun's energy, so extra cloud cover over these bright surfaces could trap infrared heat instead -- meaning the overall effect hinges on where the clouds form and drift.

Still, the findings highlight the profound interconnections between life and the atmosphere -- from the Great Oxygenation Event driven by photosynthesizing microbes billions of years ago to penguins influencing cloud cover today.

"This is just another example of this deep connection between the ecosystem and atmospheric processes, and why we should care about biodiversity and conservation," Boyer said.

Israeli strike on Khan Younis kills Ahmed al-Dali, 33, a father of four and member of Gaza Sunbirds cycling team

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250521042917/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/20/palestinian-paracyclist-who-lost-leg-in-2014-airstrike-killed-in-gaza

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

The Israeli military said it “regrets the inconvenience caused” by the shots.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://truthout.org/articles/israel-fires-warning-shots-at-eu-diplomats-day-after-uk-suspends-trade-talks/

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

On Earth there is no record of Niallia tiangongensis, a bacterium found aboard the Tiangong station that appears to be well adapted to conditions there.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250521113751/https://www.wired.com/story/bacteria-unknown-on-earth-appears-on-chinese-space-station/

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

Calls for a more ambitious climate goal are rising as Earth hits several tipping points.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/05/paris-agreement-target-wont-protect-polar-ice-sheets-scientists-warn/

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Seoul (AFP) – A major accident occurred at the launch ceremony for a new North Korean naval destroyer, state media reported Thursday, with leader Kim Jong Un calling the mishap a "criminal act".

At a ceremony to launch a new 5,000-ton vessel in the eastern port city of Chongjin on Wednesday "a serious accident occurred", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

South Korea's military said North Korea also fired "multiple unidentified cruise missiles" on Thursday, which were detected near the North's South Hamgyong province after being "fired toward the East Sea", also known as the Sea of Japan.

Blaming "inexperienced command and operational carelessness" for the destroyer's botched launch -- which was observed by Kim -- KCNA said there was a mishap which left "some sections of the warship's bottom crushed".

It said the accident managed to "destroy the balance of the warship".

Kim watched the entire incident and declared it a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness", warning it "could not be tolerated".

He said the "irresponsible errors" of officials responsible would be "dealt with at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee to be convened next month".

South Korea's military said US and Seoul intelligence authorities assess that North Korea's "side-launch attempt" of the ship failed.

"The side-launch method used in this case is no longer employed by South Korea's military," Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

The vessel is currently listing in the water, Lee said, and based on its size and scale, it is believed to be similarly equipped to the 5,000-ton destroyer-class warship Choe Hyon, which North Korea unveiled last month.

Last month, Pyongyang's state media ran images of Kim attending a launching ceremony of Choe Hyon with his daughter Ju Ae, considered by many experts to be his likely successor.

North Korea claimed the vessel was equipped with the "most powerful weapons", and that it would "enter into operation early next year".

Some analysts said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads -- although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its atomic arsenal.

The South Korean military has said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help -- possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.

Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, said the warship involved in Wednesday's accident may have also been constructed with Russian assistance.

Chongjin, the North Korean city where the launch ceremony was held, is close to Russia's Vladivostok port, he noted.

"It's also likely that the projected timeline for the vessel -- including when assembly would be completed and the ship launched -- was shared with the Russian side," he told AFP.

"It appears the dock was hastily constructed, and multiple issues may have arisen during the shipbuilding process.

"With today's announcement, Pyongyang seems to be signalling not only to its own people, but also to the Russian side."

North Korea confirmed in April for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow in the Ukraine war.

Moscow and Pyongyang recently announced that they had started building the first road bridge linking the two countries.

North Korea also launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

In March, Kim inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, asserting that "radically" boosting the navy was a key part of Pyongyang's defensive strategy.

Kim called at the time for the modernisation of the country's surface and underwater naval forces, including the development of warships.

Pyongyang has previously claimed to be developing underwater nuclear attack drones, which could unleash a "radioactive tsunami", but analysts have questioned whether it actually has such a weapon.

Washington -- Seoul's key security ally -- has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets in the region to deter the North, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US-South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.

The Russian government has introduced a new law that makes installing a tracking app mandatory for all foreign nationals in the Moscow region.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/government/russia-to-enforce-location-tracking-app-on-all-foreigners-in-moscow/

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Damascus (AFP) – At a currency exchange in Damascus, Anas al-Shammaa is one of many Syrians hopeful that promised relief from Western sanctions will help revive their country's economy after years of war and isolation.

"We were totally cut off from the world," said Shammaa, 45, who has been running the exchange shop since 2008.

With the lifting of sanctions, "we hope that the Syrian economy will start to recover both gradually and quickly", he told AFP.

Syria's economy plunged into crisis during the years of civil war, which erupted in 2011 with former ruler Bashar al-Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Western countries imposed crippling sanctions on Syria, including on dealing with financial institutions linked to Assad's government, and froze the central bank's assets.

Last week, more than five months after Assad's ouster, Washington announced it would lift sanctions on Syria, and on Tuesday the European Union said it would also remove economic restrictions, sparking hope among Syrians of an economic reboot.

But experts have warned it will take time to see real relief, with the new authorities also needing to take steps to attract investment.

Shammaa expressed hope that "the central bank will be reconnected with international banks and that commercial activity will become easier" -- and that Syrians abroad will be able to more easily send money home to their families.

After the US announcement, the Syrian pound surged to 8,500 against the dollar on the black market, from 13,000 a day earlier, though experts said it was a temporary jump.

Economics graduate Mohammed al-Halabi, 25, expressed hope that Syrians could soon abandon the black market for money transfers, where almost a third of their value can be lost in fees and other costs.

Transfers could become as simple as "clicking a button", like in other countries, he said hopefully.

Throughout the civil war, Syrians abroad struggled to find ways around the restrictions to send money to loved ones back home, a vast number of whom depended on foreign remittances due to the collapse of the economy.

Removing sanctions is also a key step towards rebuilding the war-torn country, as the measures punished anyone involved in reconstruction while Assad remained in power.

Syria's new authorities are now counting on international support including from the European Union to launch reconstruction, which the United Nations has estimated could cost more than $400 billion.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday that the removal of EU sanctions was a "historic step" and welcomed "European companies wanting to invest in Syria".

Syrian central bank governor Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya said on Facebook that the lifting of sanctions "is an important step on the path of restoring normal economic and financial relations with the international community".

But analysts have cautioned that the immediate impact is likely to be limited, with the new authorities also needing to take steps such as ensuring transparency in order to encourage investment.

Benjamin Feve, senior research analyst at Karam Shaar Advisory, a consultancy focused on Syria's political economy, said that "with sanctions lifted on Syria in general, we expect increased activity in rebuilding the infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, schools".

"Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, which have ties with the new government, are likely to accelerate trade and investment, especially in reconstruction," he told AFP.

But other sectors such as energy and banking "require significant investment and much more time... to actually materialise. So that would probably take a few more months", he said.

Feve added that foreign lenders will have to assess Syrian banking compliance standards, which "will take some time", with Syria "way behind in terms of anti-money laundering compliance and counter-financing of terrorism compliance".

After decades of institutional corruption under Assad family rule, the new authorities have yet to announce economic reforms or laws governing foreign investment.

One Syrian businessman who works between Damascus and Dubai said that since Assad's ouster, he had hoped to broaden his investments in his native country.

But legislative and procedural opacity had stopped him from doing so, he told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss his business decisions.

Zohair Fawwal, 36, who sells electronic equipment in Damascus, said he didn't expect to see an immediate impact of the lifting of sanctions.

He said the most he could hope for right now was access to "applications like Netflix and TikTok", which are currently banned in Syria.

The shooting took place late Wednesday outside the Capital Jewish Museum, which was hosting an American Jewish Committee event at the time of the incident.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the deaths in an X post, saying, “We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share.”

The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriquez of Chicago, Illinois, “chanted 'Free, free Palestine,’ while in custody,” she added.