World

A German court is expected to deliver its verdict Tuesday in the case of a 97-year-old former Nazi camp secretary accused of complicity in the murder of more than 10,000 people.

In one of the country’s last Holocaust trials, prosecutors are seeking a two-year suspended sentence for defendant Irmgard Furchner for her alleged role in the “cruel and malicious murder” of prisoners at the Stutthof camp in occupied Poland.

Furchner, whose image the court ordered blurred in media photographs, expressed regret as the trial drew to a close this month, breaking her silence for the first time on the accusations.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened,” she told the regional court in the northern town of Itzehoe.

Furchner is the first woman to be tried in Germany for Nazi-era crimes in decades.

She had tried to abscond as the proceedings were set to begin in September 2021, fleeing the retirement home where she lives and heading to a metro station.

Furchner managed to evade police for several hours before being apprehended in the nearby city of Hamburg and held in custody for five days.

Her lawyers have called for her acquittal, saying the evidence presented in the course of the trial “had not shown beyond doubt” that she knew of the killings.

– ‘Last of its kind’ –

The defendant was a teenager when her alleged crimes were committed and has therefore been tried in a juvenile court.

An estimated 65,000 people died at the camp near today’s Gdansk, including “Jewish prisoners, Polish partisans and Soviet Russian prisoners of war”, prosecutors said.

Between June 1943 and April 1945, Furchner worked in the office of camp commander Paul Werner Hoppe.

According to the case against her, she took dictation of the SS officer’s orders and handled his correspondence.

Public prosecutor Maxi Wantzen late last month asked the judges to hand down a two-year suspended sentence, the longest possible without jail time. 

“This trial is of outstanding historical importance,” Wantzen said, adding that it was “potentially, due to the passage of time, the last of its kind”.

Furchner has sat impassively in a wheelchair throughout the proceedings in which several Stutthof camp survivors have offered wrenching accounts of their suffering.

Wantzen thanked the witnesses, many of whom also served as co-plaintiffs, saying they had told of the “absolute hell” of the camp.

“They feel it is their duty, even though they had to summon the pain again and again to fulfil it,” she said.

– Time running out –

The prosecutor told the judges the defendant’s clerical work “assured the smooth running of the camp” and gave her “knowledge of all occurrences and events at Stutthof”.

Moreover, “life-threatening conditions” such as food and water shortages and the spread of deadly diseases including typhus were intentionally maintained and immediately apparent, she said.

Although the camp’s abysmal conditions and hard labour claimed the most lives, the Nazis also operated gas chambers and execution-by-shooting facilities to exterminate hundreds of people deemed unfit for labour.

Wantzen said that despite the defendant’s advanced age, it was “still important today to hold such a trial”, and to complete the historical record as survivors die off.

Seventy-seven years after the end of World War II, time is running out to bring to justice criminals linked to the Holocaust.

In recent years, several cases have been abandoned as the accused died or were physically unable to stand trial.

The 2011 conviction of former guard John Demjanjuk, on the basis that he served as part of Hitler’s killing machine, set a legal precedent and paved the way for several trials.

Since then, courts have handed down several guilty verdicts on those grounds rather than for murders or atrocities directly linked to the individual accused.

Raquel Fortun whispers to the human skeletal remains spread out in a makeshift morgue in the Philippine capital Manila. She is seeking the truth about their violent deaths — and justice for their families.

Six months after Rodrigo Duterte left office, Fortun, 60, continues to examine the bodies of some of the thousands of people killed during the former president’s brutal drug war.

One of only two forensic pathologists in the country, Fortun is helping rights groups gather evidence that one day could be used in court against police accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings. 

“I know they were killed violently and yes, I do whisper things to them. I do ask for help,” said Fortun, referring to the bones laid out on wooden tables.

Fortun works alone in a whitewashed room at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, where she heads the pathology department.

Soiled clothing is piled on the floor near body bags and plastic boxes containing human remains.

They were exhumed from tombs by a Catholic priest, who is helping families find answers about the deaths of their loved ones.

As she painstakingly examines the bones, Fortun said the souls of the dead try to catch her attention. She believes they want to explain what happened to them.

“I would hear something falling on the floor, a very small object like a button, a coin… and of course you’d take a look and there’s nothing there,” she said.

It is grim and lonely work, and not without its dangers. 

Fortun’s findings and Twitter rants about the Philippine government and justice system often “ruffle feathers” of Duterte supporters and she gets frequent death threats. 

“I’m more afraid of the living than the dead,” said Fortun.

“At any time somebody can just drive next to my car… and shoot me. So the sense of mortality is very, very strong. Especially now.”

– Bodies keep piling up – 

More than 6,200 people died in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, according to official figures. Rights groups estimate the true figure was in the tens of thousands. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in June, has pledged to continue the drug war but with an emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation.

Yet the bodies keep piling up.

Rights groups estimate at least 150 people have been killed since Marcos took office. Police recently put the figure at 46. 

Fortun said she has so far examined the remains of 70 people killed during Duterte’s term. 

Eleven had their skulls or other bones punctured by bullets, some in the wrists indicating defensive wounds. 

Her findings contradict the official death certificates, which stated they died from natural causes. 

That has fuelled suspicions that medical examiners falsified their reports.

Fortun hopes her evidence could eventually be used in a Philippine court or at The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).

In 2021, the ICC began a full-blown investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed during the drug war.

But Fortun is not holding her breath for that to happen anytime soon.

“Will I be called by the ICC or a similar court? I don’t know,” she said.

“Will anything happen to these cases in my lifetime? I also don’t know.”

– ‘The dead are keeping me alive’ – 

Since the start of the drug war in 2016, only three policemen have been convicted for killing a drug suspect. 

Another officer was jailed last month for torturing two teenagers who were killed at the height of the crackdown.

Despite her rare expertise, Fortun said authorities seldom called on her to investigate suspicious or unexplained deaths. 

Police typically relied on witness testimony, not forensic evidence, to build a case.

Autopsies also require the approval of the next of kin. When they are carried out, they are usually handled by the police medicolegal division or general practitioners when the bodies are in remote areas. 

Neither have the equipment or training required for forensic pathology, Fortun said.

“They don’t even know how to do autopsies,” she said.

But there are signs things might be changing. 

Recently, Fortun was brought in to perform a second autopsy on the body of an inmate who was accused of being involved in the high-profile murder of a journalist.

The police autopsy had found “no apparent sign of external physical injury”. 

Fortun determined he had been suffocated by a plastic bag, leading to criminal complaints being filed against the prisons chief and numerous inmates. 

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has also announced plans to train more forensic pathologists.

“I have a lot of health issues — sometimes I wonder why I’m still around,” said Fortun, who has survived pneumonia, sepsis and breast cancer in the past two years.

“Maybe the dead are keeping me alive.”

A stretch of dirt next to a desert highway in Israel’s south may not immediately seem an ideal spot, but for years it has attracted Bedouins weekly to enjoy horse racing.

There is no grandstand or fence separating the spectators’ area from the track — just some plastic tubing tied to posts.

But the Bedouins who gather there at sunrise most Fridays told AFP it suits them just fine.

They have been meeting at the venue in the Negev desert region to share a hobby they describe as a central part of their nomadic heritage.

Saher al-Qarnawi, standing along the makeshift barrier after keenly watching a two-horse race, told AFP earlier this month that Israeli police have tried to shut down the events, “but people are determined to keep them going.”

A police spokesman for the Negev, Zivan Freidin, said the races were not illegal.

“We don’t forbid these races,” he said.

“We only have a problem with when they constitute a public disorder or endanger people, as they sometimes take place close to roads.”

Horse racing and betting typically go hand-in-hand, but people at the Abu Tlul track refused to confirm reports that thousands of dollars are wagered, off site, each week.

Zakaria Shamroukh, an owner and trainer at the track, dismissed claims of illegal gambling.

“Do you see money here? It’s just a hobby,” he said.

Freidin indicated police were not particularly engaged with cracking down on betting, if it was taking place at all.

“I don’t know about bets, and not all race involves bets,” the police spokesman said.

– Social tensions –

There are more than 260,000 Bedouins in Israel, part of the country’s Arab minority that accounts for roughly a fifth of its 9.3 million population.

A partly nomadic group that is becoming increasingly urbanised, Bedouins consistently rank as Israel’s poorest group and, like other Arab people, complain of marginalisation and mistreatment by the government.

A long-standing source of friction is that many Bedouin villages are not recognised as official municipalities by Israel and lack basic utilities.

Tensions are also driven by accusations from some Jewish Israelis blaming Bedouins for a disproportionately high share of petty crime, particularly theft.

The all-men crowd at the track on a recent Friday included at least one Jewish Israeli, who identified himself as an owner whose horse was not racing that day, and declined to give his name.

In a rare study of Bedouin leisure practices, researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev explored the impact shared social spaces could have on relations between the Jewish majority and minority groups.

The 2021 study — focused on Bedouin use of an Israeli forest, not horse racing — found that Bedouins had “positive feelings” towards Israel’s Lahav Forest, even if the popular leisure area is managed by the Jewish-controlled state institutions.

Shamroukh said the horse races offer an opportunity to foster closer ties, calling on the state to support them.

“Sports brings together Arabs (and) Jews,” he said.

“They all come to the track and they like it, and they become avid followers and cheer for the horses.”

Jordan hosts a Middle East summit Tuesday bringing together regional and international players hoping to help resolve regional crises, particularly in neighbouring Iraq.

The “Baghdad II” meeting, which will also include officials from France and the European Union, follows an August 2021 summit in Iraq’s capital organised at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Iraq only recently arrived at a fragile compromise government after a year of political stalemate.

The summit, held on the shores of the Dead Sea, aims to “provide support for the stability, security and prosperity of Iraq,” the French presidency said in a statement, adding it hopes this will benefit “the entire region”.

The meeting takes place as several countries in the region are mired in unrest.

For over three months, Iran has bloodily suppressed a wave of popular demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin.

The meeting will also be attended by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who has been mediating talks aimed at reviving Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Syria continues to be a battleground for competing geopolitical interests and Lebanon remains in an economic and political quagmire.

Baghdad II will see Jordan host Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Iran’s foreign minister and delegations from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Jordan, which has seen strikes and protests against rising fuel prices in recent days, has said the army will deploy on the road from Amman airport to the Dead Sea conference centre, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of the capital.

– ‘No one expects miracles’ –

“This summit has great ambitions but no one expects miracles,” says Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is expected to be busy on the sidelines of the conference.

France’s role as a mediator is crucial, Kahwaji said, with Paris “keeping the thread of dialogue on behalf of Westerners with Iran, especially as the Vienna nuclear negotiations are currently in stalemate”.

The Dubai-based analyst said it is necessary to gauge the “disposition of Tehran — which plays a central role in the crises of the region from Iraq to Syria through to Lebanon and Yemen — to compromise”.

Iran’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict through the supply of drones to Russia further complicates the discussions, Kahwaji said.

Tehran has accused regional rival Saudi Arabia — with which it has had no diplomatic relations since 2016 — of fomenting unrest in Iran as protests rage on.

On Monday, Iran’s Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran was “ready to return to normal relations” with Riyadh “whenever the Saudi side is ready”.

– Test for Iraq –

The conference will also be a test for Iraq’s Sudani, appointed prime minister in late October after more than a year of political deadlock.

Considered closer to Iran than his predecessor, Mustafa al-Kadhemi, this will be Sudani’s first major international meeting.

In its statement, the French presidency said it hoped for “continuity” from the new Iraqi leader.

Hamzeh Hadad, a visiting scholar at the European Council on Foreign Relations, believes the first summit in 2021 had been intended to allow Kadhemi to show he could “gather neighbouring leaders, in particular the Gulf states, in Baghdad”.

During this meeting, Sudani will have to demonstrate “he can maintain these relations and show that they do not depend on personal ties”, Hadad said.

“I think this time around, both Iraqis and non-Iraqis would like to see a more serious agenda coming from this conference,” he added.

The meeting is also expected to address issues such as global warming, food security, water resources and energy cooperation.

Macron will also meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, an “ally in the fight against terrorism”, according to Paris. 

One of Ukraine’s most storied ballet companies embarks this week on a run of shows in Paris, a welcome break from airstrikes and blackouts that have bedevilled performances back home. 

The production of the classic “Giselle” being brought to the French capital by the Kyiv-based National Opera Ballet of Ukraine caps a period of intense hardship for the company.

Since Russia’s invasion in February, the usual stress of rehearsals has been compounded by fleeing dancers and performances interrupted by air raids.

One dancer has even been killed after volunteering to fight.

But the show must go on and performers and audiences alike have been forced to adapt.

Prima ballerina Natalia Matsak recalled how one loud siren during a performance several months ago forced a hasty intermission as everyone rushed for cover.

“We went out to bow and the curtain fell immediately. We didn’t even have time to bow properly,” she told AFP.

Russian aerial assaults have become a regular feature of life in Kyiv — missile attacks on Friday left swathes of the city without power, water and heat amid sub-zero temperatures. 

Every time a raid occurs, the audience at the National Opera — a Neo-Renaissance landmark near the famed Golden Gate — also has to take refuge in the bomb shelters.

Dancers join the audience members in the shelters, but face having to remain limber for breaks that can last more than an hour. 

“After all, as soon as the alarm is lifted, we must be ready to continue the performance,” Matsak said. 

“This is very exhausting… a serious test of strength for artists.”

But, she added, the pressure doesn’t let up once everyone goes home. 

“After such shelling, we do not sleep at night. We are nervously exhausted.” 

– Fleeing dancers –

The company suffered a mass exodus of dancers when the war began and millions of Ukrainians fled their homes. 

“A lot of women left the troupe. The changes in the composition of the troupe are colossal,” said leading soloist Sergiy Kryvokon.

Male dancer Oleksandr Shapoval volunteered to go to the front the day after Russia invaded, leaving behind two teenage daughters. 

He died in mortar shelling in September in the eastern industrial Donbas region. 

But these days, dancers are returning as they miss their homes and work, Kryvokon said. 

In Paris, he will perform the part of Prince Albrecht alongside Matsak in the titular role. 

The tour at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees involves 17 performances over 16 days.

The theatre’s website describes the tragic love story as “one of the great classical ballets of their repertoire”.

Both Kryvokon and Matsak have performed the ballet with other partners but it will be their first time doing the piece together. 

“We’ve been working on this performance for less than two weeks,” Kryvokon said, beads of sweat visible on his forehead after an intense rehearsal. 

– No Tchaikovsky –

In past years, the National Opera Ballet of Ukraine — which is in the middle of its 155th season — has toured France with Tchaikovsky’s Christmastime favourite “The Nutcracker”. 

But the current wartime climate makes such a selection impossible.

“Tchaikovsky is a symbol of Russia, so neither the ‘Nutcracker’ nor his other ballets are danced by our theatre,” said Sergiy Skuz, the company’s administrative head. 

On the Russian side too, ballet has not escaped the impact of the conflict.

The celebrated Bolshoi Ballet Academy has seen expatriate dancers leave, while its tours in the West have been cancelled in protest of Moscow’s invasion. 

The Bolshoi, in turn, has scrapped performances by directors who have denounced the war. 

The Ukrainian dancers are eager instead to promote “Giselle” by French composer Adolphe Adam. 

It is a “respected world classic” that has appeared “on our stage for many decades”, Kryvokon said. 

The dancers are also keen to show that, despite the many trials of the past year, they can still deliver a first-rate performance. 

“Every trip abroad is of great importance for us now,” Kryvokon said. 

“We have to be on top there, and we will show the level with pleasure.”

UK nurses on Tuesday stage a second unprecedented strike amid an increasingly acrimonious fight with the government for better wages and warnings that patient safety could be jeopardised.

Up to 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are holding the latest one-day stoppage after walking out last Thursday for the first time in the union’s 106-year history.

They are demanding an inflation-busting pay increase to make up for years of real-terms salary cuts, but the government insists recession-hit Britain cannot afford anything above a roughly 4-5 percent rise.

The striking nurses are just one of numerous UK public and private sector workers taking industrial action over pay and working conditions, as they grapple with a cost-of-living crisis worsened by decades-high inflation.

The UK consumer prices index is currently running at nearly 11 percent.

Ambulance workers, including paramedics and call handlers, are set to strike on Wednesday. 

A second such walkout is scheduled for December 28, while others, including postal, railway and Border Force staff are staging stoppages over the Christmas period.

– ‘Entrenched’ –

The RCN has criticised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government for refusing to discuss pay as part of stalled negotiations to end the dispute, and warned the strikes could be repeated in the coming months.

“The only reason we’re entrenched is because we’ve got no one to talk to about what the issue is,” the union’s director in England, Patricia Marquis, told Times Radio on Monday.

“Sadly, if there is no resolution, then our members have taken a vote to take strike action and the mandate that lasts for six months.”

The union has also accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of adopting a “macho” negotiating style during brief meetings held recently.

“The RCN’s demands are unaffordable during these challenging times and would take money away from frontline services while they are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic,” Barclay said Monday.

He and other ministers have reiterated that they can only accept the recommendations of an independent pay review body.

The government-appointed body, comprised of economists and human resources experts, urged hiking healthcare sector pay at least £1,400 ($1,740) on top of a 3.0 percent increase last year.

But critics argue it is constrained by government-imposed budget limits and that its assessment, published in July, predates current higher inflation rates. 

– ‘Fair and reasonable’ –

Sunak is set to be quizzed by a cross-party watchdog panel of lawmakers on Tuesday, with the issue of strikes likely to feature.

On the eve of the nurses’ latest strike, he insisted the government has adopted a “responsible and fair approach” to public sector pay. 

“When it comes to pay it’s because these things are difficult that we have an independent process,” he said while on a visit to Latvia.

Ministers from various departments held their latest contingency meeting Monday as they bid to mitigate the fallout from the growing number of public sector strikes.

They plan to draft in 750 military personnel to drive ambulances and perform logistics roles.

A further 625 soldiers will be involved in “contingency planning” to replace Border Force staff striking over numerous days from Friday through to New Year’s Eve.

Despite the government’s dogged insistence it will not negotiate over pay, polls indicate the majority of people support the nurses’ stance, and to a lesser extent other workers walking out.

YouGov polling during December reported by The Sunday Times showed nearly two-thirds back the nurses, while half are supportive of ambulance staff stoppages.

However, after a year of strikes on the railways, only 37 percent backed its workers amid their ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.