Seoul (AFP) – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that a massive US immigration raid on a Hyundai-LG battery factory site was "bewildering" and could have a chilling effect on future investment.

Seoul is expecting hundreds of workers detained during last week's raid in the US state of Georgia to be released from detention on Thursday and flown back to South Korea.

Lee blamed the raid on "cultural differences" saying that in South Korea, American nationals teaching English while on a tourist visa was not seen as "a serious issue".

After the detentions, South Korean companies "can't help but question whether setting up a plant in the US is worth the potential risks," Lee said.

"This could have a significant impact on future investment decisions, particularly when evaluating the feasibility of direct operations in the US," he added.

South Korea is a staunch security ally and major investor for the United States, with its top companies pouring billions into developing factories and plants in America.

Many South Korean companies have relied on bringing in their own workforce during project development periods, with industry sources telling AFP it is common practice to use visa workarounds to bring in skilled labour and avoid project delays.

Lee said that for South Korean companies "when setting up facilities, equipment and factories, skilled technicians are essential".

"Someone has to install the machinery, and the necessary workforce simply doesn't exist locally in the US," he said, adding that the companies had long relied on bringing in their engineers for short-term periods to train local workers.

"But now, even that basic request is being rejected," he said.

Lee said Seoul was negotiating with Washington "to ensure that visa issuance for investment-related purposes operates normally".

This could include "securing additional quotas" or even creating a new visa category, he said, adding that he trusted the "US side will find a solution".

"But under the current circumstances, Korean companies will have little choice but to hesitate about making direct investments in the US," he added.

South Koreans made up the majority of the 475 people arrested at the Hyundai-LG battery plant under construction last week, according to immigration agents.

The operation was the largest single-site raid conducted since US President Donald Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown, a top political priority since he returned to office in January.

The raid came less than a month after Trump welcomed Lee to the White House.

Images of the South Korean workers being chained and handcuffed have caused widespread alarm, and Seoul has said it negotiated to make sure the workers were not handcuffed again as they were repatriated.

The raid highlights lopsided priorities in the Trump administration, which is "actively bringing in large-scale production facilities while neglecting to train local workers," said Kim Dae-jong, professor of business at Sejong University.

"As a result, South Koreans are having to train the local workforce. Logically, the two sides' workers should be allowed to work together, not be hindered from doing so," he told AFP.

But Cho Dong-geun, professor emeritus of economics at Myongji University warned that South Korean companies had long been aware of the visa problems.

"It is regrettable that there was no earlier intervention to address these matters in response to President Trump's anti-immigration agenda, as it should have been acted on more swiftly."

The repatriation was briefly delayed by Trump asking whether the workers should remain stateside, a Seoul foreign ministry official in Washington said.

However, South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that "given the workers' shock and exhaustion, it would be best for them to return home first and then re-enter the US for work later".

President Lee said the workers were "scheduled to depart the detention facility at 3 pm Seoul time (0600 GMT) today" and would be brought home on a chartered flight, expected to arrive on Friday.

Mexico City (AFP) – Mexico, under pressure not to serve as a back door for Chinese goods entering the United States, has proposed a 50-percent duty on car imports from the Asian giant -- up from 15-20 percent.

The initiative, contained in a bill submitted by the government to Congress, seeks to assuage US President Donald Trump -- who has repeatedly urged trading partners to increase duties on China -- while also bolstering Mexico's industrial sector.

The White House has said Chinese producers are abusing a free-trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada to send goods northward over the Mexican border tariff-free.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also complained of the impact of Chinese imports on domestic manufacturing, and the bill says the increased tariff will seek to protect 19 industrial sectors considered "strategic."

It also proposes raising tariffs on other countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.

Mexico replaced China in 2023 as the United States' largest trading partner, with the Latin American country's northern neighbor buying more than 80 percent of its exports.

It sends nearly three million automobiles to the United States a year, including cars and trucks assembled by US auto companies in Mexico.

If the bill is approved, light vehicle imports from China will be subject to a 50 percent tariff, and auto parts between 10 and 50 percent.

The bill, announced by the economy ministry Wednesday, said the changes sought to "protect the national industry in strategic sectors, replace imports from Asia with domestic production" and "improve Mexico's trade balance."

The initiative should protect 325,000 jobs in strategic industries and create thousands more, said the ministry.

Two out of every ten light vehicles sold in Mexico are Chinese, according to official data. Sales in the sector grew by 10 percent last year.

Several auto giants, including American General Motors and Ford, German Volkswagen and Japanese Nissan, Honda, and Toyota, have factories in Mexico.

According to the wording of the bill, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and Turkey will also be affected by the tariff increases.

Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on cars imports, with exemptions for vehicles with US content assembled in Mexico.

Sheinbaum's ruling party holds a majority in Congress, and the bill is likely to pass.

Tokyo (AFP) – The marathons and 35km race walks at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will start half an hour earlier because of health risks posed by unseasonably hot weather, organisers said Thursday.

The energy-sapping race walks are scheduled to open the championships on Saturday morning, with the women's marathon on Sunday and the men's on Monday.

Temperatures have been as high as 33C this week and, with the heatwave set to continue into next week, organisers have been forced to move the road race starts to 7:30 am.

"Due to expected elevated heat conditions that could pose a health and safety risk to competing athletes, all road events on the first three days ... will start 30 minutes earlier than scheduled," said a joint statement from the organisers and World Athletics.

"The start time for the road events had originally been set at 08:00 am in consideration of climate conditions, operational aspects, and maximising spectator attendance."

World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe admitted in Tokyo on Tuesday that the high temperatures would be an issue for athletes.

Marathon and race walk events at the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which were held from July 23 to August 8, were moved to the cooler northern city of Sapporo because of heat concerns.

However, this time round they have remained in Tokyo where the temperatures in mid-September "have remained at those of mid-summer", the statement noted.

"(The decision) has been communicated to the athletes as early as possible to allow them to prepare and adjust to the new start time."

Fears over the heat in Doha at the 2019 world championships resulted in the marathons beginning at midnight with the walks half an hour earlier.

Japan's average temperature between June and August was 2.36C above "the standard value", making it the hottest summer since records began in 1898, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

It was the third consecutive summer of record high temperatures, the agency noted.

Coe said after Tuesday's meeting of the World Athletics Council the future risks of global warming had been discussed.

"These are not transient, they're here to stay," he said.

"Governments have not stepped up to the plate and sport is going to have to take some unilateral judgments and decisions here.

"And we have reflected in the past, if we are committed to athlete welfare, then we should probably be openly committed to that," he added.

In-stadium competition start times on each of the first three days remain unchanged.

Sydney (AFP) – Australian authorities are investigating an American influencer who filmed himself wrestling wild crocodiles in Queensland, condemning the "extremely dangerous and illegal" activity.

In a series of videos on his Instagram, bare-chested Mike Holston, who goes by therealtarzann online, tussles with saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.

In one post, he dives into the water, emerging holding the crocodile by its throat with blood streaming from his elbow.

"He got a hold of me, but I got a hold of him," Holston says.

In another, Holston jumps off a boat and into a bushy waterway in pursuit of a crocodile, which he then wrestles.

Holston has said the videos, which have amassed millions of views, were for "educational purposes".

But the videos prompted outrage in Australia, where the maximum penalty for interfering with a saltwater crocodile is Aus$37,500 (US$24,800).

The state of Queensland said Wednesday it was "actively investigating" the two videos.

"These actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action including fines to deter any person from this type of behaviour," its environment department said.

"Let us be clear: people should not attempt to capture freshwater or saltwater crocodiles in Queensland, unless they are trained and licensed to do so."

The state's Premier David Crisafulli also called the influencer a "goose".

Holston did not respond to requests for comment.

Australia's famously diverse flora and fauna is highly protected and attempts to interfere with it can face strict penalties.

Another US influencer sparked outrage in March after a video appeared to show her pestering a baby wombat.

And late celebrity "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, said this week people needed to respect Australia's wildlife or be deported.

"These posts can have disastrous consequences for both people and wildlife," Irwin said.

Government figures estimate there are between 20,000 and 30,000 saltwater crocodiles in Queensland in a vast area known as "Croc Country".

They are a protected and vulnerable species and have been known to attack humans.

Between December 1985 and April 2024, there were 34 non-fatal attacks and 14 fatal attacks by wild saltwater crocodiles in Queensland.

Obviously uncomfortable with the Banksy message, the police launched an investigation, and the courts scrubbed the artwork from the walls

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2025/09/10/banksy-latest/

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Poland's Prime Minister has invoked NATO Article 4 after Russia sent a wave of drones into the country's airspace on Wednesday. He said the country was "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II."

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My bag is packed, but I have nowhere to flee. I live in fear as I watch residential towers fall around me.

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Despite Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s announcements, the Spanish government delayed passing a formal arms embargo on Israel.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/09/10/spanish-government-delays-adoption-of-full-arms-embargo-on-israel/

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The Zionist network has been described as a "grift" with 'confused ideology' yet it was quick to cheer on awful scenes in Switzerland

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President Claudia Sheinbaum is seeking congressional approval to implement tariffs of up to 50% on goods from countries with which it doesn't have a free trade agreement.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday called on the controlling Houthi authorities in Yemen to immediately restore access to independent news platform Barran Press, following reports of a nationwide access ban on the outlet. Barran Press, which is based in the government-controlled city of Marib, east of Yemen’s capital Sanaa, first reported the issue on September 6, with users across the country unable to access its website for several days without a virtual private network (VPN).

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/cpj-calls-upon-yemen-authorities-to-restore-access-to-independent-news-outlet-following-houthi-imposed-ban/

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Washington (AFP) – Colorful, speckled rocks found on the surface of Mars have offered among the most encouraging evidence yet of ancient life on our neighboring planet, scientists at NASA announced Wednesday.

The Perseverance Mars rover collected the "Sapphire Canyon" rock samples in July 2024 from what's thought to be an ancient lakebed, and its poppyseed and leopard-esque spots pointed to potential chemical reactions that piqued the interest of researchers.

If the features resulted from microbial activity that created minerals in the way they do on Earth -- well, that might point to life on Mars.

It's far too soon for scientists to say that definitively, but the findings, which were detailed in research published in the journal Nature, are alluring.

"We put it out to our scientific friends to pressure test it, to analyze it, and go, did we get this right? Do we think this is signs of ancient life on Mars?" NASA's Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said at a news conference.

"They said, 'Listen, we can't find another explanation.' So this very well could be the clearest sign of life that we've ever found on Mars."

"It's kind of the equivalent of seeing like leftover fossils, leftovers from a meal, and maybe that meal has been excreted by a microbe," Nicky Fox, administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, told journalists.

When those kinds of mineral and textured features form in sediment on Earth, it's frequently the product of reactions from mud and organic matter, explained the study's lead author Joel Hurowitz -- a potential "biosignature," or sign of life.

Specifically, Perserverance's instruments identified the minerals vivianite and greigite. On Earth, vivianite is often found in sediments, peat bogs, and around decaying organic matter. Some forms of microbial life on Earth can produce greigite.

"But there are non-biological ways to make these features that we cannot completely rule out on the basis of the data that we collected," Hurowitz said.

Still, the findings are "exciting," he told journalists, explaining that researchers would need to analyze the sample in person to better understand if microbial activity had created the "fantastic textures" and colors including blue and green.

London (AFP) – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog for a contentious meeting Wednesday, with the visiting head of state vowing to "voice firm opposition" to Britain's recent stance on Israel.

Herzog's visit comes after Starmer's government has in recent months toughened its criticism of how Israel is waging its war in Gaza, triggering pushback from Israeli leaders.

The pair shook hands in front of photographers and TV cameras in Downing Street, with few smiles on display, as the meeting got underway Wednesday afternoon.

"The President will express strong objections to the British government's intention to recognise a Palestinian state, and protest the notion of sanctions against the only democracy in the Middle East," Herzog's office said.

Starmer announced in late July his government would recognise a Palestinian state in mid-September unless Israel takes specific steps towards peace in Gaza.

It has also sanctioned Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Rights groups and some UK lawmakers, including from the ruling centre-left Labour party, have said the government should not have allowed Herzog's visit to go ahead.

Amid criticism of Israel's strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day, Starmer told MPs earlier Wednesday he would make it "absolutely clear" that "we condemn Israel's action".

He also vowed to stress that "restrictions on aid must be lifted, the offensive in Gaza must stop, and settlement building must cease" in occupied Palestinian territories.

Starmer's government has also come under pressure from critics of Israel to say the country has committed genocide in its military campaign in Gaza.

Shouts of "stop the genocide" could be heard from a protester outside the Downing Street gates as Herzog arrived.

A protester threw a red smoke canister towards Herzog's convoy as it left. Police were seen detaining a person and removing the canister after the vehicles drove away.

London insisted this week it has not determined Israel is committing genocide, following the publication by a parliamentary watchdog committee of a September 1 letter by then-foreign secretary David Lammy.

It stated: "As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific 'intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group'.

"The Government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent."

Starmer's official spokesman has said that the letter -- written just prior to Lammy becoming interior minister in a government reshuffle last week -- "reflects the UK's position that we've not come to any conclusion" on the matter.

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the UK ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson Wednesday after details emerged of the diplomat's friendship with disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson called the late Epstein his "best pal" and an "intelligent, sharp-witted man" in a 2003 letter, released to the public just a week before US President Donald Trump is due to pay a state visit to Britain.

Challenged in parliament about his judgement in appointing the 71-year-old grandee of the centre-left Labour party to the key diplomatic post, Starmer insisted that "due process was followed".

He described Epstein as a "despicable criminal" who "destroyed the lives of so many women and girls".

But he added: "The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with him. He is right to do so. I have confidence in him."

The letter was one of many included in a book compiled to mark the now notorious financier's 50th birthday.

The contents were published by a US congressional panel investigating Epstein's sex crimes case.

Mandelson, an influential former Labour minister and spin doctor, said it was "very embarrassing" to see the letter published, in comments to The Sun daily's "Harry Cole Saves the West" YouTube channel.

"I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done," the ambassador said.

He said he had never witnessed any criminal behaviour, but added he also felt a deep sense of sympathy for the women "who suffered as a result of (Epstein's) behaviour and his illegal criminal activities".

Mandelson conceded that further embarrassing correspondence between himself and Epstein will come out, meaning Starmer will likely face further tricky questions about the appointment.

"I have no doubt at all that there's a lot of traffic, correspondence exchanges between us, absolutely. And we know those are going to surface," said Mandelson.

"We know they're going to be very embarrassing, and they know that I'm going to profoundly regret ever having met him and been introduced to him in the first place."

Mandelson, dubbed the "Prince of Darkness" during his years as a political spinner, was twice forced to resign from Tony Blair's Labour government in the late 1990s and early 2000s over allegations of misconduct.

Starmer lost Angela Rayner as his deputy prime minister last week after she resigned for underpaying a property tax two days after the PM gave her his backing.

Paris (AFP) – Canada's record-breaking 2023 wildfires exposed more than 350 million people in North America and Europe to air pollution that likely contributed to tens of thousands of deaths, according to new estimates published Wednesday.

The findings "underscored that severe wildfires do not have only local consequences" but can inflict real harm a continent away, said the scientists behind the world-first research.

Extreme fire conditions, supercharged by climate change, fanned thousands of blazes across Canada between May and September 2023 that torched around 18 million hectares (44 million acres) -- an area larger than England.

The five-month wildfires were unprecedented in size and scale, releasing massive plumes of acrid smoke that turned skies yellow and triggered health warnings across North America.

But the smoke drifted as far as Europe, causing spikes in harmful PM2.5 pollutants and a measurable decline in air quality thousands of miles from the heat and flames in Canada.

In North America and Europe, an estimated 354 million people were exposed to levels of PM2.5 above the World Health Organization's (WHO) safe limit, concluded a new study into the long-range impact of the wildfires, published in the journal Nature.

This contributed to nearly 70,000 premature deaths on both continents -- most from breathing polluted air over months and a smaller number from acute exposure to wildfire smoke.

The findings were "striking" and surprised even the research team behind them, said Qiang Zhang, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at Tsinghua University in Beijing who led the study.

"While we anticipated large impacts from the record-breaking 2023 Canadian fires, the magnitude of the population exposure and related attributable mortalities are higher than expected," he told AFP.

"These results underscore that such extreme wildfires are no longer just a regional environmental issue and they have become a global public health concern."

PM2.5 pollutants are fine, airborne particles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, and are linked to higher rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

The team separated acute and chronic premature deaths due to PM2.5 exposure because they represented two very different types of health impacts from wildfire smoke exposure, Qiang Zhang said.

Acute deaths, he said, captured the short-term health impacts during "smoke days" when daily PM2.5 levels spiked "well above" WHO guidelines and could immediately trigger fatal events, such as heart attacks or respiratory failures.

Some 4,100 acute deaths were estimated in the United States, downwind from the wildfires, and another 1,300 in Canada itself.

Chronic deaths reflected the health burden of longer-term exposure, which increases the risks of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and leads to premature death over time.

The study found that chronic health impacts from five months of breathing wildfire smoke were "substantial and widespread", with 41,900 deaths estimated in North America and 22,400 in Europe.

Such estimates were a first, Qiang Zhang said.

But that created limitations for researchers who lacked earlier references on the specific impact of wildfires on health, he said, forcing them to use broader evidence to base their estimates on.

The computer model they built, using satellite observations and machine learning, also could not account for the health impact of various pollutants in wildfire smoke, he added.

The authors said more research into this "underexplored" cost would be crucial as climate change made wildfires bigger, fiercer and more frequent.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/48339980

https://archive.is/SpMvC

Poland says that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an “act of aggression” as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-poland-drones-1232774279039f9e5c5b78bd58686cb9

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Sanaa (AFP) – Israeli air strikes hit the media operation of Yemen's Huthi rebels on Wednesday, killing and wounding an unspecified number of people, the group said.

A large plume of grey smoke billowed above Sanaa as the sound of strikes echoed across the city, controlled by the Iran-backed Huthis for more than a decade.

"Martyrs, wounded, and several homes damaged as a result of the Israeli attack on the Moral Guidance Headquarters," the rebels' Al-Masirah TV reported.

The Israeli military said it struck Huthi rebel targets in Yemen, including in Sanaa, in the latest of a series of attacks during the Gaza war.

"A short while ago, the IAF (Israeli air force) struck military targets belonging to the Huthi terrorist regime in the areas of Sanaa and Al-Jawf in Yemen," an Israeli military statement said.

It said the targets included "military camps in which operatives of the terrorist regime were identified, the Huthi's military public relations headquarters and a fuel storage facility that was used by the terrorist regime".

The Huthis said they were fighting back with air defences.

"Our air defences are currently confronting Israeli aircraft that are launching an aggression against our country," said Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree on his Telegram channel.

Two AFP journalists said a building used by the armed forces was hit.

Al-Masirah also reported Israeli strikes on government buildings in Al-Jawf, a northern province bordering Saudi Arabia.

The latest attack comes days after a drone launched from Yemen wounded a man when it struck Ramon airport in southern Israel.

Last month, Israeli strikes killed the Huthi prime minister and 11 other senior officials -- the most high-ranking assassinations since Israel and the Huthis began exchanging fire over the Gaza war.

"Instead of protecting absolute freedom of speech to shield groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the right of murderers to enter schools with rifles, our Constitution addresses issues relevant to our country," one leftist lawmaker retorted.

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The largest ship in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) heading to Gaza, came under attack by an incendiary drone off the Tunisian coast late at night. It was the second such incident in less than 24 hours

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The Hague (AFP) – The main defence lawyer for Ugandan rebel chief Joseph Kony Wednesday urged International Criminal Court judges to freeze the case against his client, as he cannot challenge evidence in his absence.

Peter Haynes said he had the "paradoxical mandate" of representing Kony's interests without having any way of receiving his client's instructions.

The fugitive warlord faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, enslavement and sexual slavery, allegedly committed between July 2002 and December 2005 in northern Uganda.

The three-day hearing at the ICC in The Hague is the first-ever to be held without the suspect present. Kony has not been seen in public since 2006.

It is not a trial but a so-called "confirmation of charges" hearing, where a three-judge panel decides whether the prosecution's allegations are strong enough to proceed to trial.

But in Kony's case, this is a moot point, as the ICC does not allow a full trial to take place in absentia.

Given that Kony cannot challenge the evidence presented against him, Haynes argued the court should "draw a line in the sand" and order a "conditional stay of proceedings".

He took aim at the prosecution's case that confirming charges against Kony would expedite proceedings if he were ever to be found and arrested.

"Seriously? Who does the deputy prosecutor think will arrest Joseph Kony? And where does he think he might be arrested?" he asked.

"In Uganda? By the Ugandan authorities? Well, if that happens, he ain't coming here."

Haynes noted that the high-profile case came at a sensitive time for the ICC.

The United States has slapped sanctions on the court, after judges issued arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a US ally.

"Looking at the bigger picture, compromising the rights of suspects through issuing confirmation of charges decisions without any participation of those suspects should not be the future of ICC proceedings," said Haynes.

"Doing so would only give fuel to the fire of its detractors, who wish to portray this institution as illegitimate," he added.

He said the best way to safeguard the court's legitimacy would be for judges to "impose a conditional stay of proceedings at the end of this hearing which can be lifted if Joseph Kony ever appears".

In response, the prosecution said that freezing the case was "entirely unnecessary" and "completely out of the question."

Ordering such a halt to proceedings would frustrate victims' pursuit of justice, the prosecution said.

A lawyer for the victims, Francisco Cox, said that those who suffered from Kony's alleged crimes want the ICC to recognise them formally.

He said that the argument advanced by Haynes was "creative... but without legal basis."

"They want justice, they want you to confirm these charges," he said, referring to the victims he represents.

"By sanctioning these crimes, you are trying at least to affirm a guarantee of non-repetition and to end impunity to such crimes," said Cox.

Haynes dismissed these arguments in his closing statement.

"The elephant in the room is that this has to stop somewhere. Without an accused, this case is at a dead end," he concluded.

The judges are expected to deliver these ruling on whether or not to confirm the charges within 60 days.

French police arrested nearly 200 people as 'Block Everything' protesters attempted to paralyse France following the collapse of François Bayrou's government.

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