Trump insiste pour “récupérer” le montant de l’aide à l’Ukraine

Donald Trump a martelé samedi qu’il souhaitait “récupérer” le montant de l’aide fournie à l’Ukraine depuis le début de la guerre contre la Russie, sur le point d’entrer dans sa quatrième année dans un contexte de détente entre Washington et Moscou.Les alliés européens de Kiev se mobilisent à l’occasion du troisième anniversaire, lundi, du lancement de l’invasion russe à grande échelle le 24 février 2022. Le président français Emmanuel Macron sera ce jour-là à Washington et le Premier ministre espagnol Pedro Sanchez à Kiev, tandis que Londres annoncera de nouvelles sanctions contre Moscou. Car depuis l’entretien téléphonique entre Donald Trump et Vladimir Poutine le 12 février, le locataire de la Maison Blanche a complètement renversé la position des Etats-Unis à propos du conflit en Ukraine, reprenant la rhétorique du Kremlin sur la responsabilité des autorités ukrainiennes et qualifiant même Volodymyr Zelensky de “dictateur”.”On demande des terres rares et du pétrole, n’importe quoi qu’on puisse obtenir”, a lancé encore samedi le président américain au grand rassemblement annuel des conservateurs, près de Washington.”Ils veulent nous soutirer 500 milliards” de dollars, a de son côté accusé, le même jour, auprès de l’AFP une source ukrainienne proche du dossier, assurant que l’Ukraine avait proposé “des modifications et de manière constructive” au projet d’accord sur les minerais soumis par Washington.M. Zelensky comprend que la signature d’un tel document est “cruciale”, a quant à lui simplement commenté l’émissaire américain Keith Kellogg, qui vient de se rendre à Kiev.- Projet de résolution -Car sur le terrain, la situation reste difficile pour l’Ukraine, très dépendante de l’aide occidentale face à l’armée russe, qui progresse ces derniers mois dans l’Est.Une attaque russe à l’aide de trois bombes guidées à Kostiantynivka, un important bastion ukrainien dans l’est, a fait samedi un mort, une femme, dans un immeuble d’habitation, selon les autorités.Et la capitale Kiev a été touchée dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche par une attaque qui a fait des dégâts dans plusieurs quartiers, sans victime constaté dans l’immédiat.Tandis que l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU se réunit lundi pour marquer le troisième anniversaire du conflit, Washington a proposé un projet de résolution qui ne mentionne pas le respect de l’intégrité territoriale de ce pays.”Une bonne idée”, a réagi l’ambassadeur de Russie aux Nations unies Vassili Nebenzia.Ce texte vu par l’AFP, qui ne comporte que 65 mots, comporte un appel à “une fin rapide du conflit” et à “une paix durable”, une formulation vague et laconique, très éloignée des précédentes résolutions de l’Assemblée qui soutenaient clairement l’Ukraine.Le secrétaire d’Etat américain, Marco Rubio, a exhorté les Etats membres de l’ONU à voter cette nouvelle résolution “historique” afin de “tracer un chemin vers la paix”, cependant que Donald Trump a jugé que l’Ukraine n’avait “aucune carte en main” et que la présence de Volodymyr Zelensky à des négociations avec la Russie n’était “pas importante”.- Des “garanties de sécurité” -Désarçonnés par le soudain dialogue américano-russe sur l’Ukraine, la plupart des pays européens cherchent à s’y opposer, craignant que Donald Trump ne mette fin à la guerre à des conditions favorables à Moscou sans fournir de garanties de sécurité à Kiev et à l’Europe.C’est le moment de “serrer la vis contre la Russie de Poutine”, a plaidé le chef de la diplomatie britannique David Lammy, annonçant que Londres dévoilerait lundi un “important train de sanction” contre Moscou.Le Premier ministre Keir Starmer, qui s’est entretenu samedi avec Volodymyr Zelensky et la présidente de la Commission européenne Ursula von der Leyen, se rend à Washington jeudi. Il y sera précédé lundi par Emmanuel Macron.”La sécurité des Français et des Européens, c’est important”. La Russie est “surarmée” et “continue de se surarmer”, va dire à M. Trump le chef de l’Etat français, qui entend bien “accélérer encore notre réarmement et renforcer plus vite nos capacités”, a expliqué son ministre des Armées, Sébastien Lecornu.”On ne peut pas imposer la paix de l’Ukraine”, a martelé le Premier ministre espagnol Pedro Sanchez, deux jours avant une visite à Kiev, rejetant “la loi du plus fort” et “la loi du Far-West”.Friedrich Merz, le chef de file de l’opposition conservatrice allemande et favori des législatives de dimanche, a quant à lui estimé que l’Europe devait être “assise à la table principale” et “défendre” ses intérêt vis-à-vis de la Russie et de la Chine, “y compris si nécessaire en s’opposant aux Etats-Unis”.L’Ukraine et les Européens ont préparé un projet de résolution à l’ONU qui insiste sur la nécessité de “redoubler” d’efforts diplomatiques pour que le conflit se termine “cette année” et réitère les précédentes demandes de l’Assemblée générale d’un retrait immédiat et inconditionnel des troupes russes. 

Israel delays Palestinians’ release after six Gaza hostages freed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that freeing Palestinian prisoners under the Gaza ceasefire deal will be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies” while releasing Israeli hostages.Since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 25 Israeli hostages in well-rehearsed handovers, with masked militants parading the captives on stage and forcing them to wave at Gazans gathered to watch.In the seventh scheduled prisoner-hostage swap, Hamas released six Israeli captives on Saturday while Israel put off releasing Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian militant group called the move a “blatant violation” of the truce deal.Israel had been expected to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.”In light of Hamas’ repeated violations — including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda — it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists”, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Sunday.The delay will last “until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies”, it added.From Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Hamas would be “destroyed” if it did not release all remaining hostages.Families of the Palestinian prisoners, meanwhile, waited hours on Saturday for their loved ones to be released from Israeli custody, only to be disappointed.”We wait for them, to hug them, and see them, but Netanyahu is always stalling,” said Fatiha Abu Abdullah, a mother in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.”God willing, they will be released soon,” added Abdullah, whose son has been in an Israeli prison since November.- ‘Coming back home’ -The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group had said Israel would free 620 inmates on Saturday, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war.Before Netanyahu’s announcement, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said Israel’s “failure to comply with the release… at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation of the agreement”.Qanou called on the truce mediators to pressure Israel to “implement its provisions without delay or obstruction”.The six Israelis released Saturday were the last group of living hostages set to be freed under the truce’s first phase.The deal is due to expire in early March.Negotiations for a second phase, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have yet to begin.At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, waved from a stage, flanked by masked Hamas militants, before their handover to the Red Cross.”I saw the look on his face, he’s calm, he knows he’s coming back home… He’s a real hero,” said Wenkert’s friend Rory Grosz.Under the cold winter rain in Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released in private and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.Sayed’s family called it “a long-awaited moment”.- ‘Mix-up’ -On Thursday, the first transfer of dead hostages under the truce sparked anger in Israel after analysis concluded that captive Shiri Bibas’s remains were not among the four bodies returned.Bibas and her two young sons, among the dozens of captives taken during Hamas’ October 2023 assault, had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by Israeli hostages.Hamas admitted a possible “mix-up of bodies”, and late Friday handed over more human remains, which the Bibas family said had been identified as Shiri’s.The family said in a statement she “was murdered in captivity and has now returned home… to rest”.Hamas militants had claimed that Shiri and her sons were killed in an Israeli air strike.Forensics expert Chen Kugel, however, said an autopsy conducted on their remains found “no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing”.Israel’s military said that, after an analysis of the remains, Palestinian militants had killed the Bibas boys, Ariel and Kfir, “with their bare hands” in November 2023.Hamas dismissed this account as “baseless lies”.Out of 251 people taken hostage during the October 2023 attack, 62 are still in Gaza including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,215 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.burs-jj/sco/lb

Hong Kong and Singapore lead Asia’s drive to cash in on crypto boom

Hong Kong and Singapore are the front-runners in a push by Asian governments to become cryptocurrency hubs as they look to capitalise on the global resurgence of the sector thanks to the support of US President Donald Trump.Bitcoin recently hit a record of close to $110,000 while others have also rallied on the back of Trump’s pro-crypto promises. With forecasts that they could rise further, governments are keen to get a piece of the action.Hong Kong regulators said Wednesday that the city needed to tap “global liquidity” and laid out plans including the possibility of offering riskier crypto products such as derivative trading and margin financing. “The one word that we need to think about always is liquidity,” Eric Yip, an executive director at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said at an industry conference in the financial hub.”How do you bring liquidity to this market, hence commercial value, hence ecosystem?”The collapse of exchange FTX in 2022 took along with it around $8 billion from customers who used it to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies.The funds were later recovered, but regulators around the world are anxious to avoid a repeat, and the sector has since moved away from its freewheeling, anti-establishment origins to embrace regulation.Officials stress the need for investor protection while still hoping their rules will be business-friendly.”There was a lot more scrutiny two or three years (ago), right after FTX… (Regulators) want to make sure that they do the proper due diligence,” said Hong Fang, president of another exchange, OKX.- Crypto capital -Officials in Malaysia and Thailand are mulling crypto-related policy shifts, while Japan, South Korea and Cambodia have made incremental moves, according to Bloomberg News.But Hong Kong and Singapore, along with Middle East standout Dubai, cemented their front-runner status during a period when US regulators under Joe Biden’s administration were sceptical toward crypto.In an executive order last month, Trump — who has pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” — said he will instead provide “regulatory clarity and certainty” to support blockchain and digital asset innovation.Animoca Brands group president Evan Auyang said the anticipation surrounding a new US playbook is a game changer and will influence regulators worldwide.Singapore’s Monetary Authority has issued “Major Payment Institution” licences in relation to digital payment tokens to 30 companies, including OKX, which it added last year.The city-state has had a head start in regulating digital assets, including with efforts such as the 2022 Project Guardian that brought regulators together with major global banks to explore asset tokenisation.That project showed Singapore “engaged early on central banks, regulatory bodies, international standards setting bodies”, Leong Sing Chiong from the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in November.Hong Kong, which uses a different approach, has granted “Virtual Asset Trading Platform” licences to 10 companies.The Chinese finance hub is “number two… behind Singapore” when it comes to crypto regulation, said Animoca’s Auyang.While Hong Kong has fewer exchanges, they saw a spike last year in terms of value received, according to blockchain research platform Chainalysis.In the first half of 2024, Hong Kong’s centralised exchanges collectively received $26.6 billion, almost triple the year before and almost double Singapore’s $13.5 billion.- Spurred into action -Hong Kong overhauled its legal framework for crypto exchanges in mid-2023, with the SFC put in charge of vetting and licensing.China has banned crypto since 2021 and exchanges in the semi-autonomous enclave cannot serve mainland Chinese clients.But Yat Siu, executive chairperson of Animoca Brands, said pro-crypto policies have Beijing’s “blessing” and that Hong Kong benefits from being China’s financial gateway.Aside from exchanges, the SFC on Wednesday said it will explore a range of regulations, including for custody services, staking and over-the-counter trading.”Hong Kong isn’t sitting back and saying, ‘Look at the US, we’re just going to sort of kick back’,” Siu said. “It actually spurs it more into action.”However, the city’s regulators have learned that the devil is in the details.Hong Kong regulatory lawyer Jonathan Crompton said: “Anybody who engages in (exchange licensing) is going to have to commit to a very serious governance regime… It’s not for the faint-hearted.”Over the past two years, some companies have reportedly found it challenging to hire specialised compliance personnel. The SFC vetting team, too, is understaffed.The regulator’s website lists eight pending candidates, while 13 have withdrawn their applications.”The SFC has been stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Crompton told AFP. “People have complained that, on one hand, it’s not quick enough to introduce a regulatory regime, and on the other hand, they have not provided enough protection.”

Well-off Hong Kong daunted by record deficits

Hong Kong is facing its toughest fiscal test in three decades following a painful run of mammoth deficits, with experts urging the government to make careful cuts as the economy wobbles.The Chinese finance hub last saw a string of deficits after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s — but their scale was a fraction of the HK$252 billion ($32.4 billion) shortfall in the 2020-21 fiscal year.Hong Kong has recorded annual deficits exceeding $20 billion in three of the past four years, according to official figures.The city’s finance chief Paul Chan said Sunday that the deficits were caused by “multiple internal and external challenges” and that a new budget unveiled on Wednesday will tightly control public spending.While Chan earlier predicted a return to surplus in “three or so years”, a former government minister told AFP that the situation is “not just due to economic cycles” spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.”If you look at Hong Kong versus other economies in the region, for example Singapore, those other economies have done much better,” said Anthony Cheung, who oversaw transport and housing policies.Adding to the headache is the exodus of companies and high-paid workers as the city’s international reputation took a hit after Beijing quelled pro-democracy protests and imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.Singapore and Hong Kong suffered towering deficits in 2020 because of the pandemic, but the former has been able to keep spending relative to income in check as firms shift there from the Chinese city, helping it outperform its fiscal targets.The challenge for Hong Kong is not just to balance its books, but to find fiscal sustainability amid US-China tensions and a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, Cheung said.”In the past, we assumed that Hong Kong was geopolitically well-positioned… Now we have to be more careful about such presumptions.”- Plunging land sales -Hong Kong is required by its mini-constitution to “strive to achieve a fiscal balance” — a holdover from British colonial rule that kept the market mostly free from government intervention.After returning to China in 1997, it kept taxes low and refilled its coffers with the help of land-related revenue, selling land to developers with deep pockets. But last year Hong Kong collected just $2.5 billion that way, from a peak of $21.2 billion in 2018. “(Land-related revenue) by itself has contributed to the majority of the income decline,” said Yang Liu, a financial economist at the University of Hong Kong.”We have a very inactive land market and declining housing prices. That’s one reason that people (don’t) trade, so there’s no tax (income),” Liu told AFP.Hong Kong still has healthy cash reserves and low government debt compared with most economies around the world. But the prospect of three straight years in the red has fuelled public debate on how to spend less.”All the new initiatives will be under much stronger scrutiny, so (the government) will be a lot more disciplined, a lot more careful,” Liu said.In his upcoming budget speech, the finance chief is set to put the latest deficit at “under HK$100 billion”, adjusting for money raised from bond sales.There are calls to roll back a transport subsidy for those aged 60 to 64, which can grow into a major burden on the government as Hong Kong’s population ages.Lawmaker Edmund Wong cautioned against pay cuts for civil servants, which he said may cause private-sector employers to follow suit, but urged the government to slim down.”In the long term, we can greatly reduce the manpower which the government is employing now,” he told AFP. – ‘Welcoming’ image -The deficits could prompt Hong Kong to rethink how it makes money, though past discussions on expanding the tax base — such as a goods and services tax — went nowhere.The city’s low ratio of debt to GDP — which the government last year put at no more than 13 percent — means it can afford to issue bonds to fund huge undertakings, experts say.Officials have signalled they will push ahead with a massive infrastructure project in northern Hong Kong, while backing away from a separate plan to create artificial islands.As tensions flare between the United States and China, Hong Kong is seeking untapped growth potential in the Middle East and Southeast Asia that can translate to government revenue down the line.The city’s economic fortunes are ultimately tied to how investors view the city as a regional and global hub, said Cheung, the former minister. “We have to continue to showcase Hong Kong as a city that welcomes all kinds of views, all kinds of people, so long as they stay within the parameters of the national security legislation,” Cheung said.

“2045”: le jeu de société qui simule une invasion chinoise de Taïwan

Afin d’empêcher les forces chinoises de s’emparer de Taïwan, Ruth Zhong choisit l’option nucléaire: la joueuse lâche une bombe atomique sur la capitale Taipei, un sacrifice destiné à assurer la liberté de l’île et sa propre victoire.Paru le mois dernier, “2045” est un jeu de société taïwanais de stratégie militaire, à somme nulle et chacun pour soi, qui place les participants face à une attaque chinoise simulée 20 ans dans le futur.Sur le plateau, l’avenir de Taïwan dépend de leurs options stratégiques. Dans le monde réel, l’archipel est sous la menace constante d’une invasion de la Chine, dont elle revendique la souveraineté et n’exclut pas le recours à la force pour l’unifier à son territoire.”Le plus intéressant dans ce jeu est que vous devez prendre des décisions en continu par rapport à une situation qui évolue, et ces choix peuvent modifier toute l’histoire de Taïwan en un instant”, décrit à l’AFP Ruth Zhong, 36 ans, qui joue entre amis.”J’ai estimé que (la bombe nucléaire) était une action nécessaire afin d’assurer la survie de l’île”, dit-elle.Le jeu de l’éditeur taïwanais Mizo Games, imagine les dix premiers jours d’une invasion chinoise, avant l’arrivée de forces alliées.Les participants incarnent différents personnages taïwanais: un insurgé, un collaborateur de Pékin, un marchand d’armes…Chang Shao-lian, le fondateur de Mizo Games, explique que “2045” est différent du précédent jeu de guerre de l’éditeur, qui obligeait les joueurs à coopérer pour gagner.”Nous avons décidé de nous éloigner du romantisme et de créer un jeu enraciné dans le réalisme”, raconte-t-il.Si l’Armée populaire de libération chinoise (APL) prend suffisamment de villes-clés de l’île, Taïwan perd.Certains pourraient penser que “2045” est réservé aux pro-indépendance de Taïwan, mais “n’importe qui avec une vision stratégique sur le conflit dans le détroit peut trouver des moyens de gagner”, insiste M. Chang.- “Tout dépend des intérêts” -Mizo Games a levé quatre millions de nouveaux dollars taïwanais (122.160 dollars) via une cagnotte en ligne pour produire “2045”, avec la promesse qu’il soit aussi proche de la réalité que possible.Dans leur entreprise, les créateurs ont consulté divers experts parmi lesquels militaires, analystes politiques et spécialistes de la sécurité nationale, tout en imaginant des cartes basées sur des exercices de l’armée chinoise qui ont vraiment eu lieu.Ils sont même allés jusqu’à étudier des attaques bien réelles pour renforcer la crédibilité technique de leurs scénarios, dont celui du bombardement de l’immeuble le plus haut de Taïwan, la tour Taipei 101, représentée sur la boîte.”Nous avons sans cesse affiné les détails, l’ampleur des dégâts, l’intensité de l’explosion, les effets de lumière et la présence d’avions en arrière-plan”, retrace pour l’AFP Lai Boyea, concepteur visuel de “2045”.Ces dernières années, la Chine a intensifié sa pression sur Taïwan en déployant de plus en plus d’avions de chasse et de navires de guerre autour de l’île principale. Elle a aussi mené des exercices militaires majeurs simulant une attaque ou un blocus du territoire.En décembre, la présidence taïwanaise a pour sa part organisé sa première simulation sur table d’opérations militaires chinoises dans la région, pour se préparer à un éventuel combat.Mais en réalité, Taïwan serait largement dépassé en termes d’effectifs et d’arsenal en cas de guerre avec le voisin chinois.Si les créateurs de “2045” espèrent que le conflit restera confiné dans les salles de jeux, Lai Boyea pense que l’invasion russe de l’Ukraine en février 2022 a rendu la menace d’une attaque chinoise sur Taïwan plus concrète.”Vous vous imaginez, s’ils attaquaient, comment feraient-ils ?”, interroge le concepteur.”Plusieurs cartes du jeu décrivent ces possibilités, de l’atterrissage amphibie sur les plages taïwanaises aux incursions dans les régions centrales et du Sud”, poursuit-il.Et bien que “2045” ne puisse pas restituer la brutalité d’une vraie guerre, pour Ruth Zhong, il démontre que la volonté d’aider les autres a ses limites en temps de crise.”Que ce soit dans un jeu ou la réalité, vos alliés ne vous soutiendront pas forcément de façon inconditionnelle”, fait-elle valoir. “A la fin, tout dépend des intérêts”.