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Tour de France: Evenepoel remporte le contre-la-montre à Caen, Pogacar en jaune

Le Belge Remco Evenepoel a remporté le contre-la-montre de la cinquième étape du Tour de France mercredi à Caen devant Tadej Pogacar qui prend le maillot jaune et repousse déjà très loin son grand rival Jonas Vingegaard.Sur un parcours de 33 km, le Belge, grand favori de ce chrono, s’est imposé avec 16 secondes d’avance sur Pogacar qui a admirablement résisté au champion olympique. Jonas Vingegaard, seulement 13e, est le grand perdant du jour parmi les principaux favoris du Tour en concédant une minute et 21 secondes d’Evenepoel.Au classement général, Pogacar, qui ravit le maillot jaune à Mathieu van der Poel dont le contre-la-montre n’est pas du tout la spécialité, compte désormais 42 secondes d’avance sur Evenepoel, qui passe de la neuvième à la deuxième place, 59 secondes sur Kévin Vauquelin, et surtout 1:13 sur Vingegaard, un écart déjà très conséquent.Vauquelin a réussi un excellent chrono pour terminer cinquième de l’étape, juste derrière son compatriote Bruno Armirail, à 49 secondes d’Evenepoel, se payant le luxe de doubler l’Espagnol Enric Mas, parti avant lui.C’est la deuxième victoire d’étape sur le Tour de France pour Evenepoel après celle dans le contre-la-montre l’année dernière à Gevrey-Chambertin pour ses débuts sur la Grande Boucle.Le Flamand, coiffé d’un casque doré depuis son doublé olympique, est quasiment invincible dans l’exercice. Il a remporté les six derniers chronos auxquels il a pris part, et 9 sur 12 depuis le début de l’année 2024. Il a bouclé le parcours en 36:42 à une moyenne affolante de 54 km/h.”Je suis content de ma performance évidemment. Décrocher une deuxième victoire d’étape pour notre équipe c’est très bien aussi”, a-t-il dit, s’imposant deux jours après son coéquipier chez Soudal Quick-Step, Tim Merlier.”Tadej a fait un très gros chrono aussi, a-t-il ajouté. Comparé à celui du Dauphiné (en juin), il a fait un gros pas en avant. Il a montré qu’il était en grande forme et que c’était l’homme à battre dans ce Tour. Pour ma part, j’ai fait un pas vers le podium mais la route est encore longue.”

Tour de France: Evenepoel remporte le contre-la-montre à Caen, Pogacar en jaune

European stocks brush off Trump’s copper, pharma tariff threats

Wall Street rose and major European markets closed in the green Wednesday, brushing off US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on copper and pharmaceuticals. Investors kept an eye on countries seeking to hammer out tariff agreements before Trump’s new cut-off date of August 1.The US president had reignited trade jitters Tuesday by announcing a 50 percent toll on copper imports and saying he was looking at 200 percent tariffs on pharmaceuticals.The news sent the price of copper — with a wide range of uses including in cars, construction and telecoms — to a record high Tuesday.But Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, found Wednesday “the market is not taking Trump at his word when it comes to tariffs, and the market impact has been limited so far.”The tech-heavy Nasdaq had added almost 1 percent two hours into the session with chipmaker Nvidia barrelling ahead just over 2 percent as AI growth saw it top $4 trillion in market value, the first company to hit the mark as it extended its globe-leading market capitalisation.Noting tech had endured some lean months going back to the third quarter of last year, eToro’s US investment analyst Bret Kenwell said “we’re seeing growth stocks come to life on the back of AI initiatives, while cybersecurity firms are rallying higher. Mega-cap tech continues to spend fortunes building out the necessary AI infrastructure for the future.”After Trump said he would allow pharmaceutical manufacturers time to relocate operations to the United States before rolling out fresh duties, equity markets largely took the news in their stride as “details of when, how and who remain thin on the ground”, said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.European markets were shrugging off risks of a trade war. Germany’s Dax hit a new high as it posted a 1.4 percent gain, matched by the CAC 40 in Paris. London could only manage a gain of just under 0.2 percent. But Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, urged caution as “reports suggesting that Trump relishes the actual dealmaking process more than an actual resolution seem to suggest that a further delay to tariffs will be forthcoming, although this is an approach fraught with risk.”Trump warned he would not again extend his August 1 deadline to reach deals, after he pushed back his July 9 cut-off.Earlier in Asia, Tokyo gains were tempered by losses in Hong Kong and Shanghai.- Key figures at around 1545 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 44,306.77 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 6,242.61New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 20,5301.22London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,867.02 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 7,878.46 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.4 percent at 24,549.56 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,821.28 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 23,892.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,493.05 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1714 from $1.1730 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3606 from $1.3592Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.44 yen from 146.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.11 pence from 86.27 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $70.29 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.52 per barrel

Copper giant Chile awaits ‘official’ news on US tariff raise

Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer, said Wednesday it was awaiting an “official” follow-up on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff on imports of the metal. The South American country is responsible for nearly a quarter of global copper supply, which contributes 10 to 15 percent to its GDP.”The government reacts to these matters with caution, as is appropriate in diplomacy,” President Gabriel Boric told reporters Wednesday. He said he was awaiting “official communication from the United States government regarding the policy” on copper duties, after which “we will be able to respond with the institutional strength that characterizes Chile.”Trump on Tuesday told a cabinet meeting: “I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make it 50 percent.” He did not set a deadline but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the rate will likely take effect by the end of July or on August 1. China is the leading buyer of Chilean copper. In 2023, it accounted for 56 percent of exports, followed by the United States with 11 percent and Japan with 8.5 percent, according to the Chilean Copper Commission. State-owned copper giant Codelco, the world’s single biggest producer of the metal used in wiring, motors and renewable energy generation, also noted there had been no formal communication on the US tariffs. There is no “executive order from the United States,” said Maximo Pacheco, board chairman of Codelco, which produces between eight and 10 percent of the world’s copper. Trump’s announcement sent the price of copper to a record high Tuesday.

Israel PM eyes Hamas truce deal despite hurdles in talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded upbeat Wednesday about the prospects for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza, even as talks with Palestinian militant group Hamas failed to produce a breakthrough.With the Israeli prime minister in Washington, indirect talks stretched into a fourth day in Qatar, with reported complaints of Israeli intransigence on aid distribution to civilians in the war-torn territory.But in an interview with US television, Netanyahu, who after talks with Donald Trump on Tuesday night was uncompromising in his determination to crush Hamas, appeared more aligned with the US president’s optimism.”I think we’re getting closer to a deal,” he told FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria programme. “There’s a good chance that we’ll have it.”Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he thought a deal to end 21 months of bitter fighting was “achievable” and could even herald a more lasting peace.”If a temporary ceasefire is achieved, we will negotiate on a permanent ceasefire,” he added in a speech in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.Netanyahu is insistent he wants to permanently neutralise the threat to Israel from Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack sparked the war.But Hamas vowed: “Gaza will not surrender… and the resistance will impose the conditions, just as it imposed the equations.”- ‘Mostly listening’ -A Palestinian official close to the talks blamed Israel for a lack of progress when discussions broke up late Tuesday because of its “refusal to accept the free entry of aid” into Gaza.Another Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations said the Israeli delegation was “mostly listening rather than negotiating, which reflects Netanyahu’s ongoing policy of obstruction and sabotaging any potential agreement”.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, however, said the US administration was “hopeful” of agreement for a 60-day ceasefire by the end of this week.The deal would include the return of 10 living hostages held by Palestinian militants since October 2023, and nine dead hostages, he added.Of 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas has rebuffed pressure to release all the hostages, demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to ensure militants in Gaza never again pose a threat to its security.Qatari mediators had warned on Tuesday that it would take time to seal a deal, though Trump kept up his push for an agreement.”It’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to,” Trump told reporters, in reference to Netanyahu and Hamas.Asked earlier as he met US House speaker Mike Johnson if a ceasefire announcement was imminent, Netanyahu replied: “We’re certainly working on it.”- ‘Like an earthquake’ -On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Wednesday that 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes, at least six of them children. The military said it was looking into two of the strikes which killed 20.”The explosion was massive, like an earthquake,” said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed one of the strikes, which prompted frantic scenes as people scrabbled in the rubble for survivors.”It destroyed the house and several nearby homes. The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered,” he added, calling it “a horrific massacre”.Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,680 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.The military meanwhile said its troops crossed the border into southern Lebanon as part of targeted operations to dismantle infrastructure belonging to Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah.A video shared by the army claimed to show infantry troops on the ground just over the border, although AFP was unable to verify the footage.Israel signed a truce with Hezbollah last November but has kept up its strikes, hitting what it says are Hezbollah or Hamas targets.

Haute couture: casting 5 étoiles pour les adieux de Demna à Balenciaga

Une page se tourne: avant de rejoindre Gucci, Demna a présenté mercredi à Paris sa dernière collection haute couture pour Balenciaga, avec un casting cinq étoiles dans la salle comme sur le podium.Tandis qu’Aya Nakamura, Naomi Watts et Nicole Kidman ont pris place aux côtés de François-Henri Pinault, PDG de Kering — propriétaire de Balenciaga et Gucci — et de son épouse Salma Hayek, Isabelle Huppert, Kim Kardashian – des fidèles du créateur – ou encore les mannequins Naomi Campbell et Eva Herzigova ont foulé le podium.Le créateur géorgien de 44 ans a rendu hommage aux coupes classiques et à l’austérité élégante du fondateur Cristóbal Balenciaga… avec irrévérence.Le noir était de rigueur, avec des tailleurs très cintrés et aux épaules démesurées, d’immenses manteaux, des pulls à col montant jusqu’aux oreilles ou encore des robes droites à manches longues.Une austérité émaillée de quelques touches de couleur et de glamour, comme des robes bustiers jaune et rose pâle, un ample manteau blanc en plumes, un ensemble veste et jupe longue ornées de grosses roses scintillantes et un autre rouge vif. Demna a également fait défiler des hommes en costumes oversize ou en bombers, une petite provocation du créateur, la semaine de la haute couture étant traditionnellement réservée au vestiaire féminin.- A la rescousse chez Gucci -Après dix ans à la tête de Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia quitte la maison française pour prendre la direction artistique de Gucci, dont les contre-performances plombent la maison mère Kering.”Ce que Demna a apporté à la mode, à Balenciaga et au succès du groupe est immense. Sa force créative est exactement ce dont Gucci a besoin”, saluait François-Henri Pinault dans le communiqué annonçant ce transfert, sans doute le plus inattendu du mercato mode de ces derniers mois.Avec son style iconoclaste, Demna a fait ses preuves chez Balenciaga. Depuis 2015, le créateur s’est fait connaître par sa capacité à habiller aussi bien la rappeuse Cardi B qu’Isabelle Huppert, à faire des T-shirts et de la haute couture et rendre désirable le “moche”, comme des Crocs à semelles compensées ou des sacs “poubelle”.Mais il est aussi allé trop loin: en 2022, sa campagne mettant en scène des enfants avec des accessoires d’inspiration sado-masochiste fait scandale.Le créateur français Franck Sorbier, qui a présenté mercredi une collection inspirée de la culture inca, a salué auprès de l’AFP l’impact de Demna sur Balenciaga: “C’est une maison qui a su se repositionner, tracer sa propre voie et réussir à revenir au premier plan, ce qui n’était pas gagné.”- Renouveau chez Maison Margiela -Une page se tourne chez Balenciaga mais également chez Maison Margiela, qui dévoile dans la soirée la première collection de Glenn Martens.Nommé en janvier, le Belge prend la suite du créateur star et fantasque John Galliano.Connu pour son travail chez Diesel et au sein de la marque expérimentale Y/Project, Glenn Martens signe avec ce premier défilé le retour de la maison au calendrier de la haute couture, après un dernier show sous le pont Alexandre III en janvier 2024, considéré par beaucoup comme l’un des plus spectaculaires de ces dernières années. La journée a débuté par le défilé très théâtral de Robert Wun au Théâtre du Châtelet. Adepte d’une esthétique sculpturale parfois surréaliste, le créateur hongkongais a dévoilé une collection aux coupes précises pour traduire le rituel de l’habillage, de la robe couette ensanglantée à la robe de mariée, avec un bustier sculpté et une imposante jupe à traîne.De son côté, le Libanais Elie Saab a présenté une nouvelle collection de robes de princesses dignes des plus beaux contes de fées, tout en opulence, avec de nombreuses robes bustier aux longues traînes, en mousseline de soie ou satin et rebrodées de perles.

Haute couture: casting 5 étoiles pour les adieux de Demna à Balenciaga

La directrice générale du réseau social X, Linda Yaccarino, annonce son départ

La directrice générale du réseau social X, Linda Yaccarino, a annoncé mercredi qu’elle allait quitter ses fonctions, tout juste deux ans après avoir pris la tête de l’entreprise, propriété du milliardaire Elon Musk, sans préciser les raisons de son départ.Dans un message posté sur X, la dirigeante s’est dite “immensément reconnaissante” envers M. Musk “pour sa confiance”, ajoutant être “incroyablement fière” du travail réalisé, notamment selon elle dans la “protection de la liberté d’expression”.Le patron de Tesla et SpaceX avait embauché cette figure américaine des médias six mois après avoir racheté Twitter pour 44 milliards de dollars. La valeur de la plateforme avait chuté à 20 milliards sur la même période, sous l’effet des mesures du nouveau propriétaire – licenciement de deux tiers des employés, retour de personnalités controversées, bouleversement du système d’authentification des comptes, etc – qui avaient fait plonger la confiance des utilisateurs et des annonceurs.”Je lui suis profondément reconnaissante de m’avoir confié la responsabilité de défendre la liberté d’expression, de redresser l’entreprise et de transformer X en une application universelle”, a déclaré Linda Yaccarino.Elon Musk n’a cependant jamais vraiment cédé le contrôle du réseau social, dont il s’est largement servi pour faire campagne pour Donald Trump l’année dernière, puis pour dénigrer le président des Etats-Unis et des élus républicains, jusqu’à annoncer le lancement de son propre parti ce weekend, “parti de l’Amérique”.Il a surtout ajouté Grok, rival de ChatGPT et produit de sa start-up d’intelligence artificielle (IA) xAI au service. L’assistant IA suscite régulièrement de nouvelles polémiques avec des propos controversés, notamment racistes, car ses paramètres sont plus souples que ceux des autres principaux modèles d’IA générative.xAI a fusionné avec X en mars lors d’une opération valorisant xAI à 80 milliards de dollars et le réseau social à 33 milliards de dollars.Avant X, Linda Yaccarino a passé douze ans chez NBCUniversal, filiale du câblo-opérateur Comcast, où elle a contribué à unifier l’ensemble des médias du groupe au sein d’une même plateforme publicitaire, pour simplifier l’offre aux annonceurs. Pendant son mandat, X a lancé plusieurs nouvelles fonctionnalités, notamment Community Notes, un système de vérification des faits participatif, et a annoncé le développement de “X Money”, un service financier s’inscrivant dans la vision d’Elon Musk de transformer la plateforme en une “application universelle”.”Je suis extrêmement fière de l’équipe de X – le redressement historique que nous avons accompli ensemble est tout simplement remarquable”, a-t-elle affirmé mercredi.Elle a promis de continuer à soutenir ses anciens collègues “dans la suite de cette aventure pour continuer à changer le monde”.

La directrice générale du réseau social X, Linda Yaccarino, annonce son départ

Ukraine says Russia launched largest drone, missile attack of war

Russia pummelled Ukraine early on Wednesday with its largest missile and drone attack in more than three years of war, claiming to have targeted an airfield in a region bordering Poland.The strikes came after US President Donald Trump said he would ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of spouting “bullshit” on Ukraine.AFP journalists in Kyiv heard explosions ringing out and drones buzzing over the capital during the barrage after air raid sirens sounded.The latest strike, which regional officials said had killed one civilian in the Khmelnytsky region, beat a previous Russian record of firing 550 drones and missiles at Ukraine set last week.The air force announced that Russia attacked with 728 drones and 13 missiles, specifying that its air defence systems intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.”This is a telling attack — and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.Zelensky, who was visiting Rome and met with Pope Leo XIV, called for Ukraine’s allies to step up sanctions on Russia, particularly on its energy sector — an important revenue stream for the Russian war chest.- Russia advances on front -“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes,” Zelensky added.Kyiv has repeatedly accused China of supplying parts and technologies central to the Russian drone and missile programme, and urged the West to step up secondary penalties.On Wednesday, Kyiv’s security services announced it had detained two Chinese nationals accused of attempting to smuggle missile technology out of the war-torn country.The air force and regional authorities said that Wednesday’s attack had primarily targeted Lutsk, a town in western Ukraine.The Russian defence ministry said its “long-range” and “precision” strike had targeted military airfield infrastructure claiming that “all designated targets were destroyed”. There was no response to that claim in Kyiv.Russia’s latest record barrage points to a trend of escalating attacks that have piled pressure on Ukraine’s thinly stretched air defence capabilities and exhausted civilian population.”We are adapting to this rhythm of life. Of course, it’s difficult, but what can you do?” Sergiy Skrypka, a student, told AFP in Kyiv.”It’s not easy, but I think it’s hard for everyone now. We’re dealing with it,” the 22-year-old added.A representative of Ukraine’s air force said that new Ukrainian drones had played an important role in thwarting the Russian attack. Another official said that most of the Russian drones launched were decoys.Two rounds of direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since Trump returned to the White House have resulted in an increase in prisoner exchanges but no progress on securing a ceasefire, proposed by the United States and Ukraine.- Civilians burnt alive -The Kremlin has since said that for now it sees no diplomatic path out of the conflict, launched by Moscow in February 2022, and vowed to pursue its war aims — effectively seeking to conquer Ukraine and remove its political leadership.The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was unfazed by Trump’s comments about Putin.”Let’s just say that Trump in general has quite a harsh rhetorical style in terms of the phrases he uses,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.Ukraine has also sought to increase its own attacks on Russia, with Moscow’s defence ministry saying on Wednesday that its air defence units had downed 86 unmanned aerial vehicles, mainly over western regions of the country.The exchange of aerial broadsides came with Russian forces slowly but steadily gaining ground at key sectors of the sprawling front line in eastern Ukraine.The Russian defence ministry announced the capture of another village, Tolstoy, on Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has claimed as part of Russia since 2022, despite not fully controlling it.Ukrainian prosecutors in the region said that Russian drone and bombing attacks in two towns in Donetsk killed eight civilians on Wednesday.Officials published images showing the charred remains of two people who burned to death in their car, which officials said was hit by a Russian drone.A one-year-old boy was killed in a separate Russian attack on the village of Pravdyne in the southern Kherson region, local officials announced.