World

VIENNA — While negotiating with the conservatives to form a government, sharp-tongued Herbert Kickl was within reach of becoming contemporary Austria's first far-right chancellor.

But talks fell apart on Wednesday after Kickl's Freedom Party (FPOe) lay claims to key posts and proposed policies on the EU, migration and other issues the conservative People's Party (OeVP) found unacceptable.

"Together, we wanted to lead Austria back to the top of Europe. Unfortunately, the OeVP was not ready to make decisive compromises," Kickl said in a statement, while the OeVP blamed Kickl's "thirst for power and uncompromising attitude".

Wednesday's failure to form a government marks another dramatic twist for Kickl, a radical who took over a scandal-tainted FPOe in 2021 and revitalised it to top national polls for the first time ever in September.

While the FPOe at first failed to find partners to govern, the conservatives under a fresh leadership had agreed to coalition talks in January.

 'People's chancellor'

Before taking over the party, the 56-year-old Kickl, a marathon runner and climber, had made his career largely behind the scenes as its longtime ideologue.

As its leader, he has skillfully tapped into voter anxieties over the Covid pandemic, inflation and the Ukraine war, including criticising European Union sanctions against Moscow.

Kickl's bland, unassuming image contrasts with his virulent rhetoric.

He condemns critics and called President Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Greens leader, a "senile mummy".

He also frequently employs terms reminiscent of the troubled past of the party, founded by former Nazis in the 1950s.

Those include styling himself as the future "Volkskanzler" -- the people's chancellor -- as Adolf Hitler was called in the 1930s.

Tens of thousands have protested against the FPOe-led talks, amid concerns Kickl -- who has previously said "politics takes precedence over the law" -- would erode the rule of law as chancellor.

Kickl denies using Nazi references.

In a Facebook post at the weekend, he insisted "the rule of law, fundamental rights, freedom of opinion, free media, (and) the fight against anti-Semitism" were "a natural foundation of our political work".

But the far-right leader has never made a secret of his closeness to extremist groups, expressing his support for the Identitarian Movement as early as 2016.

That movement subscribes to the "great replacement" conspiracy narrative that claims there is a plot to replace Europe's "native" white population with non-white migrants.

Kickl has also espoused the far-right concept of "remigration" -- wanting to expel people of non-European ethnic backgrounds, including Austrian nationals, deemed to have failed to integrate.

"Supporting an anti-elite and xenophobic party has perhaps become socially acceptable" almost everywhere in the world, said Christian Rainer, the former chief editor of the weekly Profil.

But Kickl makes French far-right leader Marine Le Pen "look like Mother Teresa", he said.

Kickl has avoided debates and interviews, denouncing the media for their "lack of objectivity".

Instead he has relied on social media to spread his views.

 Secret service raid

His past time in government -- when the FPOe was a junior partner to the OeVP from 2017 to 2019 -- has included some controversies.

During his time as interior minister in 2018, the authorities raided the country's intelligence service, seriously damaging the service's reputation among its international partners.

In April last year, prosecutors launched a corruption investigation against him, amid allegations that he embezzled public money to pay for lucrative adverts in the media, in return for receiving favourable coverage.

In December, parliament approved a request by prosecutors to lift his immunity so he could be questioned for allegedly providing false testimony.

But voters have warmed to Kickl's tidy and trustworthy demeanour.

In contrast to his flamboyant predecessors Joerg Haider and Heinz-Christian Strache -- who stepped back after a spectacular graft scandal -- Kickl has maintained a low profile.

Born in Villach, the capital of the southern state of Carinthia, he studied philosophy, history, communication and political science in Vienna -- but left the courses before finishing -- and started working for the FPOe in 1995.

DHAKA — At least a dozen people died in detention in Bangladesh since last year's revolution, including by torture and gunshot wounds, a rights group said Wednesday.

Odhikar, one of the South Asian nation's largest human rights organisations, demanded justice from the interim government that took over after the student-led revolution that toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"The interim government should not let these crimes go unpunished," Odhikar director ASM Nasiruddin Elan told AFP. "Those involved in extrajudicial killings must be brought to justice."

Odhikar detailed in a report how security forces during Hasina's 15-year-long autocratic rule engaged in widespread killings to bolster her power, and accused the same agencies of continuing to commit human rights violations since she fled.

Hasina escaped into exile to neighbouring India on August 5, capping an uprising in which the United Nations says more than 1,400 people could have been killed, and has since defied an arrest warrant to face trial for crimes against humanity.

Since she left, Bangladeshi security forces have carried out sweeping arrests against supporters of Hasina's Awami League party and loyalists of what they dub her "fascist" ex-government.

Odhikar detailed 12 deaths that took place between August 9 and December 31, 2024.

Bangladesh's security forces are "investigating all the cases", Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury, the armed forces' public relations director, told AFP.

'Right to justice'

"Even the friends of the fascist regime have a right to justice," Elan said. "Extrajudicial killings must be prevented at any cost".

Three of them were in police custody, and the others were under the control of other security units, including the armed forces and much-feared paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion [RAB].

At least seven victims died after torture, and four had gunshot wounds, according to Odhikar.

Another person was beaten and later pushed off a bridge by the police, it added.

Among the cases was the death of 18-year-old Elahi Sikdar from the city of Gopalganj, who was arrested for allegedly attacking soldiers. His injured corpse was later recovered from a hospital.

His brother Kudrat Sikdar said that, like many families of the dead, they would not be filing a case.

"We have accepted his death as destiny," Kudrat Sikdar said.

In response to the report, Bangladesh police spokesperson Inamul Haque Sagar told AFP that officers had been ordered to "refrain from activities beyond their jurisdiction".

The armed forces were granted judicial powers enforcement activities like the police, including making arrest,  after the revolution.

Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said he worried about that role being extended.

"The more our people stay in the field, the more there is the fear that they will face unlawful activities," he told the Prothom Alo newspaper.

BRUSSELS — Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth laid out President Donald Trump's red lines and demands on Ukraine and NATO to Washington's allies on Wednesday, telling Europe it must step up on supporting Kyiv and its own defence.

In a forceful introduction at NATO headquarters, the former television anchor set out the contours for a future deal that Trump has vowed to reach on ending Russia's war on Ukraine.

"Our message is clear, the bloodshed must stop and this war must end," he told a group of Kyiv's backers that included his Ukrainian counterpart.

Hegseth said trying to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was an "illusionary goal" that would extend the fighting.

The US defence chief said security guarantees would be needed for Ukraine but that NATO membership was "not realistic," and made clear the United States would not deploy troops on the ground.

"Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops," he said.

Hegseth said that Trump was "unleashing US energy production" and urging other producers to do so in a bid to drive down prices -- and push Moscow to negotiate.

But he insisted that Europe must now start providing the "overwhelming share" of aid to Ukraine.

The tough US stance had largely been expected but it will still provide a cold shower for Kyiv as its forces struggle to hold back Russia.

Hegseth's visit to NATO headquarters is part of the first flurry of high-ranking American visits to Europe since Trump took power.

Those are set to culminate with Vice President JD Vance meeting Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich on Friday.

'Imbalanced relationship'

On European security, Hegseth echoed Trump's demands for NATO to more than double its defence spending target to five percent of GDP.

While he said Washington remained committed to NATO, the United States will "no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship" that sees Europe underpaying.

He warned that US prime interests were focused on the threat from China and that there may be "trade offs" on American involvement in Europe.

"As the United States prioritises its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front," he said.

US allies have already stepped up their spending in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are pledging to do more to back Kyiv.

"Secretary Hegseth, we hear you," said Britain's defence minister John Healey in a brief response.

"We hear your concerns on stepping up for Ukraine, we are and we will. On stepping up for European security. We are and we will."

Britain announced a fresh package of aid for Ukraine worth $185 million.

 'Do a lot more'

NATO's European members are terrified about Ukraine being forced into a bad deal that lets Moscow claim victory and leave them facing the threat of an emboldened Russia.

The United States has underpinned European security through NATO over the past seven decades.

Hegseth's broadside is set to fire a starting pistol on negotiations for setting a new spending target for alliance members at a June summit in the Netherlands.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said he expects the goal to be raised to "north of three percent".

"We need to do a lot more so we have what we need to deter and defend. And so that there is more equitable burden sharing," he said.

NEW YORK — Last year was the deadliest for journalists in recent history, with at least 124 reporters killed -- and Israel responsible for nearly 70 per cent of that total, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Wednesday.

The uptick in killings, which marks a 22 percent increase over 2023, reflects "surging levels of international conflict, political unrest and criminality worldwide," the CPJ said.

It was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ began keeping records more than three decades ago, with journalists murdered across 18 different countries, it said.

A total of 85 journalists died in the Israeli war on Gaza, "all at the hands of the Israeli military," the CPJ said, adding that 82 of them were Palestinians.

Sudan and Pakistan recorded the second highest number of journalists and media workers killed, with six each.

In Mexico, which has a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, five were killed, with CPJ reporting it had found "persistent flaws" in Mexico's mechanisms for protecting journalists.

And in Haiti, where two reporters were murdered, widespread violence and political instability have sown so much chaos that "gangs now openly claim responsibility for journalist killings," the report said.

Other deaths took place in countries such as Myanmar, Mozambique, India and Iraq.

"Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ's history," said the group's CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

"The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists," she said.

CPJ, which has kept records on journalist killings since 1992, said that 24 of the reporters were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024.

Freelancers, the report said, were among the most vulnerable because of their lack of resources, and accounted for 43 of the killings in 2024.

The year 2025 is not looking more promising, with six journalists already killed in the first weeks of the year, CPJ said.

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump slammed “highly political judges” on Tuesday as his new administration veered closer to a constitutional clash with the courts over his plans to radically overhaul the government and amass power in the White House.

With the Republican Party controlling Congress and completely loyal to Trump, the billionaire president has largely ignored the legislature as he carries out his unprecedented policies.

But he has faced growing pushback from the courts since taking office three weeks ago, with US media outlets reporting 11 orders issued against the administration — five of them on Monday alone — from dozens of federal lawsuits.

As the courts and Trump appeared increasingly to be on a collision course, he lashed out on Truth Social.

“Billions of Dollars of FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, has already been found in the investigation of our incompetently run government. Now certain activists and highly political judges want us to slow down, or stop,” Trump posted.

“Losing this momentum will be very detrimental to finding the TRUTH, which is turning out to be a disaster for those involved in running our government. Much left to find. No Excuses!!!”

Trump first ran up against the judiciary over an attempt to freeze $3 trillion in federal grants and loans, a deferred resignation program for government workers, and a plan to transfer transgender inmates to men’s prisons.

He has also clashed with judges over his abolition of birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants, sending Venezuelan migrants to Guantanamo Bay, funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health, the firing of the government’s ethics watchdog and placing workers from the US Agency for International Development on leave.

Injunctions have been placed on each of these actions. But concerns are mounting that Trump could ultimately defy the rulings, prompting a full-blown constitutional crisis.

‘Coup’?

Trump’s harshest critics say that horse has already bolted after a federal judge was forced to upbraid the White House on Monday for failing to comply with his order to end the federal funding freeze.

Vice President JD Vance has fueled speculation over a coming clash, claiming in a social media post Sunday that judges lack authority to “control the executive’s legitimate power.”

In fact, the US constitution gives federal judges the right to rule on cases involving the president as part of their oversight role of the other branches of government.

Vance’s comments — which came after a judge blocked tech billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from accessing Americans’ personal data — earned him a rebuke from legal scholars and political opponents.

“If you believe any of the multiple federal courts that have ruled against you so far are exceeding their statutory or constitutional authority, your recourse is to appeal,” Liz Cheney, a former Republican lawmaker and vocal Trump critic, replied.

“You don’t get to rage-quit the Republic just because you are losing. That’s tyranny.”

The DOGE injunction also came under attack from Musk, who complained of a “corrupt judge protecting corruption” and proposed that 1 per cent of the federal judiciary be fired every year.

In an X post on Tuesday, Musk claimed that “democracy in America is being destroyed by judicial coup”.

But critics characterize the deluge of criticism from the world’s richest man, the US president and the vice president as a coordinated assault on the rule of law.

“This is not just a musing from a dude with some various ideas,” tech commentator and veteran Musk watcher Kara Swisher said of the Spacex and Tesla CEO.

“The next step is to hollow out the judiciary and also not follow their rulings, which have been against Musk’s efforts. This is a very obvious coup, for those not paying attention.”

The criticism has not halted the frenetic pace of the White House under Trump, who has signed more than 75 executive orders and other edicts, outpacing recent predecessors.

On Monday he boosted tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, announced a crackdown on paper straws and abolished the minting of pennies.