L’ouragan Erin se renforce à nouveau à l’approche des Bahamas

L’ouragan Erin s’est de nouveau renforcé dimanche soir, en catégorie 4, à l’approche des Bahamas, dans les Caraïbes déjà touchées par des vents violents et de fortes pluies avec un risque de crues et de glissements de terrain, selon les services météorologiques américains.A Porto Rico, territoire américain meurtri et dévasté en 2017 par l’ouragan Maria, plus de 150.000 habitants sont privés de courant à cause d’Erin.  Le premier ouragan de la saison au-dessus de l’Atlantique nord s’est renforcé samedi jusqu’à atteindre la catégorie maximale 5, qualifiée de “catastrophique” par le centre américain des ouragans (NHC), avant que la vitesse des vents ne diminue et qu’il soit rétrogradé en catégorie 3.Mais dimanche soir vers 23H00 (03H00 GMT), le NHC a écrit qu’Erin s’était “de nouveau renforcé en ouragan de catégorie 4”, mettant en garde contre “des vagues et des courants potentiellement mortels sur la côte Est”.Il se situait à environ 205 kilomètres de l’île Grand-Turk, dans les Turques-et-Caïques, soufflant des vents mesurés à 215 km/h au maximum.”L’oeil d’Erin devrait passer à l’est et au nord-est” de cet archipel, et au “sud-est des Bahamas dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi”, a encore prévenu le NHC dans son dernier bulletin.- Intensification rapide -Plus tôt samedi, les vents avaient atteint 255 km/h.”Des fluctuations d’intensité sont attendues dans les prochains jours en raison de changements dans la structure interne du système. Erin devient un système plus vaste”, a expliqué le NHC, organisation spécialisée dans les ouragans basée à Miami qui, comme d’autres services météo américains, a subi des coupes budgétaires imposées par l’administration de Donald Trump.L’ouragan Erin avait atteint le niveau maximal de l’échelle de Saffir-Simpson un peu plus de 24 heures après avoir été classé en catégorie 1 — une intensification rapide que les scientifiques associent de plus en plus au réchauffement climatique.Il pourrait déverser jusqu’à 200 millimètres de pluie sur certaines zones isolées, selon le NHC, mettant en garde contre des “inondations importantes, ainsi que des glissements de terrain ou coulées de boue”.A Porto Rico, peuplé de plus de 3,2 millions d’habitants, “près de 155,000 clients sont privés de courant”, a annoncé sur X la compagnie d’électricité locale Luma.À Luquillo, une ville côtière de Porto Rico, des surfeurs ont profité des vagues tandis que les promeneurs flânaient sur la plage sous un ciel couvert, samedi, avant l’arrivée de la tempête, selon des images diffusées par l’AFP.Les houles générées par Erin affectent une partie des îles du nord des Petites Antilles, des Îles Vierges américaines et britanniques, de Porto Rico, de l’île d’Hispaniola, que se partagent Haïti et la République dominicaine, ainsi que des îles Turques-et-Caïques.Elles s’étendront ensuite en début de semaine aux Bahamas, aux Bermudes et à la côte est et sud-est des Etats-Unis.Si Erin devrait rester assez loin des côtes américaines, il pourrait néanmoins entraîner d’importantes vagues et une érosion côtière, notamment en Caroline du Nord, dans le sud-est.La saison des ouragans, qui s’étire de début juin à fin novembre, devrait cette année être plus intense que la normale, selon les prévisions des autorités météorologiques américaines.En 2024, la région a été marquée par plusieurs tempêtes très puissantes et meurtrières, parmi lesquelles l’ouragan Hélène qui a fait plus de 200 morts dans le sud-est des Etats-Unis.En réchauffant les mers, le changement climatique rend plus probable l’intensification rapide des tempêtes et augmente le risque de phénomènes plus puissants, selon les scientifiques.burs-nr/pno/tmt/sw

Hurricane Erin restrengthens as it lashes Caribbean with rain

Hurricane Erin restrengthened into a Category 4 storm late Sunday, with forecasters warning it is expected to intensify and grow in size in the coming days as it lashes Caribbean islands with heavy rains that could cause flash floods and landslides.The first hurricane of what is expected to be a particularly intense Atlantic season, Erin briefly strengthened into a “catastrophic” Category 5 storm before its wind speeds weakened.Forecasters do not currently expect it to make landfall along its expected course, but tropical storm warnings are in effect for the southeast Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.Hurricane Erin was located about 130 miles (205 kilometers) east of Grand Turk Island at 11:00 pm Atlantic Standard Time (Monday 0300 GMT), with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).”The core of Erin is expected to pass to the east and northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas overnight into Monday,” the NHC said in its latest report.The North Carolina Outer Banks, Bermuda and the central Bahamas were advised to monitor Erin’s progress.Hurricane Erin had reached the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale just over 24 hours after becoming a Category 1 storm, a rapid intensification that scientists say has become more common due to global warming.It could drench isolated areas with as much as six inches (15 centimeters) of rain, the NHC said.”Some additional strengthening is expected over the next 12 hours followed by gradual weakening,” the agency said.”However, Erin is forecast to continue increasing in size and will remain a large and dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” it added.The NHC also warned of “locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides.”- Climate hazard -In San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, fishermen cast their rods into the storm-swollen waters of a local river on Sunday, AFP images showed.Earlier last weekend, surfers rode the swells along the island’s coast before the storm approached.Areas of Puerto Rico — a US territory home to more than three million people — saw flooded roads and homes. Swells generated by Erin will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the US and Canadian east coast in the coming days, creating “life-threatening surf and rip currents,” the NHC said.While meteorologists have expressed confidence that Erin will remain well off the United States coast, they said the storm could still cause dangerous waves and erosion in places such as North Carolina.The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June until late November, is expected to be more intense than normal, US meteorologists predict.Several powerful storms wreaked havoc in the region last year, including Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people in the southeastern United States.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — which operates the NHC — has been subject to budget cuts and layoffs as part of US President Donald Trump’s plans to greatly reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, leading to fears of lapses in storm forecasting.Human-driven climate change — namely, rising sea temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels — has increased both the possibility of the development of more intense storms and their more rapid intensification, scientists say.

Singapore key exports slip in July as US shipments tumble 42.7 pct

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports slipped 4.6 percent in July from a year earlier, government data showed Monday, as shipments to the United States plunged by more than 40 percent.Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is heavily reliant on international trade and is vulnerable to any global slowdown induced by the tariffs — even if Singapore only faces a baseline 10 percent levy from US President Donald Trump. On August 6, Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on chips from firms that do not invest in the United States, and threatened levies of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports.  The 42.7 percent July contraction in main exports to the US — Singapore’s biggest market — was largely caused by a 93.5 percent decline in pharmaceutical shipments, the government body Enterprise Singapore said on Monday. Meanwhile, exports of specialised machinery dropped 45.8 percent and food preparations were down 48.8 percent. Non-oil domestic shipments to China and Indonesia also declined in July, but grew to the EU, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.The city-state last Tuesday raised its 2025 economic growth forecast, but warned the outlook for the rest of the year remains clouded by global uncertainty, in part due to US tariffs. The trade ministry lifted its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 1.5-2.5 percent from an earlier range of 0-2.0 percent.   Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday said that he took “little comfort” from the 10 percent baseline tariff rate the US imposed on Singapore. “Because no one knows if, or when, the US might raise the baseline, or set higher tariffs on specific industries like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors,” he said in a National Day speech. “What we do know is that there will be more trade barriers in the world. That means small and open economies like us will feel the squeeze,” Wong added. 

Zelensky, European leaders head to US for talks on peace deal terms

US President Donald Trump said reclaiming Crimea or entering NATO were off the table for Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for Monday talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.Zelensky, who has repeatedly rejected territorial concessions, will meet Trump in Washington on Monday, accompanied by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and other leaders.The meeting comes on the heels of a summit between Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, which failed to yield a ceasefire breakthrough but produced promises from both leaders to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine.Zelensky was not invited to the Alaska meeting, after which Trump pivoted to the long-held Russian position that a ceasefire was not needed before a final peace deal.”President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump posted on his social media platform. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one before being joined by a cohort of European leaders on Monday, according to the White House schedule.Along with von der Leyen, NATO chief Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany and Italy will be present.It will be the first time Zelensky visits Washington since a bust-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February when the two men berated the Ukrainian leader for being “ungrateful.”On Sunday night, after arriving in Washington, Zelensky said: “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.”- Security guarantees -Since the Oval Office row in February, Trump has grown more critical of Putin and shown some signs of frustration as Russia repeatedly stalled on peace talks.But Washington has not placed extra sanctions on Moscow and the lavish welcome offered to Putin in Alaska on his first visit to the West since he invaded Ukraine in 2022 was seen as a diplomatic coup for Russia.Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his visit to the United States, Zelensky said he was keen to hear more about what Putin and Trump discussed in Alaska.He also hailed Washington’s offer of security guarantees to Ukraine as “historic.”Trump said he spoke to Putin about the possibility of a NATO-style collective defense guarantee for Ukraine.The promise would be outside of the framework of the Western military alliance that Ukraine wants to join and which is seen as an existential threat by Russia.French President Emmanuel Macron said European leaders would ask Trump “to what extent” Washington is ready to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine.- Discussion on land -Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made “some concessions” regarding five Ukrainian regions that Russia fully or partially controls, and said that “there is an important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there.”That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,” he said, without giving details.Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following a sham referendum and did the same in 2022 for four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia — even though its forces have not fully captured them.A source briefed on a phone call between Trump and European leaders on Saturday told AFP that the US leader was “inclined to support” a Russian demand to be given territory it has not yet captured in the Donbas, an area that includes the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and which has seen the deadliest battles of the war.In exchange, the source cited Trump as saying, Moscow would agree to “freeze” the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory but not the regional capitals.Russia has until now insisted that Ukraine pull its forces out of all four regions as a precondition to any deal.- ‘Capitulation’ -There is concern in Europe that Washington could pressure Ukraine to accept Russia’s terms.”For peace to prevail, pressure must be applied to the aggressor, not the victim of aggression,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Sunday.Macron said: “There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia.”Zelensky has repeatedly pushed back against ceding territory, but said he is ready to discuss the issue in the context of a trilateral summit with Trump and Putin.Trump has raised the possibility of such a meeting, but Russia has played down the prospect.Moscow’s forces have been advancing gradually but steadily in Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region.Russian attacks on Kharkiv killed three people and wounded dozens more, Ukrainian authorities said Monday, while a separate overnight attack on the Sumy region near the border wounded two others. 

Australie: Qantas condamnée à verser 50 millions d’euros pour licenciements illégaux durant la pandémie

Un tribunal australien a condamné lundi la compagnie aérienne Qantas à verser 50 millions d’euros en raison du licenciement jugé illégal de quelque 1.800 membres de son personnel au sol durant la pandémie de Covid.Le juge de la Cour fédérale Michael Lee a déclaré que cette décision avait vocation à constituer une “véritable dissuasion” pour les employeurs qui seraient tentés d’enfreindre le droit du travail.Sur ces 50 millions d’euros, 28 millions iront au Syndicat des travailleurs des transports. Les 22 autres millions seront destinés à des paiements futurs aux anciens employés de Qantas.Cette décision met un terme à une bataille judiciaire de plusieurs années entre les syndicats et la compagnie aérienne.Qantas avait décidé de renvoyer ces travailleurs et de faire appel à la sous-traitance en août 2020, alors que le secteur du transport aérien faisait face aux fermetures généralisées de frontières et aux mesures de confinement face au Covid, pour lequel aucun vaccin n’avait encore été mis au point.La Cour fédérale avait déjà jugé que Qantas avait agi illégalement puisqu’elle avait empêché les membres de son personnel à exercer leurs droits à mener une négociation collective et faire grève. La Cour avait ensuite rejeté l’appel de l’entreprise.Ces 50 millions d’euros s’ajoutent à quelque 67 millions d’euros d’indemnisation que Qantas avait accepté l’an dernier de débourser à l’attention de ses anciens employés.La compagnie vieille de 104 ans, surnommée l'”Esprit de l’Australie”, cherche à se refaire une réputation, après ces licenciements massifs, l’augmentation de ses prix, des critiques négatives quant à la qualité de ses services ou encore la vente de billets sur des vols pourtant annulés.Sa directrice générale Vanessa Hudson, qui a pris ses fonctions en 2023, a promis une amélioration de la satisfaction de la clientèle.Dans un communiqué, Qantas a annoncé qu’elle paierait les 50 millions d’euros demandés par la Cour fédérale. “La décision d’externalisation d’il y a cinq ans, en particulier à une époque pleine d’incertitudes, a provoqué de véritables difficultés chez nombre de nos anciens collègues et leurs familles”, a décrit Mme Hudson dans ce communiqué. “Nous présentons nos excuses les plus sincères à chacun des 1.820 employés de manutention”, a-t-elle ajouté.Après “cinq longues années, aujourd’hui est un jour de victoire, non seulement pour nos collègues mais aussi pour tous les travailleurs australiens”, s’est réjouie Anne Guirguis, qui a nettoyé des avions de la compagnie pendant 27 ans avant d’être renvoyée.”Nous pouvons refermer ce chapitre et passer maintenant à autre chose”, a-t-elle déclaré à la presse à l’extérieur du tribunal.Le secrétaire national du Syndicat des travailleurs des transports, Michael Kaine, a applaudi la décision, une “victoire définitive” pour les ex-travailleurs de la compagnie, dont “beaucoup ont découvert par un haut-parleur dans la salle de déjeuner qu’ils avaient perdu leur emploi”, a affirmé M. Kaine.

Tourism deal puts one of Egypt’s last wild shores at riskMon, 18 Aug 2025 03:22:51 GMT

In Egypt’s Wadi al-Gemal, where swimmers share a glistening bay with sea turtles, a shadowy tourism deal is threatening one of the Red Sea’s last wild shores.Off Ras Hankorab, the endangered green turtles weave between coral gardens that marine biologists call among the most resilient to climate change in the world.By night in nesting season, …

Tourism deal puts one of Egypt’s last wild shores at riskMon, 18 Aug 2025 03:22:51 GMT Read More »

Tourism deal puts one of Egypt’s last wild shores at risk

In Egypt’s Wadi al-Gemal, where swimmers share a glistening bay with sea turtles, a shadowy tourism deal is threatening one of the Red Sea’s last wild shores.Off Ras Hankorab, the endangered green turtles weave between coral gardens that marine biologists call among the most resilient to climate change in the world.By night in nesting season, they crawl ashore under the Milky Way’s glow, undisturbed by artificial lights.So when excavators rolled onto the sand in March, reserve staff and conservationists sounded the alarm.Thousands signed a petition to “Save Hankorab” after discovering a contract between an unnamed government entity and an investment company to build a resort.The environment ministry — which has jurisdiction over the park — protested, construction was halted and the machinery quietly removed.But months later, parliamentary requests for details have gone unanswered, and insiders say the plans remain alive.”Only certain kinds of tourism development work for a beach like this,” said Mahmoud Hanafy, a marine biology professor and scientific adviser to the Red Sea governorate.”Noise, lights, heavy human activity — they could destroy the ecosystem.”Hankorab sits inside Wadi al-Gemal National Park, declared a protected area in 2003.- Coastal expansion -The UN Development Programme (UNDP) describes it as home to “some of the last undisturbed natural beaches on the Southern Red Sea coast” — an area now caught between environmental protection and Egypt’s urgent push for investment.Egypt, mired in its worst economic crisis in decades, is betting big on its 3,000 kilometres of coastline as a revenue source.A $35-billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop Ras al-Hekma on the Mediterranean set the tone, and similar proposals for the Red Sea have followed.In June, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi allocated 174,400 square kilometres (67,300 square miles)of Red Sea land to the finance ministry to help cut public debt.The Red Sea — where tourism is the main employer — is key to Cairo’s plan to attract 30 million visitors by 2028, double today’s numbers.Yet the UNDP warned as early as 2019 that Egyptian tourism growth had “largely been at the expense of the environment”.Since then, luxury resorts and gated compounds have spread along hundreds of kilometres, displacing communities and damaging fragile habitats.”The goal is to make as much money as possible from developing these reserves, which means destroying them,” said environmental lawyer Ahmed al-Seidi.”It also violates the legal obligations of the nature reserves law.”- Legal limbo -At Hankorab, Hanafy says the core problem is legal.”The company signed a contract with a government entity other than the one managing the reserve,” he said.If true, Seidi says, the deal is “null and void”.When construction was reported in March, MP Maha Abdel Nasser sought answers from the environment ministry and the prime minister -— but got none.At a subsequent meeting, officials could not identify the company behind the project, and no environmental impact report was produced.Construction is still halted, “which is reassuring, at least for now”, Abdel Nasser said. “But there are no guarantees about the future.”For now, the most visible change is a newly built gate marked “Ras Hankorab” in Latin letters.Entry now costs 300 Egyptian pounds ($6) — five times more than before — with tickets that do not name the issuing authority.An employee who started in March recalls that before the project there were “only a few umbrellas and unusable bathrooms”.Today, there are new toilets, towels and sun loungers, with a cafe and restaurant promised soon.The legal and environmental uncertainty remains, leaving Hankorab’s future — and the management of one of Egypt’s last undisturbed Red Sea beaches — unresolved.

Australian court fines Qantas US$59 million for illegal layoffs

An Australian court fined Qantas Aus$90 million (US$59 million) on Monday for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, ending a five-year legal battle over the workers’ rights.Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said he wanted the penalty to be a “real deterrence” to firms that might be tempted by the financial rewards of breaching employment law.Qantas decided to sack the workers and outsource their jobs in August 2020, a period of lockdowns and border closures when no Covid-19 vaccine was widely available.Australia’s Federal Court subsequently found that Qantas had acted illegally despite its stated “commercial imperatives” because it prevented staff from accessing their rights to collectively bargain or take industrial action.It later dismissed an appeal by the airline.Long-dubbed the “Spirit of Australia”, 104-year-old Qantas has been on a mission to repair its reputation, which was hit in recent years by the illegal sackings, soaring ticket prices, claims of sloppy service, and the selling of seats on already-cancelled flights.Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson took over in 2023, promising to improve customer satisfaction. She replaced Alan Joyce, who stepped down earlier than planned as Qantas endured criticism over its treatment of workers and passengers, despite delivering bumper profits for shareholders.- ‘We sincerely apologise’ -Qantas said it accepted the penalty.”The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families,” Hudson said.”We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result,” she said in a statement.Qantas had worked for 18 months to change the way it works and “rebuild trust”, the airline boss said.”This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost.”Qantas’ fine is to be paid in two parts, the court said, with Aus$50 million going to the Transport Workers Union and Aus$40 million being held for future payments to the former workers.The penalty is in addition to a compensation payment of Aus$120 million for affected former employees that Qantas agreed to last year.”It has been five long years. Today is a victory, not just for our colleagues but for all Australian workers,” said Anne Guirguis, who worked at Qantas for 27 years cleaning aircraft before being laid off.”We can close this chapter and move on now,” Guirguis told reporters outside court. Transport Workers’ Union National Secretary Michael Kaine described Monday’s decision as a “final win” for the Qantas workers.”Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they’d lost their jobs over a loudspeaker in the lunch room,” Kaine said.”Qantas is only sorry now that it has to pay the largest penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history.”