
Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid flotilla with Greta Thunberg, activists say
The organisers of a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists said Israeli forces intercepted the vessel on Monday, after Israel vowed to prevent it from reaching the Palestinian territory.
The Madleen aimed to deliver aid and challenge Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since before the Israel-Hamas war.
"Connection has been lost on the 'Madleen'. Israeli army have boarded the vessel," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted on Telegram, adding that the passengers had been "kidnapped" by Israeli forces.
AFP lost contact with the activists on board.
Mahmud Abu-Odeh, a Germany-based press officer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, told AFP that "the activists seemed to be arrested".
Israel had vowed to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Navy had directed the boat to change course as it approached "a restricted area". About an hour later, it said the boat was being towed to Israeli shores.
"The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on social media.
"The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," the ministry added.
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
South Korea halts loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along border with North
South Korea on Wednesday halted loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into the nuclear-armed North, the defence ministry said, adding it was a bid to "restore trust" under Seoul's new administration. The decision to suspend the broadcasts was "to make good on a promise to restore trust in South-North Korea relations and seek peace on the Korean peninsula", the defence ministry said in a brief statement. A ministry spokesperson told AFP the broadcasts were halted Wednesday afternoon. Ties between the two Koreas deteriorated under the hardline administration of hawkish ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol. But Yoon was impeached and stripped of office earlier this year over an abortive martial law declaration. After winning last week's snap poll, Seoul's new President Lee Jae-myung pledged to improve ties with Pyongyang. The loudspeakers were turned on in the demilitarised zone that divides the two Koreas in June last year in response to a barrage of trash-filled balloons flown southward by Pyongyang. The North claimed the balloons were a response to activists floating similar missives filled with anti-Kim Jong Un propaganda and US dollar bills northwards. The two Koreas technically remain at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The anti-North Korea broadcasts infuriate Pyongyang, which has previously threatened artillery strikes against Seoul's loudspeaker units. South Korea's resumption of its broadcasts last year was the first time the tactic had been used in six years. They typically consist of blaring K-pop songs and news reports into the North. North Korea response? In response, North Korea turned on its own propaganda broadcasts, sending strange and unsettling noises into the South at all hours, prompting complaints from border residents. On Ganghwa island, which is very close to the North, villager Ahn Hyo-cheol told AFP that the North Korean noises had "not subsided at all" by Wednesday afternoon. "While I don't have high hopes for how North Korea might change, I think the government's decision to halt loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North is the right move," he said. Ganghwa county councillor Park Heung-yeol told AFP the move by Seoul was "long overdue". "Halting the loudspeaker broadcasts should not be the end – we must also work to restore inter-Korean communication channels and initiate dialogue to stop the North's broadcasts targeting the South," Park added. Lee, who took office the day after last week's election, has vowed to improve ties with the North through dialogue. "No matter how costly, peace is better than war," he said after he was elected. 12:26 North Korea has not commented on Lee's election except for a brief news report informing its public of his win. Lee comes to power with his party already holding a parliamentary majority – secure for the next three years – meaning he is likely to be able to get his legislative agenda done. The halt to loudspeaker broadcasts "is a clear signal from Lee that he intends to deliver on his campaign promise to improve ties with the North and that he has no hostile intent toward it," said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification. "We can expect Lee to take further steps to further this stance, such as attempting to revive a military agreement with the North that was scrapped last year," Hong said.


AFP
an hour ago
- AFP
Video of Trump issuing sanctions against ICC falsely linked to Thailand-Cambodia border dispute
The video, showing Trump signing a document in the Oval Office while surrounded by officials and photographers, was posted on TikTok on June 8, 2025. Superimposed Thai-language text on the video reads: "Cambodia started this. Big Daddy Trump has already sanctioned . Thailand, what will you do about Preah Vihear?" The ICJ, known as the World Court, settles legal disputes between countries (archived link). Land near Preah Vihear, a 900-year-old temple on the Thai‑Cambodian border, was the site of sporadic violence between the two countries before the ICJ ruled in 2013 that the area belonged to Cambodia (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 10, 2025 The post circulated after a Cambodian soldier was killed in the most recent outbreak of clashes on May 28 in an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet (). Cambodia said it would file a complaint with the ICJ over the border dispute, with Thailand countering by saying it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction on this matter and prefers resolving the issue through existing bilateral channels (archived here and here). Both sides agreed on June 8 to ease tensions by repositioning troops in the area (). Similar posts claiming Trump sanctioned the World Court were shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook. But the US president has not sanctioned the ICJ on Thailand's behalf or otherwise. International Criminal Court sanctions The falsely shared video appears to be a report by broadcaster Thai PBS, and the news anchor can be heard saying: "US President Donald Trump signed another executive order to sanction the International Criminal Court, or ICC..." A subsequent keyword search on Thai PBS's social media platforms led to the same footage posted on the broadcaster's YouTube channel on February 7 (archived link). The clip used in the false post can be seen at the YouTube video's 48:18 mark. The footage shows Trump imposing sanctions on the ICC -- which prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity -- for probes targeting the United States and its ally Israel (archived here and here). Trump's order said the tribunal had engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," referring to investigations into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the Thai PBS YouTube video (right) As of June 11, there have been no official reports of Trump commenting on the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.


France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Police make 'mass arrests' in LA during nighttime curfew
Looting and vandalism in the second-biggest US city have marred the largely peaceful protests over ramped-up arrests by immigration authorities. The demonstrations, which began Friday, and isolated acts of violence prompted Trump to take the extraordinary step of sending in troops, over the objection of the state governor. The protests again turned ugly after dark Tuesday, but an hour into the overnight curfew only a handful of protesters were left downtown, with police making several arrests as they warned stragglers to leave. "Multiple groups continue to congregate on 1st St between Spring and Alameda" within the designated downtown curfew area, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) wrote on X late Tuesday. "Those groups are being addressed and mass arrests are being initiated." Police arrested 25 people on suspicion of violating the curfew as of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an LAPD spokesperson. The number of arrests was likely to rise as law enforcement worked to remove the remaining protesters from the area, the newspaper said. Earlier, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she had issued the curfew "to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting." One square mile (2.5 square kilometers) of the city's more-than-500 square mile area will be off-limits from 8:00 pm and 6:00 am (0300 to 1300 GMT) for everyone apart from residents, journalists and emergency services, she added. One protester told AFP the arrest of migrants in a city with large immigrant and Latino populations was the root of the unrest. "I think that obviously they're doing it for safety," she said of the curfew. "But I don't think that part of the problem is the peaceful protests. It's whatever else is happening on the other side that is inciting violence." At their largest, the protests have included a few thousand people taking to the streets, but smaller mobs have used the cover of darkness to set fires, daub graffiti and smash windows. Overnight, Monday 23 businesses were looted, police said, adding that more than 500 people had been arrested over recent days. Protests against immigration arrests by federal law enforcement have also sprung up in cities around the country, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Austin. 'Provide protection' Trump has ordered 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, along with 700 active-duty Marines, in what he has claimed is a necessary escalation to take back control -- despite the insistence of local law enforcement that they could handle matters. A military spokeswoman said the Marines were expected to be on the streets by Wednesday. Their mission will be to guard federal facilities and to accompany "federal officers in immigration enforcement operations in order to provide protection." Demonstrators told AFP the soldiers "should be respected" because they had not chosen to be in Los Angeles, but Lisa Orman blasted it as "ridiculous." "I was here for the Dodger parade," she said, referring to the LA team's World Series victory. "It was 100 times bigger," she said, branding the idea that Marines were necessary as "a big show" that Trump wanted. The Pentagon said the deployment would cost US taxpayers $134 million. Photographs issued by the Marine Corps showed men in combat fatigues using riot shields to practice crowd control techniques at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Late Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state would deploy its National Guard "to locations across the state to ensure peace & order" after solidarity protests. "Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," Abbott wrote on X. The Texas National Guard "will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." Behaving like 'a tyrant' In sprawling Los Angeles on Tuesday, it was largely a typical day: tourists thronged Hollywood Boulevard, celebrities attended red carpet premieres, tens of thousands of children went to school and commuter traffic choked the streets. But at a military base in North Carolina, Trump was painting a much darker picture. "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and national sovereignty," the Republican told troops at Fort Bragg. "This anarchy will not stand. We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy." California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with the president before, said Trump's shock militarization of the city was the behavior of "a tyrant, not a president." In a filing to the US District Court in Northern California, Newsom asked for an injunction preventing the use of troops for policing. US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force -- absent the declaration of an insurrection, which Trump has mused. The president "is trying to use emergency declarations to justify bringing in first the National Guard and then mobilizing Marines," said law professor Frank Bowman.