Japan posts modest growth despite US tariffs
Japan eked out modest growth in the second quarter despite painful US tariffs, official data showed Friday, in welcome news to embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.A preliminary estimate showed gross domestic product (GDP) in the world’s number four economy growing 0.3 percent in the three months to June, above market forecasts of 0.1 percent.The cabinet office data also saw a revision upwards for its reading for the previous quarter to show an expansion of 0.1 percent.On an annualised basis, GDP grew 1.0 percent, beating market forecasts of 0.4 percent and following 0.6 percent in the last quarter.The previous estimate was for a contraction and, without the revision, a second negative reading would have put Japan in technical recession.The new figures are a fillip for Ishiba, whose future has been uncertain since the disastrous upper house elections in July.With voters angry about the cost of living, his coalition lost its majority months after it suffered a similar catastrophe in the lower chamber.An opinion poll this week by broadcaster NHK suggested, however, that more people want Ishiba to stay than to quit. There is also no obvious successor to the 68-year-old leader, who took office in October, while the opposition is likely too fragmented to form an alternative government.- Trade deal -The economic growth came despite tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump being applied to Japanese imports into the United States.Causing particular pain are levies of 27.5 percent on Japanese cars, a sector that accounts for eight percent of all jobs in Japan.Japan last month secured a trade deal that cut a threatened 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on other Japanese goods to 15 percent.The rate on Japanese cars was also cut to 15 percent, although to Tokyo’s consternation, this has yet to take effect.Toyota this month cut its annual net income forecast by 14 percent, projecting a $9.5 billion hit from the tariffs this year.First-quarter profits halved at Honda, but the firm lowered its forecast for the tariff impact, as did electronics giant Sony.Economist Yoshiki Shinke at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute said that Japan’s economy still faces “many downside risks”, with exports the major concern.Automakers “are expected to rethink their pricing strategies, and there is a possibility they may move to raise prices in the future,” Shinke said in a note.”In such a case, sales volumes in the US are likely to decrease, and export volumes could also be pressured downward,” Shinke said before the release of the data.- ‘Behind the curve’ -Trump’s administration, meanwhile, is seen as pressuring the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to hike interest rates, which could put a brake on growth.The BoJ has been reluctant to raise borrowing costs, seeing above-target inflation as caused by temporary factors.”The Japanese have an inflation problem,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg TV after speaking to the BoJ governor.”They are behind the curve, so they are going to be hiking,” Bessent said.Experts said the comments were likely driven by the Trump administration’s desire to weaken the dollar and address rising yields on US long-term bonds.Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics said that despite the better-than-expected GDP figures, growth will “slow a bit over the coming quarters.””Nonetheless, with inflation set to remain far above the BoJ’s 2-percent target, we’re increasingly confident in our forecast that the Bank will resume its tightening cycle in October,” Thieliant said.
Man dies fleeing ICE raid in California: officials
A man who was believed to have been running from a raid by US immigration agents died Thursday after being hit by a car on a freeway, police said.City managers in Monrovia, near Los Angeles, said police had been called after there were reports of activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a Home Depot.During the raid, one man ran from the parking lot of the hardware store — a place where day laborers commonly gather looking for casual work — and onto a busy freeway during rush hour, Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik told media.A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said the 40-year-old man was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries a few hours later.Neither CHP nor the city were immediately able to provide any details on the man’s identity.Feik said: “The city has not received any communication or information from ICE.”ICE did not immediately respond to an AFP request for information.Masked and armed agents from ICE and US Border Patrol began carrying out raids in and around Los Angeles earlier this year, as President Donald Trump looked to fulfill his election promise to carry out the most deportations in US history.The raids, which target hardware stores, carwashes and other businesses where undocumented people seek work, sparked fury in the mutlicultural city.Protests in Los Angeles, some of which saw isloated instances of violence, were met with the mass deployment of soliders by the federal government, even as local law enforcement said they could handle the unrest.A federal court in July ordered a halt to ICE’s roving patrols in several California counties, after rights groups argued that the raids appeared to be arresting people largely based on their race, the language they were speaking or the place they had gathered.
Israël: un projet majeur de colonisation en Cisjordanie suscite des condamnations
Un ministre israélien a appelé jeudi à accélérer un projet clé de construction de 3.400 logements en Cisjordanie et à annexer ce territoire palestinien occupé par Israël, suscitant des condamnations à l’international.Le ministre des Finances Bezalel Smotrich, d’extrême droite, ripostait aux annonces de plusieurs pays qui, face à la poursuite de l’offensive israélienne et du désastre humanitaire à Gaza, ravagée par plus de 22 mois de guerre, ont dit envisager de reconnaître un Etat de Palestine, à l’occasion de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU en septembre. Parmi eux, la France, le Royaume-Uni mais aussi le Canada.L’ONU et l’Union européenne ont appelé Israël à ne pas mener à bien le projet de construction baptisé E1 qui selon ses détracteurs couperait la Cisjordanie en deux et empêcherait définitivement la création d’un éventuel Etat palestinien disposant d’une continuité territoriale.”Ceux qui veulent aujourd’hui reconnaître un Etat palestinien recevront une réponse de notre part sur le terrain (…) Par des faits concrets: des maisons, des quartiers, des routes et des familles juives qui construisent leur vie”, a déclaré M. Smotrich. “En ce jour important, j’appelle le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu à appliquer la souveraineté israélienne en Judée-Samarie, à abandonner définitivement l’idée d’une partition du pays et à faire en sorte que d’ici septembre, les dirigeants hypocrites européens n’aient plus rien à reconnaître”, a-t-il dit.M. Smotrich faisait référence au nom biblique de la Cisjordanie utilisé par Israël, qui occupe la Cisjordanie depuis 1967. Quelque trois millions de Palestiniens y vivent, aux côtés d’environ 500.000 Israéliens installés dans des colonies, illégales au regard du droit international.”Si vous reconnaissez un Etat palestinien en septembre, notre réponse sera l’application de la souveraineté israélienne sur toutes les parties de Judée-Samarie”, a-t-il menacé. Le ministre s’exprimait lors d’un événement organisé dans la colonie de Maalé Adoumim, pour faire le point sur l’avancée du projet E1.L’Autorité palestinienne basée à Ramallah en Cisjordanie a “condamné fermement” ce projet et “appelé à une intervention internationale et des sanctions pour arrêter sa mise en œuvre”. “La construction dans la zone E1 est une continuation des plans d’occupation visant à anéantir toute possibilité d’établir l’Etat palestinien”, a-t-elle affirmé.- Condamnations -L’ONG israélienne anti-colonisation, La Paix maintenant, a dénoncé un “plan fatal pour l’avenir d’Israël et pour toute chance d’une solution à deux Etats” du conflit israélo-palestinien vieux de plusieurs décennies.Selon elle, un accord final au plan sera discuté mercredi prochain par un comité technique dépendant du ministère de la Défense et, après toutes les étapes bureaucratiques, “il pourrait être mis en place d’ici quelques mois avec des constructions dans un an environ”. L’ONG affirme que ce comité a déjà rejeté toutes les objections légales au projet.Le patron de l’ONU, Antonio Guterres, a averti que ce projet, “s’il se concrétisait” “mettrait fin aux perspectives d’une solution à deux Etats” et couperait le nord du sud de la Cisjordanie”.”La décision des autorités israéliennes de faire avancer le plan de colonisation E1 sape davantage la solution à deux Etats tout en constituant une violation du droit international”, a déclaré la cheffe de la diplomatie de l’Union européenne Kaja Kallas.A Berlin, soutien historique d’Israël, le ministère des Affaires étrangères a dit s’opposer “fermement” à la poursuite par Israël de son projet. “La construction de colonies viole” les résolutions “du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies” et “complique une solution négociée à deux Etats”, souligne la diplomatie allemande.La diplomatie d’Arabie saoudite, à l’initiative avec la France d’une conférence internationale à l’ONU sur la solution à deux Etats, a pour sa part “condamné” le projet “dans les termes les plus forts”, dans un communiqué sur X.La reconnaissance d’un Etat palestinien par plusieurs pays en septembre sera largement symbolique en raison du refus d’Israël à la création d’un tel Etat auquel aspirent les Palestiniens. Ces derniers ambitionnent de l’établir sur les territoires de Cisjordanie et de Gaza avec comme capitale Jérusalem-Est, annexé par Israël.La guerre à Gaza a été déclenchée par une attaque sans précédent du mouvement islamiste palestinien Hamas sur le sol israélien le 7 octobre 2023.
Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
Israel’s finance minister backed plans on Thursday to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the territory’s annexation in response to several countries’ plans to recognise a Palestinian state.The United Nations chief warned that building Israeli homes in the area would “put an end to” hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Israel has long had ambitions to build on the sensitive parcel of land east of Jerusalem known as E1, but the plan has been frozen for decades amid international opposition.Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, while critics and the international community have warned construction on the roughly 12 square kilometres would undermine hopes for a contiguous future Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.The site sits between the ancient city and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near routes connecting the north and south of the Palestinian territory. There are also separate, frozen plans to expand Israel’s separation barrier to envelop the area.”Those who want to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive a response from us on the ground… Through concrete actions: houses, neighbourhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives,” said Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, who was speaking at a pro-settlement event on the advancement of plans for the E1 parcel.”On this important day, I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, to abandon once and for all the idea of partitioning the country, and to ensure that by September, the hypocritical European leaders will have nothing left to recognise,” the far-right figurehead added, using the Biblical term for the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.Britain and France are among several countries to announce in recent weeks plans to recognise a Palestinian state later this year, saying they wanted to keep the two-state solution alive.- ‘Breach of international law’ -Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said “If this went ahead — which we call on the Israeli government not to do… it would sever the northern and southern West banks.”He added that “it would put an end to the prospects of a two-state solution”.The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the plans and called for “genuine international intervention and the imposition of sanctions on the occupation to compel it to halt the implementation”.”Colonial construction in the E1 area is a continuation of the occupation’s plans to destroy the opportunity for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” it added.The European Union’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the plan “further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law” and called on Israel “to desist”.Germany said it “strongly objects” to the plan and called on the Israeli government to “stop settlement construction”, while Saudi Arabia also condemned the move “in the strongest possible terms”.Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, denounced the E1 plan as “deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution”.The NGO said the final approval hearing would be held next Wednesday by a technical committee under the defence ministry that has already rejected all objections to the proposals.After the bureaucratic steps are completed, “infrastructure work in E1 could begin within a few months, and housing construction within about a year”, Peace Now said.The West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as about 500,000 Israeli settlers.
YouTube turns to AI to spot children posing as adults
YouTube has started using artificial intelligence (AI) to figure out when users are children pretending to be adults on the popular video-sharing platform amid pressure to protect minors from sensitive content.The new safeguard is being rolled out in the United States as Google-owned YouTube and social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are under scrutiny to shield children from content geared for grown-ups.A version of AI referred to as machine learning will be used to estimate the age of users based on a variety of factors, including the kinds of videos watched and account longevity, according to YouTube Youth director of product management James Beser.”This technology will allow us to infer a user’s age and then use that signal, regardless of the birthday in the account, to deliver our age-appropriate product experiences and protections,” Beser said.”We’ve used this approach in other markets for some time, where it is working well.”The age-estimation model enhances technology already in place to deduce user age, according to YouTube.Users will be notified if YouTube believes them to be minors, giving them the option to verify their age with a credit card, selfie, or government ID, according to the tech firm.Social media platforms are regularly accused of failing to protect the well-being of children.Australia will soon use its landmark social media laws to ban children under 16 from YouTube, a top minister said late last month, stressing a need to shield them from “predatory algorithms.”Communications Minister Anika Wells said four-in-ten Australian children had reported viewing harmful content on YouTube, one of the most visited websites in the world. Australia announced last year it was drafting laws that will ban children from social media sites such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram until they turn 16. “Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens,” the company said in a statement at the time. “It’s not social media.” On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world. It is due to come into effect on December 10. The legislation has been closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.
Serbie: deuxième soirée d’affrontements entre manifestants et partisans du pouvoir
Des violences entre manifestants et partisans du président nationaliste serbe Aleksandar Vucic ont éclaté jeudi pour le deuxième soir de suite en Serbie, les deux camps s’accusant de chercher à envenimer le mouvement de contestation et la crise politique qui secouent le pays depuis des mois.Au lendemain d’affrontements qui ont fait des dizaines de blessés et donné lieu à des dizaines d’interpellations, de nouveaux rassemblements ont été organisés dans une trentaine de villes, donnant lieu à de nouveaux heurts.Au moins 42 policiers ont été blessés, dont 26 à Belgrade, et 37 manifestants arrêtés, selon le ministre de l’Intérieur Ivica Dacic.”Il ne s’agit plus de manifestations pacifiques des étudiants. Il s’agit de ceux qui veulent provoquer les violences (…) Il s’agit d’une attaque contre l’Etat”, a dénoncé le ministre en conférence de presse.Les manifestations sont régulières dans ce pays des Balkans depuis l’effondrement en novembre 2024 d’un auvent en béton à la gare de Novi Sad (nord). La tragédie, qui a fait 16 morts, a rapidement été imputée à la corruption par les manifestants.Toutes les manifestations étudiantes étaient jusqu’à présent généralement pacifiques. Elles ont lieu à travers le pays et ont parfois rassemblé plusieurs centaines de milliers de personnes.Jeudi soir, des manifestants ont dégradé les locaux du Parti progressiste serbe du président (SNS, nationalistes) à trois endroits de Novi Sad. Souvent encagoulés, ils ont cassé la devanture en verre de l’un des locaux, puis ont jeté des œufs et de la peinture sur la façade, selon les images diffusées par la chaîne de télévision privée N1. Aucun sympathisant du SNS ne se trouvait dans les locaux du parti et la police n’est pas intervenue.Les manifestants ont ensuite endommagé deux autres locaux du SNS à Novi Sad, avant d’être dispersés par la police, a rapporté la télévision nationale (RTS).A Belgrade, des manifestants se sont rassemblés devant les sièges du gouvernement et de l’état-major de l’armée, avant de se rapprocher aussi des locaux du SNS. Mais ils ont été tenus à distance par un important cordon de la police antiémeute.Ils ont ensuite jeté des engins pyrotechniques contre des sympathisants du SNS regroupés devant les locaux du parti. La police les a ensuite repoussés, selon les images diffusées par N1.Parallèlement, les forces spéciales de la police ont fait usage de gaz lacrymogène pour repousser un autre groupe de manifestants qui ont essayé de s’approcher du principal siège du SNS à Belgrade, selon la RTS.- “Guerre civile” -“L’objectif du pouvoir est d’intimider les citoyens. Ils veulent casser cette révolte et faire peur aux gens”, a déclaré à N1 un avocat belgradois Aleksandar Petrovic, qui a rejoint les manifestants devant le gouvernement.Après une première soirée d’affrontements mercredi, le président Aleksandar Vucic avait accusé les manifestants d’avoir attaqué les militants du SNS et promis de “sévères” punitions pour les auteurs de violences.”Nous allons prévenir leur souhait de nous conduire vers une guerre civile”, avait ajouté le chef de l’Etat, qui ne dirige pas officiellement le parti.Pour les étudiants, qui sont à la tête du mouvement de contestation, les rôles sont renversés.”Le pouvoir a essayé de provoquer la guerre civile la nuit dernière”, ont-il écrit sur un de leurs comptes Instagram officiels. Ils ont accusé la police d’avoir “protégé” les partisans du SNS.Sous la pression de la rue ces derniers mois, le gouvernement a été remanié, le Premier ministre remplacé, plusieurs anciens ministres ont été arrêtés et inculpés.Depuis mai, les manifestants réclament des élections anticipées, ce que le président Vucic refuse, dénonçant un complot étranger visant à renverser le pouvoir en place.Mercredi soir, plus de 70 citoyens, 27 policiers et sept membres d’une unité d’élite de l’armée (“Kobre”) – chargée de protéger les plus hauts dirigeants politiques -, avaient été blessés, la plupart d’entre eux lors de violences à Novi Sad, devant les locaux du SNS, selon le ministre de l’Intérieur.Selon le ministre, la plupart des personnes blessées étaient des partisans du SNS.Dans la foulée, la police avait interpellé une cinquantaine de personnes.
‘Ridiculous’: How Washington residents view the new troops in town
Outside the busiest train station in Washington, newly deployed National Guard troops wearing camouflage lean on a huge military Humvee.Wary residents and curious tourists stop to take photos, while inside the elegant Union Station a string trio plays “What a Wonderful World.”Christian Calhoun, a 26-year-old consultant who was born and raised in the US capital, told AFP that seeing the troops made him “more than disappointed — I’m furious.””It’s a lot of standing around,” he added.Declaring that Washington is overrun by crime and plagued by homeless people, President Donald Trump has deployed 800 National Guard troops, as well as ordering a federal takeover of the city’s police department.Over more than an hour on Thursday afternoon, the most that the handful of troops at Union Station interacted with the public was to let a French tourist take a selfie with them.Larry Janezich, an 81-year-old resident, said he had not seen the troops taking part in “any kind of meaningful action that is dedicated to the prevention of crime.”Patricia Darby, a 65-year-old retiree, said that the troops “don’t want to be here,” pointing to how some had their faces covered.Calhoun said he does “feel bad” for them as they wore heavy combat gear as temperatures soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius).- ‘Fake news’ -On his Truth Social platform, Trump this week described Washington as “under siege from thugs and killers,” with higher crime rates than “many of the most violent Third World Countries.”Residents outside Union Station rejected the apocalyptic image.”It’s ridiculous, and it really just shows how (Trump) sees the people that live here,” Calhoun said.”It’s totally false, and obviously promulgated on his media to justify an unwarranted exercise of federal power,” Janezich said.Gerry Cosgrove, a 62-year-old tourist from the Scottish city of Edinburgh only in Washington for two days, had a simple response when asked about Trump’s portrayal of the city: “To quote a phrase: fake news.”Trump has also ordered homeless people to “move out” of Washington.”Where are they going to go?” Darby asked, after fetching a bottle of water for a homeless person in the heat.Randy Kindle, who volunteers with a protest group in a tent outside Union Station, told AFP he was afraid that homeless people could now end up in confinement or jail “when all they need is help.”Guadalupe, a homeless man in his late 70s originally from Mexico, told AFP that the troops had asked him to move on Wednesday night.”They have no manners,” he said in Spanish.”I almost felt sick” during the interaction, he added.Calhoun said he had mostly seen the troops outside train stations, adding that he noticed they had “a lot of focus on cannabis use.”Washington legalized cannabis use on private property in 2015, however it is still prohibited under federal law. Several residents also raised the cost of deploying the troops in their city.”It’s a waste of money — I think DC was safe,” Darby said.