Trump says US talks with Iran ‘very good’, more negotiations expected

US President Donald Trump said that Washington had “very good talks” on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman, pledging another round of negotiations next week.Iran for its part said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a “positive atmosphere” during a day of talks in the Gulf sultanate.With an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, US and Iranian delegations held talks in Muscat on Friday mediated by Oman without publicly meeting face-to-face.”We likewise had very good talks on Iran,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We’re going to meet again early next week,” he added.Shortly after the talks concluded, the US announced new sanctions against shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.Trump also signed an executive order Friday enabling his administration to impose tariffs on goods from countries doing business with Iran, with any potential levies threatening trade with countries including China, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. It was not clear if the moves were linked to the talks, which were the first between the two foes since the United States joined Israel’s war with Iran in June with strikes on its nuclear sites. While Iran warned against further threats after Washington raised the spectre of new military action, Trump said: “If they don’t make a deal, the consequences are very steep.”Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Iran’s delegation in Muscat, said talks “focused exclusively” on the Iranian nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb but Tehran insists is peaceful.The US delegation, led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s influential son-in-law Jared Kushner, had also wanted Tehran’s backing for militant groups, its ballistic missile program and treatment of protesters on the agenda.”In a very positive atmosphere, our arguments were exchanged and the views of the other side were shared with us,” Araghchi told Iranian state TV, adding that the two sides had “agreed to continue negotiations.”Speaking to the official IRNA news agency, Araghchi expressed hope that Washington would refrain from “threats and pressure” so that “the talks can continue.”- ‘Destabilising power’ -Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, was present at the talks, according to images published by the Oman News Agency.Multiple sessions of talks in the morning and afternoon involved both sides shuttling to and from the residence of Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.The foreign ministry of US ally Qatar expressed hope the talks would “lead to a comprehensive agreement that serves the interests of both parties and enhances security and stability in the region.”The White House has made clear it wants the talks to rein in Tehran’s ability to make a nuclear weapon, an ambition the Islamic republic has always denied.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that Iran should stop being a “destabilising power,” citing its nuclear program and support for “terrorist” groups.Barrot also called on “groups supported by Iran” to exert “the utmost restraint” in the event of any military escalation involving the Islamic republic.Tehran provides support for numerous groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and various armed groups in Iraq.- ‘Maximum pressure’ -Trump initially threatened military action against Tehran over its crackdown on protesters last month, which rights groups say killed thousands, and even told demonstrators “help is on its way”.Regional powers including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged the United States not to intervene, calling on Washington and Tehran to instead return to talks.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Friday it has confirmed 6,505 protesters were killed, as well as 214 members of the security forces and 61 bystanders.Those numbers are expected to climb because the magnitude of the crackdown has been masked by the blanket internet shutdown imposed by the authorities for more than a fortnight, rights groups say. At 51,000 people have been arrested amid “the growing use of forced confessions,” according to HRANA.Trump’s rhetoric in recent days, however, has focused on reining in the Iranian nuclear program and the US has moved a naval group led by aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln into the region.Iran has repeatedly vowed it will hit back at US bases in the region if attacked.The new sanctions to curb Iran’s oil exports come with Trump “committed to driving down the Iranian regime’s illicit oil and petrochemical exports under the administration’s maximum pressure campaign,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

L1: avec un nouveau mercato malin, Lens affirme ses ambitions européennes

En attirant Amadou Haidara, Arthur Masuaku et Allan Saint-Maximin cet hiver, Lens a encore réussi un mercato malin, à la hauteur de ses ambitions européennes, qu’il lui faudra confirmer à domicile contre Rennes samedi (17h00) lors de la 21e journée de Ligue 1.En été comme en hiver, le club du bassin minier est dans tous les bons coups, en coulisses. Derrière le recrutement clinquant du champion du monde Florian Thauvin, il y a eu le bon coup Matthieu Udol, puis les paris Robin Risser, Samson Baidoo et Mamadou Sangaré, à l’intersaison.Ces dernières semaines, ce sont Amadou Haidara, milieu de terrain référencé et très courtisé en Europe il y a quelques saisons, le défenseur gauche Arthur Masuaku, passé par le club dans sa jeunesse, et l’ailier virevoltant Allan Saint-Maximin qui ont renforcé Lens, deuxième (46 points) et qualifié en quarts de finale de la Coupe de France.De quoi réaffirmer l’ambition européenne qui se murmure de plus en plus à La Gaillette, avant la venue au stade Bollaert de Rennes (sixième, 31 pts), qui reste sur trois lourdes défaites toutes compétitions confondues.- Lens “sait draguer les joueurs” -La réorganisation de la direction l’été dernier, avec la promotion de Benjamin Parrot en tant que directeur général et Jean-Louis Leca comme directeur sportif, porte ses fruits. Au point d’impressionner Florian Thauvin: “On ne parle même pas d’une réussite mais d’une explosion, c’est extraordinaire. Cela démontre qu’ils ont une connaissance du milieu, qu’ils savent draguer les joueurs”.À deux points du Paris Saint-Germain, en tête, les Lensois sont même, en l’état, dans la course pour le titre, mais pas dans le discours. Leur matelas de sept points devant Marseille (troisième) et Lyon (quatrième) les autorise plus raisonnablement à penser à la Ligue des champions.”Les recrues nous amènent beaucoup de qualités au quotidien, ça pousse le groupe à en faire encore plus, commente Florian Sotoca. Personne n’est installé dans le onze de départ, (…) c’est bien parce que ça pousse tout le monde a faire des efforts, les uns pour les autres. (…) Tant qu’on gardera cet état d’esprit, on pourra aller loin.”Le capitaine et acteur majeur du succès lensois à Troyes (4-2), mercredi en huitième de finale de la Coupe de France, a été témoin des premières minutes des trois recrues.Titulaire au milieu de terrain, Amadou Haidara a éclairé le jeu lensois par moments, mais a aussi eu du déchet technique avant de sortir à la mi-temps car Pierre Sage voulait le faire débuter “crescendo”.Par la suite, Allan Saint-Maximin a fait admirer sa vitesse et sa technique quand il est entré à l’heure de jeu, offrant même plusieurs occasions nettes à ses coéquipiers, tandis qu’Arthur Masuaku, placé au milieu de terrain pour dépanner, a été sobre.- Saint-Maximin, dribbleur béni -Mais ces trois arrivées vont de toute façon aider les Sang et Or, selon Sage: “Ce qu’on attend d’Arthur, c’est qu’il soit en soutien de cette ligne” défensive, commente l’entraîneur, privé, ces derniers temps, de Samson Baidoo, qui devrait faire son retour contre Rennes et pour toute la deuxième partie de saison, de Jonathan Gradit.Selon le Jurassien, Amadou Haidara, qui “assure un équilibre et sert de soutien pour orienter le jeu”, “amène une solution supplémentaire notamment face à des blocs bas”, et va “devoir jouer un rôle”.En attaque, l’apport de Saint-Maximin, dribbleur créatif et imprévisible, semble évident: “On cherchait un joueur qui pouvait nous amener quelque chose qu’on n’avait pas tout le temps: (…) éliminer des adversaires dans des tout petits espaces. Mais on s’est rendu compte qu’en transition, il était très performant aussi”.L’ailier de 28 ans avait besoin d’un point de chute après son départ précipité du Club America, au Mexique, où il a dénoncé des discriminations raciales subies par ses enfants. Un appel avec son ancien coéquipier à Bastia Jean-Louis Leca, aujourd’hui directeur sportif des Artésiens, l’a rapidement convaincu. Avec à la clé, une quête d’Europe.

Trump administration re-approves twice-banned pesticide

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday re-approved the use of pesticide dicamba for spraying on top of genetically modified cotton and soybean crops, drawing swift backlash from environmental groups and the Make America Healthy Again movement.The move comes despite federal courts in 2020 and 2024 striking down the Environmental Protection Agency’s previous approvals of the contentious weedkiller. “This decision responds directly to the strong advocacy of America’s cotton and soybean farmers, particularly growers across the Cotton Belt, who have been clear and consistent about the critical challenges they face without access to this tool for controlling resistant weeds in their growing crop,” the EPA said in a statement.A persistent concern about dicamba is “drift”: when the chemical volatilizes in high heat it can spread for miles, poisoning other farms, home gardens as well as trees and plants.The 2020 court ruling that first overturned dicamba’s approval found it caused damage across millions of acres and “has torn apart the social fabric of many farming communities.”The EPA acknowledged this concern as real but said that by imposing certain restrictions, such as reducing the amount used and avoiding application in higher temperatures, it was safe.Agricultural industry giant Bayer, which acquired dicamba when it bought Monsanto, welcomed the news and said the chemical would be marketed under the name “Stryax.””With a federal registration in hand, we’ll begin the process of seeking state approvals,” said Ty Witten, the company’s vice president of commercial stewardship, in a statement.”In the coming weeks, we’ll launch applicator training opportunities, and stewardship education to help ensure that growers and applicators have the best experience possible with Stryax herbicide.”- Lobbyists turned regulators -Environmental advocates dismissed the safeguards as insufficient — pointing out, for example, the new approval allowed year-round use, including in the hottest summer months.”They’re clearly looking out for the interests of polluting companies much more than the interests of the public, and this is because this office is being run by former industry lobbyists,” Nathan Donley, environmental health science director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told AFP. Kyle Kunkler, a former lobbyist for the American Soybean Association, is now the deputy assistant administrator for pesticides in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.The decision also rattled MAHA activists — supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kelly Ryerson, who last year started a petition calling for EPA administrator Lee Zeldin to resign over pesticide approvals, told AFP she was “very disappointed.””This is clearly the work of the chemical lobbyists who now are staffed throughout the EPA and are not aligned with the MAHA movement or with President Trump’s mandate,” she said.Alexandra Munoz, a molecular toxicologist who works at times with the MAHA movement, also cricitized the move. “EPA’s approval for over-the-top application of dicamba will result in poisonous drift that will damage American farmland, moving us farther away from a future where regenerative agriculture can thrive.” “This decision is not what is needed to make America healthy again,” she told AFP. 

Terror at Friday prayers: witnesses describe blast rocking Islamabad mosque

A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an “extremely powerful” explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.Muhammad Kazim, 52, told AFP he arrived at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque shortly after 1:00 pm (0800 GMT) on Friday and took up a place around seven or eight rows from the Imam.”During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, where many of the wounded were brought for treatment.”And while we were still in the bowing position, an explosion occurred,” he said.Kazim, who is from Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan and lives in Islamabad, escaped unharmed, but accompanied his wounded friend to the PIMS hospital for treatment.”It was unclear whether it was a suicide bombing, but the explosion was extremely powerful and caused numerous casualties,” Kazim said.”Debris fell from the roof, and windows were shattered,” he added. “When I got outside, many bodies were scattered… Many people lost their lives.”The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, described a gunfight between the suicide bomber, a possible accomplice and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.”The suicide attacker was trying to move forward, but one of our injured volunteers fired at him from behind, hitting him in the thigh,” Mahmood, in his fifties, told AFP.”He fell but got up again. Another man accompanying him opened fire on our volunteers,” he said, adding the attacker “then jumped onto the gate and detonated the explosives”.As of Saturday morning, the death toll stood at 31, with at least 169 wounded.The attack was the deadliest in the Pakistani capital since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.- Lax security -Describing the aftermath of the attack, Kazim said unhurt worshippers went to the aid of those wounded.”People tried to help on their own, carrying two or three bodies in the trunks of their vehicles, while ambulances arrived about 20 to 25 minutes later,” he told AFP. “No one was allowed near the mosque afterwards.”Kazim, who has performed Friday prayers at the mosque “for the past three to four weeks”, said security had been lax.”I have never seen proper security in place,” he told AFP.”Volunteers manage security on their own, but they lack the necessary equipment to do it effectively,” he said.”Shiite mosques are always under threat, and the government should take this seriously and provide adequate security,” he added.

Trump reinstates commercial fishing in protected Atlantic waters

US President Donald Trump on Friday issued a proclamation reopening commercial fishing in protected waters off the Atlantic coast, in a region renowned for its rich biodiversity.The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument spans nearly 5,000 square miles — larger than Yellowstone National Park.Long a focus of scientific interest, the monument lies about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and was established in 2016 by former Democratic president Barack Obama, who warned it was threatened by overfishing and climate change.In a familiar political yo-yo, Republican Trump reopened the monument to commercial fishing during his first term, only for the decision to be reversed by Democratic successor Joe Biden. Biden’s administration cited the monument as part of its pledge to conserve 30 percent of US land and waters by 2030.Explaining the latest reversal, Trump’s proclamation said the plants and animals in question were already protected under existing laws, making a ban on commercial fishing unnecessary.The move, expected since last year, was welcomed by the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA).”For decades, overregulation has stopped fishermen from making a living and putting wild, heart-healthy, American-caught products on store shelves. NEFSA is pleased that the Trump administration is committed to making America’s natural resources available to all Americans,” said NEFSA CEO Jerry Leeman in a statement last May.Conservation groups, however, pushed back.During an aerial survey last August, the New England Aquarium documented more than 1,000 marine animals in the area, including an endangered fin whale and calf, an endangered sperm whale, pilot whales, and a wide array of other whales, dolphins and rays.”This Monument supports amazing species from the seafloor to the sea surface, and we see evidence of that during every aerial survey,” said Jessica Redfern, of the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.”Removing protections for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument puts these species at risk.”

IS claims suicide blast at Islamabad mosque that killed at least 31

A suicide blast claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad killed at least 31 people on Friday, with 169 more wounded in the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.City officials said 31 people died in the explosion at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai area on the city’s outskirts, with scores more being treated for injuries. The death toll was expected to rise further.The blast occurred at Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers. “The attacker was stopped at the gate and detonated himself,” a security source told AFP.IS said one of its militants had targeted the congregation, detonating an explosive vest and “inflicting a large number of deaths and injuries”, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.Muhammad Kazim, a 52-year-old worshipper, said an “extremely powerful” explosion ripped through the building as prayers were just starting.”During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP. “And while we were still in the bowing position, an explosion occurred,” he said.Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, told AFP there was a gunfight between the bomber, a possible accomplice and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.”The suicide attacker was trying to move forward, but one of our injured volunteers fired at him from behind, hitting him in the thigh,” he told AFP.He then “detonated the explosives”, Mahmood, in his fifties, added.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed that those behind the blast would be found and brought to justice.The attack was the deadliest in the Pakistani capital since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.- Bodies, bloodied clothing, debris -AFP journalists at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital saw several people, including children, being carried in on stretchers or by their arms and legs.Medics and bystanders helped unload victims with blood-soaked clothes from the back of ambulances and vehicles. At least one casualty arrived in the boot of a car.Friends and relatives of the wounded wept and screamed as victims — dead or alive — arrived at the hospital’s heavily guarded emergency ward.Another team of AFP journalists saw armed security forces outside the mosque, where pools of blood were visible on the ground.Yellow crime-scene tape surrounded an investigation area, with shoes, clothing and broken glass scattered around the site.Videos shared on social media, which AFP was not able to verify immediately, showed several bodies lying near the mosque’s front gate, with people and debris also strewn across the red-carpeted prayer hall.Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar branded the attack “a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles”.”Pakistan stands united against terrorism in all its forms,” he said in a post on X.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable”, according to his spokesman.- Growing insurgencies -The attack comes as Pakistan’s security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in southern and northern provinces that border Afghanistan.Pakistan is a Sunni-majority nation, but Shiites make up between 10 and 15 percent of the population and have been targeted in attacks throughout the region in the past.Islamabad has said separatist armed groups in southern Balochistan, and the Pakistani Taliban and other Islamist militants in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near Islamabad, have used Afghan territory as a safe haven from which to launch attacks.Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly denied Pakistan’s accusations.Bilateral relations have plummeted, with forces from both sides regularly clashing along the border.The last major attack in Islamabad took place in November when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people and wounded dozens, the first such incident to hit the capital in nearly three years.In Balochistan, attacks claimed by separatist insurgents last week killed 36 civilians and 22 security personnel, prompting a wave of counter-operations in which authorities said security forces killed almost 200 militants.

Ligue 1: encore maladroit, Lille n’avance pas à Metz (0-0)

Toujours aussi brouillon en attaque, Lille n’est pas parvenu à battre Metz (0-0), dernier de Ligue 1, et reste embourbé dans la crise, au terme du premier match de la 21e journée, au stade Saint-Symphorien.Le Losc est toujours cinquième (33 points) mais risque de voir la Ligue des champions s’éloigner un peu plus au terme de ce week-end de championnat.L’occasion de se rassurer était pourtant belle face à la lanterne rouge (13 pts) et pire défense de Ligue 1 (46 buts encaissés), qui lui a laissé de nombreux espaces.Mais le patient nordiste est bien malade, en proie au doute qui saisit toutes les équipes engluées dans une série noire, cinq défaites, une seule victoire et un match nul en sept rencontres, en l’occurrence.Son premier mal reste l’attaque, malgré un potentiel évident. À Metz, les Nordistes ont eu de nombreuses occasions pour marquer, parfois nettes, mais ont à chaque fois manqué de précision, comme en témoigne cette statistique terrible: seize frappes, une seule cadrée.Après deux matches débutés sur le banc, Olivier Giroud a repris la pointe de l’attaque sur la pelouse de Saint-Symphorien. Mais le meilleur buteur de l’histoire des Bleus (57 buts en 137 sélections) n’a pas pesé sur la rencontre, avant de sortir à la 70e minute.Autour de lui, Matias Fernandez-Pardo et Hakon Haraldsson ont eu des occasions sans pour autant parvenir à régler la mire.- Perrin et Edjouma déjà en action -Les Dogues ont pourtant eu une série de faits de jeu à leur avantage pour commencer la rencontre dont un tacle complètement manqué d’Alexsandro (16e) pas sanctionné, et un but de Metz (18e) annulé pour un hors-jeu difficilement visible à l’œil nu.Mais ces coups du sort favorables n’ont pas présagé d’une soirée heureuse pour Lille, accablé par de nombreuses blessures depuis quelques mois (Hamza Igamane, Osame Sahraoui, Ethan Mbappé, Nabil Bentaleb, Thomas Meunier…).Une cascade de frappes non cadrées a suivi, dont deux qui auraient pu faire mouche en première période, de la part d’Hakon Haraldsson (40e) après un joli mouvement en triangle, puis de Noah Edjouma (41e), trompé par un petit rebond juste avant sa reprise.Arrivé au terme du mercato d’hiver, l’international Espoirs a été lancé d’entrée sur l’aile droite, signe d’un possible déclassement de Félix Correia. Mais il a été peu en vue au cours d’une rencontre où le jeu a souvent penché à gauche, avant sa sortie (60e). L’autre recrue, Gaëtan Perrin, est entré onze minutes plus tard, et a été à l’origine de la seule frappe cadrée lilloise, intervenue après 97 minutes de jeu.Car la maladresse lilloise a perduré au retour des vestiaires, incarnée, encore, par Haraldsson (55e, 58e), puis Giroud (59e), et Félix Correia (76e), dont la frappe a heurté un poteau.Les joueurs de Bruno Genesio auraient même pu concéder un but quand les Messins ont piqué en contre-attaques par Habib Diallo (50e), Giorgi Abuashvili (69e) et Gauthier Hein dans le temps additionnel.Ce match ne mettra pas fin aux doutes entourant le mercato hivernal lillois, conclu sans avoir recruté d’avant-centre. Ni ceux du Losc.

Dow surges above 50,000 for first time as US stocks regain mojo

The Dow surged above 50,000 points for the first time Friday, shrugging off worries connected to artificial intelligence companies while traders focused on the prospects for US growth and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.The index, the oldest of the three major US equity indices, powered to the landmark level shortly before 1930 GMT, retreated a bit below 50,000 points and then pushed even higher to close the day near session highs.It ended at 50,115.67, up more than 1,200 points, or 2.5 percent.The 50,000 mark constitutes “a nice big number,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. “What it really reflects is a market that’s broadening out and buying into the growth story.” The landmark in New York came on a mixed day for global stocks, while bitcoin and precious metals both won significant gains, extending a period of volatility across markets.US stocks had been under pressure this week, with the Nasdaq falling the last three sessions following big drops in software equities and some tech giants related to the AI push. On Friday, Amazon was the biggest loser on the Dow, falling 5.6 percent after announcing it planned $200 billion in capital spending in 2026 to build up AI capacities.While investors continue to worry Amazon and other AI “hyperscalers” may not see a sufficient return on massive investments, their plans will bolster infrastructure, banking and other sectors.Caterpillar, 3M, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Amgen and Nvidia all rose at least four percent Friday.The AI plans mean “massive amounts of money are going to be deployed and that filters out to other companies,” said O’Hare. Gina Bolvin, of Bolvin Wealth Management, said Friday’s gains showed “confidence is real” in terms of the outlook for earnings growth.”Equity investors are likely to be rewarded — but the path won’t be smooth,” Bovin said in a note. “Volatility should be expected. For investors, this is a reminder to stay intentional: lean into quality businesses with strong earnings power and be prepared for more rotation, not straight-line gains.”Earlier milestones for the Dow include when it hit 40,000 points in May 2024 and 30,000 points in November 2020.The index has risen fairly steadily for most of the last two and a half years with the exception of the period around Donald Trump’s April 2025 “Liberation Day” tariff proposals, which the president later walked back.”CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA,” Trump said in a social media post celebrating Friday’s benchmark. Elsewhere, both gold and silver rebounded after bruising drops on Thursday, joining bitcoin, which climbed back above $70,000 after dropping to around $60,000 the prior day.After steep losses Thursday, European markets all pushed higher, while Asian bourses were mixed.In company news, shares in Jeep maker Stellantis plunged over 24 percent in Paris after it warned of a 22-billion-euro ($26-billion) write-down due to misjudging the shift in demand to electric vehicles.Stellantis shares are now down around 80 percent over the past two years.Meanwhile, shares in British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto finished flat in Sydney after it dropped merger talks with Swiss resources firm Glencore. The deal would have created the world’s biggest mining firm, worth about $260 billion.Rio Tinto’s London-listed stock edged 0.3 percent higher on Friday, while Glencore climbed 1.5 percent, clawing back some of the previous day’s losses.Toyota jumped two percent in Tokyo after hiking profit and sales forecasts for the current fiscal year despite the impact of US tariffs.- Key figures at around 2115 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 2.5 percent at 50,115.67 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 2.0 percent at 6,932.30 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.2 percent at 23,031.21 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,369.75 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,273.84 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 24,721.46 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 54,253.68 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 26,559.95 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,065.58 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1825 from $1.1777 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3615 from $1.3531Dollar/yen: UP at 157.09 yen from 157.04 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.82 pence from 87.04 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $63.55 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $68.05 per barrelburs-jmb/nro

US says ‘key participant’ in 2012 attack on Benghazi mission arrested

One of the “key participants” behind the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead has been arrested, officials said Friday.Attorney General Pam Bondi said the suspect, Zubayr al-Bakoush, has been brought to the United States and will face murder and other charges.”The FBI has arrested one of the key participants behind the Benghazi attack,” Bondi said at a press conference. “Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil.”The Justice Department said Bakoush has been charged with terrorism-related offenses, murder and arson in an eight-count indictment.FBI Director Kash Patel declined to say where Bakoush was arrested, saying only that it was “overseas.”US ambassador Chris Stevens and three American staff were killed in the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in Libya’s second-largest city — an assault blamed on an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group.Islamist militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades stormed the US compound at a time when the oil-rich North African country was torn by civil war.They set the building ablaze, killing Stevens and IT specialist Sean Smith through smoke inhalation, and then also attacked a CIA annex where two contractors died, both former Navy SEALs.According to the indictment, Bakoush was a member of Ansar al-Sharia and was among a group of more than 20 heavily armed men who launched the initial attack on the US mission in Benghazi. The assault, the first to claim the life of an American ambassador since 1979, deeply shocked the United States and caused a political storm for then-president Barack Obama’s administration.The State Department, then headed by Hillary Clinton, was accused by its political foes of deadly mistakes and negligence over the bloodshed, which came 11 years to the day after al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks.Fox News broadcast what it said was exclusive footage of Bakoush’s arrival at a military base in Virginia outside Washington.In the footage, an elderly grey-haired man struggles to descend a flight of stairs from a plane and is then placed on a stretcher, where he lies shivering.The United States has previously convicted two Libyans for involvement in the Benghazi attack.Ahmed Abu Khatallah was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2018 and Mustafa al-Imam was sentenced to nearly 20 years in 2020.