Rubio vows to keep stripping visas after furor over snatched student

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he has canceled more than 300 visas in a crackdown on anti-Israel activism and vowed to keep doing so, brushing aside furor after masked agents snatched a student.Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, said that he personally signed off on every visa revocation and rejected charges he was violating US protections of free speech.Asked about a report on the number of visas he has stripped, mostly for students, Rubio said: “Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day.””Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,” he told reporters on a visit to Guyana.”At some point I hope we run out because we’ve gotten rid of them,” Rubio said.Since his return to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has moved aggressively against student activists and universities over the disruptive protests that swept US colleges campuses in response to the Gaza war.Earlier this week, a video went viral of a 30-year-old Turkish graduate student, Rumeysa Ozturk, being detained by masked, plain-clothed figures near Tufts University in Massachusetts.Ozturk had penned an op-ed in a student newspaper decrying Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide.” She now faces deportation.Immigration lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai complained that Ozturk had been taken to a detention center in the southern state of Louisiana, despite a court order that she remain in Massachusetts, and was denied access to legal representation.”Masked DHS agents unlawfully arrested my client,” she said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security.Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, accused the Trump administration of moving to “abduct students with legal status.””This is a horrifying violation of Rumeysa’s constitutional rights to due process and free speech. She must be immediately released,” Pressley said in a statement.- Visas a ‘gift’ -Rubio, asked if Ozturk was being targeted over her writing in a student newspaper, said that she met his criteria for visa revocation without providing details.”I would caution you against solely going off of what the media has been to identify” for the visa decision, the former senator told reporters later on his plane to his home city of Miami.Rubio said that visas were a “gift” at the discretion of the State Department and not subject to any judicial review.He said it was “crazy” to allow in the United States students who were “supportive of a group that just slaughtered babies,” a reference to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that triggered massive Israeli retaliation.Asked if the Trump administration would go after anyone who presents dissenting views, Rubio said, “If you’re complaining about paper straws, then we’re obviously not going to yank a visa over that.””The overwhelming majority of student visas in this country will not be revoked,” he said.The most high-profile deportation case is Mahmoud Khalil, who led protests at Columbia University in New York. He was also taken to Louisiana ahead of deportation proceedings, despite being a US permanent resident.Khalil’s supporters reject the characterization that he supports Hamas and note that he has spoken out against antisemitism. The US government has since pointed to technicalities in his original student visa.Rubio contends that student activists have made education intolerable for Jewish students.”If you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said in Guyana.

Asian markets mixed as autos suffer more tariff-fuelled losses

Asian markets were mixed Friday as traders brace for next week’s expected wave of US tariffs, while auto firms extended their painful losses following President Donald Trump’s announcement of steep levies on vehicle imports.The mood on trading floors has soured in recent weeks as the White House presses ahead with its hardball policy approach that has hit friend and foe alike and fuelled recession fears.The president’s pledge to impose 25 percent levies on all autos coming into the United States overshadowed earlier indications that planned reciprocal measures due on Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2.Governments around the world have hit out at the announcement, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney saying the “old relationship” of deep economic, security and military ties with Washington “is over”.But warnings of retaliation have stoked worries of a long-running global trade war and a reignition of inflation that could force central banks to rethink plans to cut interest rates.Uncertainty over Trump’s plans and long-term intentions has led to uncertainty among investors, sparking a rush out of risk assets into safe havens such as gold, which hit a new record high of $3,066.56 Friday.Analysts said that while there is hope negotiations with Washington could see the duties tempered, investors were likely choosing to play a wait-and-see game.After another down day on Wall Street, equity markets in Asia were mixed Friday, with auto firms again taking the brunt.Tokyo sank more than two percent as Toyota — the world’s biggest carmaker — Honda, Nissan and Mazda tumbled between 1.5 and 3.9 percent.Also deep in the red was Nippon Steel after it said it would invest as much as $7 billion to upgrade US Steel if its huge takeover goes ahead. It had initially flagged a $2.7 billion investment.Seoul was off more than one percent as Hyundai gave up 3.1 percent.Tariff worries also saw Shanghai, Taipei and Manila fall.However, Hong Kong advanced thanks to a rally in Chinese tech firms, while Sydney, Singapore and Wellington were also in the green.Investors will be keeping a close eye on the release later in the day of US personal consumption expenditures data — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — hoping for an idea about the impact of Trump’s policies.The figures come after data this week showed consumer confidence was at its lowest level since 2021 — during the pandemic — owing to growing concerns over higher prices.News that the US economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than estimated in the final three months last year did little to stir excitement.On currency markets the yen strengthened against the dollar after a report showing inflation in Tokyo — a barometer of Japan as a whole — rose more than expected in March, boosting bets on another central bank rate hike.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.1 percent at 37,011.66 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 23,661.60Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,365.23Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0794 from $1.0796 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2949 from $1.2947Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.78 yen from 151.04 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.36 pence from 83.38 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $69.90 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $74.00 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,299.70 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,666.12 (close) 

Clean energy giant Goldwind leads China’s global sector push

China has rushed ahead in recent years as the world’s forerunner in wind energy, propelled by explosive local demand as Beijing aggressively pursues strategic and environmental targets.Goldwind — the country’s sector champion — is set to publish financial results for last year on Friday, offering a window into how its domestic operations and overseas expansion efforts are faring.AFP looks at how Goldwind and its Chinese peers turned the country into the indisputable global superpower in wind:- Recent gusts -China has been a major player in global installed wind capacity since the late 2000s but it is only in the past few years that it has surged to the top.Companies from mainland China accounted for six of the top seven turbine manufacturers worldwide last year, according to a report this month by BloombergNEF.Goldwind held the top spot, followed by three more Chinese firms — the first time European and US firms all ranked below third.The country’s global wind energy layout is lopsided, however, with the majority of its firms’ growth driven by domestic demand.”The market for wind turbines outside of China is still quite diversified,” Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told AFP.The situation “can stay that way if countries concerned about excessive reliance on China create the conditions for the non-Chinese suppliers to expand capacity”, he added.- Overcapacity concerns -China’s wind energy boom has fuelled fears in Western countries that a flood of cheap imports will undercut local players, including Denmark’s Vestas and GE Vernova of the United States.A report in January by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed Chinese wind turbine manufacturers have for decades received significantly higher levels of state subsidies than member countries.Western critics argue that the extensive support from Beijing to spur on the domestic wind industry have led to an unfair advantage.The European Union last April said it would investigate subsidies received by Chinese firms that exported turbines to the continent.”We cannot allow China’s overcapacity issues to distort Europe’s established market for wind energy,” said Phil Cole, Director of Industrial Affairs at WindEurope, a Brussels-based industry group, in response to the recent OECD report.”Without European manufacturing and a strong European supply chain, we lose our ability to produce the equipment we need — and ultimately our energy and national security,” said Cole.- Gold rush -Goldwind’s origin lies in the vast, arid stretches of western China, where in the 1980s a company named Xinjiang Wind Energy built its first turbine farm.Engineer-turned-entrepreneur Wu Gang soon joined, helping transform the fledgling firm into a pioneer in China’s wind energy sector, establishing Goldwind in 1998.”Goldwind was there from the beginning,” said Andrew Garrad, co-founder of Garrad Hassan, a British engineering consultancy that had early engagement with China’s wind industry.”The West was looking at China as an impoverished place in need of help,” Garrad told AFP.”It wasn’t, then, an industrial power to be reckoned with.”Garrad, whose company once sold technology to several Chinese wind energy startups including Goldwind, remembers Wu paying him a visit in Bristol during the early 1990s to talk business.The two spent three days negotiating a software sale for around £10,000 — a sum “which, for both of us at the time, was worth having”, recalled Garrad.”He didn’t have any money at all, and so he was staying at the youth hostel, sharing a room with five other people,” he said.Wu’s firm would go on to strike gold, emerging in this century as a global leader in wind turbine technology and installed capacity.- Global future? -In recent years, as China’s wind market matures, state subsidies are cut and the economy faces downward pressure, Goldwind has increasingly been looking overseas.In 2023, the firm dropped “Xinjiang” from its official name.The move was interpreted as an attempt to disassociate from the troubled region, where Beijing is accused of large-scale human rights abuses.It was also seen as adopting a more outward-facing and international identity.China’s wind power manufacturers are making some headway overseas, particularly in emerging and developing countries, said Myllyvirta of the CREA.This is particularly true “after Western manufacturers were hit by supply chain disruptions and major input prices due to Covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”, he added.Emerging markets affiliated with Beijing’s “Belt and Road” development push seem to offer Chinese players the best chance at overseas growth, Endri Lico, analyst at Wood Mackenzie, told AFP.”Chinese strength comes from scale… and strategic control over domestic supply chains and raw material resources,” said Lico.Western markets remain strongholds for local players, however, “due to entrenched positions, energy security concerns and protectionist policies”, he added.

Turquie: le pouvoir tente d’éteindre la contestation

Les autorités turques tentent d’éteindre la contestation qui secoue une partie du pays depuis le 19 mars et l’arrestation du maire d’Istanbul, en s’en prenant aux médias d’opposition et en traquant les petits groupes de manifestants qui surmontent leur peur, le visage masqué.Le secrétaire d’Etat américain Marco Rubio a fait part jeudi des “inquiétudes” de Washington face à l’instabilité dans ce pays. “Nous observons. Nous avons exprimé nos inquiétudes. Nous n’apprécions pas de voir une telle instabilité dans la gouvernance d’un pays qui est un si proche allié”, a-t-il déclaré à la presse dans un vol le ramenant du Suriname à Miami, en Floride.Le gouvernement a annoncé près de 2.000 arrestations en neuf jours lors de manifestations interdites par les autorités pour dénoncer l’arrestation du maire d’opposition, Ekrem Imamoglu, qui dirigeait la plus grande et plus riche ville du pays.Elles visent aussi les voix critiques des médias d’opposition: le Haut conseil turc de l’audiovisuel (RTÜK) a imposé dix jours d’interruption de programmes à Sözcü TV pour “incitation à la haine et à l’hostilité” et a annoncé en avoir sanctionné trois autres.Les autorités ont également expulsé jeudi un journaliste de la BBC, Mark Lowen, venu couvrir les manifestations dans le pays, l’accusant de représenter “une menace pour l’ordre public”.”Ce n’est pas juste ce que fait l’Etat. Nous sommes ici pour défendre nos droits”, a confié jeudi soir “Raftel”, caricaturiste de 21 ans à l’AFP. “Mais c’est un peu effrayant ce soir, il y a trop de policiers. La dernière fois, ils ont emmené environ 300 personnes. J’ai peur moi aussi, pour être honnête”.Comme la veille, les policiers qui les filment en leur barrant la route leur ordonnent de “retirer leurs masques (s’ils) veulent passer”.La BBC a dénoncé “un incident extrêmement préoccupant” et le Royaume-Uni qui avait gardé le silence jusqu’ici a dit attendre de la Turquie le “respect (…) de l’Etat de droit, y compris des processus judiciaires rapides et transparents”, selon un porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères.Dix journalistes turcs arrêtés en début de semaine, accusés d’avoir participé à des rassemblements interdits, ont été remis en liberté à Istanbul et Izmir dont le photographe de l’Agence France-Presse Yasin Akgül, en fin de journée.Mais les poursuites à son égard n’ont pas été levées, a indiqué son avocat.- 1.879 arrestations -Le mouvement de contestation entamé le 19 mars, le plus important depuis le mouvement de Gezi parti de la place Taksim d’Istanbul en 2013, est porté en grande partie par la jeunesse, qui continue de se mobiliser.Dans la capitale Ankara, des étudiants en médecine et certains de leurs professeurs ont de nouveau manifesté jeudi. À Istanbul, où la contestation est la plus vive, plusieurs centaines de jeunes, généralement masqués, se sont rassemblés dans un arrondissement dont le maire CHP a également été arrêté, ont constaté des journalistes de l’AFP. “Il y a de nombreuses raisons de descendre dans la rue, mais nous sommes ici pour défendre notre juste cause et la police nous en empêche”, martèle Asena Orman, 28 ans. “Nous sommes ici, les jeunes, contre tout ce que le gouvernement a fait depuis 23 ans”, date de l’arrivée au pouvoir du parti AKP puis du président Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a-t-elle ajouté.Le CHP a cessé de convier chaque soir des dizaines de milliers de personnes devant l’hôtel de ville d’Istanbul. Il tiendra un rassemblement samedi à la mi-journée, dans un autre endroit de la mégapole de 16 millions d’habitants.Mais la jeunesse essaie de maintenir la contestation vivace avant le grand weekend de l’Aïd qui marque la fin du ramadan, déambulant par petits groupes, applaudis par les riverains et leurs concerts de casseroles.Le chef de l’Etat a répété qu’il ne céderait pas à la “terreur de la rue”. Selon les autorités, 1.879 personnes ont été arrêtées, dont 260 ont été ou sont en voie d’être incarcérées et 950 remises en liberté – la moitié d’entre elles sous contrôle judiciaire.”Je n’ai jamais vu en cinquante ans des +mesures de sécurité+ comme celles en vigueur cette semaine”, a écrit jeudi le romancier turc et Prix Nobel de littérature 2006 Orhan Pamuk, dans un long article publié par le site turc T24.- “Mentalité de censeur” -“Le caractère systématique des poursuites contre les figures de l’opposition, de la société civile, les atteintes à la liberté de s’informer, de rassembler, l’arrestation et la mise en détention du maire d’Istanbul constituent de manière très claire des atteintes et des agressions qu’on ne peut que regretter”, a déploré jeudi le président français Emmanuel Macron.L’ONG Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) classe la Turquie à la 158ème place sur 180 de son classement de la liberté de la presse.Lors d’une rencontre avec la presse à Istanbul, le ministre turc de la Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, a affirmé que la justice turque est “indépendante et impartiale”, et la Turquie un “Etat de droit”.L’arrestation de M. Imamoglu n’a rien de “politique”, a-t-il assuré, dénonçant des “accusations injustes, illégales et injustifiées” contre le président Erdogan.

Turquie: le pouvoir tente d’éteindre la contestation

Les autorités turques tentent d’éteindre la contestation qui secoue une partie du pays depuis le 19 mars et l’arrestation du maire d’Istanbul, en s’en prenant aux médias d’opposition et en traquant les petits groupes de manifestants qui surmontent leur peur, le visage masqué.Le secrétaire d’Etat américain Marco Rubio a fait part jeudi des “inquiétudes” de Washington face à l’instabilité dans ce pays. “Nous observons. Nous avons exprimé nos inquiétudes. Nous n’apprécions pas de voir une telle instabilité dans la gouvernance d’un pays qui est un si proche allié”, a-t-il déclaré à la presse dans un vol le ramenant du Suriname à Miami, en Floride.Le gouvernement a annoncé près de 2.000 arrestations en neuf jours lors de manifestations interdites par les autorités pour dénoncer l’arrestation du maire d’opposition, Ekrem Imamoglu, qui dirigeait la plus grande et plus riche ville du pays.Elles visent aussi les voix critiques des médias d’opposition: le Haut conseil turc de l’audiovisuel (RTÜK) a imposé dix jours d’interruption de programmes à Sözcü TV pour “incitation à la haine et à l’hostilité” et a annoncé en avoir sanctionné trois autres.Les autorités ont également expulsé jeudi un journaliste de la BBC, Mark Lowen, venu couvrir les manifestations dans le pays, l’accusant de représenter “une menace pour l’ordre public”.”Ce n’est pas juste ce que fait l’Etat. Nous sommes ici pour défendre nos droits”, a confié jeudi soir “Raftel”, caricaturiste de 21 ans à l’AFP. “Mais c’est un peu effrayant ce soir, il y a trop de policiers. La dernière fois, ils ont emmené environ 300 personnes. J’ai peur moi aussi, pour être honnête”.Comme la veille, les policiers qui les filment en leur barrant la route leur ordonnent de “retirer leurs masques (s’ils) veulent passer”.La BBC a dénoncé “un incident extrêmement préoccupant” et le Royaume-Uni qui avait gardé le silence jusqu’ici a dit attendre de la Turquie le “respect (…) de l’Etat de droit, y compris des processus judiciaires rapides et transparents”, selon un porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères.Dix journalistes turcs arrêtés en début de semaine, accusés d’avoir participé à des rassemblements interdits, ont été remis en liberté à Istanbul et Izmir dont le photographe de l’Agence France-Presse Yasin Akgül, en fin de journée.Mais les poursuites à son égard n’ont pas été levées, a indiqué son avocat.- 1.879 arrestations -Le mouvement de contestation entamé le 19 mars, le plus important depuis le mouvement de Gezi parti de la place Taksim d’Istanbul en 2013, est porté en grande partie par la jeunesse, qui continue de se mobiliser.Dans la capitale Ankara, des étudiants en médecine et certains de leurs professeurs ont de nouveau manifesté jeudi. À Istanbul, où la contestation est la plus vive, plusieurs centaines de jeunes, généralement masqués, se sont rassemblés dans un arrondissement dont le maire CHP a également été arrêté, ont constaté des journalistes de l’AFP. “Il y a de nombreuses raisons de descendre dans la rue, mais nous sommes ici pour défendre notre juste cause et la police nous en empêche”, martèle Asena Orman, 28 ans. “Nous sommes ici, les jeunes, contre tout ce que le gouvernement a fait depuis 23 ans”, date de l’arrivée au pouvoir du parti AKP puis du président Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a-t-elle ajouté.Le CHP a cessé de convier chaque soir des dizaines de milliers de personnes devant l’hôtel de ville d’Istanbul. Il tiendra un rassemblement samedi à la mi-journée, dans un autre endroit de la mégapole de 16 millions d’habitants.Mais la jeunesse essaie de maintenir la contestation vivace avant le grand weekend de l’Aïd qui marque la fin du ramadan, déambulant par petits groupes, applaudis par les riverains et leurs concerts de casseroles.Le chef de l’Etat a répété qu’il ne céderait pas à la “terreur de la rue”. Selon les autorités, 1.879 personnes ont été arrêtées, dont 260 ont été ou sont en voie d’être incarcérées et 950 remises en liberté – la moitié d’entre elles sous contrôle judiciaire.”Je n’ai jamais vu en cinquante ans des +mesures de sécurité+ comme celles en vigueur cette semaine”, a écrit jeudi le romancier turc et Prix Nobel de littérature 2006 Orhan Pamuk, dans un long article publié par le site turc T24.- “Mentalité de censeur” -“Le caractère systématique des poursuites contre les figures de l’opposition, de la société civile, les atteintes à la liberté de s’informer, de rassembler, l’arrestation et la mise en détention du maire d’Istanbul constituent de manière très claire des atteintes et des agressions qu’on ne peut que regretter”, a déploré jeudi le président français Emmanuel Macron.L’ONG Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) classe la Turquie à la 158ème place sur 180 de son classement de la liberté de la presse.Lors d’une rencontre avec la presse à Istanbul, le ministre turc de la Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, a affirmé que la justice turque est “indépendante et impartiale”, et la Turquie un “Etat de droit”.L’arrestation de M. Imamoglu n’a rien de “politique”, a-t-il assuré, dénonçant des “accusations injustes, illégales et injustifiées” contre le président Erdogan.

Iran says it has responded to Trump’s nuclear talks letter

Iran has sent a response to a letter from US President Donald Trump that called for nuclear talks and warned of possible military action if it refuses, its foreign minister said Thursday. “This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr Trump’s letter has been fully explained to the other party,” Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency.He added that the letter was delivered to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past in the absence of US-Iranian diplomatic relations.He did not disclose the nature of the response nor say when it had been sent.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked by reporters on his plane over the Caribbean whether the United States has received the letter, said: “I’m not going to comment on that yet”.He said that the United States had expected there to be a response and “obviously at that point, the president will decide what steps if he any he wants to take next”.Trump, who in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, now says he is open to diplomatic talks.The US president revealed at the start of March that he had sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.At the same time, Trump has pushed ahead with his “maximum pressure” programme of additional sanctions on Tehran and the threat of military action if it refuses to negotiate. “Our policy remains not to negotiate directly (with Washington) under ‘maximum pressure’ and the threat of military action, but indirect negotiations, such as those that took place in the past, can continue,” Araghchi said.- Intermediaries -Iran and the United States have not had official diplomatic relations since 1980.However, the two countries have engaged indirectly via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in Iran.Oman has also played the role of mediator in the past, as has Qatar, to a lesser extent.Trump’s letter was delivered to Iran by the United Arab Emirates.Iran agreed to the deal curbing its nuclear programme in 2015 after negotiations with major powers including the United States and China.Western government have for decades suspected that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, a charge that Iran denies, insisting that the programme is solely for civilian purposes. Iran continued to respect the deal for a year after Trump pulled out, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, before rolling back its commitments.The US decision to withdraw was driven in part by Iran’s ballistic missile programme, which was not covered by the deal and which Washington perceived as a threat.