France’s Canal+ said Wednesday it had cleared the final regulatory hurdle for the buyout of Africa’s largest pay TV enterprise MultiChoice and further expand its footprint on the continent.The company said in a statement that the South African Competition Tribunal had given its approval for Canal+ to acquire the approximately 55 percent of MultiChoice shares …
La canicule qui sévit en Grèce s’est intensifiée mercredi et devrait encore s’accentuer jeudi, selon les prévisions météorologiques alors que le thermomètre a déjà frôlé localement les 45°C mardi.Le manque de pluie et la chaleur provoquent par ailleurs une sécheresse et une pénurie d’eau qui alarment les autorités.Le Premier ministre Kyriakos Mitsotakis a présenté un “plan national pour l’eau” qui prévoit de procéder à une refonte du modèle de gestion de l’eau.Les températures les plus chaudes, entre 40 et 44°C, sont attendues mercredi dans les régions continentales de l’est, du centre et du nord, ainsi que sur les îles de la mer Égée orientale, selon le site meteo.gr de l’Observatoire national d’Athènes.A Athènes, le thermomètre affichait 36,3°C vers 13h30 locales (09h30 GMT) et un “pic” est prévu jeudi, vendredi et samedi avec 42°C attendus, selon la même source.Pour protéger visiteurs et gardiens, les autorités grecques ont fermé le site antique de l’Acropole aux heures les plus chaudes de la journée entre 13h00 et 18h00 jusqu’à vendredi. Le gouvernement grec a interdit le travail en extérieur dans plusieurs secteurs d’activité aux heures les plus chaudes à cause de la canicule qui fait peser des risques sur la santé.”C’est inhumain de travailler dans de telles conditions. Le bitume bouillonne”, a dénoncé auprès de l’AFP Panagiotis Arvanitidis, 35 ans, membre du syndicat des travailleurs des plateformes de livraison de repas dans la région de Thessalonique (nord).”La température ambiante dans ma maison ces deux derniers jours a dépassé les 30°C”, a affirmé Anna Spania, 50 ans, vendeuse de services médicaux. “Sans climatisation, on ne survit pas!”, a-t-elle ajouté. Les températures les plus élevées de cette vague de chaleur entamée dimanche ont été répertoriées mardi en Grèce centrale, à Tragana où le thermomètre est monté à 44,9°C et, plus au nord, à Larissa avec 44,8°C, selon meteo.gr.L’Observatoire national d’Athènes a récemment averti qu’après les températures élevées et les faibles précipitations de juin, presque l’ensemble de la Grèce présentait des niveaux de sécheresse supérieurs à la normale pour cette période de l’année par rapport au début juin.Pays méditerranéen coutumier des vagues de chaleur intense durant l’été, la Grèce avait été jusqu’ici plutôt épargnée par la canicule cette année.En 2024, la Grèce a connu l’été le plus chaud depuis le début des relevés.
The UK imposed sanctions Wednesday on more than two dozen people, groups and suppliers from the Balkans, the Middle East and China accused of helping migrants cross the Channel.In what it called a “landmark” first use of new powers, the move came as the government faces political pressure to stem migrant arrivals on small boats from northern France, at record levels.The asset freezes and travel bans announced target individuals and entities “driving irregular migration to the UK”, and include four “gangs” and “gangland bosses” operating in the Balkans, the Foreign Office said.They also hit a small boat supplier in China, so-called “hawala” money movers in the Middle East, and seven alleged people-smugglers linked to Iraq.Foreign Secretary David Lammy called it “a landmark moment in the government’s work to tackle organised immigration crime” impacting the UK. “From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world,” he added. “My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.”- ‘Terrorising refugees’ -Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office a year ago promising to curb the journeys by “smashing the gangs” that facilitate the crossings, but he has struggled to deliver.Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest ever tally at this point in a year.The issue has become politically perilous in the UK, blamed for helping to fuel the rise of the far-right and violence at anti-migrant demonstrations. Protests have erupted sporadically outside hotels believed to house asylum-seekers, with a recent demonstration outside one in Epping, east of London, descending into clashes that injured eight police officers.Riots sparked by the stabbing to death of three young girls in northwestern Southport a year ago also saw suspected asylum-seeker hotels attacked and anti-migrant sentiment on display. As part of its strategy to curb new arrivals, the government is also cracking down on illegal working, which European neighbours cite as a “pull factor” for UK-bound migrants.It announced late Tuesday a new agreement with delivery firms Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats which includes sharing the locations of asylum hotels to help tackle illegal working.Meanwhile in another new tactic, artificial intelligence technology will be trialled to assess disputed ages of asylum-seekers who claim to be children, the interior ministry said Tuesday.- ‘Far-fetched’ -Wednesday’s designations represent the UK’s first use of its new “Global Irregular Migration Sanctions Regime”.It claims the regime is a “world first”, empowering the Foreign Office to target foreign financiers and companies as well as individuals allegedly involved in facilitating people-smuggling to the UK.In all, it sanctioned 20 individuals, four gangs — two Balkan groups and two of North African origin operating in the Balkans — and Chinese firm Weihai Yamar Outdoor Product Co. It has advertised its small boats online “explicitly for the purpose of people-smuggling,” the Foreign Office said.Among those facing curbs was Bledar Lala, described as an Albanian controlling “the ‘Belgium operations’ of an organised criminal group” involved in the crossings. The UK also targeted Alen Basil, a former police translator it accused of now leading a large smuggling network in Serbia, “terrorising refugees, with the aid of corrupt policemen”. London hit alleged “gangland boss” Mohammed Tetwani with sanctions, noting he was dubbed the “King of Horgos” over his brutal running of a migrant camp in the Serbian town Horgos.Author and researcher Tom Keatinge, of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the sanctions were “a new front in the UK’s efforts to control a business model that brings profit to the enablers” and misery to victims.”However, I would caution against overpromising,” he told AFP. “Talk of freezing assets and using sanctions to ‘smash the gangs’ seems far-fetched and remains to be seen. “History suggests that such assertions hold governments hostage to fortune.”
Le Royaume-Uni a annoncé mercredi des sanctions à l’encontre de 25 individus et organisations soupçonnés d’être impliqués dans le trafic de migrants, une démarche inédite pour tenter d’endiguer les traversées de la Manche.Le gouvernement travailliste de Keir Starmer est sous pression, alors que les arrivées de migrants et demandeurs d’asile à bord de petites embarcations ont dépassé le nombre de 23.500 depuis le début de l’année, un niveau record sur cette période. Des traversées dangereuses, qui ont fait 17 morts depuis le début de l’année, selon le ministère français de l’Intérieur.Les mesures prises par Londres -gel d’avoirs et/ou interdiction de séjour au Royaume-Uni- entrent dans le cadre d’un nouveau régime de sanctions spécifiquement mis en place à l’encontre des réseaux d’immigration clandestine.Ce premier train de sanctions vise notamment des chefs de réseaux basés dans les Balkans et en Afrique du Nord, une entreprise chinoise de bateaux gonflables, ainsi que des personnes au Moyen-Orient impliquées dans un système informel de transfert de fonds connu sous le nom de “hawala”, indique le ministère des Affaires étrangères.”De l’Europe à l’Asie, nous menons la lutte contre les passeurs qui facilitent la migration irrégulière, en les ciblant partout où ils se trouvent dans le monde”, a déclaré le ministre de l’Intérieur, David Lammy, dans un communiqué.- “Détruire les gangs” -Le Premier ministre Keir Starmer, qui a promis de “détruire les gangs” de passeurs, est confronté à la montée dans les sondages du parti anti-immigration Reform UK.La question est hautement sensible au Royaume-Uni, où des heurts ont eu lieu récemment devant un hôtel hébergeant des demandeurs d’asile à Epping, au nord-est de Londres. Les tensions ont démarré après l’inculpation d’un demandeur d’asile de 38 ans accusé d’agressions sexuelles.Le souvenir des émeutes anti-immigration qui avaient secoué le pays l’été dernier après le meurtre de trois fillettes dans la ville de Southport (nord-ouest de l’Angleterre) est dans toutes les têtes. Les fillettes avaient été poignardées par un jeune Britannique d’origine rwandaise, présenté à tort sur les réseaux sociaux comme un demandeur d’asile arrivé par bateau.Parmi les personnes visées par les sanctions figure un Albanais, Bledar Lala, décrit par le gouvernement britannique comme le dirigeant “d’un réseau organisant le passage clandestin de migrants de Belgique vers le Royaume-Uni via la Manche”.Mais aussi Alen Basil, “un ancien traducteur de la police qui a pris la tête d’un grand réseau de trafic de migrants en Serbie”, ou encore Mohammed Tetwani, présenté comme “le dirigeant d’un camp de migrants à Horgos, en Serbie” aux méthodes “violentes”.Le gouvernement cible aussi un “banquier hawala”, Muhammed Khadir Pirot, qui “reçoit l’argent de migrants pour payer leur passage clandestin du Kurdistan irakien vers l’Europe via la Turquie”.Une entreprise chinoise, Weihai Yamar Outdoors Product Co, est sanctionnée “pour la fabrication de bateaux pneumatiques dont elle promeut l’usage à des fins de trafic d’êtres humains”.- “Reste à prouver” -Des organisations et individus basés dans les Balkans soupçonnés de fournir de faux passeports aux migrants sont aussi sur la liste.Pour Tom Keatinge, directeur des études sur les crimes financiers et la sécurité au Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) de Londres, ces sanctions représentent “un nouveau front dans les efforts du Royaume-Uni” pour s’attaquer au commerce de l’immigration clandestine.Il en a toutefois relativisé l’impact: “je mettrais en garde contre les promesses excessives”, a-t-il dit à l’AFP. “Parler de geler les avoirs et d’utiliser des sanctions pour +détruire les gangs+ semble exagéré et reste à prouver”, a-t-il ajouté.Londres et Paris ont par ailleurs récemment annoncé un accord migratoire de principe, prévoyant le renvoi en France d’un migrant arrivé au Royaume-Uni par “small boat”, en échange de l’accueil sur le sol britannique d’un migrant se trouvant en France et justifiant de liens avec le Royaume-Uni.Le gouvernement britannique s’est aussi engagé à durcir la lutte contre le travail clandestin qui, selon Paris, alimente l’immigration illégale.Il a annoncé mardi qu’il fournirait aux plateformes de livraison de repas la localisation des hôtels hébergeant des demandeurs d’asile. Les autorités veulent empêcher que les personnes n’ayant pas le droit de travailler parviennent à devenir livreur en sous-louant le compte d’un utilisateur enregistré sur l’une de ces plateformes.Le ministère britannique de l’Intérieur a également annoncé qu’il comptait tester un système d’intelligence artificielle capable d’estimer l’âge des demandeurs d’asile à partir de leur visage, avec l’objectif de l’utiliser en 2026.
The EU and Japan pledged on Wednesday to work together on championing a “free and fair” trade global system, as US tariffs and disputes with China rattle their economies.Brussels and Tokyo announced a “competitiveness alliance” to increase bilateral trade, address unfair practices, and boost innovation, at a summit in the Japanese capital.”In today’s world, competitiveness has to be built with trusted partners such as Japan,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen told journalists after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “Together, Europe and Japan represent a fifth of global GDP and a market of 600 million people,” she added.”So, we have the scale to shape global rules on trade and tech in line with our values of fairness and openness.”Facing a swirl of speculation over his future following a weekend election debacle, Ishiba said the EU and Japan concurred to work together to strengthen a “stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order”. Von der Leyen congratulated the prime minister on his “successful negotiations” to secure a tariff deal with Washington, a feat that has so far escaped the European Commission she leads.US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a “massive” trade deal with Japan, as a deadline looms for the EU and other major US trade partners to strike agreements or face steep levies.Tokyo said the deal would see a tariff on Japanese car cut to 15 percent. The EU’s top trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic is due to speak once again to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday.Von der Leyen’s commission, the EU’s top executive body, is in charge of trade policy for the 27-nation bloc.”In a world of growing uncertainty, we are also stepping up joint efforts to boost economic security and resilience,” Antonio Costa told journalists in Tokyo.Costa heads the European Council representing EU member states. He said the EU and Japan — who back Ukraine in its war with Russia — would push to deepen cooperation between their defence industries. Costa and von der Leyen will visit Beijing next for talks with China’s top leaders on Thursday. Beijing and Brussels will mark the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic ties.But differences over state subsidies, market access and China’s support for Russia are set to overshadow the event.burs-ub/del/jj
Double Rugby World Cup winners Makazole Mapimpi and Faf de Klerk have been omitted from the South Africa squad for two Rugby Championship Tests against Australia during August. Salmaan Moerat, who captained the Springboks to victory over Italy this month, is also left out of a 37-man squad consisting of 20 forwards and 17 backs. The …
Springboks omit Mapimpi, De Klerk for Wallabies TestsWed, 23 Jul 2025 11:36:41 GMT Read More »
Tunisian President Kais Saied presented US counterpart Donald Trump’s senior Africa adviser with photographs of starving children in Gaza, official video of their meeting posted late Tuesday showed.Saied told US envoy Massad Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, that “it is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people”.”I believe you know these images well,” Saied was seen telling the envoy as he showed a photograph of what he described as “a child crying, eating sand in occupied Palestine”.Saied showed Boulos several more images, saying that Palestinians in Gaza were subjected to crimes against humanity.Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people have endured 21 months of devastating conflict.”It is absolutely unacceptable,” Saied was heard saying as Boulos stood silently, occasionally nodding. “It is a crime against all of humanity.”More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading across the Gaza Strip and that their own colleagues were suffering acutely from the shortages.The head of Gaza’s largest hospital said on Tuesday that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the previous three days.Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.Following his visit to Tunisia, Boulos flew on to the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, Tunisian media reported.
Stock markets rose on Wednesday after Japan and the United States hammered out a trade deal to slash Donald Trump’s tariffs, including those on the crucial car sector.Investors were also cheered by news that Washington had reached agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, stoking optimism that other countries will also follow suit before Trump’s August 1 deadline.”News of a trade agreement between the US and Japan is fostering optimism among investors that further deals might be reached before punishing tariffs come into force,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent, after hitting another record high at the open.Paris piled on one percent and Frankfurt also advanced, tracking gains in Asia.Tokyo surged over three percent after the US president announced a deal lowering tariffs on some Japanese goods to 15 percent, down from the threatened 25 percent.The deal will also reduce tolls on autos — a sector accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — to 15 percent, compared, with 25 percent for other countries.In return, Japan pledged to invest $550 billion in the United States, Trump said on social media.Shares in carmaker Toyota rocketed higher by more than 14 percent, Mitsubishi 13 percent and Nissan eight percent. European carmakers also rallied, with Porsche rising over seven percent, while Volkswagen and BMW were up around six percent in Frankfurt.In Paris, Stellantis topped the gainers on the CAC 40, advancing close to seven percent.The deal is providing optimism that other countries can “seal good deals if they pledge investment into the US,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila to lower levies on Philippine goods by one percentage point to 19 percent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 percent to 19 percent.Shares in Manila and Jakarta rallied.The announcements boosted hopes of other deals before next Friday’s deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive.The EU’s top trade negotiator will speak to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for levies on Chinese goods to snap back to steeper levels.Japan’s 10-year government bond yield soared to the highest since 2008 after media speculation that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would resign after a weekend election debacle, which he denied.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong hit its highest level since late 2021, while Shanghai was flat.The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records.Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and tech giants including Tesla and Intel.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 9,065.57 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,823.93 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 24,158.28Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.5 percent at 41,171.32 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 25,538.07 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,582.30 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,502.44 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.37 yen from 146.66 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1726 from $1.1755Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3534 from $1.3532Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.63 pence from 86.84 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.91 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $68.16 per barrel
