Global stocks drop as US tariff uncertainty lingers

Global stock markets mostly slipped Wednesday as investors digested conflicting signals from President Donald Trump about his coming wave of tariffs.In New York, the Dow was little changed but the wider S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were lower in midday deals. In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt closed down while London edged up as data showed an unexpected slowdown to UK annual inflation.With the White House’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2 fast approaching, investors are bracing for a wave of sweeping levies on imports amid warnings of crippled global trade, recession and a fresh spike in inflation.But Trump has alternated between tough talk about imposing tariffs across the board to suggesting he may allow some carve-outs to spare US consumers the full brunt of their impact on prices.The result has been a drop in economic sentiment as consumers expect higher prices. “All the tariff talk uncertainty has led to a sharp drop in confidence,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation. The president told Newsmax on Tuesday that he did not “want to have too many exceptions” but added: “I’ll probably be more lenient than reciprocal, because if I was reciprocal, that would be very tough for people.”The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its closely watched gauge of consumer confidence dived to its lowest level since 2021 — during the Covid pandemic — as concerns grow over higher prices.”Recent survey data has painted a gloomy outlook for the US economy. But this pessimism has yet to show up in hard data, such as unemployment, while corporate earnings continue to beat expectations,” Morrison said.The figures come as the Federal Reserve re-evaluates its monetary policy in light of Trump’s tariffs agenda, with some analysts warning it might have to hold off any interest rate cuts this year.The next major clue on its outlook comes Friday with the release of a key inflation indicator.While almost all European markets fell, defence stocks bucked the trend as one country after another pledges to boost military spending, with Spain and Sweden being the latest to do so Wednesday.France’s Thales, Germany’s Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo were all sharply higher.London’s stock market rose after news that the country’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 2.8 percent in February from 3.0 percent in January.The market held onto its gains even after finance minister Rachel Reeves cut the country’s growth forecast in half to one percent as she announced spending cuts, as she raised the outlook for the subsequent three years.”She appears to have done the trick of not unnerving investors further,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.  Trump’s talk of tariff exemptions had earlier helped some Asian markets edge higher after recent slumps. Copper futures traded on New York’s Comex exchange touched a record high after Trump said he could impose duties on imports of the commodity within weeks, leading some investors to shift supply to the United States to avoid any eventual levies.- Key figures around 1700 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 42,543.75 points New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.9 percent at 5,726.12 New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 17,964 London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,689.59 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 8,030.68 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,839.03 (close) Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 38,027.29 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 23,483.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,368.70 (close)Euro/dollar: UNCHANGED from Tuesday at $1.0790 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2897 from $1.2943Dollar/yen: UP at 150.54 yen from 149.90 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.67 pence from 83.37 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $73.88 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $69.87 per barrel

Plans militaires divulgués: nouvelles révélations, la Maison Blanche sur la défensive

Le magazine américain The Atlantic a publié mercredi un plan de frappes contre les Houthis au Yémen, dont son rédacteur en chef a été le destinataire accidentel, et a immédiatement été accusé par la Maison Blanche d’avoir “survendu” cette nouvelle révélation.Après que le gouvernement de Donald Trump a affirmé mardi que les échanges sensibles entre hauts responsables dont le magazine avait commencé à faire état la veille n’étaient pas protégés par le secret-défense, la prestigieuse publication a publié mercredi un nouvel article.Cette fois, The Atlantic publie des copies d’écran de messages du ministre américain de la Défense, Pete Hegseth, avec les horaires précis des frappes prévues contre le groupe rebelle yéménite et les armements employés, envoyés deux heures avant que celles-ci n’aient eu lieu le 15 mars dans une discussion de groupe sur Signal.”Il n’y avait pas de détails, il n’y avait rien là-dedans qui ait compromis (l’opération) et cela n’a pas eu d’impact sur l’attaque qui a été un grand succès”, a commenté le président Trump dans un entretien publié mercredi avec le podcasteur Vince Coglianese.”Ils mentent pour maintenir une NOUVELLE supercherie”, a de son côté écrit le chef de cabinet adjoint de la Maison Blanche, Taylor Budowich, en référence à The Atlantic.Le vice-président JD Vance, qui participait à la conversation Signal à l’origine de cette retentissante faille de sécurité, a également accusé le magazine d’avoir “survendu” ses révélations.- Démission -Le conseiller à la sécurité nationale, Mike Waltz, qui avait invité le rédacteur en chef de The Atlantic dans le groupe de discussion, a lui écrit sur X: “Pas de localisations. Pas de sources ni de méthodes. PAS DE PLANS D’ATTAQUE”.Pete Hegseth a également ironisé sur le même réseau social qu’en l’absence selon lui d’informations spécifiques sur les frappes, “ce sont vraiment des plans de guerre foireux”.L’opposition démocrate a vivement critiqué depuis lundi les responsables impliqués, et les appels à la démission se multiplient mercredi avec ces nouvelles révélations.”Pete Hegseth est un p*tain de menteur”, a déclaré la démocrate Tammy Duckworth, membre de la commission des forces armées au Sénat. “Ce sont clairement des informations classifiées qu’il a fait fuiter par négligence”, a-t-elle ajouté.”Il doit démissionner dans le déshonneur immédiatement”, a conclu la sénatrice.”Le gouvernement Trump m’a envoyé par erreur ses plans de guerre”, voilà le titre fracassant du premier article de The Atlantic lundi.Son rédacteur en chef, Jeffrey Goldberg, y raconte avoir été par erreur ajouté dans une boucle de discussion sur Signal, dans laquelle les plus hauts responsables du gouvernement américain, parmi lesquels les chefs du Pentagone et de la CIA, ont discuté de frappes à venir contre les Houthis, alliés de l’Iran.- F-18, MQ-9 et Tomahawks -Donald Trump avait déjà minimisé mardi cette fuite spectaculaire, la qualifiant de simple “pépin” émanant d’un journaliste “tordu”.”Il n’y avait pas d’informations classifiées partagées” dans ce groupe de discussion, a de son côté affirmé mardi la directrice du Renseignement américain, Tulsi Gabbard.Le magazine raconte, dans son nouvel article mercredi, avoir contacté l’administration Trump après ces affirmations selon lesquelles les messages n’étaient pas secret-défense, pour leur demander s’ils étaient donc d’accord pour que soient publiés davantage de messages, plus précis.La Maison Blanche s’y est opposée, selon The Atlantic. Le magazine a tout de même publié l’essentiel des échanges, masquant seulement le nom d’un agent de la CIA.”La cible terroriste est sur sa zone connue donc ON DEVRAIT ETRE A L’HEURE – et aussi, départ des frappes de drones (MQ-9)”, écrit ainsi Pete Hegseth aux autres membres du groupe le 15 mars.Ou encore: “15H36 F-18 début seconde frappe – aussi, lancement premiers Tomahawks depuis mer”.Les F-18 sont des avions de combat américains, le MQ-9 est un drone de combat américain, et les Tomahawks sont des missiles de croisière.Les Houthis affirment que ces frappes américaines ont fait une cinquantaine de morts et une centaine de blessés.Mardi, Donald Trump avait seulement concédé que Mike Waltz allait “probablement” s’abstenir “dans l’immédiat” d’utiliser à nouveau la messagerie privée Signal.L’ONG American Oversight, qui milite pour une plus grande transparence des affaires publiques, a attaqué en justice plusieurs hauts responsables concernés, faisant valoir qu’ils avaient enfreint la législation sur les communications officielles en utilisant Signal.

Plans militaires divulgués: nouvelles révélations, la Maison Blanche sur la défensive

Le magazine américain The Atlantic a publié mercredi un plan de frappes contre les Houthis au Yémen, dont son rédacteur en chef a été le destinataire accidentel, et a immédiatement été accusé par la Maison Blanche d’avoir “survendu” cette nouvelle révélation.Après que le gouvernement de Donald Trump a affirmé mardi que les échanges sensibles entre hauts responsables dont le magazine avait commencé à faire état la veille n’étaient pas protégés par le secret-défense, la prestigieuse publication a publié mercredi un nouvel article.Cette fois, The Atlantic publie des copies d’écran de messages du ministre américain de la Défense, Pete Hegseth, avec les horaires précis des frappes prévues contre le groupe rebelle yéménite et les armements employés, envoyés deux heures avant que celles-ci n’aient eu lieu le 15 mars dans une discussion de groupe sur Signal.”Il n’y avait pas de détails, il n’y avait rien là-dedans qui ait compromis (l’opération) et cela n’a pas eu d’impact sur l’attaque qui a été un grand succès”, a commenté le président Trump dans un entretien publié mercredi avec le podcasteur Vince Coglianese.”Ils mentent pour maintenir une NOUVELLE supercherie”, a de son côté écrit le chef de cabinet adjoint de la Maison Blanche, Taylor Budowich, en référence à The Atlantic.Le vice-président JD Vance, qui participait à la conversation Signal à l’origine de cette retentissante faille de sécurité, a également accusé le magazine d’avoir “survendu” ses révélations.- Démission -Le conseiller à la sécurité nationale, Mike Waltz, qui avait invité le rédacteur en chef de The Atlantic dans le groupe de discussion, a lui écrit sur X: “Pas de localisations. Pas de sources ni de méthodes. PAS DE PLANS D’ATTAQUE”.Pete Hegseth a également ironisé sur le même réseau social qu’en l’absence selon lui d’informations spécifiques sur les frappes, “ce sont vraiment des plans de guerre foireux”.L’opposition démocrate a vivement critiqué depuis lundi les responsables impliqués, et les appels à la démission se multiplient mercredi avec ces nouvelles révélations.”Pete Hegseth est un p*tain de menteur”, a déclaré la démocrate Tammy Duckworth, membre de la commission des forces armées au Sénat. “Ce sont clairement des informations classifiées qu’il a fait fuiter par négligence”, a-t-elle ajouté.”Il doit démissionner dans le déshonneur immédiatement”, a conclu la sénatrice.”Le gouvernement Trump m’a envoyé par erreur ses plans de guerre”, voilà le titre fracassant du premier article de The Atlantic lundi.Son rédacteur en chef, Jeffrey Goldberg, y raconte avoir été par erreur ajouté dans une boucle de discussion sur Signal, dans laquelle les plus hauts responsables du gouvernement américain, parmi lesquels les chefs du Pentagone et de la CIA, ont discuté de frappes à venir contre les Houthis, alliés de l’Iran.- F-18, MQ-9 et Tomahawks -Donald Trump avait déjà minimisé mardi cette fuite spectaculaire, la qualifiant de simple “pépin” émanant d’un journaliste “tordu”.”Il n’y avait pas d’informations classifiées partagées” dans ce groupe de discussion, a de son côté affirmé mardi la directrice du Renseignement américain, Tulsi Gabbard.Le magazine raconte, dans son nouvel article mercredi, avoir contacté l’administration Trump après ces affirmations selon lesquelles les messages n’étaient pas secret-défense, pour leur demander s’ils étaient donc d’accord pour que soient publiés davantage de messages, plus précis.La Maison Blanche s’y est opposée, selon The Atlantic. Le magazine a tout de même publié l’essentiel des échanges, masquant seulement le nom d’un agent de la CIA.”La cible terroriste est sur sa zone connue donc ON DEVRAIT ETRE A L’HEURE – et aussi, départ des frappes de drones (MQ-9)”, écrit ainsi Pete Hegseth aux autres membres du groupe le 15 mars.Ou encore: “15H36 F-18 début seconde frappe – aussi, lancement premiers Tomahawks depuis mer”.Les F-18 sont des avions de combat américains, le MQ-9 est un drone de combat américain, et les Tomahawks sont des missiles de croisière.Les Houthis affirment que ces frappes américaines ont fait une cinquantaine de morts et une centaine de blessés.Mardi, Donald Trump avait seulement concédé que Mike Waltz allait “probablement” s’abstenir “dans l’immédiat” d’utiliser à nouveau la messagerie privée Signal.L’ONG American Oversight, qui milite pour une plus grande transparence des affaires publiques, a attaqué en justice plusieurs hauts responsables concernés, faisant valoir qu’ils avaient enfreint la législation sur les communications officielles en utilisant Signal.

Anti-Hamas chants at new protests in Gaza: witnesses

Palestinians on Wednesday staged protests in the Gaza Strip against the territory’s Hamas rulers for the second consecutive day, calling for an end to the war with Israel, witnesses said.Demonstrators carrying banners reading “Hamas does not represent us” were seen marching in Gaza City and the town of Beit Lahia to the north, just over a week after Israel resumed its bombing campaign following nearly two months of a truce.”We do not want Hamas! We are tired,” said protester Muayed Zahir, who took part in the rally in Gaza City.After more than 17 months of devastating war, “there is no education, no food, no clothing — and all this is because of Hamas,” Zahir added.”We appeal to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu: Stop firing missiles at the sad, poor people.”Protesters also chanted “Out, out, Hamas out!” witnesses said.One demonstrator who declined to be named said that nearly “two years of destruction and extreme hardship are enough”.”Enough, Hamas, with the suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza… These are the demands of the people,” added the man, stressing that “we speak in the name of the people, we are not being controlled by anyone.”On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians participated in a protest in Beit Lahia, the biggest rally in Gaza against Hamas since the start of the war.Hamas has been in power in Gaza since 2007.Levels of discontent towards Hamas are difficult to gauge, in part because of its intolerance for public expressions of dissent.A public opinion poll conducted in September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, based outside of Gaza in the occupied West Bank, estimated that 35 percent of Gazans supported Hamas.According to the survey, support for Hamas in Gaza was slightly higher than for its main political rival, the Fatah movement of Ramallah-based Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, estimated at 26 percent.In Israel’s parliament on Wednesday, Netanyahu said: “More and more Gazans understand that Hamas brings them destruction and ruin… all of this proves that our policy is working.”Fatah’s spokesman in Gaza, Monther al-Hayek, on Saturday called on Hamas to “step aside from governing” the territory to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians there.Before Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, it had blocked in early March the entry of aid into the war-ravaged territory, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.Israeli officials said the move to block aid was aimed at forcing the militants to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Since Israel resumed its military operations on March 18, at least 830 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.Israel’s military offensive since October 2023 has killed at least 50,183 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry.

Rubio in Caribbean to chart new path for Haiti

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Caribbean on Wednesday looking for ways forward on violence-torn Haiti and to show support for oil-rich Guyana in its dispute with Venezuela.Donald Trump’s top diplomat landed in Jamaica, where he will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), before stops Thursday both in Guyana and neighboring Suriname.At the Caribbean summit, Rubio will meet the leaders of Haiti as well as host Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.”We’ll work together to crack down on illegal immigration, violence and contraband in our region, and hold accountable those who perpetrate financial fraud,” Rubio said in a post about his trip on X.It is Rubio’s second trip south of the US border since taking office as the Trump administration focuses on preventing migration.Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has been at a breaking point for years with the collapse of government authority, rampant violence and the crumbling of public health services.A Kenyan-led international security mission supported by former president Joe Biden has deployed to Haiti in hopes of bringing stability, but the troop force has come up short and violence has resumed.More than 60,000 people have been displaced in one month inside the capital Port-au-Prince in a resurgence of gang violence, the International Organization for Migration said last week.Rubio has made an exemption to sweeping cuts in US assistance worldwide to allow the continuation of support for the Haiti mission.The Trump administration has yet to announce new ideas on Haiti, beyond revoking deportation protections for thousands of Haitians living in the United States.Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, said Rubio hoped to speak with Caribbean nations to hear their views on Haiti.”The circumstances are dire,” he told reporters.”We are developing a strategy in order to be able to continue to support the Haitian National Police,” he said. “It is a strategy in development.”Rubio, visiting the Dominican Republic last month, said the international mission in Haiti “needs to be broadened for it to be able to eliminate these gangs.” “If that can be achieved, we need to discuss the future of Haiti,” which can include incentives for domestic manufacturing, Rubio said.- Guyana’s oil reserves -Rubio will be the third successive US secretary of state to visit Guyana with interest spiking after the discovery of major oil reserves.The South American country now has the largest crude oil reserves in the world on a per capita basis.The oil is concentrated in the Essequibo border region which is disputed with Venezuela, led by leftist US nemesis Nicolas Maduro.Guyana earlier this month denounced what it called a Venezuelan military vessel’s incursion in its waters.Venezuela denied any violation and requested a meeting between Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, who dismissed the offer.Claver-Carone likened Guyana to oil-rich Gulf Arab nations where the United States stations troops, in recent decades due to tensions with Iran.”We want to work with Guyana in order to ensure the cooperation there and its guarantees on its security. We’ve seen the threats from Venezuela,” he said.Trump has severed a deal by Chevron to operate in Venezuela and threatened a new tariff effective April 2 for countries that buy Venezuelan oil.Ali, despite his cooperation with the United States, said that Caribbean nations have concerns they would raise with Rubio about another threatened Trump move — fines for use of Chinese-made container ships.”We have to have early conversations to ensure that we mitigate or minimize the impact on the region,” Ali said.If Trump goes ahead with the move, “it will cause tremendous spikes in the cost of freight for virtually every sector in CARICOM,” Patrick Antoine, the chief of the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), told AFP. 

Magazine publishes full US attack plan shared in Signal chat

US magazine the Atlantic on Wednesday published the full exchange of leaked messages between officials laying out plans for an attack on Yemen, as the White House fought fiercely to defend itself over the slip-up.Details including the times of strikes and types of planes used were shown in screenshots of the chat between President Donald Trump’s top officials on the commercial Signal messaging app.The story broke earlier this week after an Atlantic journalist was accidentally added to the chat, and the magazine said it was revealing full details of the attack plans now because Trump’s team insisted that no classified details were involved.The White House reacted defiantly, launching a coordinated attack in which it slammed the magazine’s journalists as “scumbags” and dismissed the story as a “hoax.””There weren’t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised, and it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful,” Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese when asked about the latest revelations.Vice President JD Vance, who was on the Signal conversation, said The Atlantic had “oversold” the story. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has taken responsibility for accidentally adding Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, likewise insisted that the Signal chain revealed “no locations” and “NO WAR PLANS.”Goldberg revealed Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in the Signal chat about imminent strikes against the Huthi rebels on March 15. The magazine — which initially said it published only the broad outlines about the attacks to protect US troops — said it had published the full details after the Trump repeatedly denied that any classified details had been included.The texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off — and two hours before the first target was expected to be bombed.- ‘Bombs will definitely drop’ – “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”, Hegseth writes, referring to F-18 US Navy jets, before adding that “Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME.””1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”Hegseth also writes about the use of US drones and Tomahawk cruise missiles missiles. A short time later, Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing that US forces had identified the target “walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”The full version of the chat group also revealed the informal side of the high-stakes chat, including when Waltz wrote a garbled message and Vance replied “What?” Waltz explained he was “typing too fast.”The chat included emojis of a fist, an American flag, a muscled arm and a flame.The Atlantic said its full publication Wednesday included everything in the Signal chain other than one CIA name that the agency had asked not to be revealed.It added that it had asked the government whether there would be any problem in publishing the rest of the material, given the official insistence that no secrets were shared.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had replied insisting there was no classified material involved but adding that “we object to the release,” the magazine said.The depth of detail has fueled a furious outcry from Democrats in Congress who are accusing the Trump officials of incompetence and putting US military operations in peril. The House of Representatives discussed the scandal in a hearing Wednesday.The story also threatens to cause further ructions between Washington and its allies, after Goldberg revealed disparaging comments by Vance and Hegseth about “pathetic” European nations during their chat.The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the Huthi rebels in response to constant attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.The Huthi rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US. 

Magazine publishes full US attack plan shared in Signal chat

US magazine the Atlantic on Wednesday published the full exchange of leaked messages between officials laying out plans for an attack on Yemen, as the White House fought fiercely to defend itself over the slip-up.Details including the times of strikes and types of planes used were shown in screenshots of the chat between President Donald Trump’s top officials on the commercial Signal messaging app.The story broke earlier this week after an Atlantic journalist was accidentally added to the chat, and the magazine said it was revealing full details of the attack plans now because Trump’s team insisted that no classified details were involved.The White House reacted defiantly, launching a coordinated attack in which it slammed the magazine’s journalists as “scumbags” and dismissed the story as a “hoax.””There weren’t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised, and it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful,” Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese when asked about the latest revelations.Vice President JD Vance, who was on the Signal conversation, said The Atlantic had “oversold” the story. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has taken responsibility for accidentally adding Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, likewise insisted that the Signal chain revealed “no locations” and “NO WAR PLANS.”Goldberg revealed Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in the Signal chat about imminent strikes against the Huthi rebels on March 15. The magazine — which initially said it published only the broad outlines about the attacks to protect US troops — said it had published the full details after the Trump repeatedly denied that any classified details had been included.The texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off — and two hours before the first target was expected to be bombed.- ‘Bombs will definitely drop’ – “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”, Hegseth writes, referring to F-18 US Navy jets, before adding that “Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME.””1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”Hegseth also writes about the use of US drones and Tomahawk cruise missiles missiles. A short time later, Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing that US forces had identified the target “walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”The full version of the chat group also revealed the informal side of the high-stakes chat, including when Waltz wrote a garbled message and Vance replied “What?” Waltz explained he was “typing too fast.”The chat included emojis of a fist, an American flag, a muscled arm and a flame.The Atlantic said its full publication Wednesday included everything in the Signal chain other than one CIA name that the agency had asked not to be revealed.It added that it had asked the government whether there would be any problem in publishing the rest of the material, given the official insistence that no secrets were shared.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had replied insisting there was no classified material involved but adding that “we object to the release,” the magazine said.The depth of detail has fueled a furious outcry from Democrats in Congress who are accusing the Trump officials of incompetence and putting US military operations in peril. The House of Representatives discussed the scandal in a hearing Wednesday.The story also threatens to cause further ructions between Washington and its allies, after Goldberg revealed disparaging comments by Vance and Hegseth about “pathetic” European nations during their chat.The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the Huthi rebels in response to constant attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.The Huthi rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US. 

Réforme de l’audiovisuel public: appels à la grève à France Télévisions et Radio France

Les syndicats de France Télévisions et Radio France appellent à des grèves de deux jours et un jour respectivement, pour protester contre le projet gouvernemental de rapprochement des entreprises de l’audiovisuel public, ont-ils annoncé mercredi.Les préavis de grève portent sur les journées du lundi 31 mars et mardi 1er avril à France Télévisions, et du mardi 1er avril à Radio France.”Ce projet de réforme de la gouvernance de l’audiovisuel public et les baisses budgétaires associées auront de graves conséquences s’il est adopté”, écrivent les syndicats CGT, CFDT, FO, SNJ et SUD de France Télévisions dans leur préavis.Ils craignent “une mise en danger des services et des programmes proposés aux publics, contraints par des budgets qui ne cessent de se réduire”, ainsi qu’un “risque de mainmise politique aggravée en cas de gouvernance toujours plus verticale et réduite”.”Ce projet aura pour conséquence de démanteler notre entreprise en la plaçant sous la tutelle de France Télévisions”, estiment pour leur part les syndicats CFDT, CGT, FO, SNF, Sud et Unsa de Radio France.Un projet de réforme de l’audiovisuel public est sur les rails, porté par la ministre de la Culture Rachida Dati.Il s’agit de créer une holding, France Médias, chapeautant quatre filiales (France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde, Institut national de l’audiovisuel) sous l’autorité d’un ou d’une présidente.Le projet initial prévoyait une fusion des sociétés, dans une sorte de BBC à la française, mais il avait été interrompu par la dissolution de l’Assemblée nationale en 2024.Le texte sur lequel s’appuie le projet, une proposition de loi du sénateur du Val-de-Marne Laurent Lafon (Union centriste), est inscrit à l’ordre du jour des travaux de l’Assemblée nationale le 10 avril, mais cet examen pourrait être décalé.Début mars, Mme Dati a confié à Laurence Bloch, ex-directrice des antennes de Radio France, une “mission d’accompagnement” sur la réforme de l’audiovisuel public”.