Israel attack survivor’s agony as brother remains hostage in Gaza

Israeli survivor Gal Gilboa-Dalal has led a life of pain and worry since Hamas militants took his younger brother Guy hostage from the music festival they attended together on October 7, 2023.Wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the face of his 23-year-old brother, he showed a photo of their final moments together before being separated during the attack.Of the 1,218 people killed as a result of the October 7 attack, militants murdered more than 370 people at the Nova music festival, at which Guy Gilboa-Dalal was taken hostage.”I constantly imagine our reunion,” Gal Gilboa-Dalal told AFP. “This moment felt closer than ever and unfortunately, it’s drifting away from me again.”Guy Gilboa-Dalal had been attending the festival on the edge of the Gaza Strip with his childhood friend Evyatar David.They were among the 44 people taken hostage from the site and remain captive in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.In late February, Hamas released a video showing the two inside a vehicle, watching a hostage release ceremony from a few metres away.They can be heard calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure their release.”I saw… how tired, how depressed, how broken he is there,” Gilboa-Dalal, 30, said as he watched the video, the first sign of life from his brother since he was seen with his friend at gunpoint in Gaza on October 7.Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack which triggered the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.The first phase of a ceasefire that took effect on January 19 saw Hamas release 33 Israeli and dual national hostages, including eight deceased, and Israel free around 1,800 Palestinian detainees.- ‘Gives me strength’ -Gilboa-Dalal said his family and that of Evyatar David had received information on the pair from released hostages who had lived with them in a Gaza tunnel.”They tell us that they are given only one pita per day and that they have been in the same tunnel for nine months without leaving. A very small tunnel where they live, sleep, eat, and drink,” he said.As Israel resumed its intense bombardment and ground operations in Gaza last week after talks on extending the truce reached an impasse, Gilboa-Dalal said he was wracked with anxiety.”We are fighting here against a terrorist organisation that only understands force,” he told AFP.”On the other hand, I am terrified that these bombings and this operation… will endanger the hostages there. There’s no way to know what the terrorists might do to them or if a missile might accidentally hit them”, he added.Evyatar David’s brother, Ilay, shared his fears.”What happened when the camera was turned off? What new form of torture did the terrorists choose? Were they returned together to the tunnel? Were they separated and sentenced to isolation?”Both men said they shared a sense of guilt for not protecting their younger siblings.”I came to the festival to watch over him and to leave without him. It was just a horrible feeling of helplessness that is still ongoing,” Gilboa-Dalal said.Speaking of his experiences on October 7, David said he had “never been so afraid, never been so angry, never been so frustrated.””I felt like I was burning up and about to explode, that’s how I felt. And I felt how everything was crumbling beneath my feet. It was as if… I failed, I was supposed to protect my little brother and I failed,” he said at a rally for hostage releases in Jerusalem.Gilboa-Dalal and David said they are devoting themselves full-time to the fight for the release of their younger brothers and are still hoping to see them return alive.”Guy doesn’t know that I survived Nova… So reuniting with him would be so emotional,” Gilboa-Dalal said with a brief smile.David shared the same hopes for his brother.”Every day, I think about the moment when he will be free, it gives me strength,” he said.

L’Estonie vote sur une restriction du droit de vote des résidents russes

Le Parlement estonien vote mercredi sur un amendement à la Constitution interdisant aux citoyens non-européens de participer aux élections locales, une mesure visant particulièrement la forte minorité russe d’Estonie.Le scrutin répond aux préoccupations grandissantes de sécurité dans ce pays balte, depuis l’invasion russe de l’Ukraine en février 2022.Diverses forces politiques estoniennes ont proposé d’exclure des élections les Russes et les Bélarusses mais aussi des apatrides vivant en Estonie, de crainte d’ingérences étrangères.”Il est fondamentalement juste de faire en sorte que nos affaires ne soient pas décidées par les citoyens des pays agresseurs”, a déclaré le Premier ministre estonien Kristen Michal, dans la nuit précédant le vote, en évoquant “un jour important” qui arrive.Près de 80.000 citoyens russes et près de 60.000 apatrides sont enregistrés en Estonie, une ancienne république soviétique comptant 1,3 million d’habitants, qui a recouvré son indépendance en 1991.”Si la Russie avait été, de notre point de vue, sensée, personne n’aurait initié cela”, a déclaré Rein Toomla, un analyste politique de l’Institut Johan Skytte. “C’est très clairement (une démarche) contre la Russie et, d’une certaine manière, les citoyens russes vivant en Estonie en sont victimes parce que la Russie a agi de la sorte, non pas eux”, a-t-il dit à l’AFP.Les résidents permanents y ont actuellement le droit constitutionnel de voter aux élections locales mais non aux élections législatives.- “Ambitions impérialistes” -Les relations entre Moscou et les trois capitales baltes, Tallinn, Riga et Vilnius, se sont détériorées de longue date, au gré des tensions grandissantes entre la Russie et les Occidentaux. Tant l’Estonie que la Lettonie ont d’importantes minorités russophones qui restent parfois en désaccord avec les gouvernements nationaux, suscitant l’inquiétude que Moscou puisse chercher à exploiter ces différences pour déstabiliser ces pays, membres à la fois de l’UE et de l’Otan. L’Estonie a annoncé ce mois-ci qu’elle augmenterait ses dépenses de défense l’année prochaine pour les faire passer à “au moins” 5% du PIB, évoquant la menace que fait, selon elle, peser la Russie voisine. “La Russie n’a pas changé ses objectifs et ses ambitions impérialistes. C’est une menace réelle pour à la fois l’Europe et l’Otan”, a estimé M. Michal récemment. Selon lui, “les citoyens russes et bélarusses voient ce que la Russie fait en Ukraine (…) d’une manière différente de celle des citoyens estoniens”. “Si une personne souhaite être citoyen de la Russie (…), elle ne doit pas s’attendre à participer à la discussion sur l’Estonie”, a-t-il souligné auprès du média public ERR en janvier. Le débat sur les droits de vote n’est que le dernier en date d’une série d’actes symbolisant la rupture des liens avec Moscou. Les pays baltes ont notamment décidé, en réponse à l’invasion russe de l’Ukraine, d’enlever et de démolir certains monuments de l’ère soviétique. L’ancienne responsable estonienne et actuelle cheffe de la diplomatie européenne, Kaja Kallas, figure depuis sur une liste russe des personnes recherchées pour son soutien à la destruction de ces statues datant de l’URSS.- Menace sur la sécurité -Les 101 députés du Parlement monocaméral estonien se pencheront sur deux propositions d’amendement légèrement différentes.La première, plus restrictive, stipule que les ressortissants de pays en dehors de l’UE, en particulier les Russes et les Bélarusses, et les apatrides, seront tous privés du droit de vote. Et ce en amont des élections locales prévues pour le 19 octobre.Le deuxième amendement, soumis au Parlement par 55 députés et soutenu par le chef du gouvernement, exclut du vote les ressortissants des pays tiers mais autorise les apatrides à y participer une dernière fois en octobre.Selon les partisans de la solution moins restrictive, cela laisserait aux apatrides suffisamment de temps pour éventuellement demander la citoyenneté estonienne et voter aux élections municipales à l’avenir.Lorsque l’Estonie a obtenu son indépendance de l’URSS, environ un tiers de ses habitants étaient des russophones dont les familles avaient émigré d’autres républiques soviétiques. Ils n’ont pas obtenu la citoyenneté en raison d’un manque de liens de sang avec l’Estonie. Pour obtenir la citoyenneté de ce pays, il faut aussi passer un test sur la connaissance de la langue estonienne. Le Parlement votera mercredi en deux étapes. Les députés devront d’abord entériner le caractère d’urgence que revêt la modification de la Constitution, ce qui requiert le feu vert de quatre députés sur cinq présents. S’ils y parviennent, le Parlement se prononcera ensuite sur chaque version de l’amendement et il faudra qu’au moins 68 élus votent celui-ci pour qu’il soit adopté. La coalition au pouvoir n’a que 66 sièges et aura donc besoin du soutien de députés d’opposition.

Nicolas Demorand dévoile sa bipolarité, pour “en faire un combat”

“Je suis un malade mental”: Nicolas Demorand, présentateur de la première matinale radio de France, sur France Inter, a levé le voile mercredi sur le fait qu’il était bipolaire, sujet “intime et douloureux” auquel il consacre un livre.”Comme des centaines de milliers de Français, je suis bipolaire. Bipolaire de type 2. J’alterne des phases d’euphorie et des périodes de dépression mais je suis soigné”, a expliqué le journaliste de 53 ans dans une chronique au début de sa matinale.”Oui, je suis un malade mental: c’est cru, c’est violent à dire et sûrement à entendre, mais je ne veux plus le cacher ni ME cacher”, a-t-il expliqué.”Si je me suis tu si longtemps, c’est parce que la maladie mentale fait peur. Parce que la maladie mentale reste une maladie honteuse. Et oui, j’avais honte”, a-t-il poursuivi.”La maladie est pour moi un état, j’ai décidé maintenant d’en faire un combat”, a-t-il souligné.Il veut mener ce “combat pour tous ceux, des milliers, des centaines de milliers, des millions peut-être, qui souffrent en silence alors qu’il est possible de vivre et de travailler avec une maladie mentale.”Le journal Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France avait révélé mardi que le journaliste sortirait jeudi le livre “Intérieur nuit”, aux éditions les Arènes, dans lequel il dévoile “être bipolaire depuis 30 ans mais avoir été diagnostiqué il y a huit ans”.Autrefois appelés “maladie maniaco-dépressive”, les troubles bipolaires font alterner phases d’excitation intense, dits épisodes maniaques, et de profonde dépression. Cette maladie mentale est différente de la dépression, et les traitements ne sont donc pas les mêmes.En France, on estime que le trouble bipolaire touche entre 1% et 2,5% de la population, proportion “très certainement largement sous-évaluée”, selon la Haute autorité de santé (HAS).Ces dernières années, de nombreuses célébrités ont annoncé en souffrir, parmi lesquels les chanteurs américains Kanye West et Mariah Carey, l’actrice britannique Catherine Zeta-Jones ou l’acteur belge Benoît Poelvoorde.Décédé en mars 2024 à 68 ans, l’animateur français Sylvain Augier avait lui aussi raconté sans fard son combat contre cet “ennemi redoutable” dans le livre “Je reviens de loin”.Ces prises de parole publiques sont saluées par les médecins spécialistes des maladies mentales, qui les jugent importantes pour changer le regard de la société sur ces pathologies et permettre une meilleure prise en charge.

Stocks mostly rise on trade optimism, but Trump uncertainty lingers

Lingering hopes that Donald Trump’s planned tariff blitz next week will not be as painful as feared lifted most Asian markets Wednesday, though uncertainty about the president’s policies and the US economy tempered optimism.With the White House’s “Liberation Day” on April 2 approaching, investors have been bracing for a wave of sweeping levies on imports amid warnings of crippled global trade, recession and a fresh spike in inflation.But suggestions from Trump and others in Washington that the measures could be more targeted, with some countries hit harder than others, have provided a sliver of hope that the worst-case scenario can be avoided.The president told Newsmax that “I don’t 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”.Signs of a less severe approach helped Wall Street record two successive days of gains, paring hefty losses suffered in recent weeks fuelled by fears that the hardball US policies would hit companies’ bottom lines.Hong Kong battled to edge higher a day after tanking more than two percent on profit-taking and selling in the tech sector, while Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila and Wellington also advanced.Jakarta jumped more than three percent after a hefty sell-off this year fuelled by worries over the Indonesian economy. However, the country’s rupiah remained stuck around its lowest levels since the Asian financial crisis at the end of the last century.London, Paris and Frankfurt rose at the open.Shanghai was flat while Taipei and Mumbai edged down. 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.While there is some hope over tariffs, Americans’ fears about the economic outlook indicated the United States could be in for a bumpy ride.The Conference Board’s closely watched gauge of consumer confidence dived to its lowest level since 2021 — during the pandemic — as concerns grow over higher prices.Meanwhile, another reading on expectations for the next six months hit a 12-year low.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.At the end of a volatile first quarter, Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said it had “challenged conventional thinking”.”While rate cut hopes dominated headlines early in the year, markets moved on quickly as economic resilience, sector rotation, geopolitical shifts, and regional divergences took centre stage,” she wrote in a commentary.”Trade policy returned to focus as the US election narrative picked up. Even without concrete tariffs, the potential for disruption hit sentiment across global sectors.”There was little major reaction to news that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt military strikes in the Black Sea and on energy sites following talks brokered by Washington.The Kremlin said the deal could come into force only after the lifting of restrictions on its agriculture sector.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -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)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,691.37Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0789 from $1.0791 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2908 from $1.2943Dollar/yen: UP at 150.36 yen from 149.90 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.58 pence from 83.37 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $69.16 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $73.16 per barrelNew York – Dow: FLAT at 42,587.50 (close)

China poses biggest military threat to US: intel report

China poses the top threat to American interests and security globally and is making “steady” progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, an annual US intelligence report warned Tuesday.Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.”China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security,” the report said.The report provides an overview of the collective insights of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations.It warned that Beijing would keep expanding its “coercive and subversive malign influence activities” to weaken the US internally and globally.And the Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a “US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing’s global relations and overthrow” the Chinese Communist Party, the report said.Beijing’s military is gearing up to challenge US operations in the Pacific and “making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan,” it assessed.But, it said, the Chinese leadership would seek to reduce tensions with the United States as it seeks to “protects its core interests, and buy time to strengthen its position.”China was more “cautious” than Russia, Iran and North Korea — other key US adversaries — about appearing “too aggressive and disruptive.”And it said that the autocratic style of President Xi Jinping — China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong — was affecting its ability to respond to challenges.”Xi’s focus on security and stability… and securing other leaders’ personal loyalty to him is undermining China’s ability to solve complex domestic problems and will impede Beijing’s global leverage,” the report found.Beijing called the report “biased” and accused it of “exaggerating the China threat” on Wednesday.”The US publishes these kinds of irresponsible and biased reports year after year,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing. “We have no intention of surpassing anyone or replacing anyone”, he said.US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate hearing Tuesday that “China is our most capable strategic competitor” based on current intelligence.In addition to China, the assessment analyzed threats to the United States posed by Russia, North Korea, Iran and “non-state transnational criminals,” including Mexican drug cartels and Islamic extremist groups.