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The convicted war criminal, Thomas Lubanga, based in Uganda, has declared the formation of a new rebel movement - the Convention for the Popular Revolution - aimed at overthrowing the government in Ituri province, eastern Congo, posing yet another security threat in the conflict-ravaged region.

The province is just north of North Kivu, where Congo's army is already facing the unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.

Lubanga told Reuters that the CPR had both political and military elements, including armed men in three areas of Ituri.

He said that bringing peace to the area "requires an immediate change in governance and government," though he added that the group has not launched military operations.

It is unclear how many combatants Lubanga might control. UN experts last year accused him of mobilising fighters to support a local militia and M23.

Congo's presidency has not responded to requests for comment yet.

Lubanga was charged in 2012 by The International Criminal Court (ICC) for recruiting child soldiers, and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

He was then released in 2020 when President Felix Tshisekedi appointed him to a task force to bring peace to Ituri. But in 2022 he was taken hostage for two months by a rebel group, something which he blamed on the government.

Ituri has been rocked by violence by various armed groups for decades, and Ugandan troops are present there to help the government fight another rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), affiliated with the Islamic State. They have staged brutal attacks on villages.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) last week described "a renewed spike in atrocities" in Ituri that had killed more than 200 civilians and displaced around 100,000 people since the beginning of the year.

The announcement of the formation of this new group comes as Qatari mediators are trying to end the conflict between M23 and the Congolese forces.

They hosted a second round of talks on Friday between RDC and Rwanda, and separately met representatives of the Rwandan-backed rebellion.

The group continues its offensive after the capture of the strategic towns of Goma, Bukavu and more recently Walikale.

Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met last week in Doha for their first talks since M23 rebels stepped up an offensive there in January.

The talks provided a glimmer of hope for a de-escalation of eastern Congo's biggest conflict in decades, but M23 dismissed those calls for a truce, asking for direct talks with Kinshasa.

(with Reuters)

Bangkok (AFP) – A Chinese construction company is facing questions over the deadly collapse of a Bangkok skyscraper -- the only major building in the capital to fall in a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people in Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar.

The 30-storey tower, still under construction, was to house government offices, but the shaking reduced the structure to a pile of rubble in seconds, killing at least 13 people and injuring nine.

It was the deadliest single incident in Thailand after Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, with the majority of the kingdom's 20 fatalities thought to be workers on the building site and hopes fading for around 70 still trapped.

Sprawling Bangkok bristles with countless high-rise blocks, but none have reported major damage, prompting many to ask why the block under construction gave way.

"We have to investigate where the mistake happened," said Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has ordered a probe into the materials and safety standards at the construction site.

"What happened from the beginning since it was designed? How was this design approved? This was not the first building in the country," she told reporters on Saturday.

The development near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market was a joint project involving China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group (Thailand) -- an offshoot of China Railway Group (CREC), one of the world's largest construction and engineering contractors.

Testing of steel rebars -- struts used to reinforce concrete -- from the site has found that some of the metal used was substandard, Thai safety officials said on Monday.

Industry Minister Akanat Promphan announced that a committee would be set up to investigate, saying one supplier of the steel had failed safety tests in December and may have its licence withdrawn. He did not name the supplier.

Professor of Civil Engineering at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Suchatwee Sunaswat said there were questions to be answered.

"We have to look at the design. At the beginning, how they calculate, how they design. And in the rescue mission, how they collect evidence at the same time," he told reporters on Saturday.

The local partner in the project, Italian-Thai Development (ITD) offered condolences on Monday to quake victims but said it was "confident" the incident would not impact its other projects.

Beijing-owned building conglomerate CREC is one of the world's largest construction and engineering contractors, with projects in more than 90 countries and regions, according to its website.

The Bangkok construction collapse is not the first time CREC and its subsidiaries have come under fire after deadly incidents.

A tide of anger was unleashed at authorities in Serbia following the deaths of 14 people when a roof collapsed in November last year at a train station built by CREC subsidiaries -- largely focused on reports of alleged shortcuts made with building projects.

Roisai Wongsuban of the Migrant Working Group advocacy organisation said there have been a large number of complaints from migrant workers employed by Chinese companies in Thailand about lax safety standards and poor labour rights.

"For Chinese companies we can't see the human rights due diligence, to see if labour standards are being met," she told AFP.

"There is always a power imbalance between employer and employee."

Bangkok's construction boom is powered by an army of labourers, a large proportion of them migrant workers from Myanmar, toiling on hot building sites for low pay.

The Migrant Working Group has called on Thailand's labour ministry to hold the employers involved in the construction project criminally liable if they have failed to meet health and safety laws.

AFP has asked China Rail No. 10 Engineering Thailand and CREC for comment but has not had a response.

An announcement celebrating the completion of the main structure at the Chatuchak construction site posed on China Rail No. 10's official WeChat channel was deleted soon after Friday's quake.

AFP archived the post shortly after the tremors hit but before the page was removed.

Local media said that four Chinese nationals were apprehended on Saturday for attempting to retrieve documents from the collapse site.

But China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Thailand, injecting $2 billion into the kingdom in 2024, according to Open Development Thailand, and the government typically handles anything linked to Beijing with kid gloves.

Paetongtarn said an investigation into the collapse launched on Monday would not be "specific to one country".

"We do not want one particular country to think we are only keeping eyes on (it)," she said on Tuesday.

At a small shelter near the site on Monday, 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek waited for news of her boyfriend, electrician Kyi Than, who was missing under the enormous mound of concrete and twisted metal being lifted by mechanical diggers.

"I'm devastated," she told AFP. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life."

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Tuesday he had reversed a decision to appoint former navy commander Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit as security agency chief following criticism, including from a key US senator.

Netanyahu had announced Sharvit's appointment on Monday, pushing back against a supreme court decision to freeze his government's move to dismiss incumbent director Ronen Bar.

It later emerged that the former naval chief had publicly opposed key policies of the Netanyahu government and US President Donald Trump.

"The prime minister thanked Vice Admiral Sharvit for his willingness to be called to duty but informed him that, after further consideration, he intends to examine other candidates," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The prime minister announced Bar's dismissal on March 21, citing an "ongoing lack of trust", but the supreme court swiftly suspended the decision until April 8.

The move to dismiss him has sparked daily mass protests in Jerusalem, disrupting the city.

On Monday, hours after Sharvit's appointment was announced, reports began surfacing that he had been among tens of thousands of Israelis who took to the streets in 2023 to oppose the Netanyahu government's attempts to reform the judiciary.

Israeli media reports also recalled that Sharvit, who served in the military for 36 years, had supported a 2022 water agreement with Lebanon that Netanyahu had opposed.

Nairobi (AFP) – Kenya's President William Ruto sparked protests recently after donating some $150,000 to a Nairobi church just months after saying such hand-outs fuelled corruption.

Ruto's pledge of 20 million shillings to the Jesus Winner Ministry Church led to protesters gathering there a week later, demanding the return of what they called "stolen tax money", only to be teargassed by police.

Church donations and fundraisers are a longstanding tradition in Kenya, and politicians often use pulpits to reach the masses in the predominantly Christian country.

It can become political theatre: last year, MP Oscar Sudi, a Ruto ally, drew cheers from the congregation when he delivered a sack containing three million shillings (around $20,000) to a church in Uasin Gishu county.

But the practice has become increasingly divisive since mass protests broke out last June against tax hikes, corruption and police brutality.

In the aftermath, Ruto banned government officials from participating in fundraising drives for churches.

"No state officer or public servant shall participate in public contributions or any harambees (fundraisers) going forward," he said in June.

"It is occasioning and it is breeding, if I may say, corruption," Ruto added.

But he appears to have forgotten his vow.

While police were teargassing youth outside the Jesus Winner Ministry Church, Ruto was at another church in the town of Eldoret, offering another 20 million shillings (around $150,000) and vowing to raise a further 100 million for Jesus Winner.

The president was defiant, dismissing critics of donations as "people who don't believe in God".

The government says the money comes from Ruto's personal funds but many are sceptical.

"Where is this money coming from? Bring us the receipts," said Mwabili Mwagodi, who has helped organise the "Occupy Church" movement which aims to "disconnect the church from politics".

The movement gained momentum last year after the church stayed silent during protests.

Preachers were ultimately forced to break that silence after activists organised flash mobs during services in Nairobi.

The Catholic Church of Kenya rejected a donation from Ruto after Mwagodi shared preachers' contact details online and organised a barrage of complaints.

"I am fighting to liberate the Church from political corruption in Kenya," Mwagodi posted on X.

A group of clergy has defended Ruto's donation, calling it a "Godly idea".

Catherine Njoroge, a worshipper at Jesus Winner told AFP: "He is filthy rich and can afford it."

The church leaders refused multiple requests to speak with AFP, and the premises were guarded by seven armed police officers on a visit this week.

Critics accuse the government of illegally diverting public funds to churches to win voters and fear the donations could be used for money laundering.

"Some churches use their huge congregations and platforms for purposes of giving politicians political capital," said Nairobi-based lawyer Javas Bigambo.

"It has been encouraging corruption," he told AFP.

The president himself used to agree, and last year introduced the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill -- still pending -- to enhance transparency, though it exempted funds raised by religious bodies.

His office insists the ban on fundraisers by politicians is still in effect, even though several Ruto allies have since publicly participated in them.

Spokesman Emmanuel Talam said Ruto's recent donation was a "personal contribution" but did not explain how this was different from fundraising.

In election years, Kenyan politicians flock to churches and give political speeches from the pulpit.

Some Christian politicians will even start praying in mosques on the campaign trail.

Reverend Timothy Njoya, a renowned Nairobi preacher, condemns the practice.

Njoya campaigned for political and social justice during the authoritarian rule of Kenya's second president, Daniel arap Moi (1978-2002), and bears the scars from beatings he received at protests.

He told AFP that donations by politicians have turned churches into "graveyards of spiritualism" and that preachers who accept the cash "are selling their members for votes".

Now retired, Njoya did not stand for such behaviour in his time.

"Politicians came to my church but they did not have the platform. I was the one preaching, not them. It was not their platform, it was God's platform," he said.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya recently barred politicians from addressing congregations or announcing monetary contributions from the pulpit.

But a defiant Ruto has insisted he will continue to "build churches".

Sydney (AFP) – Whole herds of cattle have drowned in vast inland floods sweeping across the Australian outback, officials said Tuesday, as the muddy tide drenched an area the size of France.

Swollen rivers burst their banks after unusually heavy downpours last week over outback Queensland, an arid region home to some of the country's largest cattle ranches.

Officials said more than 100,000 livestock -- cattle, sheep, goats and horses -- had been swept away, were missing, or had drowned.

"These are only early indications of the magnitude of this disaster and while these preliminary numbers are shocking, we are expecting them to continue to climb as flood waters recede," said state agriculture minister Tony Perrett.

"It's heartbreaking to consider what western Queenslanders will be going through over the weeks and months as they discover the full extent of losses and damage -- and start the long slog to start again."

Researchers have repeatedly warned that climate change amplifies the risk of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones.

Flood waters stretched some 500,000 square kilometres (190,000 square miles) across sparsely populated western Queensland, Perrett said, a landmass roughly equivalent to France.

Industry body AgForce told local media some cattle ranches may have lost almost 100 percent of their herd.

The government Bureau of Meteorology said some towns had recorded as much as 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain in the space of a week -- their typical yearly total.

"Unfortunately, more rainfall is on the way," forecaster Dean Narramore said.

"The reason why we are so concerned about that is because we have numerous flood warnings current for much of Queensland."

The state's primary industries department said some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) of road had been flooded -- a distance greater than the famed Route 66 connecting Chicago to Los Angeles.

Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – An Israeli strike on south Beirut killed at least three people on Tuesday, Lebanon said after Israel announced its second strike on the country's capital in a fragile four-month truce.

The attack that came without warning at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT) during the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday. It came after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs, a bastion of Hezbollah support, on Friday after issuing an evacuation warning.

Lebanon's health ministry said the strike killed three people and wounded seven others.

An AFP photographer at the scene said the top two floors of a multi-storey building were destroyed and that debris covered the street. Panicked residents poured of their homes as rescue workers helped the wounded.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike and called on his country's international allies to support "our right to full sovereignty".

The Lebanese prime minister, Nawaf Salam, said the attack was a "clear breach" of a ceasefire deal that largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Without identifying the alleged Hezbollah operative, Israel's military said it "acted to eliminate him and removed the threat", just days after striking the southern suburbs in response to rocket fire from Lebanon which it blamed on the Lebanese militant group.

Taipei (AFP) – China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills Beijing said were aimed at practising a blockade of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan dispatched its own aircraft and ships, and deployed land-based missile systems, in response to the drills and accused Beijing of being the world's "biggest troublemaker".

China had deployed 19 warships around the island in the 24-hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT on Monday), including the Shandong aircraft carrier group, Taiwan's defence ministry said.

Tensions between China and Taiwan -- which are separated by the 180-kilometre (112-mile) Taiwan Strait -- have escalated since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024.

Chinese leaders loathe Lai, who has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan's sovereignty.

Lai last month called China a "foreign hostile force" and proposed measures to combat Chinese espionage and infiltration.

Tuesday's exercises were aimed at sending a "stern warning and forceful deterrence" to alleged separatists in Taiwan, Beijing said.

They involved "sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes", said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command.

Beijing's armed forces "close in on Taiwan Island from multiple directions", he said.

The Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command -- which oversees operations along the Taiwan Strait -- shared a graphic with the title "closing in".

Another graphic shared by the military depicted Lai as an insect being roasted over an open fire.

And a video shared by the military on X-like Weibo showed footage of weapons interspersed with animations of Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King from the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West".

The video climaxes with Chinese forces appearing to use satellites to mark targets across Taiwan, before ending with a flurry of rocket explosions while multiple Monkey Kings attack a giant frog monster.

China's coast guard said it also conducted "law enforcement patrols" around the island.

"Pursuing 'Taiwan independence' means pushing the people of Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war," Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement.

Taiwan's Presidential Office "strongly condemned" China's actions, and Premier Cho Jung-tai said "resorting to displays of military force is not what modern, progressive societies should pursue".

Damascus (AFP) – Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Monday a new transitional government would aim for consensus in rebuilding the war-torn country but acknowledged it would be unable to satisfy everyone.

The transitional 23-member cabinet -- without a prime minister -- was announced Saturday, more than three months after Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led an offensive that toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad.

Sharaa said the new government's goal was rebuilding the country but warned that "will not be able to satisfy everyone".

"Any steps we take will not reach consensus -- this is normal -- but we must reach a consensus" as much as possible, he told a gathering at the presidential palace broadcast on Syrian television after prayers for the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday.

The autonomous Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria had rejected the government's legitimacy the day after it was announced, saying it "does not reflect the country's diversity".

Authorities are seeking to reunite and rebuild the country and its institutions after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Some of Sharaa's closest supporters and other figures aligned with him make up the majority of the new cabinet.

Sharaa said the ministers were chosen for their competence and expertise, "without particular ideological or political orientations".

Most members are Sunni Muslim, reflecting the demographic make-up of Syria, ruled for decades by the Assad clan which belongs to the Alawite minority.

Amid international calls for an inclusive transition, the new government has four ministers from minority groups in Syria -- a Christian, a Druze, a Kurd and an Alawite, none of whom were handed key portfolios.

Sharaa said the new government's make-up took into consideration "the diversity of Syrian society" while rejecting a quota system for religious or ethnic minorities, instead opting for "participation".

"A new history is being written for Syria... we are all writing it," he told the gathering.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that the bloc was "ready to engage with the new government in order to help tackle the immense challenges ahead".

A US State Department spokeswoman, meanwhile, said Washington hoped "this announcement represents a positive step", but it would not ease sanctions until it had verified progress on priorities including acting against "terrorism".

This month, Sharaa signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating the country's transitional period, set for five years.

Some experts and rights groups have warned that it concentrates power in Sharaa's hands and fails to include enough protections for minorities.

This month also saw the worst sectarian bloodshed since Assad's overthrow, with civilian massacres in Alawite-majority areas.

Sharaa has previously vowed to prosecute those behind the "bloodshed of civilians" and set up a fact-finding committee.

Guinea's ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara, jailed for 20 years over a 2009 massacre, has been pardoned for "health reasons" by the West African country's junta head Mamadi Doumbouya. The decision has prompted angry reactions from victims, their families and human rights groups.

"Upon the proposal of the minister of justice, a presidential pardon is granted to Mr Moussa Dadis Camara for health reasons," said a decree read out on television by presidential spokesperson General Amara Camara late Friday.

A source in the Guinean human rights federation OGDH told French news agency AFP that Dadis Camara had left jail and had arrived in the capital Conakry.

Relatives and supporters of the former leader gathered near his house to show their support.

Following a landmark trial permitted by the junta after it took power in 2021, a court found Dadis Camara guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him in July to 20 years behind bars.

On 28 September, 2009, at least 156 people were killed by gunfire, knives, machetes, or bayonets in a massacre at an opposition rally in a stadium in the capital Conakry, according to a UN-mandated international commission of inquiry.

Hundreds more were wounded and at least 109 women were raped.

The abuses continued for several days against women who were held captive, and detainees were tortured.

Only 57 bodies of the victims were recovered, according to families and human rights organisations, and the toll is believed to be far higher.

Dadis Camara was found responsible for the massacre and for failing to punish its perpetrators, a judge ruled.

Seven other people were also sentenced to terms of up to life imprisonment for their role in the massacre.

One of Guinea's few dissident groups, the National Constitution Defence Front, denounced the pardon for Dadis Camara and the compensation decree.

In a statement, it called the move "the most cynical manipulation and abject politicking".

"Mamadi Doumbouya is playing games with Guineans' intelligence with the aim of holding onto power," it said.

Some former victims of the 2009 crackdown also criticised the announcement.

"This is bad news and, frankly, I didn't expect it... How long has Moussa Dadis Camara spent in prison since his conviction? Not even a year!" Fatoumatou Diallo, told RFI in Conakry.

She lost her husband in the events of 28 September 2009, and has never found his body.

A victim of sexual violence, who asked not to reveal her full name, told AFP measures should have been taken to warn and protect other victims.

"Many people testified in public, and now with Dadis's release, their lives are in danger," she said. "I am not against the pardon in the name of national reconciliation, but it's the way it was done that bothers me."

Camera's younger brother Jean Dadis Camara told AFP he was delighted to hear the news of the pardon.

"Everyone is happy. We thank the president," he said.

"We are extremely grateful to President Mamadi Doumbouya for this pardon. It is the greatest gift for the entire family," said Marcus Olivier Thea, a close friend and confidant of the former dictator.

General Doumbouya, who has lead Guinea since 2021, announced Wednesday that compensation ordered by a judge would be paid to the victims of the massacre.

Reparations range from 200 million Guinean francs (€21,00) to 1.5 billion Guinean francs (€160,000).

Drissa Traoré, the Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), believes that this pardon "reduces to nothing the efforts made by both the victims and by organisations like the OGDH [the Guinean Organization for the Defence of Human and Citizen Rights and the FIDH to fight against impunity".

He suggests that by announcing compensation measures for victims just ahead of the pardon, "he simply wanted to make us swallow this pill," he told RFI.

According to Vincent Fourcher, researcher on African affairs in CNRS / Sciences Po Bordeaux in France, specialising in Guinea politics, the release of Dadis Camara could be politically motivated.

The junta does not want to risk losing the vote of the communities in his region, he told RFI on Monday.

Mamadou Bailo Bah, president of the Association of Families of the Disappeared of 28 September 2009 (AFADIS), hopes that an appeal is still possible.

"This decision is an insult to the memory of the victims of the massacre," he told RFI, "and we would have liked the guilty parties to serve their sentences. We will therefore see with our lawyers if there is any possibility of hoping for anything from another national or international jurisdiction."

(RFI with newswires)

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified Monday in a probe involving alleged payments from Qatar to some of his aides, an investigation he denounced as politically motivated.

Israeli police arrested the prime minister's two long-serving aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein earlier on Monday, for their alleged involvement in the case local media have dubbed "Qatargate".

The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.

The moves have reignited a protest movement in Israel, coinciding with the government's resumption of fighting this month in the Gaza Strip.

Feldstein had separately been arrested late last year and released into house arrest on accusations of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.

"As soon as I was asked to testify, I said that I was free and that I wanted to testify immediately," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"I understood that it was a political investigation but I didn't realise how political it was, and they are holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein hostage ... There is no case, there is absolutely nothing, just a political witch hunt, nothing else."

Netanyahu is separately on trial over corruption allegations that he denies.

Israeli media reported that a journalist from a prominent local publication had also been summoned for questioning in the case.

Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas, [...].

"The brutal arrest of Yonatan Urich marks a new low in the political witch hunt to topple a right-wing prime minister and to prevent the dismissal of the failed head of the Shin Bet," said a statement released by Likud, Netanyahu's political party.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli government unanimously approved Netanyahu's proposal to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency.

The Supreme Court froze Bar's dismissal and is to hold a detailed hearing on the case on April 8.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is facing a similar dismissal, said the top court's initial ruling prevents the hiring of a new security chief, but Netanyahu did so anyway on Monday.

In its statement on Monday, the Likud party linked the Qatargate investigations to efforts to prevent Bar and Baharav-Miara's dismissals, saying "for weeks, the prosecution and the head of the Shin Bet have been conducting baseless investigations in the dark under a gag order, trying to prevent the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while using Urich and others as cannon fodder".

Earlier this month, the Shin Bet agency announced it had started investigating Netanyahu's aides in relation to the case, barring the publication of any details.

Bar has accused Netanyahu of having a "personal interest" in firing him to "prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters" being looked at by the Shin Bet.

In a letter, Bar referred to the "complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation" involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar.

On Monday night anti-government demonstrators again joined a protest outside parliament, mocking Netanyahu and calling for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to release hostages still held by militants there.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Debt-laden Chinese property giant Vanke reported annual losses of 49.5 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) on Monday, citing falling sales and shrinking profit margins despite Beijing's attempts to revive the housing market.

Vanke said 2024 was an "exceptionally challenging year" in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange and apologised for "distress caused... due to the significant decline in sales, substantial losses and pressure on our liquidity".

Beijing has in recent years grappled with a prolonged crisis in the country's vast real estate sector, once a key pillar of the economy but now beset with sprawling debt.

Hong Kong-listed Vanke is part-owned by the government of Shenzhen and was China's fourth-largest real estate firm by sales last year, according to research firm CRIC.

Vanke said on Monday that it "failed to break free from expansion inertia of high-debt, high-turnover and high-leverage in a timely manner, which led to problems" such as aggressive investment and over-expansion.

Last year marked Vanke's first annual loss since it was listed in 1991 and the magnitude exceeded the firm's January estimate of $6.2 billion.

Revenue fell 26 percent year-on-year to $47.3 billion.

Vanke partly attributed the losses to "significant decrease in the settlement scale and gross profit margin of the development business".

Company chief operating officer and executive vice president Liu Xiao resigned from his position on Monday "due to work adjustments", the firm said.

"After stepping down from these roles, (Liu) will continue to work for the Company, focusing on strategic investment business," according to the company.

Vanke has seen a shakeup of its top management, including the resignation of its CEO Zhu Jiusheng on January 27 which the company said was "due to health reasons".

That month, Chinese outlet the Economic Reporter cited sources as saying Zhu had been "taken away by public security authorities", without specifying his alleged offences.

Beijing announced support measures in November for the ailing property sector that included lowering deed tax rates for certain first and second homes in four major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Despite the policy package, Vanke suffered net losses of $4.35 billion in the final quarter of last year.

The company said it will face a concentrated repayment of its public debts this year, "further intensifying the liquidity pressure".

Chinese authorities were mulling plans to help Vanke plug a funding gap of $6.8 billion this year, Bloomberg News reported last month.

Vanke is among several major Chinese property firms mired in a debt crisis in recent years that has left developers in severe financial distress.

Troubled property developers Kaisa and Country Garden -- both fending off winding up petitions in Hong Kong courts -- also reported losses separately.

Kaisa said on Monday that its losses for the year grew 48.4 percent to $4.03 billion in 2024.

Country Garden reported an annual loss attributable to company owners of $4.5 billion on Sunday, adding that its total debt amounted to $34.9 billion as of the end of last year.

French oil company Maurel & Prom has had its license to operate in Venezuela revoked by the United States as part of the its attempt to cripple Venezuela’s economy and put pressure on leader Nicolas Maduro.

The US Treasury department’s Office of foreign assets has revoked a special license granted last May to Maurel et Prom (M&P) that allowed it to operate in Venezuela despite US sanctions, the company said Monday.

The company, which is majority-owned by the Indonesian government, has until 27 May to wind down its activities.

Venezuela announced Sunday that the US had revoked several transnational oil and gas companies' licenses.

Spanish oil company Repsol said Monday it received notification its license had been revoked, and Italy's Eni on Sunday said it had been notified by US authorities it would no longer be allowed to receive oil from Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA as payment for gas it produces in Venezuela.

Last week, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing a 25 percent tariff on countries that buy Venezuelan oil or gas.

By cancelling licenses and imposing tariffs, the US is hoping to squeeze Venezuela's oil exports and pressure the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro, whose re-election last year has been contested by the US and many other countries.

Trump has accused Maduro of failing to make progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.

Venezuela's oil production, which exceeded three million barrels per day (bpd) 25 years ago, is currently producing about one million bpd.

M&P is one of several companies that had been granted authorisation by the previous US administration to continue to source Venezuelan oil for refineries from Spain to India, despite US sanctions.

The company, which produces around 20,000 bpd in Venezuela was granted a license for its interest in the mixed company Petroregional del Lago, which operates the Urdaneta Oeste field in Lake Maracaibo.

US oil giant Chevron was told last month that its license to to operate in Venezuela and export crude oil to the US would be cancelled, with a deadline extended to 27 May.

(with Reuters, AFP)