Dans le golfe du Lion, étudier les oiseaux migrateurs face aux projets d’éoliennes

Mieux connaître les trajectoires des oiseaux migrateurs terrestres et des oiseaux marins, pour adapter les activités humaines: c’est le but du programme Migralion, réalisée dans le golfe du Lion, où de grands projets d’éoliennes en mer sont en cours.Pilotée par l’Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Migralion s’est intéressée à cet espace maritime stratégique de l’avifaune, fréquenté ou ponctuellement survolé par des millions d’individus appartenant à de nombreuses espèces d’oiseaux, mais sur laquelle on manque encore de connaissances.Le golfe du Lion accueille aussi l’un des premiers parcs éoliens en mer flottant de France, avec trois éoliennes inaugurées cet été, et 19 prévues à l’horizon 2031.L’étude, sur quatre ans, a combiné les données récoltées lors de campagnes en mer, grâce à des radars sur la côte et grâce à la télémétrie, l’équipement des oiseaux de balises de géolocalisation miniaturisées.”Les cartes de vulnérabilité des oiseaux marins étudiés vis-à-vis du risque éolien révèlent des niveaux de vulnérabilité contrastés au sein du golfe du Lion”, conclut-t-elle.Parmi les risques identifiés, l’étude établit que les grands oiseaux comme les petits oiseaux migrateurs volent fréquemment dans les tranches d’altitude des pales des parcs éoliens prévus.Plus généralement, “les données spatialisées de hauteur de vol des oiseaux de grande taille, qu’ils soient migrateurs ou marins, montrent un risque d’interactions directes (collision) ou indirectes (évitement) probables avec les projets en cours de développement”.L’OFB s’inquiète particulièrement de la période du printemps, quand les oiseaux remontent vers le Nord et qu’ils volent en grande partie à moins de 500 mètres d’altitude: “si la traversée ne peut être accomplie en une seule nuit, les individus se retrouveraient alors à très basse altitude en journée, prolongeant leur vol à hauteur de pâle des éoliennes”.”Face à l’effondrement incontestable de la biodiversité, l’étude Migralion constitue une initiative pionnière essentielle pour améliorer l’acquisition de connaissances et permettre de mieux concilier de grands enjeux stratégiques comme la production d’énergie renouvelable et la protection de la biodiversité”, selon Eric Hansen, directeur coordinateur de façade maritime Méditerranée de l’OFB.Les auteurs de l’étude demandent à refaire des campagnes de capture et de suivi télémétrique sur les mêmes espèces maintenant que les premières éoliennes ont été implantées, “pour comprendre si les oiseaux changent de comportement face à ces modifications d’habitats”.Car, rappellent-t-ils, “la migration des oiseaux est un phénomène dynamique et les espèces peuvent rapidement changer de comportement au regard des nouveaux obstacles ou modifications de variables environnementales”.

L’actrice et circassienne Vimala Pons, le souffle au corps

Elle aime raconter le monde de façon décalée et loufoque: Vimala Pons, qui présente sa nouvelle pièce, “Honda Romance”, à Paris et en tournée, est une artiste fascinée par la manifestation du déséquilibre, sous toutes ses formes.Comédienne, circassienne, actrice de cinéma, autrice, Vimala Pons, 42 ans, est tout cela à la fois. Et même davantage puisqu’elle co-signe la plupart des bandes-sons de ses spectacles, avec son partenaire de scène Tsirihaka Harrivel.”Honda Romance”, programmé à partir de mardi dans le cadre du Festival d’Automne au Théâtre de l’Odéon à Paris, est sa première pièce de troupe, avec dix interprètes, mêlant mouvements physiques extrêmes, humour, chant, musique (assurée également par Rebeka Warrior). Vimala Pons s’y retrouve écrasée par un satellite de 42 kgs, puis soufflée par trois canons à explosion – utilisés dans le cinéma – qui lâchent des décharges impressionnantes de vent.Dans un précédent spectacle, l’artiste portait un rocher factice chargé d’explosifs en équilibre sur sa tête et 13 kilos de vêtements, qu’elle effeuillait, tout en racontant sa vie. “J’adore les autobiographies dont on floute les contours, j’aime le fait de ne pas être forcément frontale dans la narration d’une intimité”, raconte l’artiste aux cheveux longs, frange, pantalon ample et baskets vert flashy, rencontrée par l’AFP peu avant la première.Porter des objets incroyables – une machine à laver, une carcasse de voiture – tout en faisant correspondre son effort avec un jeu de mots poétique ou drôle est vite devenu sa signature, et ce dès la sortie du Centre national des arts du cirque (Cnac) de Châlons-en-Champagne, où elle a étudié après le Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique de Paris.- Consolation -“Le déséquilibre”, reconnaît-elle, est “une obsession viscérale”. D’ailleurs, “Honda Romance” interroge notre équilibre, dans un monde “gavé d’informations”, souligne-t-elle. Une exploration de “ce flux inarrêtable de nos pensées, qui donne lieu à un flux inarrêtable d’émotions”, qu’elle interprète sur scène dans une transe.Ancienne sportive de haut niveau, ayant pratiqué le karaté, le krav-maga et le tennis en championnat de France entre 8 et 16 ans, l’artiste s’est préparée, pour cette pièce, avec la méthode Tabata: “on apprend à aller au sol et à se relever”, au sens propre comme au figuré, explique Vimala Pons, pour qui la scène est assurément “un endroit de consolation”.Touche-à-tout, elle a à son compteur d’autres pièces, “De Nos jours (Notes on the Circus)” en 2012, “Grande” en 2017, “Le périmètre de Denver” en 2021, un livre-audio à l’humour décalé “Mémoires de l’Homme Fente”, (2020), une fiction sonore “Eusapia Klane”, (2022) et deux expositions.Celle qui a grandi en Inde auprès de parents hippies évolue aussi depuis 2011 dans le cinéma indépendant. Cette année, on la voit dans le film de la scénariste Baya Kasmi (“Mikado”), ou encore dans le dernier long-métrage (“Le Voyage essentiel”) d’Alejandro Jodorowsky.Parmi ses sources d’inspiration, elle cite la militante altermondialiste canadienne Naomi Klein, le philosophe stoïcien Sénèque, la femme de lettres Germaine de Staël, ou encore l’acteur et humoriste Adam Sandler. L’artiste, qui a créé “Honda Romance” à la Comédie de Genève, a aussi travaillé en partie dans un centre d’art accueillant des artistes, dans un hôpital psychiatrique d’Aix-en-Provence ; soignants, patients et autres spectateurs ont pu partager l’avancement de son projet.Pour Julien Gosselin, nouveau directeur du Théâtre de l’Odéon, la performeuse incarne le nouveau souffle qu’il entend donner à son institution – une jeune génération d’artistes proposant de “nouvelles formes”, “fortes” et “risquées”. Avec son “identité osée protéiforme”, Vimala Pons défend “un théâtre à la fois exigeant esthétiquement et ouvert à tous les publics”, disait-il à l’AFP en mai.Le spectacle est en tournée jusqu’en juin, passant par Rennes, Paris à nouveau, Nantes, Chambéry, Strasbourg, ou Lyon.

China accuses US of ‘double standards’ over new tariffs threat

China accused the United States of “double standards” on Sunday, after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 100 percent tariff on the world’s second-largest economy.Trump reignited his trade war with China on Friday, accusing Beijing of imposing “extraordinarily aggressive” new export curbs relating to rare earths.He announced extra levies — plus export controls on “critical software” — due to take effect from November 1, and threatened to cancel a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.On Sunday, China’s Ministry of Commerce called Trump’s tariff threat a “typical example of ‘double standards'”.The ministry said Washington had ratcheted up economic measures against Beijing since September.”Threatening high tariffs at every turn is not the right approach to engaging with China,” it said in an online statement.Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under levies that Trump brought in while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade, and over alleged unfair practices.China’s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.Rare earths have been a major sticking point in recent trade negotiations between the two superpowers.They are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology.China dominates global production and processing of these materials, and on Thurday announced new controls on the export of technologies used for the mining and processing of critical minerals.In response, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that China had taken a “very hostile” stance and should not be “allowed to hold the World ‘captive'”.The US leader also threatened to pull out of a mooted meeting with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month.It would have been the first face-to-face encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since Trump returned to power in January.- Tensions flare again -A few months ago, Beijing and Washington agreed an uneasy truce in their tit-for-tat trade war that started earlier this year and threw bilateral trade into serious jeopardy.But tensions have boiled up again in recent days.China said on Friday that it would impose “special port fees” on ships operated by and built in the US, calling it a “defensive action”.It took aim at the US’s own port fees charged on Chinese ships, claiming they “severely harmed China’s interests”.Washington announced those fees in April as part of an effort to revive American shipbuilding after a decades-long decline that has seen China and other Asian nations come to dominate the industry.

Banned Bangladesh party turns to flash protests ahead of polls

Once Bangladesh’s largest political party, the Awami League has been outlawed since its leader Sheikh Hasina was overthrown in a mass uprising last year.Now, its supporters — encouraged by Hasina’s social media calls to “resist” —  are staging flash mob protests defying the ban as the country prepares for elections from which the party is barred.In the capital Dhaka, 45-year-old cleaner Mohammad Kashem described witnessing around 25 Awami League loyalists being chased, beaten and detained by police at one such rally.”It’s happening all over Dhaka,” Kashem told AFP, saying videos of such spontaneous demonstrations appear constantly on social media.”We see it every day on Facebook.”The elections, expected in February 2026, will be the first since Hasina fled into exile in India as crowds stormed her palace, ending her 15-year rule.She has since defied court orders to attend her ongoing trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering a deadly crackdown during the revolt.Her party and its supporters have since been pushed underground. More than 800 have been arrested in connection with the flash mobs, officials say, which have rattled the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as he oversees the South Asian nation of 170 million until the polls.- ‘Abandoned’ -Still, they protest.Some rallies consist of only a handful of young men. Others draw more than 100, chanting slogans.”Sheikh Hasina is coming!” they shout, waving small placards or unfurling banners. “Bangladesh is smiling!”They gather for a few minutes before vanishing into the crowds.Sometimes, multiple flash protests erupt simultaneously in different parts of Dhaka. On one day, police arrested 244 people, authorities said.The risks are high. In the rally Kashem witnessed, several protesters were badly beaten.”Stupid boys,” Kashem said. “The heavyweight leaders abandoned them… yet they’re risking their lives.”The protests have unnerved Yunus’s government.”The fascists have turned reckless, as they can see that the country is heading towards an election and the trial process (of Hasina) is progressing fast,” Yunus’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters last month.”The government has decided to strengthen the monitoring of flash processions and other illegal gatherings.”Hasina remains vocal on social media, issuing broadsides against Yunus and urging loyalists to “resist”.Bangladeshi newspapers, quoting a senior party leader in hiding, reported at least 20 flash processions in the past month.Dhaka police spokesman Md Talebur Rahman could not confirm the number of protests, but said “more than 800 people” had been arrested in connection with them.Political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman, a member of the government’s electoral reform commission, said Hasina was risking protesters’ safety to maintain relevance.”She is trying to earn sympathy by widely sharing the beatings, chases, dispersals and arrests of her party members,” Zahed told AFP.- ‘Proper action’ -Human Rights Watch has condemned the “draconian” ban on the Awami League.”The interim government should not be engaging in the same partisan behaviour that Bangladeshis had to endure under Sheikh Hasina, whether it is stuffing the prisons with political opponents or shutting down peaceful dissent,” HRW’s Meenakshi Ganguly said.But analysts say the protests could complicate election preparations.Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam said “different interest groups” were trying to derail the election, including the “defeated axis”.Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor in Hasina’s trial in absentia, said that a judicial probe was underway into the Awami League.”Once the investigation report is ready, proper action will be taken,” Islam said.The Awami League remains defiant.Senior leader Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, whose current whereabouts are unclear,insists that protesters were taking to the streets out of “love” for Hasina.He told AFP that he revelled in the trouble they have caused.”Have you noticed how these activities have robbed the government of sleep?”

Treading fine line, NBA money machine kicks into gear on China return

The NBA brought star-studded lineups to Macau this week for the league’s return to China after six years but many of the biggest wins happened off the basketball court, industry insiders and experts told AFP.Thousands of fans cheered Friday as the Phoenix Suns — led by four-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker — beat the Brooklyn Nets, with celebrities such as David Beckham, actor Jackie Chan and Alibaba founder Jack Ma in front-row seats.It heralded the NBA’s return to China for the first time since being effectively frozen out of the country in 2019 after a team official tweeted support for democracy protests in Hong Kong.Hours after Friday’s pre-season match at a sold-out Venetian Arena, US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China, underscoring the volatile backdrop of the NBA’s detente with Beijing.Even so, the NBA and star players are rushing back to the post-pandemic Chinese market, with LeBron James and Stephen Curry visiting the country this year to hawk their brands.”One thing a lot of the athletes would say is that everyone read about James Harden coming to China (in 2023), selling his wine and selling out in like 60 seconds,” said Michael Lin, a VP at sports digital agency Mailman, an IMG company.Booths near the arena showed off the NBA’s Chinese brand partners, including e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, live-video app Kuaishou and dairy giant Mengniu, as well as merchandise aimed at younger consumers.David Leiner, president of trading cards for Fanatics Collectibles, said the company recently started selling China-specific NBA card packs in more than 30 cities, adding that the 10 yuan ($1.4) entry price point was “critical”.”For us, it was very important to get the product broadly distributed,” Leiner told AFP.- Decades of business -China became a priority for the NBA in the early 2000s in part due to Yao Ming’s superstardom, said Mark Fischer, former managing director of NBA China.Fischer said the business entity NBA China was valued at $2.3 billion around the time of its 2008 formation.That figure grew to more than $4 billion a decade later, according to NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum in a 2018 Forbes interview.In 2019, the league signed a deal reportedly worth $1.5 billion with Tencent on exclusive online streaming rights.But that was soon overshadowed when Houston Rockets official Daryl Morey went public in support of Hong Kong protesters.The NBA making its return in Macau showed that Beijing was “opening the side door but not the main gates and red carpet just yet”, said Fischer, now an international sports consultant.Macau is a special administrative region of China, distinct from the mainland, and famous for its casinos.The teams are also taking their chance to claw back missed revenues from the vast China market.The Suns hired the marketing team behind American internet celebrity IShowSpeed’s well-received China streaming tour.”We’re going as far as working with (the Suns) to shoot content around the players eating mooncakes and making sure that the correct terminology around Lunar New Year versus Chinese New Year is used,” said Andrew Spalter, founder and CEO of digital marketing firm East Goes Global.The Nets, owned by Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai, have an in-house Chinese social media team.- Warning -Victor Cha, a geopolitics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that China still held the “ultimate form of power over the NBA” and could leverage its huge market to force firms to self-censor.A sports marketer in China who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Morey tweet took just minutes to trigger online outrage and that because of the sheer number of people in and around the NBA it will be “impossible” to avoid a similar incident.”We know how quickly things can spiral out of control,” the source said.”It’s not even about an individual NBA player, it’s anybody associated with the brand.”Appearing in Macau on Thursday, Las Vegas Sands president and COO Patrick Dumont tried out Alibaba’s AI technology that purported to translate spoken NBA match commentary from English to Chinese, or vice versa.The Dallas Mavericks owner asked if he could say anything he wanted, as opposed to reading out scripted lines shown to him on a screen.His host pointed at the text and replied, “Technically, you can say what you want, but this would be the most optimised.”