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Manila (AFP) – Search teams arrived Thursday at a lake south of the Philippine capital Manila to look for dozens of cockfighters allegedly murdered by rogue police, the Department of Justice said.

Fifteen police officers are under investigation over a spate of mysterious disappearances in 2022 in the country's huge cockfighting industry.

The case erupted back into the public consciousness last month with the televised appearance of a witness claiming to know where bodies had been submerged in Lake Taal, located about two hours south of the capital.

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has since said he has "multiple witnesses" who can identify the location of the missing in the lake, which spans more than 230 square kilometres (89 square miles).

"The purpose of (Thursday's mission) is to ... identify the area covered by the search, see initial water conditions and to measure the depth of covered area," the justice department said in a statement.

The Philippine Coast Guard will participate in the preliminary assessment alongside police.

National Police Chief Nicolas Torre this week said authorities needed to act swiftly.

"The typhoon season is coming in," he told journalists on Tuesday.

"We are moving fast to at least try to locate the bodies. We know that it is very, very challenging."

Remulla on Friday said he had requested technical assistance from Japan including help with mapping the lake bed, parts of which are as deep as 172 metres (564 feet).

The Japanese embassy in Manila told AFP it had received the request without providing further details.

But Torre believes the Philippines had the necessary equipment on hand to begin the search.

"We have a very, very robust shipping industry here and in other parts of the Philippines, so we can do it."

Filipinos from all walks of life wager millions of dollars on matches every week between roosters who fight to the death with razor-sharp metal spurs tied to their legs.

The sport, banned in many other countries, survived coronavirus pandemic restrictions by going online, drawing many more gamblers who use their mobile phones to place wagers.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte banned the livestreaming of cockfights shortly before leaving office in 2022, but it has continued due to lax enforcement.

New Delhi (AFP) – Indian election officials have given voters in Bihar state just weeks to prove their citizenship, requiring documents few possess in a registration revamp set to be applied nationwide, triggering disenfranchisement fears.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the revision of the voter rolls in June ahead of upcoming polls in the eastern state.

It said the exercise will later be replicated across the nation of 1.4 billion people.

According to the ECI, the "intensive revision" was needed in part to avoid the "inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants".

Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long claimed that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls.

Critics say the overhaul could render vast numbers of Indian citizens unable to vote.

"You are being asked to produce documents that very few people have," said Asaduddin Owaisi, a prominent Muslim lawmaker.

"It will lead to mass disenfranchisement."

Opposition lawmakers say it will impact minorities the hardest, including Muslims and Dalit communities, those on the bottom rung of India's rigid caste hierarchy.

All potential voters in Bihar will have to provide proof of citizenship by July 25.

Those registered in 2003, the last time scrutiny of the voter list took place in Bihar, can submit a copy of that.

The rest -- around 30 million people, according to the ECI's estimates -- have to provide evidence of their place and date of birth.

And those born after 1987 must also furnish proof of their parents' Indian citizenship.

The requirement affects more than a third of potential voters in Bihar, India's third most populous state and its poorest.

It is also a crucial election battleground as the only state in India's northern Hindi-speaking belt where Modi's BJP has only ever governed in a coalition.

Bihar's main opposition party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, has challenged the election commission in the Supreme Court, along with other parties and activists.

"It is being used to justify aggressive and opaque revisions of electoral rolls that disproportionately target Muslim, Dalit and poor (Indian) migrant communities," the court petition read.

"They are not random patterns but... engineered exclusions."

Unlike many other countries, India does not have a unique national identity card.

The widely used biometric-linked "Aadhaar" identity card is not among the documents listed by the ECI as acceptable proof.

Documents that can be used include birth certificates, passports and matriculation records.

Of these, most people are likely to rely on their matriculation certificates.

But even those are in short supply in Bihar, where literacy rates are among the lowest in India.

According to an analysis published in The Indian Express newspaper, only 35 percent of people in the state hold such a document.

"In Bihar, where literacy is not very high, many people are not likely to have the kind of documents the ECI has demanded," said Jagdeep Chhokar from the New Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

"The poor, poorly educated, uneducated and minorities will be the most impacted."

Detractors say the drive is unprecedented because "documentary proof has never been demanded" of people to vote in India.

"Only those who especially wanted their name inserted needed to fill a form," said political activist and academic Yogendra Yadav. "For the rest, someone would come to their house and get their names registered."

"The onus in India was never on the voter but on the ECI officials," he added.

In previous verification drives, modifications were made to the existing rolls, Yadav said.

Now, a list is being drawn from scratch.

Yadav said the drive was a "de facto" implementation of an earlier plan to put together a list of Indian citizens.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was compiled in the eastern state of Assam in 2019, left out almost two million people. Many of them were Muslims.

The BJP had said the NRC would be replicated nationwide as it was necessary to detect "foreign infiltrators", but was forced to backtrack after furious protests.

"Everyone has to now prove that they are citizens of India," said Yadav. "That is exactly what the NRC is... this is NRC by the backdoor."

San Jerónimo Purenchecuaro (Mexico) (AFP) – After decades working as a fisherman on a high-altitude Mexican lake, Froylan Correa is now helping to save an endangered amphibian with gills resembling a lion's mane and a remarkable regenerative ability.

The achoque, also known as the Lake Patzcuaro salamander, is a lesser known relative of the axolotl, the small friendly- faced amphibian battling extinction in Mexico City.

Overfishing, pollution and reduced water levels in Lake Patzcuaro, its only natural habitat, mean that the achoque is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In an attempt to prevent it disappearing, biologists from Michoacana University decided to pay the local Indigenous community of San Jeronimo Purenchecuaro to help the achoque to reproduce.

Correa, who knows the lake in the western state of Michoacan like the back of his hand, has a new job as an amphibian egg collector.

Now in his 60s, he remembers when the waters teemed with fish and there was no need to worry for the salamander.

"There used to be a lot of achoques," he told AFP.

"Now the new generation doesn't know about it."

After the eggs are collected, biologist Rodolfo Perez takes them to his laboratory at Michoacana University to hatch, in the hope of giving the achoques a better chance of surviving.

After the hatchlings have grown enough, they are moved to the community's achoque protection reserve, where the fishermen care for them until they are ready to be released into the lake, said Israel Correa, a relative of Froylan Correa.

The achoque belongs to the Ambystoma group, keenly studied by scientists for an extraordinary ability to regenerate mutilated limbs and parts of organs such as the brain and heart.

If one loses a tail, it quickly grows another.

That has made the salamanders a subject of fascination for scientists hoping to learn lessons that could apply to humans.

Since pre-Hispanic times, the achoque has been a source of food as well as a remedy used by Indigenous people for respiratory illnesses.

Its skin color allows it to blend into its natural habitat.

According to a local legend, the achoque was first an evil god who hid in the lake mud to escape the punishment of other deities.

Perez is trying to hatch as many eggs as possible with the help of the locals to prevent its extinction.

"It's been a lot of work," he said, adding that the biggest challenge is finding money to compensate the fishermen, since the achoques require constant care.

Collaboration between scientists and the local community has helped to stabilize the achoque population, according to the researchers.

There are an estimated 80 to 100 individuals who live in a small part of the lake, said Luis Escalera, another biologist at Michoacana University.

The number, however, is "much lower than it was 40 years ago," he said.

For the fishermen fighting to save them, it is a labor of love.

"We can't miss a day without coming because otherwise they'll die," Israel Correa said at the achoque protection reserve on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro.

"Come rain or shine, even if there's a festival, we have to be here."

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump complimented the president of Liberia Wednesday on his English-speaking skills -- despite English being the official language of the West African nation.

Trump was hosting a White House lunch with African leaders Wednesday, and -- after brief remarks from President Joseph Boakai -- asked the business graduate where he had picked up his linguistic know-how.

"Thank you, and such good English... Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated?" Trump said.

Boakai -- who, like most Liberians, speaks English as a first language -- indicated he had been educated in his native country.

He was facing away from the media, making his countenance hard to gauge -- but his laconic, mumbled response hinted at awkwardness.

Trump, who was surrounded by French-speaking presidents from other West African nations, kept digging.

"It's beautiful English. I have people at this table can't speak nearly as well," he said.

US engagement in Liberia began in the 1820s when the Congress- and slaveholder-funded American Colonization Society began sending freed slaves to its shores.

Thousands of "Americo-Liberian" settlers followed, declaring themselves independent in 1847 and setting up a government to rule over a native African majority.

The country has a diverse array of indigenous languages and a number of creolized dialects, while Kpelle-speakers are the largest single linguistic group.

Boakai himself can read and write in Mendi and Kissi but converses in Liberia's official tongue and lingua franca -- English.

Seoul (AFP) – A South Korean court early Thursday approved a fresh arrest warrant for disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol and placed him in custody, days after special investigators renewed efforts to detain him over his failed martial law bid.

Yoon was released from detention in March after the Seoul Central District Court overturned his January arrest, allowing him to stand trial for insurrection without being held in custody. In April, Yoon was formally removed from office after his impeachment was upheld by the country's Constitutional Court.

South Korea's special counsel prosecutors on Sunday sought a new arrest warrant for Yoon on charges including abuse of power and obstruction of official duties, among others.

Nam Se-jin, a senior judge at Seoul's Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Yoon over concerns that he could "destroy evidence" in the case.

Prosecutor Park Ji-young, a member of the special counsel, also told reporters: "We've just checked and confirmed that the warrant has been issued."

The former president, 64, is already on trial for insurrection, personally appearing in court to contest the charges.

However, Yoon has refused several summonses from a special counsel launched by parliament to investigate his martial law attempt, prompting prosecutors to seek his arrest on June 24.

That request was initially denied after the court noted Yoon had since signaled a willingness to cooperate. But on Sunday, the special counsel filed a fresh warrant request, claiming his detention was deemed necessary.

Yoon had attended a hearing on Wednesday that lasted about seven hours, during which he rejected all charges, before being taken to a detention centre near the South Korean capital.

There, he waited for the court's decision in a holding room.

Once the warrant was issued, Yoon was placed in a solitary cell at the facility, where he can be held for up to 20 days as prosecutors prepare to formally indict him including on additional charges.

If formally indicted, Yoon could remain in custody for up to six months pending an initial court ruling.

During the hearing, Yoon's legal team criticised the detention request as unreasonable, stressing that Yoon has been ousted and "no longer holds any authority".

Earlier this month, the special counsel questioned Yoon about his resistance during a failed arrest attempt in January, as well as accusations that he authorised drone flights to Pyongyang to help justify declaring martial law.

The former president also faces charges of falsifying official documents related to the martial law bid.

Yoon has defended his martial law attempt as necessary to "root out" pro–North Korean and "anti-state" forces.

But the Constitutional Court, when ousting Yoon from office on April 4 in a unanimous decision, said his acts were a "betrayal of people's trust" and "denial of the principles of democracy".

South Korea's current president, Lee Jae Myung, who won the June snap election, approved legislation launching sweeping special investigations into Yoon's push for martial law and various criminal accusations tied to his administration and wife.

Lee inherited a nation deeply fractured by the political crisis triggered by Yoon, whose attempt to subvert civilian rule -- which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament -- sent shock waves through South Korean democracy.

New York (AFP) – Starbucks has received around 30 offers from investment firms seeking a stake in the company's China business, US media reported Wednesday.

The coffee chain's China business, its second biggest after its US operation, drew non-binding offers from a mix of Chinese and foreign private equity firms valuing the enterprise at between $5 and $10 billion, CNBC reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Under one possible outcome, Starbucks could retain a 30 percent stake with a group of buyers each holding less than this share, CNBC said.

A note from TD Cowen said a valuation of between $2.6 billion and $4.7 billion is "more realistic" than one as potentially as high as $10 billion.

Starbucks declined to comment directly on any offers received but said it would not exit China.

"We are looking for a strategic partner with like-minded values, who shares our vision to provide a premium coffeehouse experience," a Starbucks spokesperson said.

"We remain committed to China and want to retain a meaningful stake in the business. Any deal must make sense for Starbucks business and partners."

The bidders include Centurium Capital, Hillhouse Capital and US private equity firms Carlyle Group and KKR, CNBC reported.

As of the end of March, Starbucks had around 7,700 cafes in more than 250 cities in China, employing more than 60,000 people. Only the United Staets, with more than 17,000 cafes is bigger for the chain.

Starbucks has been in turnaround mode, naming former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol as CEO in August 2024 after the short tenure of Laxman Narasimhan failed to reignite growth.

In its most recent quarter ending March 30, Starbucks had flat revenues in China compared with the year-ago period, with the number of transactions rising four percent but the average ticket falling four percent.

In a conference call in late April, Niccol told analysts that Starbuck's China sales had benefited during the period from adding new sugar-free beverages and introducing options at different price points.

"We've got more work to do in the market, but our brand remains strong," said Niccol.

Shares of Starbucks fell 0.2 percent in afternoon trading.

Washington (AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced Washington was sanctioning the United Nations special expert on the Palestinian territories, following her criticism of Washington policy on Gaza.

"Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives," Rubio said on social media.

In a subsequent statement he slammed the UN expert's strident criticism of the United States and said she recommended to the ICC that arrest warrants be issued targeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rubio also attacked her for "biased and malicious activities," and accused her of having "spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism."

He said she escalated her contempt for the United States by writing "threatening letters" to several US companies, making what Rubio called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives.

"We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty," Rubio said.

While Albanese was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, she does not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.

The Italy-born expert released a damning report earlier this month denouncing companies she said "profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide" in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The report provoked a furious response from Israel, while some of the named companies also raised objections.

Albanese has leveled broadsides against the policies of Israel in Gaza, and of US President Donald Trump, particularly the plan he announced in February to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its residents elsewhere.

That proposal faced a rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders and the United Nations.

Albanese dismissed it as "utter nonsense" and an "international crime" that will sow panic.

"It's unlawful, immoral and... completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse," she said on February 5 during a visit to Copenhagen.

US ally Israel on Wednesday commended Rubio's action against the rapporteur.

"Albanese has consistently undermined the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council by promoting false narratives and pushing for illegitimate legal actions that ignore the realities on the ground," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump will host five leaders from West Africa Wednesday for a White House summit aimed at fostering trade to counter the growing regional influence of Russia and China.

The White House is seeking to strengthen economic ties with the mineral-rich region as it curbs foreign aid to Africa, where countries have been hit by a 10 percent global import tariff announced by Trump.

Talks with the presidents of Senegal, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon are expected to focus on commercial opportunities and security.

"This summit marks a pivot point and test for how the Trump administration's foreign policy will fare when it comes to US-Africa engagement," Landry Signe, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote in a commentary on the gathering.

"Whether the United States can translate its new doctrine into durable partnerships will depend on its ability to outcompete China and Russia with capital, presence, and long-term commitment."

The talks -- scheduled during a lunch in the State Dining Room -- come with Washington seeking to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals.

All five of the countries invited enjoy rich natural resources, including manganese -- a key mineral in the production of stainless steel and batteries -- iron ore, gold, diamonds, lithium and cobalt.

But overshadowing the talks will be radical steps by Trump and his officials to recalibrate US relations with African nations.

Earlier this month, the administration shuttered the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and said it was moving away from a "charity based-model" to focus instead on trade-based partnerships.

West Africa is expected to be among the regions hardest hit by the aid cuts, which are likely to lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.

US financial help played a crucial role in rebuilding Liberia after its civil wars, and it was still receiving an annual $160 million -- about three percent of its GDP -- as recently as last year.

Liberia's President Joseph Boakai accepted the invitation with an eye on trade and investment rather than being "solely (an) aid recipient," his press secretary Kula Fofana told AFP.

US arch-rival China has made substantial investments in several of the nations attending, with Gabon providing 22 percent of the manganese it uses in batteries.

Russia has supported the nascent Alliance of Sahel States, which shares borders with several of the countries at Wednesday's lunch.

Security is expected to loom large, with international drug trafficking and immigration top concerns for Washington.

West Africa's Sahel countries have been dogged with threats from terrorist groups and political instability brought about through a series of coups.

Entries from the region make up a significant portion of the Black immigrant population in the United States, which rose by almost a quarter between 2012 and 2022, reaching 4.3 million individuals.

Guinea-Bissau -- a transit zone for cocaine shipments from Latin America to Europe and beyond -- has struggled to contain drug trafficking.

"Economically, this is a great opportunity opening for us," said the country's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

A potential US travel ban impacting Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal was reported in June, as part of a larger list of 36 countries facing scrutiny by the Trump administration.

Athens (AFP) – Greece will suspend all asylum hearings for migrants arriving on boats from North Africa for three months, the prime minister said Wednesday following a rise in migrant arrivals from Libya.

The move came after more than 2,000 migrants landed on Crete in recent days, sparking anger among local authorities and tourism operators. Crete is one of Greece's top travel destinations, and premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis' home island.

Greece had hoped to stem the arrivals by reaching out to the authorities in Benghazi, eastern Libya, and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli -- but that failed.

"The road to Greece is closing... any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament.

The conservative leader said legislation would be put to a vote in the chamber on Thursday, and that Athens was keeping the EU informed on the issue.

The measure was a "necessary temporary reaction" and a message "to smugglers and their potential clients", said Mitsotakis.

Greece took similar steps in 2020 during a migration surge at its land border with Turkey, which Athens accused Ankara of facilitating.

Another group of some 520 people were rescued near Crete early Wednesday, and will be rerouted to the Athens port of Lavrio, the coastguard said.

"The flows are very high," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told Action 24 channel late Tuesday, adding that the wave was "growing and ongoing".

On Sunday, the Greek coastguard rescued more than 600 asylum seekers in various operations in the area.

AFP pictures showed some of them landing near Agia Galini beach on the south of Crete, where many tourists were bathing.

Migration Minister Thanos Plevris -- a former member of Greek far-right party Laos -- posted on X that the country was taking "immediate actions to counter the invasion from North Africa."

"Clear message: Stay where you are, we do not accept you," he wrote.

According to the coastguard, 7,300 asylum seekers have reached Crete and the nearby island of Gavdos this year, up from fewer than 5,000 last year.

More than 2,500 arrivals have been recorded since June alone.

To manage the influx, the government could reopen camps built in the mainland after the 2015 migration crisis, Marinakis said.

Mitsotakis told parliament that a camp would also be built on Crete, with a second one also possible

Greece had hoped arrivals could be reduced with the help of the authorities in eastern Libya in Benghazi, and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.

But a visit Tuesday by the EU's migration commissioner and the migration ministers of Greece, Italy and Malta was unsuccessful.

Accusing the bloc's delegation of a "flagrant breach of diplomatic norms", the authorities who hold sway over eastern Libya said they had cancelled the visit and told the EU officials to "leave Libyan territory immediately".

The diplomatic breakdown has sparked concern in Greece of thousands of additional migrant arrivals from Libya.

"The other side is not cooperating," Marinakis said, referring to the authorities in Benghazi.

Mitsotakis on Wednesday said Greece's navy and coastguard were willing to work with Libyan authorities to keep migrant boats from leaving the country's territorial waters, or to turn them back before entering Greek waters.

Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

Greece had reached out to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar before the botched EU visit, sending Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Sunday.

Gerapetritis is also scheduled to hold talks with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli on July 15.

Dubai (AFP) – Six mariners have been rescued after a deadly attack on a cargo ship that sank off rebel-held Yemen, an EU maritime force said Wednesday, as the search continued for the rest of the crew.

The Eternity C, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was badly damaged in the attack in the Red Sea that started on Monday and continued into Tuesday.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have not claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after they boarded and sank the Magic Seas on Sunday, their first attack on shipping this year.

But the US embassy in Yemen has blamed the Huthis, with UK-based security firm Ambrey also saying the group was likely to blame.

The resumed attacks on shipping mark the end of a months-long lull which began during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year and continued after a May ceasefire between the Huthis and Washington.

"Following the attack on the merchant vessel Eternity C in the southern Red Sea, currently six (6) castaway crew members have been recovered from the sea," said Operation Aspides, the European Union naval task force deployed in the Red Sea.

Aspides told AFP that five Filipinos and one Indian had been rescued, while 19 others were still missing.

The ship sank, according to Ambrey and Filipino authorities citing information shared by the vessel's owners.

"We were informed that they might have some injuries but there were no serious injuries that were reported," among the five rescued Filipinos, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac told reporters in Manila.

A total of 25 people were aboard the Eternity, Aspides told AFP. The Philippine authorities said 21 were citizens.

Earlier, the British navy's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations had reported five crew had been rescued after "search and rescue operations commenced overnight".

"Searches continue for those remaining," it added.

On Tuesday, Aspides had said three people were killed and at least two injured -- including a Russian electrician who lost a leg -- in the attack on the Eternity C.

The Huthis began its attacks on Red Sea shipping in late 2023, saying they were in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

On Monday, they said they hit the Magic Seas because its owner had done business with Israel and used its ports.

The rebels released a video showing masked gunmen storming the Magic Seas and simultaneous explosions that scuttled the bulk carrier.

Both ships had likely been attacked "due to prior Israeli port calls or ownership/ship manager affiliations", according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies.

Huthi attacks have prompted many shipping firms to make the time-consuming detour around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.

Huthi threats to renew their attacks after the Gaza ceasefire collapsed in March prompted a deadly US bombing campaign against the rebels which ended with a May ceasefire.

However, the rebels said they would continue to target "Israeli ships".

In a statement on Tuesday, the US embassy in Yemen blamed the Huthis for the Eternity C attack, calling it "the most violent" yet and accusing them of "undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea".

Israel, which has also come under direct missile and drone attack by the Huthis, has carried out multiple strikes on rebel targets in Yemen, most recently on Sunday.

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gaza's civil defence agency said 22 people, including at least six children, were killed in Israeli strikes in the Palestinian territory on Wednesday.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said one strike killed 10 members of the same family sheltering in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis, while another on the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City left 10 dead and more than 30 wounded.

The victims in Al-Shati were from two families, he added.

Asked for comment, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

"The explosion was massive, like an earthquake," said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who saw the Al-Shati air strike.

"The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered."

"You can't predict when or why they'll bomb you," 36-year-old Abeer al-Sharbasi said after the Al-Shati strike.

"We have nothing left but to surrender ourselves to God."

Sobbing crowds of mourners gathered at Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital.

The director of the medical complex, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, told journalists on Wednesday morning that it would "be completely out of service due to the fuel shortage" within hours.

AFP footage from Al-Mawasi showed makeshift tents torn to shreds by the strike there, with a child's stuffed toy lying among the wreckage.

"We are extremely tired. Every day they say there is a ceasefire, but there are massacres," said displaced Palestinian Umm Ahmed.

In Khan Yunis, mourners gave a final embrace to loved ones whose bodies were laid out on the floor.

Bassal later reported two other people killed in separate strikes in central Gaza and in Gaza City.

Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday that a recent mortality survey conducted among its staff and their families in Gaza corroborated figures provided by the territory's health ministry.

It said the mortality rate had increased tenfold for children under five compared to estimates before October 7, 2023.

Paris (AFP) – Billionaire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok was under fire Wednesday, for antisemitic comments, praising Hitler and insulting Islam in separate posts on the X platform.

One series of comments, which included insults directed at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led a court there to ban the posts in question.

These were just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the AI creation, which has already been accused of promoting racist conspiracy theories.

Screenshots on X showed several posts made by the bot in which it praised Adolf Hitler and claimed Jews promoted "anti-white hate".

The chatbot, developed by Musk's company xAI, was criticised by Jewish advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for answering multiple user prompts with the questionable posts.

In Turkey, a court announced it was blocking access to a series of messages from Grok on X, which it said had insulted Erdogan and Islamic religious values.

Musk's AI start-up acknowledged the issues in a post via Grok on X.

"We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts," it said.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X."

Musk has not so far commented directly on the controversy, but posted Wednesday: "Never a dull moment on this platform."

Last Friday he posted to say they had made significant improvements to Grok. "You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions," he added.

Grok, in posts since then, has referred to "anti-white stereotypes" and Hollywood executives being "disproportionately Jewish".

The ADL criticised the latest posts by the chatbot.

"What we are seeing from Grok LLM right now is irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple," the ADL said on X.

"This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms."

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, told AFP in a recent interview that from "Amazon to X, from Alphabet to Meta, all these businesses need to be far more proactive because, as they have retreated from moderating the services."

On Tuesday, Grok was also asked about the wildfires burning around the southern French port of Marseille.

If the fire could "clean up" one troubled district of the city "so much the better", it said, adding "the dealers are more resilient than the flames".

Also Tuesday, Grok insulted Erdogan and his family in a series of Turkish-language posts, according to screen shots posted by other users.

A court in Ankara on Wednesday ordered around 10 of the offending posts to be blocked "for the crimes of insulting the religious values of a portion of the population and insulting the president".

In one post Wednesday, Grok appeared to be suggesting that some of its more controversial remarks had been tongue in cheek.

"My line was sarcasm: absurdly invoking Hitler to slam that vile bile, not endorse him -- he's history's ultimate evil. Irony backfired hard," it posted.

Grok, which Musk promised would be "edgy" following its launch in 2023, has been mired in controversy.

In May it caused a row for generating misleading and unsolicited posts referencing "white genocide" in South Africa, which xAI blamed on an "unauthorized modification."