Plastic pollution treaty talks stumble
14:26
From the show
Negotiators in Geneva are scrambling to salvage a global treaty to curb plastic pollution, on the final day of talks. Despite a strong push by nearly 100 countries to reach an agreement, oil-producing nations are against the curbs.
Also, in The Gambia, the death of an infant following female genital mutilation over the past weekend has triggered widespread shock, bringing the sensitive issue back to the center of national debate. The tragedy occurred in a small town near the capital, Banjul. The Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls having undergone the procedure, with many doing so before the age of six years.
Finally, earlier this month, Senegalese law enforcement arrested a man accused of blackmailing thousands of people with 'sextapes' for more than six years. Those who refused to pay saw their intimate videos posted on an adult website. Cases like this are on the rise, especially among young women. Experts say, only digital education can protect the most vulnerable.
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France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
El Salvador extends detention of suspected gang members
Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained -- some of whom opposition figures and human rights defenders maintain are innocent -- since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in 2022 that allowed arrests without warrants. The Legislative Assembly, which has 57 members of Bukele's ruling party and three from the opposition, approved on Friday a reform to a law regulating investigations into organized crime. The approval came just 10 days before a two-year deadline ran out for charges to be filed for the imprisoned detainees. The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure. One of the provisions of the reform said the Attorney General's office "will bring charges against the organized crime and its members... within a maximum period of 24 months," while also allowing for a 12-month extension. To file the charges, the Attorney General's office will "group the defendants into a single case" for each gang, with the main ones under scrutiny being the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs. Around 300 prosecutors will present evidence in roughly 600 mass trials for the suspects, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee on Thursday. Delgado said the trials will be divided by the organization, where they operated, or what crimes the detainees are suspected of committing. '40%' could be innocent Inside the assembly, opposition lawmaker Francisco Lira warned that "innocent" people could be tried in the mass trials, which he estimated could be "40 percent" of those detained. "I do not defend gangs, criminals, nor extortionists (but) if there are innocent people, they are being sentenced to spend more time in prison" due to the delays, Lira said. Under the reforms, the mass trials will remain open if more defendants are added to the same case -- but if no new defendants are added within two years, the judge may issue a ruling. If prosecutors do not file an indictment within a maximum period of three years, the judge may dismiss the case. Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz said the reforms are "a reflection of the lack of capacity possessed by the institutions that are supposed to administer justice in our country." "Because in more than two years they have not done what they are supposed to do... which is fully investigate the facts," she added. Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders sound the alarm over arbitrary arrests and growing authoritarianism. © 2025 AFP
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
El Salvador plans 600 mass trials for suspected gang members
Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained -- some of whom human rights defenders maintain are innocent -- since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency three years ago that allowed arrests without warrants. The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure. "Approximately 300 prosecutors will be responsible for presenting evidence before appropriate courts in the approximately 600 trials that need to be initiated," Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee. Delgado also suggested changes to the country's law against organized crime that could see the detainees remain in jail without charge for up to three more years. The committee gave a favorable opinion on Delgado's suggested changes, which included giving him two more years -- with the possibility of a third -- to file charges. "A considerable amount of time will have to pass for a judge to make a decision," Delgado said. He did not provide details about when the trials could start -- or the crimes the detainees could be charged with. The changes to the law are expected to be approved by Congress, which is dominated by Bukele's party, on Friday. That would be just days before a two-year deadline runs out for the attorney general to file charges. Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders sound the alarm over arbitrary arrests and growing authoritarianism. He recently made headlines by taking in migrants from the mass deportation drive of his ally US President Donald Trump and putting them in a maximum-security prison, where some have reported mistreatment. A report released by the US State Department this week declined to criticize El Salvador, saying there were "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses" in the country and instead noting a "historic low" in crime. Lawyer and human rights activist Ingrid Escobar warned that thousands of innocent people have been thrown in jail.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Mali junta accuses 'foreign states' of attempted destabilisation plot
The authorities in Mali on Thursday said a French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for French intelligence services, and accused "foreign states" of trying to destabilise the country. The ruling junta, which came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, also said that dozens of soldiers had been detained in recent days for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government. Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as local criminal gangs. In a statement read on national television, the military said "fringe elements of the Malian armed security forces" were held for seeking to "destabilise the institutions of the republic". "These soldiers and civilians" are said to have obtained "the help of foreign states", the government said. The French national was held on suspicion of working "on behalf of the French intelligence service". Security sources told AFP that at least 55 soldiers had been arrested, and the government said it was working to identify "possible accomplices". The junta confirmed the arrest of two generals, including Abbas Dembele, a highly respected figure in the army and a former governor who was recently dismissed from his position. Security sources told AFP the arrests were made mainly within the national guard -- a branch of the army from whose ranks emerged Defence Minister Sadio Camara, a key figure in the junta. Several observers noted that some of those arrested were close to Camara but he has not been questioned so far. On Tuesday, Mali's civilian former prime minister Choguel Maiga and a number of his former colleagues were taken into custody as part of an investigation into claims of "misappropriation of public funds". Maiga, a former junta heavyweight, was appointed prime minister in 2021 before being dismissed at the end of last year after criticising the military government. He had criticised being excluded from decisions about the continued leadership of the generals, who had initially promised to hand power back to elected civilians in March 2024. No connection has been made between his arrest and those of the soldiers accused of wanting to overthrow the government. The junta, led by President Assimi Goita, has turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, to align itself politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty. The Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies have been tasked with hunting down the jihadists and are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians.
