101 East follows the Catholic priest taking on former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged “drug war” crimes.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” killed thousands of people.
For years, Catholic priest Flaviano Villanueva has gathered evidence of alleged extrajudicial killings.
He exhumed victims’ bodies for forensic examination and protected a key witness who claims he worked as a contract killer for Duterte.
In March 2025, the priest’s persistence paid off when Duterte was arrested and extradited to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more bodies of their war dead, according to a Kremlin aide, as part of an agreement reached during a second round of peace talks in Turkiye last month.
“Following the agreements reached in Istanbul, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today,” Vladimir Medinsky, head of Russia’s delegation at the peace talks, said on Telegram on Thursday, adding that Ukraine handed over 19 slain Russian soldiers.
Exchanges of captured soldiers and the repatriation of remains have taken place regularly since the brief renewal of peace talks in Istanbul in May in what amounts to some of the only successful diplomacy between the two sides in their more than three-year war.
Medinsky posted photos on Thursday showing people in white medical suits lifting white body bags from the back of refrigerated trucks.
Russia plans to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and this exchange marked the beginning of that process, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.
During their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2, Russia and Ukraine pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers on each side.
Negotiators from both sides also agreed to swap all severely wounded soldiers as well as all captured fighters under the age of 25.
But future talks to discuss a path to end the war have stalled as the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv has remained unchanged despite repeated pressure from United States President Donald Trump that Russia agree to a ceasefire.
At the talks, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.
Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable ultimatums and has questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow is not willing to make concessions.
In a further diplomatic development, another round of reunification of minors with their families in Russia and Ukraine took place on Thursday with the mediation of Qatar at its Moscow embassy. Eleven children will reunite with their families in Ukraine and three others with their families in Russia. So far, more than 100 children have reunited with their families since Qatar began facilitating the process.
Ukraine said Russia took 20,000 children during the war and has given Moscow a list of hundreds who, they said, were taken from Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions since 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin faces war crime charges before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for the alleged “unlawful deportation and transfer of children”.
Before the latest prisoner exchange, a Russian air strike on a shopping centre and market in Dobropillia in eastern Ukraine killed at least two people, wounded 22 and caused widespread damage on Wednesday, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Filashkin said the building was struck by a 500kg (1,100lb) bomb.
In its latest overnight attacks, Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones as well as one ballistic missile, the Ukrainian air force said. The strikes targeted the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the central city of Kryvyi Rih, Vinnytsia in the west and Odesa in the south.
The Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its forces had captured the settlements of Popiv Yar in the eastern region of Donetsk, Degtiarne in Kharkiv in the northeast and Kamianske in Zaporizhia in the south.
The draw for the fourth round of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has revealed the fate of the final six teams from the continent vying for a place at next summer’s 48-team expanded edition.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the back-to-back AFC Cup winners, had already secured home advantage for the next round of qualifiers before Thursday’s draw, which was made at AFC House, the headquarters of the football governing body on the continent, in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what comes next for the AFC nations that remain part of the qualifying process.
Which AFC teams can still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Oman all missed out on qualification from the third round of AFC qualifiers but have progressed to the latest stage.
How do the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work?
Two more AFC teams will directly join the six that had already qualified in the third round for the World Cup.
One intercontinental playoffs spot will still be available beyond the fourth round of qualifiers.
Hassan Al-Haydos lifts the 2023 AFC Asian Cup trophy with teammates after winning the title for a second successive time [Molly Darlington/Reuters]
How will the fourth round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work?
Two round-robin groups will result in the top team from each taking Asia’s last two remaining automatic spots.
What is the draw for the AFC fourth round of qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup?
Qatar will host Group A, which also contains the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Saudi Arabia welcomes Iraq and Indonesia into Group B.
When will the fourth round of AFC qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup be played?
Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, will host Group A and open against Indonesia on October 8.
Indonesia will then play Graham Arnold’s Iraq on October 11 before the Saudis and Iraq face-off on October 14.
Group B is hosted by Qatar, organisers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but who have never qualified for the finals. They will take on Oman in their first game on October 8.
UAE will face the Omanis on October 11, with Qatar and the UAE meeting on October 14.
How do the Intercontinental qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work?
The teams that finish second in the round-robin groups in the fourth round of AFC qualifiers will meet in a playoff over two legs, home and away, in November.
The winner of that match progresses to intercontinental playoffs for the final 2026 FIFA World Cup place, which are scheduled for March 2026.
Mitchell Duke scores his second goal as Australia came from behind to beat Saudi Arabia in the final game in the third round of qualifying [Reuters]
Which teams have confirmed their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Six teams from Asia secured qualification last month from the third round of qualifiers by finishing in the top two of the three groups at that stage.
Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia have all participated numerous times, while Jordan and Uzbekistan will be making their first appearance.
When will all teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup be confirmed?
The European qualification rounds will not be completed until March, with the intercontinental playoff final scheduled for March 31.
As a result, we will not know the final 48 teams for the World Cup until less than three months before the tournament.
Where will the FIFA World Cup games be in 2026?
The United States, Canada and Mexico are jointly hosting the next edition of FIFA’s showpiece international event.
When is the 2026 FIFA World Cup scheduled?
The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11 and ends with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
The New York/New Jersey’s FIFA World Cup 2026 logo was revealed in Times Square in 2023, with New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium hosting the 2026 final [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]
London, United Kingdom – Khaled Abdalla remembers sitting on his father’s shoulders as a three-year-old, peering over a sea of heads and waving flags as chants of “free Palestine” rose around him.
It was the early 1980s, a time when hearing “Palestine” was rare in the United Kingdom.
The details of those moments in Glasgow are faint, but he remembers how important the protest felt to his father and the crowds around them.
“I’ve had a relationship with protest for Palestinian liberation since then,” Abdalla told Al Jazeera.
Decades later, the Egyptian British actor – most known for his roles in The Kite Runner and The Crown – is still marching. But now he carries the weight of his public platform.
“After October 7, my first act was at The Crown premiere in LA, with ‘Ceasefire Now’ written on my hand,” he said.
“I didn’t know if that would immediately terminate my career. But it opened up a space far more positive than I expected. In standing up, I found my people, and my people found me.”
Since then, Abdalla has used every stage he can. At the Emmys, he wrote “Never Again” on his palm before stepping onto the red carpet.
“Each time I’ve done something like that, there has been fear,” he said, adding that while being cancelled does not worry him, he sometimes feels uncertain about how his protests might be received.
“My first protest was on my father’s shoulders when I was three. I don’t want that to be the fate of my grandchildren.”
Sharing opinions about the onslaught in Gaza, particularly as a public figure, is fraught with tension in the UK, as criticising Israel’s military actions can lead to accusations of anti-Semitism.
Israel launched its latest war on Gaza after Hamas, the group that governs the enclave, led an incursion into Israel during which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken captive. Since then, Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed almost 60,000 people and destroyed the majority of civilian sites.
Writer and comedian Alexei Sayle addresses a protest in support of Palestine and Lebanon in Trafalgar Square on October 19, 2024 in London, England [Guy Smallman/Getty Images]
For 72-year-old Alexei Sayle, a veteran British Jewish comedian who has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, silence is not an option.
In December 2023, his “alternative Christmas message” posted to his social media channels went viral, as his words about politicians’ alleged lies and complicity in Israel’s assault resonated with thousands.
“It was clear from very early on that Gaza was going to be different,” Sayle told Al Jazeera. “The Israelis were going to do what they are doing, really. And nobody seemed likely to stop them. This was going to be another step forward in the Zionist project – the expulsion or murder, the ethnic cleansing or elimination of the Palestinian people, with the complicity of the West.
“If you remain silent during this holocaust, then you would have remained silent during that holocaust. I think the comparison is justified.”
He said he has no fears when rallying for Palestine.
“It’s the younger artists who risk cancellation by speaking out,” he said. “As an elderly Jew in show business, I’m in a position like Miriam Margolyes or Michael Rosen – a sort of protected status,” he added, referring to the British actor and children’s author, respectively, both of whom are Jewish and have condemned Israel’s war.
Comedians and artists are used to holding a mirror up, he said.
“Throughout history, comedians have been the ones to point out the excesses of government. That is our role. Politicians have sacrificed whatever moral compassion or humanity they had. There is clearly a moral void at the heart of this government.
“They are frightened cowards. They care about their job more than they care about children being murdered.”
Even so, he knows activism has limits.
“Positive change does not come just from demonstrations,” he said. “There needs to be a relentless focus on political gain and political power as well, and that is the only way that life will get better, both for the people of Britain and for those abroad, whose lives we are complicit in destroying.”
Abdalla shared this view.
“Is it stopping the genocide? No, not yet,” he said. “But is it making a difference? Absolutely.
“There’s been a shift in global consciousness, but there hasn’t yet been an avalanche… It’s our job to make that avalanche happen.”
Sayle and Abdalla are preparing for another weekend of protest mixed with art. They will be among 20 artists, comedians, musicians and humanitarians at Voices of Solidarity, a one-night-only fundraiser for Palestine, on July 19 in London.
The singer Paloma Faith, doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah, actor Juliet Stevenson and comedians Sami Abu Wardeh and Tadhg Hickey are also on the lineup.
As Gaza continues to be bombed, more Britons are critical of Israeli policies.
Last month, a survey carried out by YouGov and commissioned by the Action for Humanity charity and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) advocacy group found that 55 percent of Britons are against Israel’s aggression. A significant number of those opponents – 82 percent – said Israel’s actions amount to genocide.
“Yes, there is a move away [from politicians], particularly because of frustration with the lack of action,” said Dina Matar, head of the Centre for Global Media and Communications at SOAS.
She said the turn towards artists for moral clarity reflects public disillusionment with formal politics.
“The implications might not be seen immediately, but will be reflected in public rejection of official party politics … We need to continue efforts by all – and here thanks to all these artists – to educate people about the aims of these policies and to make clear the association between capitalism and the settler-colonial state.”
Jacob Mukherjee, a professor of political communication at Goldsmiths University in London, said artists and cultural figures are stepping into a political vacuum, a role shaped by history.
Since the counterculture movements of the 1960s, musicians and artists have often voiced popular discontent, he said. This is partly due to what sociologists describe as the inherently oppositional and radical culture of artistic spaces, and partly because art is capable of expressing the public mood.
“In the UK, like much of Western Europe and North America, governments have largely remained loyal to what they perceive to be the wishes and interests of the USA,” he said.
But while artists can voice discontent and spread awareness, “there are limits to what artists and cultural movements can do.
“Without effective new parties, the disconnect between public opinion and political elites will only grow,” he said. “History shows us political reform needs political movements, too.”
Paloma Faith speaks as pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest through central London on June 21, 2025 [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]
United States senators have passed a package of sweeping cuts that would slash Washington’s foreign aid expenditures by about $8bn as part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to drastically shrink federal spending.
The package, which passed in a 51-48 vote early on Thursday, cancels $9bn in spending already approved by Congress, including more than $1bn to be stripped from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Two of the Senate’s 53 Republicans voted with Democrats against the legislation.
The vote was seen as a test of how easily senators would approve spending cuts recommended by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The president, who has made slashing federal spending a domestic priority, established the department and had put billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk at the helm to identify areas for government cost-cutting before the SpaceX and Tesla CEO left in May. A public spat between Musk and Trump over deficit spending erupted a short time later.
Food for starving children in Afghanistan, Pakistan to be burned
Much of the $8bn in foreign aid cuts under the “rescissions” package, which now returns to the House of Representatives for final approval, had been allocated to the now-defunct US Agency for International Development (USAID), a prime target for DOGE.
The agency, which was established during the Cold War to run aid programmes and project US soft power internationally, closed its doors this month after the Trump administration’s announcement in January that it was shutting down USAID.
Within the funding that was cut was $4.15bn to boost economies and strengthen democratic institutions in developing countries, The Associated Press news agency reported.
The package also cancelled $800m for a programme that assists with emergency shelter, water, sanitation and family reunification for people fleeing their homelands as well as $496m for food, water and healthcare in countries affected by natural disasters or conflicts.
A senior US official said on Wednesday that nearly 500 tonnes of high-energy biscuits intended to feed 27,000 starving children in Afghanistan and Pakistan would soon be incinerated due to the Trump administration’s decision to shut down USAID.
‘A bunch of junk’
Democrats argued that weakening foreign aid efforts would diminish the US’s global status and leave a vacuum that would be filled by rivals like China.
Senator Brian Schatz said cutting food aid and disease prevention measures was having life-and-death consequences, AP reported.
“People are dying right now, not in spite of us but because of us,” he said.
But Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told the AFP news agency that while he was a “big fan” of foreign aid and the soft power it brought, he believed money was being wasted.
“When you start spending money on a bunch of junk and liberal programmes disconnected from the purpose of the aid package, it makes it difficult on a guy like me,” he said.
Republican leaders had removed a $400m cut to an HIV prevention programme from the package after requests from its own lawmakers. The programme is credited with saving millions of lives.
US Constitution’s ideals ‘undermined’
The cuts to public broadcasting, which Republicans have accused of having a left-wing bias, also met with fierce objections. Democrats said they would remove a key public service that performs a vital role, particularly during emergencies like natural disasters.
The package cancels $1.1bn that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was due to receive over the next two years. It would help fund National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations.
Democrats said the rescissions package, by cutting $9bn from a $6.8 trillion federal budget, would do little to meaningfully tackle the deficit but would harm important public institutions.
“It is yet another example of the spirit and ideals of our constitution being undermined in a terrible way,” New Jersey Senator Cory Booker told AFP.
Others, including Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Republican Senate leader, expressed concerns about ceding congressional spending powers to the president, saying he was worried about handing the White House a “blank cheque” on spending issues, AP reported. But he ultimately voted to approve the package.
A French court has ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for his role in the killings of two foreign diplomats in France in the early 1980s.
The Paris Appeals Court ordered on Thursday that Abdallah, 74, be freed from a prison in southern France on July 25 on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.
The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for complicity in the 1982 murders of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris and the attempted murder of US Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.
First detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987, Abdallah is one of the longest serving prisoners in France as most prisoners serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years.
The detainee’s brother, Robert Abdallah, told the AFP news agency in Lebanon on Thursday that he was overjoyed by the news.
“We’re delighted. I didn’t expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release,” he was quoted as saying. “For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures.”
Abdallah’s lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision: “It’s both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier.”
Abdallah is expected to be deported to Lebanon.
Prosecutors may file an appeal with France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed quickly enough to halt his release next week.
Abdallah has been up for release for 25 years, but the US – a civil party to the case – has consistently opposed his leaving prison. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home to Beirut.
In November, a French court ordered his release on the condition Abdallah leaves France.
But French prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was consequently suspended.
A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris Appeals Court postponed it, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs – something he has consistently refused to do.
The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month.
During the closed-door hearing, Chalanset told the judges that 16,000 euros ($18,535) had been placed in the prisoner’s bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the US.
Abdallah, who has never expressed regret for his actions, has always insisted he is a “fighter” who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a “criminal”.
The Paris court has described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed “no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts”.
