Israel says it has deported Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, a day after the Gaza-bound aid boat she and 11 other people were on was intercepted by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean.

Thunberg departed Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning on a flight to France after she agreed to be deported, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

Upon arriving at an airport in Paris, Thunberg accused Israel of illegally kidnapping her and other activists on the boat while they were in international waters.

France said five of the six French citizens detained alongside her had refused to sign their deportation orders and would now be subject to judicial proceedings.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the activist group operating the yacht The Madleen, has demanded the immediate release of everyone detained.

The vessel was intercepted early on Monday while the activists tried to deliver a “symbolic” amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel’s maritime blockade and highlight the humanitarian crisis there.

The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed it as a “selfie yacht”, and announced in a post on X on Monday night that the passengers had been transferred to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport following the vessel’s arrival at the port of Ashdod on Monday night.

“Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation,” it said.

On Tuesday morning, the ministry said Thunberg had “just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France)”, and posted a photo of her sitting on a plane.

Speaking to reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport, Thunberg said Israel had committed “an illegal act by kidnapping us on international waters and against our will, bringing us to Israel, keeping us in the bottom of the boat, not letting us getting out and so on”.

She added: “But that is not the real story here, the real story is that there is a genocide going on in Gaza, and a systematic starvation following the siege and blockade now, which is leading to food, medicine, water – that are desperately needed to get into Gaza – is prevented from doing so.”

The Israeli foreign ministry has insisted the blockade was “consistent with international law”, and that unauthorised attempts to breach it were “dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts”.

Asked why she was free while others were still detained, Thunberg said it was “a bit unclear”. She said she and some others had signed a document saying they wanted to go back as soon as they could, but did not accept they had entered the country illegally, but others hadn’t signed this document.

She added she had been unable to say goodbye to fellow activists before her deportation, and was unsure what was happening to them. “I’m very worried about them,” she said.

France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, earlier wrote on X: “Our consul was able to see the six French nationals arrested by the Israeli authorities last night.”

“One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings.”

Barrot did not identify them, but the six French nationals include MEP Rima Hassan and two journalists, Omar Faiad of Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi of online publication Blast, who Reporters Without Borders said were documenting the Madleen’s journey.

As well as France and Sweden, citizens of Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey were on board the vessel.

The FFC confirmed in a statement on Monday night that all 12 had reached Ashdod and that it expected any who refused to be deported to be transferred to a detention facility in Ramle, near Tel Aviv.

“We continue to demand the immediate release of all volunteers and the return of the stolen aid. Their kidnapping is unlawful and a violation of international law,” it added.

Israel’s foreign ministry said the aid, which includes baby formula and medicine, would be transferred to Gaza “through real humanitarian channels”.

The FFC said the Madleen was intercepted by the Israeli military inside international waters about 185km (115 miles) west of Gaza early on Monday.

According to the group, the vessel was surrounded by quadcopter drones, sprayed with a “white irritant substance”, and had its communications jammed.

Video footage released by the group showed the passengers sitting down with their hands raised as Israeli forces boarded.

It also posted a pre-recorded clip showing Thunberg saying: “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel.”

“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”

The foreign ministry later said all the passengers were “safe and unharmed”, and posted a video showing troops handing them food and water.

When the Madleen set sail from Italy on 1 June, the FFC said it was “carrying humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct defiance of Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade”. The Israeli foreign ministry called it a “gimmick”, while Israel has rejected accusations of genocide.

On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the maritime blockade was necessary to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Hamas.

Israel and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza when Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007 by ousting its rivals, a year after winning legislative elections.

Israel stopped all deliveries of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to Gaza on 2 March this year and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

It said the steps were meant to put pressure on the group to release the hostages still held in Gaza, but the UN warned that Gaza’s 2.1 million population were facing catastrophic levels of hunger because of the resulting shortages of food.

Three weeks ago, Israel launched an expanded offensive to take control of all areas of Gaza. It also partially eased the blockade, allowing in a “basic” amount of food.

Israel is now prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it backs along with the US. The UN and other aid groups are refusing to co-operate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

It is 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,927 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

(BBC News)

A South Korean court has fined a woman for sexual misconduct after she pulled down a colleague’s trousers – and his underwear, by accident – in front of their colleagues, local media reported.

On top of the 2.8 million won ($2,100; £1,500) fine, the woman in her 50s has also been ordered to complete eight hours of sexual violence prevention education.

The incident reportedly happened last October at a restaurant kitchen in Gangwon province in the north-east.

The Chuncheon District Court’s ruling on Saturday rejected the woman’s claim that she had intended it to be a prank on her colleague, who is in his 20s.

But the court said it was taking into account the fact that she had no prior criminal record and had shown remorse. She had knelt down to apologise to the man and his parents, the judge said.

“It seems like they punished a simple prank too harshly,” says one comment under the Chosun Daily’s report of the case.

But another reader argues, “The fine is not excessive at all. Why are you playing this kind of prank? Does this look like a prank to you?”

Pulling down someone’s trousers, which could include underwear – “pantsing” or “debagging” as it’s known – is often seen as a common practical joke despite criticism that it is a form of bullying.

Pantsing has long been used as a comic routine on variety shows and reality TV in South Korea.

But it has got people in trouble as well. In 2019, South Korean Olympic short track speed skating champion Lim Hyo-jun was suspended for a year after he pulled down a male teammate’s trousers in front of other female skaters.

And in 2021, a group of elementary school students in North Jeolla Province were investigated for bullying a younger boy at a playground, after the victim’s mother told police that they had pulled her son’s pants down.

(BBC News)

A new round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war between the US and China is set take place in London on Monday.

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a senior US delegation would meet Chinese representatives. Over the weekend, Beijing confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng will attend the talks.

The announcements came after Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping had a phone conversation last week, which the US president described as a “very good talk”.

Last month, the world’s two biggest economies agreed a temporary truce to lower import taxes on goods being traded between them, but since then both countries have accused the other of breaching the deal.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet Chinese officials in London on Monday.

On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said Vice Premier He would be in the UK between 8 and 13 June, and that a meeting of the “China-US economic and trade mechanism” would take place.

The new round of negotiations came after Trump said his phone conversation with Xi on Thursday mainly focused on trade and had “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries”.

According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi told Trump that the US should “withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China”.

The call was the first time the two leaders had spoken since the trade war erupted in February.

When Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of countries earlier this year, China was the hardest hit. Beijing responded with its own higher rates on US imports, and this triggered tit-for-tat increases that peaked at 145%.

In May, talks held in Switzerland led to a temporary truce that Trump called a “total reset”.

It brought US tariffs on Chinese products down to 30%, while Beijing slashed levies on US imports to 10% and promised to lift barriers on critical mineral exports.

The agreement gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade deal.

The latest data released by Bejing on Monday showed China’s exports in May were lower than analysts expected, despite the truce.

China’s exports in dollar terms increased by 4.8% compared to the same time last year.

At the same time imports dropped by 3.4%, which was much worse than the 0.9% fall predicted.

But since then, relations appeared to have soured. Last month, Trump said China had “totally violated its agreement with us”, and then a few days later China said the US had “severely violated” the agreement.

The US accused China of failing to restart shipments of critical minerals and rare earth magnets vital to car and computer industries.

On Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it had approved some applications for rare earth export licences, although it did not provide details of which countries involved.

The announcement came after Trump said on Friday that Xi had agreed to restart trade in rare earth materials.

Bu speaking on Sunday, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CBS News that “those exports of critical minerals have been getting released at a rate that is, you know, higher than it was, but not as high as we believe we agreed to in Geneva”.

(BBC News)