Little enthusiasm as Palestinians gear up for local polls

A New Yorker with a taste for superlatives and, like his boss, for flashing thumbs-ups to the cameras, US ambassador to Belgium Bill White lives and breathes Donald Trump's MAGA-style brand of diplomacy.

The 59-year-old envoy -- who boasts a relationship with Trump reaching back three decades -- sums up his mission in simple terms: "To get an A plus" from the president.

"President Trump, when I was talking to him about how much I loved him, I said, 'I really want to make you happy,'" he told AFP in an interview in the Belgian capital.

"He laughed, and he said, 'Bring back $50 billion in deals,'" quipped White -- a longtime entrepreneur with an easygoing banter who raised large sums for Trump in recent campaigns.

The US president may be loathed, mocked or feared by many in Europe -- White says the job of representing him is "pretty easy".

- 'Truth Social' on tap -

"I get my news source from him, not from -- no offense -- but not from you or anyone else," White told AFP reporters at his official residence in Brussels.

"I read his Truth Social. I know exactly what he's thinking," said White, who makes it his mission to relay Trump's "message" to the diplomats, politicians and business leaders he rubs shoulders with each day.

Like many of the ambassadors drawn from Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, White has little of the career diplomat about him.

Before politics he built an encyclopaedic career: he started out in real estate, ran a museum, raised funds for Barack Obama, and campaigned on the side for a wealthy Atlanta suburb to secede from the city.

He was also a longtime Democrat, a married gay man and champion of liberal causes with extremely good connections -- Aretha Franklin sang at his wedding.

But the night of Trump's 2016 election win, White decided to throw in his lot with the Republican billionaire, reportedly ditching Hillary Clinton's deflated campaign event and crossing town to Trump's.

Fast-forward to late 2025, and his arrival in Belgium as US ambassador.

Barely had he unpacked than White was summoned to the foreign ministry for intervening in a case involving Jewish circumcisers in Antwerp -- a probe he called "antisemitic."

He insists the row was not serious enough to dent his "amazing relationship" with Belgium -- throwing in a mildly off-colour joke about circumcision to drive home the point.

But it catapulted him onto the front pages in Belgium, a country of 12 million where the new ambassador has already become something of a household name.

"That's a little weird for me," he admitted.

- 'We love America!' -

White likewise plays down the impact of forays into local politics by fellow US ambassadors that have ruffled feathers in France, Poland and elsewhere.

"This whole thing about we don't love Europe, we were leaving NATO -- it's all baloney," he said. "President Trump loves Belgium so much, and Europe too."

He sees claims of anti-American sentiment in Europe as greatly exaggerated -- and has an anecdote to prove it.

"We were on a boat going through Ghent last Saturday, and we're going under the bridge, and these people are saying, 'Ambassador White from America! We love America,'" he recalled -- waving his arms to recreate the scene.

The US diplomat, whose residence is adorned with photos of his husband and of Trump and his wife Melania -- "Isn't she gorgeous?" -- speaks of having close ties with the Belgian government.

He says he speaks regularly with his "friends" the ministers of defence, interior and foreign affairs -- and even claims to have won the good graces of the prime minister's cat.

According to White, Prime Minister Bart De Wever is tapped to give a speech at a US-style bash being staged in Brussels for the 250th anniversary of US independence -- with fireworks, an American pop star and a fighter jet flyby.

It stands to be the "largest, biggest, best, most amazing, extraordinary, phenomenal, fantastic event outside of the president's events in Washington," he promised.

Be it throwing a stars-and-stripes party or wading into local politics, White's approach is unapologetically large and loud -- with an energy lifted straight from Trump's playbook.

As European capitals voice growing frustration with the US leader -- and after Hungarian voters ousted Viktor Orban despite vocal backing from Vice President JD Vance -- does he see any reason to rethink his approach?

"No not at all," said White. "Not at all."

cjc/ec/yad

The appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of Union Berlin's men's Bundesliga side may have captured global headlines, but few inside the ambitious club were surprised.

The rapid rise of Union's women's side, who Eta will coach from the summer, is a direct result of the club prioritising the team.

While still in the amateur regional leagues, Union took the unusual step of paying players and coaching staff professionally. 

Union are putting the finishing touches on a shiny new complex which will become the first training centre in European football with identical facilities for the men's and women's teams. 

Despite playing in the second division last season, Union's women averaged crowd was 7,190, the best mark in Germany and behind only Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United across Europe. 

The crowds have continued to climb this season as Union secured their top-flight status for next year.

Union host powerhouse Bayern Munich on Wednesday and the club expect over 10,000 spectators, having opened up additional stands in their 22,000-capacity Stadion an der Alten Foersterei.

- 'It's about football' -

A major reason for the support is the club's integration into the community in the eastern Berlin suburb of Koepenick

The club is a core part of Koepenick's identity, giving rise to the saying: 'We don't go to the football, we go to Union'. 

Current women's coach Ailien Poese has had a two-decade association with Union and has guided the women's side through the ranks to the top flight.

Poese, who will return to the club's academy when Eta takes over, said fans went to both the men's and the women's games "because ultimately it's about football. 

"I hope it gets established at many clubs, that it's their favourite club and there might be a home game every weekend, one week the women's and the next the men's," Poese told AFP.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the extra attention and the identification with the women's team."

Union forward Hannah Eurlings agreed. "It says a lot about the fans, that they're just in love with the club. And that's so nice to see." 

Eurlings, a Belgian international, signed with Union in the summer and said the club's focus on women's football was a key pull factor.

"For me it was a bit scary to sign for a second Bundesliga team... But the talks I had with the club and with the women's manager, they were all positive. 

"They want to make the women's team equal to the men's team and also in financial things and also in the facilities we get. I think you don't find that that often in women's football, so I think that's a very big plus for me."

- 'Not a bit of a surprise' -

Eurlings said Eta's appointment is a reflection Union's values of hard work and merit, while also thinking outside the box. 

"It's not a bit of a surprise here in the club or in Koepenick... It doesn't matter what your gender is, do you know a lot about football? You're the right person for the job."

Poese said the appointment was "a completely logical decision."

"She is highly competent, very good technically and very clear in her work and her footballing ideas."

Union are heavy underdogs on Wednesday but even taking on the German giants is an achievement in itself. 

Bayern need just a point to claim the women's Bundesliga title but Poese said her side would relish their role as "party crashers". 

Eurlings agreed, saying "of course it's an extra motivation. They think they can become champions on our pitch? Nobody signed up for that. 

"They're the best team in the league. But of course, in football, you have 90 minutes and if we have a good day, we want to be the party crashers."

dwi/dmc

Hoteliers are switching on the lights to welcome a trickle of visitors back to the once-booming resort towns of India-controlled Kashmir, a year after militants opened fire on holidaymakers in an attack that killed 26 people.

The disputed Muslim-majority region, which India and Pakistan both claim in full, used to attract millions of Indian visitors flocking to take in its famed wooden houseboats on Dal Lake in the centre of the main city Srinagar.

However, dozens of tourist sites across the Himalayan territory closed for security reasons after one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in decades in Indian-run Kashmir on April 22, 2025, which killed mainly Hindu men.

A year on, hoteliers are still feeling the repercussions.

"It used to be full for months on end before the attack," said Younis Khandey, the owner of a 10-room guesthouse in the resort town of Pahalgam, near the site of the attack.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the gunmen, charges Islamabad rejected.

A shadowy group called The Resistance Front (TRF) -- described by the United States as a "proxy" of UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba -- initially claimed responsibility for the attack. The group later retracted its claim.

Two weeks later, anger between India and Pakistan erupted into a four-day conflict in which the nuclear-armed neighbours deployed drones, missiles and fighter jets, killing at least 70 people on both sides.

- 'Not back on track' -

The small mountain meadow of Baisaran, where the gunmen stormed out of pine forests and fired on crowds, remains closed.

Other sites are now open, but travel operators say bookings are still far down from usual.

"Business has been down about 60 percent, even after many spots were reopened for tourists," said travel agent Tanvir Ahmed. "But arrivals are picking up again now."

Before the attack, Kashmir welcomed hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims visiting sacred shrines.

In 2024, a record number of more than 23 million tourists -- including 65,000 foreigners -- visited the region of some 12 million people, according to the Indian government.

Statistics for 2025 have not been released in the wake of the attack.

"The tourism sector is not back on track yet," said Syed Qamar Sajjad, director of the region's tourism department. 

India has at least 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in Kashmir.

Rebel groups opposed to Indian rule of Kashmir waged an insurgency -- now largely crushed -- since 1989, and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians and militants.  

pzb/sjc/cms/pbt

Shares in a Chinese tech firm that supplies US chip titan Nvidia soared almost 60 percent on its Hong Kong debut Tuesday, having raised more than US$2 billion in the city's largest listing this year.

Victory Giant Technology Huizhou has said it will use most of the proceeds to expand production in mainland China.

It comes as the country races to boost domestic production of the microchips used to train and power generative AI tools, in a bid to rival the United States' prowess in the sector.

Shares in the Guangdong-based firm rocketed 59.6 percent in early trade to HK$335 (US$43), having set its price at HK$209.88 and raising HK$17.3 billion (US$2.2 billion).

Victory Giant, whose shares are already listed across the border in Shenzhen, makes high-end printed circuit boards (PCBs), a crucial component of AI servers.

One of its key customers is Nvidia, now the world's most valuable company thanks to feverish global demand for AI chips.

The initial public offering (IPO) is the biggest since Zijin Gold International raised US$3.7 billion in September.

It is also the latest in a recent run of blockbuster debuts from Chinese AI-related companies in Hong Kong, indicating optimism for China's ambitions in the sector.

Nvidia's most cutting-edge AI chips cannot be sold in China under US export rules that Washington says are to protect national security.

So Beijing is accelerating efforts to develop its own advanced semiconductors and break away from reliance on US hardware.

"China continues to prioritise AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductor-adjacent supply chains as strategic sectors," Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone, told AFP.

So "companies like Victory Giant benefit from both policy support and financing accessibility", she said.

While there is "sustained demand" for high-end PCBs owing to booming investment into AI servers and data centres worldwide, high prices may not last, Wu cautioned.

"The current cycle is still characterised by tight supply in high-end PCB manufacturing," she said.

"Whether this persists will depend on how quickly global and domestic capacity catches up with AI-driven demand growth."

This year has already brought strong Hong Kong IPOs from leading Chinese AI startups Zhipu AI and MiniMax, as well as graphics processing unit maker Shanghai Biren Technology and chip firm OmniVision Integrated Circuit Group.

cla/kaf/dan

Competing for attention with Jennifer Lopez is no easy task. But at a recent wedding in India where the American star performed in a barely-there sparkly leotard, it was arguably the cake that stole the show.

The towering multi-tier construction, several metres high and inspired by Rajasthani architecture, became a talking-point among guests and featured prominently in media coverage of the 500-guest extravaganza last November.  

Its designer was French celebrity pastry chef Bastien Blanc-Tailleur, whose creations are to cakes what Haute Couture is to fashion: one-off, hand-made, and requiring extraordinary investments in time and money.

"We rarely work on a wedding that has a budget of less than a million euros," the 34-year-old told AFP in his studio outside Paris, surrounded by five of his latest edible sculptures.

The marriage ceremony of billionaire heiress Netra Mantena and tech entrepreneur Vamsi Gadiraju last November in Udaipur cost a reported $6.7 million, with J-Lo said to have pocketed two million for her appearance.

Blanc-Tailleur declines to reveal prices, saying only that his most modest custom-made cakes start at 20,000 euros ($23,500) and the elaborate signature pieces can cost multiple times that.

The Indian order comprised five cakes in total: the main creation with tumbling orchids, elephants and dome-shaped pavilions in white sugar-paste, and then two more cakes for the families, as well as another pair which were lowered from the ceiling. 

They took an estimated 3,500 hours of work.

"We probably hit the top limit of what we're capable of," Blanc-Tailleur explained, adding: "It was one of the projects that I'm the most proud of."

- Challenges - 

Blanc-Tailleur's artistry, which he says draws on French traditions dating back to the 1700s which then spread to Britain and America, depends on the patronage of wealthy clients around the world. 

Middle East royals, wealthy American scions and European aristocrats compete for his limited services: with a full-time staff of only 10, he can only produce about 20-25 cakes a year.

The US and Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, which has sparked a regional conflict encompassing much of the Middle East, has upended the well-laid plans of some of these customers.

"Lots of weddings have been pushed back to next year or the year after," he told AFP. 

"Several clients who were going to get married in Israel or in Lebanon or in Saudi Arabia have changed and are going to get married in France instead," he added. 

In the eight years since he started his business, he's had other challenges: the Covid epidemic in 2020-21, as well as problems transporting and finishing his fragile cakes at the ultra-VIP castles and hotels that serve as venues. 

Logistical issues at the Indian event last November meant Blanc-Tailleur faced a last-minute dash to source eggs and butter for the cake's base.

"Right up until the last-minute we were not sure we were able to deliver the project in the best way," he explained. 

On another occasion, an over-zealous customs official in Saudi Arabia opened the specially designed boxes used to protect the cakes in transit, but neglected to close them properly, causing damage to the icing. 

- No limits - 

Blanc-Tailleur started out as a baker's apprentice before still in his twenties rising into kitchen management jobs at the prestigious George V hotel in Paris and the team of celebrated French chef Yannick Alleno. 

He says he retained a key lesson from Alleno, the holder of 18 Michelin stars at his various restaurants.

"He used to say that when you're thinking about a project, you shouldn't think about how you're going to do it. Otherwise, you limit yourself in the creative process," Blanc-Tailleur explained.

His designs are drawn by hand on white card -- he disdains AI and ultra-realist renderings that remove the joy of discovering the final product. 

A compulsive collector -- of butterflies, seashells, stones and carvings from fleamarkets -- Blanc-Tailleur estimates he has about 2,000-3,000 different moulds to help make prototypes and the final icing mouldings.

"The flowers are the bit that take the most time," he says, with roses, orchids, even hydrangeas all made with hand-sculptured layers of icing to match a moodboard provided by the wedding planner.

With so much energy-intensive work and international travel -- he attends the weddings of most of his clients -- Blanc-Tailleur has little time for himself. 

"I've been engaged for four years," he confides, with no date set for his own marriage.

adp/gv/ane

Oil prices fell on Tuesday while most stocks rose on lingering hopes for a deal to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran said it had not decided whether to attend peace talks.

With the end of a two-week ceasefire approaching, the White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to return to Pakistan for fresh negotiations to end a conflict that has sent crude soaring and revived inflation fears.

However, the Islamic republic's position remained uncertain as it accused Washington of violating their fragile truce through its blockade of the country's ports and seizure of a ship.

Crude plunged on Friday after Tehran said it would allow ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which had been effectively closed since the war began on February 28.

But the commodity rebounded on Monday as Iran closed the waterway again, citing the blockade and seizure.

Donald Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire by harassing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the transit passage for about one-fifth of global oil.

The US president said the blockade would not be lifted until an agreement had been reached.

"THE BLOCKADE, which we will not take off until there is a 'DEAL,' is absolutely destroying Iran," Trump said on social media. "They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run."

He told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.

"We agreed to be there," he said, warning that if the ceasefire expired "then lots of bombs start going off".

He separately told Bloomberg News it was "highly unlikely" he would extend the truce.

Based on its start time, the truce theoretically expires overnight on Tuesday, Iran time, although in his comments to Bloomberg Trump said the end was Wednesday evening Washington time.

The Middle Eastern country's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said "Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit".

"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," he wrote on X.

Still, investors remained largely upbeat that the two sides will eventually come to a deal that will reopen the strategic strait.

US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate rose more than one percent, while Brent was also higher.

- Tech rally -

Seoul led the equity market gains thanks to a resumption of the tech rally that had pushed the Kospi to multiple records before the war, while Tokyo and Taipei were also well up.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila also advanced, although Shanghai and Sydney fluctuated.

That came even after a down day on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite retreated from Friday's record closes.

Asia had opened "with a gentle lean into risk as signs Iran may join talks with the US offer a pathway, however narrow, toward easing tensions ahead of the ceasefire deadline", wrote SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

"Markets are pricing the possibility of progress rather than its certainty," he said.

"Trump's remark that a ceasefire extension is 'highly unlikely' if no deal is reached has effectively put a clock on the market. 

"However, traders recognize the playbook. Hard deadlines and firm rhetoric often soften as negotiations evolve, but the presence of a timeline still sharpens positioning and raises the stakes around each headline."

In company news, Japanese arms firms enjoyed healthy buying after Tokyo said on Tuesday it would ease decades-old export rules, paving the way for the sale of lethal weapons overseas.

The policy shift, which ends Tokyo's self-imposed restraint on the sale of lethal arms, comes as it seeks to enter the international arms market, hoping to bolster national defence as well as boost economic growth.

Fujitsu climbed 2.4 percent, NEC added 3.7 percent and Mitsubishi Electric was up 0.9 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy gained 0.4 percent.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $88.50 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $95.12 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 59,596.10 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 26,427.75

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,073.82

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1780 from $1.1786 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3525 from $1.3535

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.98 yen from 158.88 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.10 pence from 87.07 pence

New York - Dow Jones: FLAT at 49,442.56 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 10,609.08 (close)

dan/pbt

An Alabama-born engineer seen as a supply-chain savant, Tim Cook took on the daunting challenge of succeeding Apple's iconic boss Steve Jobs 15 years ago.

While Cook is not known for the culture-changing "one more thing" gadget reveals that Jobs fans came to expect, he guided the company to a stunning valuation of some $4 trillion based on its share price.

Cook built up Apple's lucrative business selling digital content and services to lovers of its devices, and his legacy is marked by the success of Apple Watch and Airpods, as well as strong ties with China as a manufacturing hub and a major market.

- iPhones galore -

Apple had a market valuation of $350 billion when Cook succeeded Jobs, who died in October 2011.

While Jobs launched the iPhone in 2007, it was then chief operating officer Cook who oversaw the supply chain that met demand while minimizing costs.

Most of the money Apple makes comes from iPhone sales.

- Slow and steady -

Since taking over for Jobs, Cook has faced pressure to show Apple could come up with "the next big thing" without its legendary co-founder.

The Apple Watch launched by Cook in 2015 became the top-selling smartwatch in the world, and he introduced the world to Airpods, wireless earbuds which went on to become sophisticated fashion statements in a sea of competition.

Cook also led a shift to Apple making custom chips, ending 20 years of dependence on outside suppliers and gaining more control of its hardware.

- Digital services -

One of Cook's profitable pivots at Apple was to sell digital content and services, from streaming music and television to cloud data storage and apps for iPhones.

By 2024, Apple's services segment accounted for nearly a quarter of its revenue.

Central to that strategy is the App Store, which Apple made the sole gateway to software on its devices, taking a cut of transactions -- and thereby drawing accusations of monopoly abuse, regulatory scrutiny in Europe and court orders in the United States to open up its platform.

- China -

Cook's reliance on China in the Apple supply chain served the company well until US President Donald Trump targeted the country for tariffs as part of a trade war.

Apple has since worked to diversify production to India, Vietnam and even the United States.

Meanwhile, smartphone competitors in China are seen as gaining an edge as shoppers there are encouraged to buy local brands.

- Stumbles -

Cook's run at the helm of Apple was far from perfect, however.

Under Cook, Apple spent billions of dollars on a self-driving electric vehicle project called "Titan" that it wound up scrapping in 2024.

An Apple Maps service launched in 2012 was so rife with errors that Cook published a letter of apology.

And, while a technical marvel, the Apple Vision Pro "spacial computing" headgear launched in 2024 with a price tag of $3,500 and has made little traction in the market.

A promised upgrade to Apple's digital assistant Siri was delayed, in what analysts called a rare stumble for the company.

And rather than relying on its own engineers to overhaul Siri, Apple has turned to Google for its AI capability.

gc-bl/jgc

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined for 58 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-105 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Monday.

Fourth seeds Cleveland, convincing 126-113 victors in game one of the series on Saturday, once again proved too strong for fifth-seeded Toronto as they powered to a wire-to-wire victory.

Mitchell finished with 30 points including four three-pointers while Harden finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Evan Mobley also had a big night for Cleveland, weighing in with 25 points from an efficient 11-of-13 shooting display.

The Cavs' victory provided more evidence that the offensive partnership between Mitchell and the 36-year-old Harden, who was traded to the team in February, is blossoming at the right time for Cleveland.

"He's been doing it a little bit longer than me but we've still been doing it for a long time -- just trying to find ways to win," Mitchell said of Harden.

"Whether it's passing, it's rebounding, getting stops -- when you have two guys who are trying to chase the same thing, it definitely helps for sure," Mitchell added.

Toronto's scoring was led by Scottie Barnes with 26 points while RJ Barrett added 22.

Game three of the series takes place in Toronto on Thursday.

rcw/dh

Entering the San Salvador district of Mejicanos no longer means taking your life in your hands, like it did a decade ago when Kathya Quintanilla left home to meet a friend at a local park.

The 16-year-old never came home, one of tens of thousands of people to go missing in the gang wars that throttled El Salvador for decades until President Nayib Bukele began his crackdown four years ago.

Standing at the edge of a ravine on the outskirts of Mejicanos, Kathya's mother Tomasa Lopez points to suspected mass graves below where she thinks her daughter might be buried.

"The worst part is not knowing where she is," said Lopez, 46, who wore a t-shirt featuring her daughter's face and hass her name tattooed on her shoulder.

Bukele pacified the gangs by imposing a state of emergency used to indefinitely detain tens of thousands of men in the Central American nation on suspicion of gang membership.

The campaign resulted in a dramatic decrease in crime but has brought little relief to families of the missing, and their pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears.

- 'Not knowing' -

Light pours from Lopez's bare-bones home on a dirt street lined with abandoned houses whose habitants years ago fled the brutal Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, one of the most powerful in Central America.

Candles flicker in front of a dozen pictures of Kathya pasted to an unpainted wall, Lopez's shrine to her daughter, who stares out from the pictures with brown, almond-shaped eyes and a serene smile.

All information about missing persons in El Salvador -- whether victims of gangs, the civil war, or missing migrants -- is classified.

In June 2025, Bukele claimed, without providing proof, that around 90 percent of the people who disappeared had been murdered by gangs.

He said that adding the disappeared to the estimated 120,000 people killed by gangs since the end of the country's 1979-1992 civil war would take the death toll to 200,000 -- a colossal figure in the country of six million, equivalent to the population of a large town.

The mass incarceration of suspected gang members initially sparked hope among the families of the missing for information about their loved ones.

But those hopes have been dashed.

"It's been ten years of searching, of waiting for answers from the police, the prosecutor's office, or the medical examiner's office. But, for them, those who disappear cease to exist," Lopez said.

AFP reached out to the government, the public prosecutor's office, and pro-government members of parliament for comment, but received no responses.

- Disappeared while buying candy -

In another part of Mejicanos that has paved streets and more robust housing, MS-13's arch-rival, the Barrio 18 gang, killed Carmen Armero's husband and disappeared her son.

Herber, a student who spoke four languages and was planning to get married and travel, disappeared one night when he went out to buy candy. 

"There are only two possibilities: he's alive or he's dead. What I want is to find him. I don't want to hear about who's responsible anymore," Armero said, her voice breaking with emotion.

Armero, who is president of the Search Bloc for Disappeared Persons, a group representing several dozen families, believes the existence of mass graves is being silenced by officials because it would damage Bukele's campaign to rebrand El Salvador.

"If you want to see how safe El Salvador is, go to the ugliest, darkest place, sit on a rock, and wait for dawn," the president wrote recently on social media.

Fernando, a 36-year-old street vendor, disappeared in 2022 in the coffee-rich northwestern Salvadoran department of Santa Ana. 

Sandra Gallegos, his 53-year-old mother, wishes she could "grab a pickaxe and shovel" every morning to go and search for his remains.

But to do so would mean being branded a gang member herself.

"If the police arrive, they'll say we're collaborating with the gangs because we know about the grave," Esmeralda Rosales, Fernando's 40-year-old sister, explained.

- 'Until my last breath' -

In Mexico, where more than 130,000 people have disappeared, primarily due to drug trafficking, families grouped into collectives can compel the state by law to search for mass graves. 

Families "have the right to know what happened to their loved ones," and states have the "obligation" to respond, keep them informed, "and guarantee their participation" in the search, the International Committee of the Red Cross, which protects and assists victims of conflict, told AFP.

Two months ago, opposition congresswoman Claudia Ortiz proposed a law compelling the Salvadoran government to investigate disappearances, maintain a registry of the missing and provide support to their families. 

But Congress, which is controlled by the all-powerful Bukele, refused to debate the bill. 

"We have a government that talks about security but forgets about thousands of families...abandoned by a state that makes the disappeared disappear," Ortiz told AFP. 

Standing before a mural commemorating the disappeared at the University of El Salvador in San Salvador, Gallegos said she draws strength from her 12-year-old grandson, who is convinced his father Fernando, the street vendor, will return. 

"Some people tell me, 'Just give him to God!' but my greatest hope, my faith, is to find him alive," she said.

Even if he were dead, finding and burying him would provide some solace by giving the family "somewhere to mourn," she said, wiping away tears. 

Back in Mejicanos, Lopez worries about construction projects encroaching on the ravine where her daughter may be buried.

She said her daughter appeared to her in a dream recently and urged her to keep up the search.

"I have to keep going...until my last breath," she said.

"I have hope that one day I'll recover and bury what little remains of her, and we'll have peace, she and me."

mis/cb/jgc

Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Federal Reserve, will vow to protect central bank independence on interest rates at a crucial confirmation hearing Tuesday, according to remarks seen by AFP.

"I am committed to ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent," Warsh is to say in an opening statement to the Senate Banking Committee.

He is also expected to express commitment to fighting inflation.

The hearing, scheduled for 10:00 am (1400 GMT) Tuesday, will be closely watched as it marks a key hurdle Warsh must overcome in order to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends on May 15.

But the session will be tense, with all 11 Democrats on the Banking Committee last week urging for a delay in the nomination's proceedings until separate investigations into Powell and Fed governor Lisa Cook are closed.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who sits on the panel led by his party, has also vowed to block all Fed nominees -- including Warsh -- until the Justice Department probe involving Powell is resolved.

With 13 Republican members on the committee, Tillis' vote against Warsh's confirmation could be enough to set up an impasse.

Warsh is due to face sharp questioning from lawmakers on issues ranging from his wealth to past connections with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, alongside his views on economic issues.

- Proving himself -

"The hearing will be important, because it will be his first chance since he was nominated by the president to demonstrate that he intends to be a credible, independent central banker," Brookings senior fellow David Wessel told AFP.

"He has to be really careful to not anger Trump," Wessel added. 

But Warsh will also have to avoid the impression "that he's weak or subject to political pressure."

In his prepared remarks, which were first reported by Politico, Warsh maintains that it is up to the Fed itself to stay free of political influence.

"I do not believe the operational independence of monetary policy is particularly threatened when elected officials -- presidents, senators, or members of the House -- state their views on interest rates," he notes.

"Central bankers must be strong enough to listen to a diversity of views," he adds.

On inflation, he says: "Inflation is a choice, and the Fed must take responsibility for it."

He stresses that price surges bring "grievous harm" to citizens.

But his prepared speech also emphasizes that the Fed "must stay in its lane," adding that "Fed independence is placed at greatest risk when it strays into fiscal and social policies where it has neither authority nor expertise."

- Inflation pressures -

ING economist James Knightley told AFP that all eyes will be on how closely Warsh is aligned with the president on cutting interest rates.

He noted that during Warsh's 2006-2011 tenure as Fed governor, he was considered more "hawkish" -- a term for policymakers who favor controlling inflation by keeping interest rates higher.

But he appears to have shifted his stance, "buying into the idea that the Fed can cut interest rates more aggressively and earlier" than the current rate-setting committee believes.

Knightley pointed to "heavy clues" that Warsh is an advocate for tech investments and AI, which some believe can change the US economy's ability to grow without generating the same degree of inflationary pressures.

But higher gasoline prices due to war in the Middle East prove a more immediate challenge to rate cuts.

The Fed's credibility on inflation could be questioned if Warsh pushes too much for lower rates.

He will have to "play it very carefully" by acknowledging near-term price shocks while explaining that these may not create a more lasting inflationary threat if a ceasefire deal were reached, Knightley said.

myl-bys/jgc