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Clashes in Sudan’s besieged Darfur city kill 57

Clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, a medical source and a volunteer aid group said Thursday.The local resistance committee, a grassroots aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes and shelling of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since April 2023.The violence came just days after the RSF killed more than 400 people in attacks on North Darfur’s capital of El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, according to the United Nations.El-Fasher, which the RSF has besieged for nearly a year, is the last major urban stronghold in Darfur still under army control.It is a strategic target for the paramilitary group, which has sought to consolidate its hold on Darfur following the army’s recapture of the capital Khartoum last month.In an earlier statement, the army put Wednesday’s death toll at 62, including 15 children ages three to 10, and dozens more wounded.It said it had repelled the “fierce” assault on the city’s east in a coordinated response with “allied armed movements, intelligence services, the police” and volunteer fighters.El-Fasher has been defended in large part by a coalition of army-allied groups known as the Joint Forces.- Hundreds of thousands flee -The war, which entered its third year on Tuesday, has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created what the UN describes as the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.It has also fractured the country essentially in two, with the army holding the centre, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and, along with its allies, parts of the south.After Friday’s major offensive in Darfur, the RSF announced that it had taken full control of Zamzam refugee camp — which is one of Sudan’s largest.Zamzam — home to about one million displaced people according to aid sources — was the first area of Sudan where famine was declared in August last year.By December, famine spread to two nearby displacement camps in Darfur as well as parts of the south, according to a UN-backed assessment.About 400,000 people were displaced from Zamzam after the RSF seized the camp, the UN’s migration agency said on Monday.In the past two weeks, an estimated 450,000 people have arrived in Tawila alone, a town about 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Zamzam, according to the local Emergency Response Room — one of hundreds across Sudan coordinating frontline aid.The newly displaced, they added, are suffering from acute shortages of food, clean drinking water and shelter materials, with barely any humanitarian aid available in the area.

Kyiv’s Europe allies seek influence with US in Paris talks

Key allies of Kyiv kicked off a day of meetings with top US officials in Paris on Thursday, as Europeans seek to promote their views on how to rekindle stalled talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine.The talks come as Donald Trump’s push to end three years of fighting has yet to bear fruit, with the US president expressing frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to a complete and unconditional truce.Top Ukrainian officials were also in the French capital to talk with European and US delegations, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US envoy Steve Witkoff and French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off a lunchtime meeting at Macron’s palace, which comes days after Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin.Earlier Thursday, Zelensky urged the allies meeting in Paris to lean on Russia to agree to a ceasefire.- ‘Pressure on the killers’ -“Russia uses every day and every night to kill. We must put pressure on the killers… to end this war and guarantee a lasting peace,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post.But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Paris meeting.”Unfortunately we see from Europeans a focus on continuing the war,” he said.Russia’s top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said certain countries were trying to “derail” Moscow’s talks with the United States.Witkoff and Rubio were later to meet Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, as well as Britain’s and Germany’s national security advisors, the French presidency said.Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, had arrived in Paris mid-morning with Rubio.Despite a series of diplomatic efforts, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine.Russian drone strikes and shelling in killed at least 10 people on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said, just days after a Russian attack killed at least 35 people in the northeastern city of Sumy.Macron has taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, both during the current conflict and in its eventual aftermath after Trump shocked the world by opening direct talks with Russia.Britain and France are spearheading discussions among a “coalition of the willing” of 30 countries looking to shore up any deal Trump might strike with a “reassurance force”.- ‘Review progress’ -On Thursday, Macron’s office said the purpose of the Paris talks was to “review progress on peace negotiations aimed at ending the Russian aggression in Ukraine”. Yermak said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga as well as Defence Minister Rustem Umerov were in Paris for the meetings.The talks were to focus on a potential full ceasefire, the involvement of international peacekeepers and the development of Ukraine’s security framework, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.The German foreign ministry said government security advisor Jens Ploetner would participate in the Paris talks.Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to “permanent peace”, after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House. Witkoff said during a Fox News interview broadcast Monday that he saw a peace deal “emerging”.Zelensky said on Wednesday that negotiators were making “good progress” with the United States in fraught talks over a minerals deal intended to secure desperately needed US support.Putin last month rejected a US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, after Kyiv gave its backing to the idea. He also suggested Zelensky be removed from office, sparking an angry response from Trump who said he was “very angry, pissed off” with the Russian leader.The Paris talks come after discussions between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme in Oman last weekend.Another round is scheduled for Saturday, in Italy.A French diplomatic source said Rubio and France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file”.burs-jh/jm

Le portrait d’un enfant palestinien amputé remporte le World Press Photo

La photo bouleversante d’un garçon palestinien de neuf ans, qui a perdu ses deux bras en fuyant une attaque israélienne à Gaza, a remporté jeudi le premier prix du World Press Photo 2025.L’image, capturée par la photographe palestinienne Samar Abu Elouf pour le New York Times, est un portrait du jeune Mahmoud Ajjour, évacué à Doha après qu’une explosion lui a arraché un bras et mutilé l’autre l’année dernière.”Travailler sur ce projet a été une expérience unique mais douloureuse”, a déclaré Mme Abu Elouf lors de la remise des prix à Amsterdam.”Les enfants palestiniens ont payé un lourd tribut aux horreurs qu’ils ont vécues. Mahmoud est l’un de ces enfants”, a ajouté la photojournaliste autodidacte.Originaire de la ville de Gaza, Mme Abu Elouf est la première photographe palestinienne à remporter le World Press Photo. Evacuée de l’enclave en décembre 2023, la photojournaliste tire le portrait de Palestiniens blessés par la guerre, installés à Doha. “L’une des choses les plus difficiles que la mère de Mahmoud m’ait expliquées, c’est que lorsque Mahmoud a réalisé que ses bras étaient amputés, la première phrase qu’il lui a dite a été : +Comment vais-je pouvoir te serrer dans mes bras+”, a déclaré la photographe. – Une photo “qui parle très fort” -“C’est une photo silencieuse, qui pourtant parle très fort. Elle raconte l’histoire d’un garçon, mais aussi d’une guerre encore plus large qui impactera les générations futures”, a déclaré Joumana El Zein Khoury, directrice exécutive de World Press Photo. Le jury a salué la “forte composition et l’attention portée à la lumière” de la photo, ainsi que son sujet qui donne à réfléchir, en particulier sur l’avenir de Mahmoud. Le garçon apprend maintenant à jouer sur son téléphone, à écrire et à ouvrir des portes avec ses pieds.”Mahmoud a un rêve très simple: il veut obtenir des prothèses et vivre sa vie comme n’importe quel autre enfant”, ont déclaré les organisateurs du concours dans un communiqué. La photographe a également attiré l’attention sur le sort incertain de son collègue, blessé lors de frappes israéliennes sur une tente de journalistes à Khan Younès le 7 avril. “Il m’est difficile de me réjouir quand l’un de mes meilleurs amis photographes à Gaza, Ihab al-Burdini, est blessé”, a-t-elle déclaré, brandissant des photos du journaliste hospitalisé.Le jury a également dévoilé les deux photos finalistes.La première, “Sécheresses en Amazonie”, prise par Musuk Nolte pour Panos Pictures et la Fondation Bertha, montre un homme sur le lit d’une rivière asséchée en Amazonie, transportant des provisions vers un village autrefois accessible en bateau. La seconde, “Traversée de nuit” de John Moore pour Getty Images, montre des migrants chinois se blottissant près d’un feu pendant une averse après avoir franchi la frontière entre les États-Unis et le Mexique. Le jury a passé au crible 59.320 photographies prises par 3.778 photojournalistes pour sélectionner les 42 clichés primés.Quatre photographes de l’Agence France-Presse ont été sélectionnés pour un prix régional.Luis Tato, à Nairobi, a remporté le prix dans la catégorie “Histoires” pour la région Afrique, avec une sélection de photos illustrant le soulèvement de la jeunesse kenyane.Jérôme Brouillet a gagné dans la catégorie “Singles” pour la région Asie-Pacifique et Océanie pour sa photo du surfeur Gabriel Medina, semblant léviter au-dessus des vagues lors des Jeux Olympiques.Clarens Siffroy a gagné dans la catégorie “Histoires” Amérique du Nord et centrale pour sa couverture de la crise des gangs en Haïti. Enfin, Anselmo Cunha a gagné dans la catégorie “Singles” pour l’Amérique du Sud pour sa photo d’un Boeing 727-200 bloqué à l’aéroport Salgado Filho au Brésil.

Etzebeth returns to Sharks lineup after concussion absenceThu, 17 Apr 2025 12:59:35 GMT

Veteran Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will return to action on Friday after four months out with injuries that included concussion, his Durban-based Sharks team announced on Thursday.The 33-year-old Etzebeth, who has a South African record 131 international caps and is a double World Cup winner, suffered a concussion in the Champions Cup at the beginning …

Etzebeth returns to Sharks lineup after concussion absenceThu, 17 Apr 2025 12:59:35 GMT Read More »

Cyclisme: le Tour femmes à cent jours d’une édition très prometteuse

Guerre commerciale : la BCE abaisse ses taux pour soutenir l’économie

La Banque centrale européenne a abaissé ses taux jeudi pour la sixième fois d’affilée, espérant contrer l’effet des tensions commerciales exacerbées avec les États-Unis qui menacent la croissance en zone euro.Le taux de dépôt, qui fait référence, a été abaissé de 25 points de base, à 2,25%, un niveau qui n’est plus jugé pénalisant pour l’économie, selon l’institution présidée par Christine Lagarde.Cette septième baisse du loyer de l’argent depuis juin 2024 intervient après l’annonce de surtaxes “réciproques” début avril par Donald Trump qui a rendu la donne économique plus incertaine.Si l’économie de la zone euro a développé “une certaine résilience face aux chocs mondiaux”, les perspectives de croissance “se sont détériorées du fait de l’intensification des tensions commerciales”, souligne le communiqué de la BCE. Ces tensions et le caractère imprévisible des décisions de Donald Trump pourraient avoir des “sévères conséquences négatives”, a averti mercredi la directrice de l’OMC, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.Dans ce contexte incertain, l’institution se garde d’anticiper ses prochaines décisions: elle va continuer à s’appuyer sur les “données” pour “déterminer, réunion par réunion”, l’orientation de la politique monétaire.Si le ralentissement du commerce mondial se confirme, les observateurs parient sur d’autres baisses de taux à suivre, certains allant jusqu’à envisager un taux de dépôt ramené à 1,75 % dans les prochains mois.- Trump chamboule tout – Depuis juin 2024, la BCE a abaissé ses taux à sept reprises, inversant un cycle de resserrement monétaire amorcé deux ans plus tôt pour lutter contre l’inflation provoquée par la guerre russe en Ukraine et ses répercussions énergétiques. Lors de leur dernière réunion en mars, les gardiens de l’euro laissaient entendre qu’ils n’excluaient pas une pause dans ce cycle de baisse des taux.Les yeux étaient alors rivés sur l’annonce du plan de relance budgétaire massif en Allemagne et sur l’augmentation des budgets militaires en Europe, laissant entrevoir une croissance et une inflation plus élevée à moyen terme.Mais le choc externe d’une guerre commerciale a rebattu les cartes, poussant la BCE à réagir sans attendre les prochaines prévisions macroéconomiques de juin.Début avril, Donald Trump a imposé des droits de douane réciproques à tous les pays – 10 % universels et jusqu’à 145 % supplémentaires sur la Chine – assortis de quelques exemptions sectorielles.Une pause de 90 jours a ensuite été décrétée pour les surtaxes supérieures à 10% sur les pays hors Chine, mais cela n’a pas suffi à rassurer les marchés.L’Europe est directement visée : le secteur automobile subit une taxe de 25%, tandis que les semi-conducteurs et les produits pharmaceutiques sont désormais sous enquête.- Inflation au second plan -Le président de la Réserve fédérale (Fed) américaine Jerome Powell a estimé mercredi que les droits de douane entraîneront “très certainement une hausse temporaire de l’inflation” aux Etats-Unis. Donald Trump a quant à lui de nouveau critiqué le patron de la Fed jeudi, estimant qu’il aurait dû baisser les taux “depuis longtemps déjà, comme la BCE”.A Francfort, siège de la BCE, les inquiétudes concernant la hausse des prix sont passées au second plan: la désinflation est “en bonne voie”, selon son communiqué, avec une inflation dans les 20 pays membres de la zone euro qui s’est établie à 2,2% en mars se rapprochant de la cible de 2%.Dans un climat chahuté, la stabilité financière redevient une priorité: le dollar fléchit face à l’euro, les rendements des bons du Trésor américain grimpent, et les marchés financiers mondiaux restent sous tension.”La BCE surveille la situation de près et reste prête à intervenir si nécessaire”, a affirmé Christine Lagarde la semaine dernière depuis Varsovie, en marge d’une réunion des ministres des Finances de la zone euro. Un système financier sous tension – banques fragilisées, marchés chahutés – peut rapidement enrayer l’investissement et la consommation, au risque de faire glisser l’économie vers la déflationUn scénario qui rappelle 2008, lorsque la crise financière mondiale avait brutalement fait chuter l’inflation, entraînant ensuite la crise de la dette souveraine, et poussant la BCE à sortir son arsenal de mesures exceptionnelles.

Guerre commerciale : la BCE abaisse ses taux pour soutenir l’économie

Trump’s tariff storm a threat to dollar’s dominance?

As President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten the US economy, questions are being asked about how long the dollar can maintain its status as the world’s key trading and reserve currency. AFP examines the greenback’s current situation and outook:- Is the dollar still all-powerful? -The dollar, whose strength is based on the economic and political power of the United States, is traditionally considered a preferred safe haven in times of crisis or conflict.Almost 58 percent of foreign exchange reserves together held by the world’s central banks were denominated in dollars as of the final quarter last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.That compares with 71 percent in 1999, with the drop attributed to rising competition from smaller currencies.Roughly half of all global transactions by value are currently in dollars, compared with around 22 percent for the euro, seven percent for the pound sterling, and four percent for the Chinese yuan, according February data from international payments facilitator Swift. Many strategic commodities, such as oil, are quoted in the greenback, reinforcing its central role across global trade.However, the recent decline in the dollar’s value suggests its safe haven status “has at least temporarily disappeared” in favour of the Swiss franc, yen and gold, Ryan Chahrour, a professor of economics at Cornell University, told AFP.- ‘Exorbitant privilege’? -Before the dollar took charge, sterling dominated international trade, driven by the UK’s status as an industrial powerhouse beginning in the 19th century.However, following the Second World War, a ruined Europe desperately needed liquidity, while the United States found itself in a position of strength. The dollar emerged as the new reference currency under the Bretton Woods accords of 1944, which laid the foundations for the current international monetary system. Many countries have since chosen to peg their currency to the US unit, while demand for dollars has allowed the world’s biggest economy to borrow freely, theoretically without limits, with its debt largely owed to foreign investors.Former French finance minister Valery Giscard d’Estaing described this economic advantage enjoyed by the United States as an “exorbitant privilege”, ahead of becoming French president in the 1970s.On the other hand, the relative strength of the greenback despite recent turmoil makes American exports more expensive.To counter this, Trump advisor Stephen Miran is considering major global reform aimed at devaluing the US currency. At the same time, several central banks have begun a process of “de-dollarising” their reserves. By using the dollar extensively, countries and companies expose themselves to US sanctions — as illustrated by the freezing of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves abroad following its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.- Why is Trump shaking the dollar? -The dollar initially gained on news of Trump’s tariffs owing to concerns the levies will push up inflation.However, that has given way to rising fears that global growth will be impacted, causing recent heavy falls for oil prices that in turn have reduced inflationary pressures.Expectations that the US Federal Reserve could cut interest rates to prop up the economy are also weighing on the dollar.Another fear is that the Fed is no longer fulfilling its role as lender of last resort, as it limits the availability of dollars to other central banks.Trump is contributing to “undermining the foundations of dollar dominance”, tarnishing the reputation of the United States, believes Mark Sobel, a former senior US Treasury official. He argues that in addition to weakening the country’s economic strength through his trade policy, Trump is challenging the rule of law.”The United States is not acting like a reliable partner or trusted ally,” he told AFP.- What alternatives? -Sobel said it is “premature to say dollar dominance is going away or the dollar has lost its kind of global status because there aren’t alternatives”.Stefan Lewellen, assistant professor of finance at Pennsylvania State University, said it is not yet time to write the currency’s “obituary”.Looking at why the euro is not ready to take the helm, he added that the European single currency is “fundamentally still governed by individual nations that have mixed incentives to cooperate”. Among other units, he said the Canadian and Australian dollars, as well as the Swiss franc, are limited by the modest size of their markets. As for the yuan, it remains under Beijing’s strict control, owing to the lack of free convertibility and restrictions on capital movements.