Pentagon chief fires US military representative to NATO

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a top US admiral assigned to NATO, the Pentagon announced Tuesday, saying her removal was due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead.Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield is the latest in a string of senior officers — including multiple women — to be dismissed by Donald Trump’s administration, part of a rare major shakeup of top US military leadership that began shortly after the president returned to office in January.The various firings have led to accusations that Trump and his administration are seeking to politicize the traditionally apolitical US military and ensure it is led by people who are personally loyal to the president.Hegseth removed Chatfield “from her position as US representative to NATO’s military committee due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, without providing further details.Chatfield is a helicopter pilot by training who previously deployed to the Pacific and Gulf in support of carrier strike group and amphibious ready group operations, according to her NATO biography.She was also a senior military assistant to the supreme allied commander for Europe, served as the deputy US military representative to NATO’s military committee, and taught political science at the US Air Force Academy, among other positions.Democratic lawmakers slammed her removal, with Representative Adam Smith saying “our country is less safe because of President Trump’s actions,” while Senator Jack Reed said the move was “unjustified” and “disgraceful.”- Other top officers sacked -“The silence from my Republican colleagues is deeply troubling. In less than three months, President Trump has fired 10 generals and admirals without explanation, including our most experienced combat leaders,” Reed said.Chatfield’s dismissal comes shortly after Trump fired General Timothy Haugh, the head of the highly sensitive US National Security Agency, and his deputy Wendy Noble at the apparent urging of far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.He also dismissed officials from the National Security Council (NSC) last week.The New York Times reported Thursday that — after meeting with Loomer the previous day — Trump fired six people from the NSC, including three senior officials on the body that advises the president on top foreign policy matters from Ukraine to Gaza.In February, Trump abruptly fired the top US military officer, general Charles “CQ” Brown, without explanation, less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Hegseth also announced the removal of admiral Lisa Franchetti — the first woman to lead the Navy — as well as the vice chief of staff of the Air Force and three top military lawyers.And in January, admiral Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead one of the six US military services, was removed as the head of the Coast Guard, with an official citing alleged “leadership deficiencies.”The Pentagon has also taken aim at pro-diversity efforts — and reportedly officials who supported them — with the purge of such content sweeping up articles on the African American Tuskegee Airmen and veteran Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball in the modern era.

La Cour suprême américaine lève l’interdiction des expulsions en vertu d’une loi d’exception

La Cour suprême américaine à majorité conservatrice a levé lundi soir l’interdiction des expulsions d’immigrés en vertu d’une loi d’exception, Donald Trump se félicitant d’un “grand jour pour la justice”, mais la bataille judiciaire est loin d’être terminée.La Cour a pris cette décision par une courte majorité, de cinq voix contre quatre. Elle a en revanche considéré unanimement que les personnes expulsées sur le fondement de la loi de 1798 sur “les ennemis étrangers” devaient pouvoir contester en justice leur expulsion, contrairement à ce qu’avait affirmé l’administration Trump.Un juge fédéral de Washington, James Boasberg, a suspendu le 15 mars toute reconduite à la frontière fondée exclusivement sur cette loi alors qu’environ 200 personnes présentées comme des membres du gang vénézuélien Tren de Aragua étaient en cours d’expulsion par avion vers le Salvador, sans autre forme de procès.La déclaration présidentielle invoquant cette loi à l’encontre des membres de Tren de Aragua, classé organisation “terroriste” par Washington en février, avait été publiée le même jour.Le président républicain s’est réjoui de la décision de la plus haute juridiction du pays. “La Cour suprême a confirmé la primauté du droit dans notre pays en permettant à un président, quel qu’il soit, de sécuriser nos frontières et de protéger nos familles et notre pays. UN GRAND JOUR POUR LA JUSTICE EN AMERIQUE !”, a-t-il dit lundi soir sur son réseau Truth Social.- “Délai raisonnable” -Cinq des six juges conservateurs de la Cour suprême, dont son président, John Roberts, ont considéré que les personnes visées par une expulsion devaient pouvoir la contester, mais sur leur lieu de détention, en l’occurrence au Texas, et non pas dans la capitale fédérale.Les personnes menacées d’expulsion en vertu de la loi sur “les ennemis étrangers” doivent en être avisées dans un “délai raisonnable” afin de pouvoir la contester. “La seule question est de savoir à quel tribunal il revient de statuer sur cette contestation”, écrit la majorité de la Cour.Le juge Boasberg a en conséquence annoncé mardi l’annulation d’une audience prévue dans l’après-midi sur une possible pérennisation de sa suspension. La Cour suprême a conclu que “le lieu approprié pour de tels débats était le district Sud du Texas ou quelque endroit que ce soit où les plaignants sont actuellement détenus”, souligne-t-il.Un avocat de l’influente organisation de défense des droits civiques ACLU, Lee Gelernt, qui défend les plaignants dans cette procédure, a salué dans un communiqué le rappel au droit à un procès équitable comme une “victoire importante”. Les quatre autres juges de la Cour suprême, trois progressistes et une conservatrice, ont en revanche exprimé leur désaccord avec la majorité.”Le président des Etats-Unis a invoqué une loi destinée aux temps de guerre vieille de plusieurs siècles pour emmener des personnes dans une prison notoirement brutale et gérée par un pays étranger”, a déclaré la juge Ketanji Brown Jackson.La juge Sonia Sotomayor s’est également inquiétée d'”une menace exceptionnelle pour l’Etat de droit”.La loi de 1798 avait jusqu’alors été utilisée uniquement en temps de guerre, notamment à l’encontre des ressortissants japonais et allemands en territoire américain pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.Donald Trump a fait de la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine une priorité affirmant vouloir repousser l'”invasion” des Etats-Unis par des “criminels” étrangers et communiquant abondamment sur les expulsions d’immigrés.La porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, Karoline Leavitt, a qualifié de “très bonne affaire” l’accord conclu avec le président salvadorien, Nayib Bukele, pour incarcérer, moyennant environ 6 millions de dollars, les immigrés expulsés le 15 mars dans une prison de haute sécurité connue pour la dureté de ses conditions de détention.Le département d’Etat a classé en février huit cartels latino-américains, dont Tren de Aragua, comme organisations “terroristes”, une qualification qui élargit l’éventail des actions offertes aux autorités luttant contre le crime organisé.

Markets calmer despite growing US-China trade tensions

Stock markets regained some ground on Tuesday, even as trade tensions between the United States and China escalated sharply after days of turmoil over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs offensive.Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.Steep tariffs come into effect against goods from a raft of nations on Wednesday, with Chinese products facing a 34-percent levy that Beijing will counter with a similar duty on Thursday.Trump has warned he would impose additional levies of 50 percent if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his tariffs.”I have great respect for China but they can not do this,” Trump said at the White House.China swiftly hit back, blasting what it called “blackmailing” by the United States and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes more tariffs.”If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.- ‘Ignorant, impolite’ -In a mounting war of words, China’s foreign ministry also condemned “ignorant and impolite” remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he complained the United States had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants”.The ministry said that “pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China”.The European Union sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed the “vital importance of stability” for the world’s economy as well as “the need to avoid further escalation,” according to a readout from EU officials.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that the world’s number two economy has the “tools” necessary to weather economic headwinds.”China can fully hedge against adverse external effects, and is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development,” he said, according to state news agency Xinhua. The EU said Tuesday that it expects to present as soon as next week its response to the 20-percent levies it is facing under Trump’s latest tariff wave, with Germany and France advocating a tax targeting US tech giants.But Brussels has also proposed an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, which Trump said was not enough to resolve the US trade deficit with the EU.”The European Union has been very, very bad to us,” Trump said.In retaliation for US levies introduced in mid-March on steel and aluminium, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles and make-up, according to a document seen by AFP.But US bourbon was spared after Trump threatened to hit European wine and spirits with massive retaliatory duties.A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect Saturday.Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets, with trillions of dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions.But Wall Street stocks surged at the open Tuesday, with all three major US indices up more than three percent as Trump reported a “great call” with South Korea’s leader while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan had sought quick negotiations. Europe’s main stock markets were up around three percent in afternoon trade while Asia’s leading indices also rose after suffering particularly heavy falls on Monday. Trump believes the tariffs will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to relocate to the United States, rather than making goods abroad.But most economists question that and say his tariffs are arbitrary.Despite the turmoil, Trump said Monday he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.He also scrapped any meetings with China but said Washington was ready for talks with any country willing to negotiate. More than 50 nations have sought reach out to the US leader, according to the White House. While meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”burs-sr/lth

Markets calmer despite growing US-China trade tensions

Stock markets regained some ground on Tuesday, even as trade tensions between the United States and China escalated sharply after days of turmoil over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs offensive.Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.Steep tariffs come into effect against goods from a raft of nations on Wednesday, with Chinese products facing a 34-percent levy that Beijing will counter with a similar duty on Thursday.Trump has warned he would impose additional levies of 50 percent if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his tariffs.”I have great respect for China but they can not do this,” Trump said at the White House.China swiftly hit back, blasting what it called “blackmailing” by the United States and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes more tariffs.”If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.- ‘Ignorant, impolite’ -In a mounting war of words, China’s foreign ministry also condemned “ignorant and impolite” remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he complained the United States had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants”.The ministry said that “pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China”.The European Union sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed the “vital importance of stability” for the world’s economy as well as “the need to avoid further escalation,” according to a readout from EU officials.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that the world’s number two economy has the “tools” necessary to weather economic headwinds.”China can fully hedge against adverse external effects, and is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development,” he said, according to state news agency Xinhua. The EU said Tuesday that it expects to present as soon as next week its response to the 20-percent levies it is facing under Trump’s latest tariff wave, with Germany and France advocating a tax targeting US tech giants.But Brussels has also proposed an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, which Trump said was not enough to resolve the US trade deficit with the EU.”The European Union has been very, very bad to us,” Trump said.In retaliation for US levies introduced in mid-March on steel and aluminium, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles and make-up, according to a document seen by AFP.But US bourbon was spared after Trump threatened to hit European wine and spirits with massive retaliatory duties.A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect Saturday.Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets, with trillions of dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions.But Wall Street stocks surged at the open Tuesday, with all three major US indices up more than three percent as Trump reported a “great call” with South Korea’s leader while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan had sought quick negotiations. Europe’s main stock markets were up around three percent in afternoon trade while Asia’s leading indices also rose after suffering particularly heavy falls on Monday. Trump believes the tariffs will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to relocate to the United States, rather than making goods abroad.But most economists question that and say his tariffs are arbitrary.Despite the turmoil, Trump said Monday he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.He also scrapped any meetings with China but said Washington was ready for talks with any country willing to negotiate. More than 50 nations have sought reach out to the US leader, according to the White House. While meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”burs-sr/lth

Pooran, Marsh help Lucknow edge Kolkata in IPL high-scorer

Explosive knocks from Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh set up a tense four-run win for Lucknow Super Giants in a high-scoring IPL clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday.Marsh smashed 81 for his fourth half-century of the tournament and Pooran an unbeaten 36-ball 87 to fire Lucknow to 238-3 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.Kolkata mounted a strong reply as skipper Ajinkya Rahane struck 61 off 35 balls and Rinku Singh blasted an unbeaten 38 in a late blitz, but the home team finished on 234-7.Lucknow have three wins from five matches. Kolkata, who won their third IPL title last year, have three defeats from their five outings.LSG fast bowler Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each and struck at key moments to trigger a middle-order collapse during which KKR lost four wickets in 16 balls.Thakur dismissed Rahane and Andre Russell, for seven, while Deep cut short Venkatesh Iyer’s knock on 45.Sunil Narine got the chase off to a brisk start with his 13-ball 30 and after his departure Rahane and Iyer kept up the charge until Kolkata lost their way.Earlier, the in-form Marsh laid the foundations for Lucknow’s mammoth total in his 99-run opening stand with Aiden Markram, who hit 47.Marsh took down the bowlers with regular boundaries and Markram was equally fluent in his 28-ball knock before Harshit Rana denied the South African a fifty.Marsh reached his half-century with a boundary and with Pooran put on another destructive partnership until Russell broke through.Russell dismissed Marsh but Pooran kept up the onslaught to reach his fifty in just 21 balls before he smacked Russell for three fours and two sixes in a 24-run 18th over.Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant did not bat and is still waiting to justify his record auction price of $3.21 million.Pooran is the leading run-scorer in the 2025 IPL so far with 288 runs including three half-centuries in five matches, scoring at a strike-rate of 225.Marsh has accumulated 265 runs and is second on the list.

Shanghai’s elderly investors keep faith despite stock market woes

A raucous group of elderly investors held court at a Shanghai securities company on Tuesday, chatting loudly about the stock prices flickering on LED boards as Chinese markets stutteringly recovered from the brutal day before.Asian and European equities collapsed on Monday after China retaliated to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs against US trading partners, as fears grow that the trade war could cause a global recession.Shanghai lost over seven percent, and on Tuesday the pensioners sat on plastic orange chairs in front of the screens, sipping tea from flasks and enthusiastically discussing the mauling.”Yesterday I lost 50,000 yuan ($6,833) all at once,” retired factory worker Jin told AFP.With the Chinese monthly urban pension around $460, that is no small sum.”It’s very depressing,” he said, but added that “investing in the stock market is like this”.China’s government has taken steps to stabilise the market, announcing the central bank would support a major state-backed fund’s share buy-back programme.”I saw the news on TV yesterday… Then I had faith in the government, you know? Today is really good, it’s stable,” said Jin.Shanghai advanced 1.6 percent on Tuesday.A woman in her 80s who gave her surname as Lu said she had come to invest more after hearing about the government measures, though she said she was still “very worried”. “I think this time after (making some gains) I’ll take it out, I can’t believe it went down so fast,” she said. – ‘Seen it all before’ -The branch of Hongta Securities that AFP visited is somewhat of an anomaly, a relic of the days when most small trading was done at in-person terminals. It was used as a filming location for popular series Blossoms, which portrayed the city’s breathless boom years after the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened in 1990. Now-defunct stock screens covering both main walls hint at busier times. These days, most visitors are pensioners, who prefer in-person trading to the new norm of doing so online. Some stayed from market opening until close on Tuesday, forming a core — and vociferous — posse in the best seats under the screens. Their age means they take a long view of current events. “We’ve seen it all before, it’s happened before,” scoffed one woman, who did not give her name.”We’re indifferent!” her friend chimed in. Wang, a retiree in his 70s, said his portfolio had suffered over the last few days, but that he was not too worried. “It won’t affect the average Chinese person’s life,” he said, adding he thought Americans would ultimately suffer more from the trade war.”Ordinary people, or ordinary stockholders, have confidence in the country,” said another man surnamed Wang. Jin, the retired factory worker, said he expected the market to continue to fall for the time being if Trump did not change course. But he saw a potential opportunity in that. “Looking at the situation, you don’t buy, you wait for the country’s market to fall almost, then find a way in.”