‘Significant’ Xi, Trump talks win cautious optimism in China

A rare meeting between leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has succeeded in temporarily stabilising US-China relations, analysts said on Thursday, with the talks drawing cautious optimism on the streets of Beijing.A beaming Trump hailed the talks as a “great success”, while Xi said China had reached a “consensus” with the United States on trade and economic issues. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a blistering trade war, encompassing everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, which has rocked markets for months.”Although there hasn’t been a complete agreement, at least in the short term, there’s been a suspension of tariff increases,” 35-year-old media worker Yan told AFP outside a shopping mall in China’s capital. Dylan Loh from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University said the meeting was “significant” because it tackled a range of both longstanding and newly emerged roadblocks in the trade relationship.”The conciliatory words used by both leaders are important, as they signal that there is room to steer the relationship back toward a more normal footing,” Loh told AFP.Both sides appear to have moved on key sticking points.A decision by China to suspend certain export restrictions on rare earths “did a lot of magic”, and Washington easing fentanyl-related tariffs “helps plenty too”, said Lim Tai Wei, professor and East Asia expert at Japan’s Soka University.Xi’s language with Trump struck a “notably constructive” tone, said Yue Su of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).”While structural competition remains evident… both leaders appear willing to find common ground and stabilise the relationship,” Su told AFP.- Long-term concerns? -Beijing residents told AFP on Thursday they hoped to see a knock-on effect from the talks.Gym owner Ma Ning said she thought the meeting improved “very tense” relations between the two countries.”Good relations between the two sides are good for China,” the 30-year-old said, adding she hoped the meeting would improve China’s “sluggish economy”.Media worker Yan hoped to see the price of regular goods go down after the tariff reductions.But he worried Trump’s “unstable” personality might undermine longer-term solutions.While the outcomes from Thursday’s meeting were positive, analysts said there were “no surprises”, especially with the two leaders avoiding more sensitive topics.Trump said Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory, was not discussed.”By the time the two sides meet again, US-China negotiations will likely enter truly deep waters,” the EIU’s Su said.”Issues such as Taiwan, market access, and national security will test how much genuine willingness both sides have to pressure the other into making concessions on their own priorities.” Either country could also decide, at some point, to walk back on the specific decisions announced on Thursday.”There is the issue of one or both sides changing their minds or accusing the other side of not acting in good faith,” said Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore.”We’ve seen this before… in recent years,” Chong told AFP. “Trump also appears to prefer negotiating and renegotiating to keep interlocutors on the back foot,” he said.

‘Dead bodies in the streets’: Survivors describe fleeing Sudan’s El-Fasher

Families hid in trenches, bodies lay in the streets and children were killed in front of their parents as Sudanese paramilitaries advanced into the western city of El-Fasher, survivors told AFP.More than 36,000 civilians have fled the city since Sunday, when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region, triggering warnings from the UN and humanitarian groups of possible mass killings and ethnic cleansing.Some have sought refuge in Tawila, a town around 70 kilometres (43 miles) to the west that is already sheltering some 650,000 displaced people.In satellite phone interviews with AFP, three survivors who reached Tawila described scenes of terror and loss during their escape from a city besieged by the RSF for 18 months, cut off from food, medicine and other aid.Their accounts echoed those of survivors of the mass killings in Darfur in the early 2000s, when Janjaweed militias — the forces accused of genocide there which later became the RSF — burned villages, killed some 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million more. Emtithal Mahmoud, a survivor of the earlier Darfur killings now based in the United States, recounted to AFP a harrowing moment when she recognised her cousin, Nadifa, in a video shared by RSF accounts, lying dead on the ground.The survivors’ full names have been withheld for their safety.- Hayat, mother of five: ‘They killed my 16-year-old son’ -“On Saturday at 6 am, the shelling was extremely heavy. I took my children and hid with them in a trench. We haven’t heard from my husband for six months. “After about an hour, seven RSF fighters entered our house. They took my phone, searched even my undergarments, and killed my 16-year-old son. We fled with many people from our neighborhood. “On the road between El-Fasher and Garni (a village northwest of the city), we saw many dead bodies lying on the ground and wounded people left behind in the open because their families couldn’t carry them. Along the way, we were robbed again and the young men travelling with us were stopped. We don’t know what happened to them.”- Hussein, survivor wounded by shelling: ‘Bodies in the streets’ -“We left El-Fasher early Saturday morning. The road was exhausting — hunger, thirst and constant checkpoints. Before Garni, we were stopped for three hours. They said I must have been fighting because I was injured. If it wasn’t for a family passing by with a donkey cart carrying their mother, I wouldn’t have reached Garni. They helped me get there. “The situation in El-Fasher is so terrible — dead bodies in the streets, and no one to bury them. We’re grateful we made it here, even if we only have the clothes we were wearing. Here, we finally feel some safety. I went to the clinic and they checked my leg.”- Mohamed, father of four: Corpses ‘turned to bones’ -“I used to live in the Zamzam camp (for displaced people). When the RSF entered the camp, I fled to El-Fasher and stayed in the Abu Shouk neighborhood. The fighting on Saturday was extremely heavy — my four daughters, their mother and I spent the entire day hiding in a trench until dawn on Sunday. “We left before sunrise and walked toward Garni. On the way, they robbed me of my money and stopped the young men to take them. I saw dead bodies, some already turned to bones. “They beat me on my back with sticks, and I already had shrapnel in my leg from a shell that fell near our home in Zamzam. “We reached Tawila at sunset on Tuesday. Now, we have nowhere to stay. My daughters, their mother and I are sleeping in the open without any covers. Aid workers gave us some food, but no tents or blankets. “We just want the war to end so we can go back to our homes.”- US-based Emtithal Mahmoud, 32: ‘Recognised my cousin from a video’ -“It is almost impossible to describe the feeling that we’re feeling right now as people from Darfur. A lot of our family members are still trapped in the city. We don’t know who’s dead or alive. “We have videos and reports of people being killed. It’s so terrible because even in the videos that the RSF is sharing, gloating as they commit a continuation of the genocide since the early 2000s, we’re recognising our family members and friends. We found out that one of our cousins was killed because of a video that was circulating.”In the video circulated by her killers, the RSF, you can see her corpse on the ground. And you can hear the RSF person saying, ‘Get up if you can.’ And so they’re taunting her corpse and it’s another form of torture. “She was a volunteer for quite some time and when the siege happened she joined the resistance. She’s one of the women warriors.”

‘Dead bodies in the streets’: Survivors describe fleeing Sudan’s El-FasherThu, 30 Oct 2025 11:21:56 GMT

Families hid in trenches, bodies lay in the streets and children were killed in front of their parents as Sudanese paramilitaries advanced into the western city of El-Fasher, survivors told AFP.More than 36,000 civilians have fled the city since Sunday, when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur …

‘Dead bodies in the streets’: Survivors describe fleeing Sudan’s El-FasherThu, 30 Oct 2025 11:21:56 GMT Read More »

L’Assemblée adopte à une voix près un texte du RN contre l’accord franco-algérien de 1968

Coup de tonnerre à l’Assemblée: les députés ont adopté, par 185 voix contre 184, une proposition de résolution du Rassemblement national visant à “dénoncer” l’accord franco-algérien de 1968, avec l’appui des groupes LR et Horizons.”C’est une journée qu’on peut qualifier d’historique pour le RN”, s’est aussitôt félicitée la cheffe des députés d’extrême droite Marine Le Pen, soulignant qu’il s’agissait du premier texte de son parti approuvé par l’Assemblée, en dépit des oppositions de la gauche, des macronistes et du gouvernement.Si la résolution n’a pas de valeur législative, Marine Le Pen a demandé au gouvernement de tenir “compte” du vote du Parlement sur son texte, qui appelle à dénoncer l’accord qui offre aux Algériens des clauses spécifiques en matière d’immigration et de séjour en France.”Nous considérons qu’il n’y a plus rien qui justifie le maintien de cette convention”, a-t-elle insisté.”Honte au RN” qui “continue sans fin les guerres du passé”, a grondé en retour le leader Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, sur X.Le texte a été soutenu par l’alliance RN-UDR, la moitié du groupe Les Républicains et la moitié du groupe Horizons, parti d’Edouard Philippe.Le patron du PS Olivier Faure a lui fustigé le groupe macroniste. “Ils étaient où les macronistes ? Gabriel Attal absent”, a-t-il écrit sur X, à propos de l’ancien Premier ministre, à la fois patron du parti macroniste et du groupe à l’Assemblée.”Il nous a manqué une voix. Cette voix qui nous a manqué pour faire face au RN, c’est celle de Gabriel Attal”, a abondé devant les journalistes Cyrielle Chatelain, présidente du groupe écologiste.Gabriel Attal a toutefois lui-même appelé à dénoncer l’accord de 1968, en janvier, pour “poser les limites et assumer le rapport de force avec l’Algérie”, notamment à l’aune de l’arrestation de l’écrivain franco-algérien Boualem Sansal. Mais son groupe était contre le texte du RN.Le macroniste Charles Rodwell, auteur d’un récent rapport accablant contre ce même accord de 1968, avait justifié par avance un refus, au prétexte d’un supposé vide juridique qui risquerait de “provoquer un déferlement migratoire” dans l’Hexagone, analyse dénoncée par le RN.Toutefois seuls 30 députés du groupe macroniste sur 92 étaient présents pour voter contre (trois se sont abstenus). M. Attal était présent jeudi matin à un forum sur la transformation durable du tourisme.Il a cependant manqué des voix dans tous les groupes, y compris à gauche (52 députés LFI sur 72 ont participé au vote, 53 socialistes sur 69, 32 écologistes sur 38, six députés du groupe communiste et ultramarin sur 17).Douze députés MoDem ont pris part au scrutin (10 contre, deux abstentions) et trois députés Liot sur 22 (deux pour, un contre).

L’Assemblée adopte à une voix près un texte du RN contre l’accord franco-algérien de 1968

Coup de tonnerre à l’Assemblée: les députés ont adopté, par 185 voix contre 184, une proposition de résolution du Rassemblement national visant à “dénoncer” l’accord franco-algérien de 1968, avec l’appui des groupes LR et Horizons.”C’est une journée qu’on peut qualifier d’historique pour le RN”, s’est aussitôt félicitée la cheffe des députés d’extrême droite Marine Le Pen, soulignant qu’il s’agissait du premier texte de son parti approuvé par l’Assemblée, en dépit des oppositions de la gauche, des macronistes et du gouvernement.Si la résolution n’a pas de valeur législative, Marine Le Pen a demandé au gouvernement de tenir “compte” du vote du Parlement sur son texte, qui appelle à dénoncer l’accord qui offre aux Algériens des clauses spécifiques en matière d’immigration et de séjour en France.”Nous considérons qu’il n’y a plus rien qui justifie le maintien de cette convention”, a-t-elle insisté.”Honte au RN” qui “continue sans fin les guerres du passé”, a grondé en retour le leader Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, sur X.Le texte a été soutenu par l’alliance RN-UDR, la moitié du groupe Les Républicains et la moitié du groupe Horizons, parti d’Edouard Philippe.Le patron du PS Olivier Faure a lui fustigé le groupe macroniste. “Ils étaient où les macronistes ? Gabriel Attal absent”, a-t-il écrit sur X, à propos de l’ancien Premier ministre, à la fois patron du parti macroniste et du groupe à l’Assemblée.”Il nous a manqué une voix. Cette voix qui nous a manqué pour faire face au RN, c’est celle de Gabriel Attal”, a abondé devant les journalistes Cyrielle Chatelain, présidente du groupe écologiste.Gabriel Attal a toutefois lui-même appelé à dénoncer l’accord de 1968, en janvier, pour “poser les limites et assumer le rapport de force avec l’Algérie”, notamment à l’aune de l’arrestation de l’écrivain franco-algérien Boualem Sansal. Mais son groupe était contre le texte du RN.Le macroniste Charles Rodwell, auteur d’un récent rapport accablant contre ce même accord de 1968, avait justifié par avance un refus, au prétexte d’un supposé vide juridique qui risquerait de “provoquer un déferlement migratoire” dans l’Hexagone, analyse dénoncée par le RN.Toutefois seuls 30 députés du groupe macroniste sur 92 étaient présents pour voter contre (trois se sont abstenus). M. Attal était présent jeudi matin à un forum sur la transformation durable du tourisme.Il a cependant manqué des voix dans tous les groupes, y compris à gauche (52 députés LFI sur 72 ont participé au vote, 53 socialistes sur 69, 32 écologistes sur 38, six députés du groupe communiste et ultramarin sur 17).Douze députés MoDem ont pris part au scrutin (10 contre, deux abstentions) et trois députés Liot sur 22 (deux pour, un contre).

Gérald Darmanin a rendu visite à Nicolas Sarkozy mercredi soir à la prison de la Santé

Le ministre de la Justice, Gérald Darmanin, a rendu visite mercredi soir à Nicolas Sarkozy à la prison parisienne de la Santé, a indiqué jeudi à l’AFP une source proche du dossier.L’entrevue, qui s’est déroulée en présence du directeur de l’établissement, a eu lieu entre 19H00 et 19H45, a poursuivi cette même source, avant un échange entre le garde des Sceaux et les agents pénitentiaires sur la sécurité de l’ex-chef de l’Etat.Condamné le 25 septembre à cinq ans d’emprisonnement dans le dossier libyen pour association de malfaiteurs, Nicolas Sarkozy a été incarcéré le 21 octobre à la Santé. Cette détention d’un ancien président est une première dans l’histoire de la République.Il a depuis déposé une demande de remise en liberté, que la justice doit examiner dans les prochaines semaines.L’ancien président de la République bénéficie de la protection de deux officiers de sécurité, une mesure exceptionnelle prise “eu égard à son statut et aux menaces qui pèsent sur lui”, avait expliqué le ministre de l’Intérieur, Laurent Nuñez.Gérald Darmanin avait dit avant l’incarcération de l’ex-président son intention d’aller le visiter, afin de “s’assurer que les conditions de sécurité sont bonnes pour ce détenu au statut hors du commun”, avait expliqué son entourage.

Israel carries out deadly incursion in south Lebanon

The Israeli military on Thursday carried out a deadly raid in southern Lebanon, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions.Israel’s military confirmed the raid, saying it was operating against Hezbollah infrastructure when its forces fired on a “suspect”.Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes.Aoun instructed the military to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens”, during a meeting with the army chief, according to a statement from the presidency.Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incursion as “a flagrant aggression against Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty”.Early in the day, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli troops “stormed the Blida municipality building, where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping, and enemy soldiers proceeded to kill him”.Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed the death.An AFP journalist saw bullet holes in the walls and windows of the municipal building in Blida.In the room where Salameh had been sleeping, the floor, blankets and mattress were stained with blood, with the victim’s glasses, papers and cigarettes scattered around.Salameh had been sleeping in the building because he was on duty, said the mayor of Blida, where most houses were destroyed during last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah.Village residents cited by NNA said the raid lasted several hours, and that Israeli forces withdrew at dawn.The Israeli military said that during an operation to “dismantle Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the Blida area in southern Lebanon, the troops identified a suspect inside the structure”.It added that “an immediate threat against the troops was identified, and they fired to remove it”, noting the “incident is under review”.The military accused Hezbollah of having used the building “for terrorist activity under the guise of civilian infrastructure”.- New strike -In the nearby border village of Adaisseh, NNA reported that Israeli forces also blew up a hall for religious ceremonies at dawn.Hezbollah first began launching cross-border fire at Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, kicking off a more than year-long conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year’s ceasefire was agreed.Israel, however, has never stopped carrying out air strikes on Lebanon — usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions — and has stepped up the attacks in recent days.Its military announced another strike on Thursday, saying it targeted “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, including a launcher and tunnel shaft in the area of Mahmudiyah in southern Lebanon”.On Tuesday, the spokesman for the UN rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect.Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the Iran-backed group.On Wednesday, during a meeting of the ceasefire’s monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year”.The Lebanese army “must now fully implement its plan”, she added.