Tas Premier toppled in no-confidence motion
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
France opens 'complicity in genocide' probes over blocked Gaza aid
French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for war-torn Gaza last year, they said on Friday. The two investigations, opened after legal complaints, were also to look into possible "complicity in crimes against humanity" between January and May 2024, the anti-terror prosecutor's office (PNAT) said. They are the first known probes in France to be looking into alleged violations of international law in Gaza, several sources with knowledge of the cases told AFP. In a separate case made public on the same day, the grandmother of two children with French nationality who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder", her lawyer said. The French judiciary has jurisdiction when French citizens are involved in such cases. Rights groups, lawyers and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. The French probes were opened after two separate legal complaints. In the first, the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim filed a complaint in November targeting alleged French members of hardline pro-Israel groups "Israel is forever" and "Tzav-9". It accused them of "physically" preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Damia Taharraoui and Marion Lafouge, told AFP they were happy a probe had been launched into the events in January 2024 -- "a time when no-one wanted to hear anything about genocide". A source close to the case said prosecutors last month urged the investigation in relation to events at the Nitzana crossing point between Egypt and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. Around that time, hardline Israeli protesters -- including friends and relatives of hostages held in Gaza -- blocked aid lorries from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom. A second complaint from a group called the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (CAPJO) accused members of "Israel is forever" of having blocked aid trucks. It used photos, videos and public statements to back up its complaint. - 'Genocide' complaint - No court has so far concluded that the ongoing conflict is a genocide. But in rulings in January, March and May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including through allowing in urgently needed aid. In the separate case, Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of six- and nine-year-old children killed in an Israeli strike, filed her complaint accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder" with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said. Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the military. The complaint states that an Israeli missile strike killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023. "We believe these children are dead as part of a deliberate organised policy targeting the whole of Gaza's population with a possible genocidal intent," Alimi said. The children's brother Omar, now five, was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said. A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a "terrorist" group over giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. - Famine warnings - Israel said last month it was easing the complete blockade of Gaza it imposed on March 2 but on May 30 the United Nations said the territory's entire population of more than two million people remained at risk of famine. A US-backed aid group last week began distributions but reports that the Israeli military shot dead dozens of Palestinians trying to collect food has sparked widespread condemnation. The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, citing concerns that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. A total of 1,218 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory war on Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif over similar allegations linked to the October 7 attack but the case against him was dropped in February after confirmation Israel had killed him.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Dutch election set for Oct 29 after government falls
The Netherlands will hold snap elections on October 29, authorities announced Friday, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled out of the ruling coalition, bringing down the government and sparking political chaos. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. The vote in the European Union's fifth-largest economy and major global exporter will be closely watched in Europe, where far-right parties have made significant electoral gains. Polls suggest Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is running neck-and-neck with the Left/Green group of former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. The liberal VVD party stands just behind in the polls, suggesting the election will be closely fought. The election was prompted by the dramatic withdrawal of Wilders and the PVV from a shaky ruling coalition in a row over immigration policy. Wilders grumbled that the Netherlands was not fast enough to implement the "strictest-ever" immigration policy agreed by the four-way coalition -- and pulled out. He had stunned the political establishment in the Netherlands by winning November 2023 elections by a significant margin -- clinching 37 seats out of the 150 in parliament. The fractured nature of Dutch politics means no one party is ever strong enough to win 76 seats and govern with an absolute majority. Wilders persuaded the VVD, the BBB farmers party, and the anti-corruption NSC party to govern with him -- but the price was to give up his ambition to become prime minister. - Far-right rise - The PVV has apparently lost some support since that election, with recent surveys suggesting they would win around 28 to 30 seats. But the issue after the coming election will be: who will enter into a coalition with Wilders and the PVV? There was widespread fury with the far-right leader for bringing down the government over what many saw as an artificial crisis. Far-right parties have been on the rise across Europe. In May, the far-right Chega ("Enough") party took second place in Portugal's elections. In Germany, the anti-immigration far-right AfD doubled its score in legislative elections in February, reaching 20.8 percent. And in Britain, polls show the anti-immigration, hard-right Reform UK party of Nigel Farage is making significant gains following a breakthrough in local elections. ric/jhb
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
New Europe push to curb children's social media use
From dangerous diet tips to disinformation, cyberbullying to hate speech, the glut of online content harmful to children grows every day. But several European countries have had enough and now want to limit minors' access to social media. The European Union already has some of the world's most stringent digital rules to rein in Big Tech, with multiple probes ongoing into how platforms protect children -- or not. There are now demands for the EU to go further as a rising body of evidence shows the negative effects of social media on children's mental and physical health. Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children's use of online platforms as fears mount over their addictive nature. They will present the plan on Friday to EU counterparts in Luxembourg "so that Europe can take the appropriate action as soon as possible", Greek Digital Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said. The proposal includes setting an age of digital adulthood across the 27-country EU, meaning children will not be able to access social media without parental consent. Since the proposal was published last month, other countries have expressed support including Cyprus and Denmark -- which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July. Danish officials say the issue will be a priority during their six-month presidency. France has led the way in cracking down on platforms, passing a 2023 law requiring them to obtain parental consent for users under the age of 15. But the measure has not received the EU green light it needs to come into force. France also gradually introduced requirements this year for all adult websites to have users confirm their age to prevent children accessing porn -- with three major platforms going dark this week in anger over the move. Also under pressure from the French government, TikTok on Sunday banned the "#SkinnyTok" hashtag, part of a trend promoting extreme thinness on the platform. - Real age verification - Greece says its aim is to protect children from the risks of excessive internet use. The proposal does not say at what age digital adulthood should begin but Papastergiou said platforms should know users' real ages "so as not to serve inappropriate content to minors". France, Greece and Spain expressed concern about the algorithmic design of digital platforms increasing children's exposure to addictive and harmful content -- with the risk of worsening anxiety, depression and self-esteem issues. The proposal also blames excessive screen time at a young age for hindering the development of minors' critical and relationship skills. They demand "an EU-wide application that supports parental control mechanisms, allows for proper age verification and limits the use of certain applications by minors". The goal would be for devices such as smartphones to have in-built age verification. The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, wants to launch an age-verification app next month, insisting it can be done without disclosing personal details. The EU last month published draft guidelines for platforms to protect minors, to be finalised once a public consultation ends this month, including setting children's accounts to private by default, and making it easier to block and mute users. Those guidelines are non-binding, but the bloc is clamping down in other ways. - EU investigations - It is currently investigating Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok under its mammoth content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), fearing the platforms are failing to do enough to prevent children accessing harmful content. In the Meta probe, the EU fears the platform's age-verification tools may not be effective. And last week, it launched an investigation into four pornographic platforms over suspicions they are failing to stop children accessing adult content. Separately, the EU has been in long-running negotiations on a law to combat child sexual abuse material, but the proposal has been mired in uncertainty, with worries from some countries that it would allow authorities to access encrypted communications. The legal proposal has pitted proponents of privacy against those working to protect children -- and despite repeated attempts, it has failed to get EU states' approval. raz/ec/phz
