Tensions Inde-Pakistan: Islamabad teste un 2e missile, médiation iranienne

Le Pakistan, en pleine tension avec l’Inde voisine, a mené lundi un deuxième tir d’essai de missile, alors que le chef de la diplomatie iranienne entame une médiation à Islamabad avant de se rendre à New Delhi dans la semaine.Le 22 avril, des hommes armés ont abattu 26 civils au Cachemire administré par l’Inde. Depuis, New Delhi pointe du doigt Islamabad qui renvoie l’accusation de “soutien au terrorisme transfrontalier” à son voisin. Alors que les deux puissances nucléaires multiplient les déclarations belliqueuses, faisant redouter un nouveau conflit entre les deux pays nés en 1947 d’une douloureuse partition, Téhéran s’est proposé comme médiateur, au même titre que son rival régional, l’Arabie saoudite.Au moment où le chef de la diplomatie iranienne Abbas Araghchi entamait sa visite officielle à Islamabad, l’armée pakistanaise a annoncé avoir mené “un lancement test réussi d’un missile sol-sol Fatah, d’une portée de 120 km”.Comme lors d’un premier tir samedi d’un autre missile sol-sol, cette fois d’une portée de 450 km – soit la distance entre la frontière pakistano-indienne et New Delhi -, l’armée n’a pas donné plus de détails sur ce tir.Elle s’est bornée à dire qu’il visait à “préparer” les troupes et à “valider” notamment “le système de navigation avancé du missile ainsi que sa précision”.La défense du Pakistan est “entre de bonnes mains”, s’est aussitôt félicité le Premier ministre Shehbaz Sharif, qui a annulé lundi son départ pour la Malaisie, annonçant qu’il effectuerait cette visite officielle prévue vendredi “dans le courant de l’année”.Le président pakistanais, Asif Ali Zardari, a lui aussi salué “un test réussi”.Depuis que le Premier ministre du gouvernement ultranationaliste hindou à New Delhi, Narendra Modi, a donné son feu vert la semaine dernière à une “riposte” militaire après l’attentat au Cachemire, Islamabad dit anticiper une frappe indienne imminente.- Médiation iranienne – Le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Abbas Araghchi, a rencontré son homologue pakistanais Ishaq Dar et M. Sharif.Il a dit vouloir “examiner les derniers développements dans la région”, tandis que M. Sharif a “réaffirmé la détermination du Pakistan à travailler étroitement avec l’Iran pour la paix”, selon leurs bureaux respectifs.”Le Pakistan veut exposer sa vision aux pays amis”, a expliqué le ministre de l’Information Attaullah Tarar, lors d’une visite au Cachemire pakistanais, insistant sur “son droit à la légitime défense”.Le chef de la diplomatie iranienne ira ensuite en Inde “ce jeudi après ses entretiens avec les responsables pakistanais à Islamabad”, a annoncé l’ambassade iranienne à New Delhi sur X.”Nous ne voulons pas que les tensions prennent de l’ampleur et nous ferons tous les efforts pour aider à la désescalade entre les deux pays”, a indiqué de son côté le porte-parole de la diplomatie iranienne Esmaeil Baqaei.Depuis le début de ce nouvel épisode de tensions, le gouvernement pakistanais s’est entretenu avec plus d’une vingtaine de chefs d’Etat, selon Ishaq Dar.Disant suivre “avec beaucoup d’inquiétude les tensions qui règnent actuellement à la frontière”, le Kremlin a appelé les deux voisins à “apaiser les tensions”.Plus tôt, l’armée indienne avait de nouveau annoncé avoir échangé des tirs avec des soldats pakistanais le long de la frontière de facto qui divise le Cachemire, région à majorité musulmane, dont les deux voisins se disputent la souveraineté totale.- “Réplique bien pire” -En 2019 déjà, après une attaque meurtrière contre ses soldats, l’Inde avait procédé à un raid aérien au Pakistan 12 jours plus tard, auquel Islamabad avait riposté.Le Pakistan avait capturé un pilote indien, avant de le remettre à son pays et les hostilités avaient rapidement cessé grâce à une médiation américaine.”La dernière fois, nous avons abattu deux de leurs avions; cette fois-ci, la réplique pourrait être bien pire”, a mis en garde M. Tarar.Après une salve de sanctions diplomatiques, des accords rompus et des visas annulés dans les deux pays, les 15 millions d’habitants du Cachemire – côtés pakistanais et indien – vivent de nouveau dans la peur.Au Cachemire indien, une vaste chasse à l’homme se poursuit à la recherche des assaillants de l’attentat du 22 avril.Anticipant des actions militaires indiennes, le Cachemire pakistanais a fermé pour dix jours ses 1.100 écoles coraniques. Dans les 6.000 écoles publiques, toujours ouvertes, les autorités locales ont lancé il y a quelques jours des formations aux premiers secours.

Le monde du cinéma sonné par les droits de douane proposés par Trump

Le monde du cinéma est sonné par les droits de douane proposés sur les films étrangers par le président américain Donald Trump, qui fait planer l’incertitude sur l’avenir de productions largement mondialisées.Le chef d’Etat a annoncé dimanche qu’il demandait à son administration de “lancer immédiatement le processus pour instituer des droits de douane de 100% sur tous les films importés dans notre pays qui sont produits dans des pays étrangers”.Comme souvent avec les annonces fracassantes de ce type, les détails ne sont pas connus. Cela n’a pas empêché l’industrie du cinéma dans le monde entier de réagir vivement face au dilemme qui s’annonce: ne plus pouvoir montrer un film aux États-Unis, pour des questions de coûts, ou le produire entièrement dans ce pays.”Cela a l’air potentiellement désastreux pour l’industrie internationale du film”, a dit un agent britannique au site internet spécialisé Screen Daily, sous couvert de l’anonymat.- Subventions, exonérations fiscales -“Il y a beaucoup d’inconnues pour notre secteur mais, tant que nous n’en saurons pas plus, il n’y a pas de doute que cela enverra des secousses dans le monde entier”, a déclaré le directeur de l’organisation des producteurs audiovisuels en Australie, Matthew Deaner, à l’agence de presse AAP.Donald Trump répond à un modèle économique prisé des studios et cinéastes américains: l’obtention de subventions ou d’exonérations fiscales pour tourner dans des pays (comme la Hongrie, le Canada, le Royaume-Uni, l’Espagne, l’Irlande, etc.) qui, en retour, comptent sur les emplois générés et les retombées touristiques.”L’industrie cinématographique américaine est en train de mourir très rapidement. D’autres pays offrent toutes sortes d’incitations pour attirer nos cinéastes et nos studios loin des États-Unis”, a écrit le président.Le New York Times, peu suspect de sympathie pour les idées de Donald Trump, avait consacré mi-avrilune enquête aux effets de cette délocalisation. Elle évoquait la destruction des emplois de la classe moyenne dans le cinéma et la télévision à Los Angeles.”C’est rien moins que l’avenir de Hollywood qui est en jeu”, écrivait le quotidien pour synthétiser les commentaires recueillis. Un syndicaliste comparait le déclin du secteur en Californie à celui de l’automobile à Détroit il y a un demi-siècle. Les grands constructeurs y ont toujours leur siège mais les usines sont parties.- “Qui a envie de ça ?” -“Les grandes productions réalisées de A à Z aux États-Unis sont rares”, a confirmé une porte-parole d’un syndicat canadien de techniciens du cinéma, Evelyne Snow, interrogée par le quotidien La Presse.Elle s’inquiète pour les emplois menacés dans la province du Québec. D’après elle, “une production américaine à Montréal fait vivre 2.000 personnes, en partant du cameraman jusqu’au chauffeur de limousine”.En France, le directeur de l’établissement public de soutien au cinéma (CNC), Gaëtan Bruel, disait déjà en avril que les Européens devaient “se préparer à toute hypothèse” face à “une possible offensive américaine contre notre modèle” de soutien des États à la culture.Sollicités par l’AFP en France, la Société civile des auteurs, réalisateurs et producteurs (ARP), la Fédération nationale des éditeurs de films (FNEF) et l’Union des producteurs de cinéma (UPC) n’ont pas réagi lundi. Le CNC n’a pas souhaité faire de commentaires.Mais ce que la mesure proposée par Donald Trump menace, c’est l’économie tout entière des films. L’obligation de tout faire aux États-Unis, sous peine de se voir barrer l’accès aux salles américaines, risque de tuer dans l’œuf de nombreux projets.Le magazine culturel américain Variety, qui pose “sept questions” sur ce projet, écrit dans l’une d’elles: “Qui a envie de ça ? Pas Hollywood. L’activité des cinémas se bat pour revenir aux niveaux antérieurs à la pandémie. La dernière chose dont on a besoin est une nouvelle taxe”.

Oil prices slide after OPEC+ output hike

Oil prices slumped on Monday after OPEC+ countries announced a production hike despite oversupply concerns and growing fears that US President Donald Trump’s trade war could weaken demand.Stock markets were mostly down in holiday-thinned trading ahead of central bank decisions later in the week, while shares in film companies fell after Trump announced tariffs on movies made outside the United States.Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the oil cartel announced over the weekend an output increase of 411,000 barrels a day for June, a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall.The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump’s tariff onslaught.The OPEC+ move “confirms a stark turnaround away from the production cuts that have persisted since 2022″, said a Deutsche Bank research note.Oil prices fell almost four percent before paring back some losses. Brent, the international benchmark, briefly fell below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2020.Analysts were still trying to pinpoint the oil cartel’s motivation.”The weekend news wasn’t a shocker but the reasons behind the move remain uncertain,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.”The official communication says the group is bringing barrels back to the market because ‘fundamentals are healthy and inventories are low’,” Ozkardeskaya said.”Yet global growth expectations have been crumbling due to a heated trade war between the US and the rest of the world, and rising output only worsens oversupply concerns. So the real reason must be something else,” she added.She said some argued that the Saudis were “punishing” OPEC members who had not complied fully with the previous policy of cutting production.Other theories include that Trump has pressed for lower oil prices to hurt Russian finances and speed up the end of the Ukraine war, or that Riyadh wants to push out US shale businesses and increase its market share.”We don’t know for sure. The exact motive remains unclear,” Ozkardeskaya said.- Fed move -On stock markets, Wall Street’s three main indices slid lower at the opening bell.US stocks are coming off two strong weeks, with gains last Friday driven by strong jobs data and improving sentiment about US-China trade talks.Shares in Berkshire Hathaway fell more than five percent after influential billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday he would retire from leading the firm which he built into a conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion.Shares in entertainment firms slid after Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being “devastated” by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad.Shares in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery were down around three percent, while Lionsgate fell more than five percent.Shares in Paramount dropped more than two percent and Disney 1.5 percent.In Europe, Paris was down in afternoon deals while Frankfurt pushed higher.London was closed for a public holiday, as were Tokyo and Hong Kong in Asia.Investors are waiting for interest rate decisions this week, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England holding policy meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.”Our US economists expect the Fed to keep rates steady and avoid explicit forward guidance about the policy path ahead,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.The dollar fell against other major currencies.But the Australian dollar gained against the US dollar after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election victory on Saturday, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell almost one percent.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $57.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $60.37 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 41,107.23 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.7 percent at 5,647.28New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 17,832.95Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,726.57 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 23,273.07London – FTSE 100: closed for holidayTokyo – Nikkei 225: closed for holidayHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: closed for holiday Shanghai – Composite: closed for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1359 from $1.1299 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3329 from $1.3268Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.67 yen from 144.97Euro/pound: UP at 85.21 pence from 85.14burs-rl/lth

Oil prices slide after OPEC+ output hike

Oil prices slumped on Monday after OPEC+ countries announced a production hike despite oversupply concerns and growing fears that US President Donald Trump’s trade war could weaken demand.Stock markets were mostly down in holiday-thinned trading ahead of central bank decisions later in the week, while shares in film companies fell after Trump announced tariffs on movies made outside the United States.Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the oil cartel announced over the weekend an output increase of 411,000 barrels a day for June, a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall.The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump’s tariff onslaught.The OPEC+ move “confirms a stark turnaround away from the production cuts that have persisted since 2022″, said a Deutsche Bank research note.Oil prices fell almost four percent before paring back some losses. Brent, the international benchmark, briefly fell below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2020.Analysts were still trying to pinpoint the oil cartel’s motivation.”The weekend news wasn’t a shocker but the reasons behind the move remain uncertain,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.”The official communication says the group is bringing barrels back to the market because ‘fundamentals are healthy and inventories are low’,” Ozkardeskaya said.”Yet global growth expectations have been crumbling due to a heated trade war between the US and the rest of the world, and rising output only worsens oversupply concerns. So the real reason must be something else,” she added.She said some argued that the Saudis were “punishing” OPEC members who had not complied fully with the previous policy of cutting production.Other theories include that Trump has pressed for lower oil prices to hurt Russian finances and speed up the end of the Ukraine war, or that Riyadh wants to push out US shale businesses and increase its market share.”We don’t know for sure. The exact motive remains unclear,” Ozkardeskaya said.- Fed move -On stock markets, Wall Street’s three main indices slid lower at the opening bell.US stocks are coming off two strong weeks, with gains last Friday driven by strong jobs data and improving sentiment about US-China trade talks.Shares in Berkshire Hathaway fell more than five percent after influential billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday he would retire from leading the firm which he built into a conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion.Shares in entertainment firms slid after Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being “devastated” by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad.Shares in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery were down around three percent, while Lionsgate fell more than five percent.Shares in Paramount dropped more than two percent and Disney 1.5 percent.In Europe, Paris was down in afternoon deals while Frankfurt pushed higher.London was closed for a public holiday, as were Tokyo and Hong Kong in Asia.Investors are waiting for interest rate decisions this week, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England holding policy meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.”Our US economists expect the Fed to keep rates steady and avoid explicit forward guidance about the policy path ahead,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.The dollar fell against other major currencies.But the Australian dollar gained against the US dollar after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election victory on Saturday, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell almost one percent.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $57.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $60.37 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 41,107.23 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.7 percent at 5,647.28New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 17,832.95Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,726.57 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 23,273.07London – FTSE 100: closed for holidayTokyo – Nikkei 225: closed for holidayHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: closed for holiday Shanghai – Composite: closed for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1359 from $1.1299 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3329 from $1.3268Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.67 yen from 144.97Euro/pound: UP at 85.21 pence from 85.14burs-rl/lth

Oil prices slide after OPEC+ output hike

Oil prices slumped on Monday after OPEC+ countries announced a production hike despite oversupply concerns and growing fears that US President Donald Trump’s trade war could weaken demand.Stock markets were mostly down in holiday-thinned trading ahead of central bank decisions later in the week, while shares in film companies fell after Trump announced tariffs on movies made outside the United States.Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the oil cartel announced over the weekend an output increase of 411,000 barrels a day for June, a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall.The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump’s tariff onslaught.The OPEC+ move “confirms a stark turnaround away from the production cuts that have persisted since 2022″, said a Deutsche Bank research note.Oil prices fell almost four percent before paring back some losses. Brent, the international benchmark, briefly fell below $60 per barrel for the first time since 2020.Analysts were still trying to pinpoint the oil cartel’s motivation.”The weekend news wasn’t a shocker but the reasons behind the move remain uncertain,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.”The official communication says the group is bringing barrels back to the market because ‘fundamentals are healthy and inventories are low’,” Ozkardeskaya said.”Yet global growth expectations have been crumbling due to a heated trade war between the US and the rest of the world, and rising output only worsens oversupply concerns. So the real reason must be something else,” she added.She said some argued that the Saudis were “punishing” OPEC members who had not complied fully with the previous policy of cutting production.Other theories include that Trump has pressed for lower oil prices to hurt Russian finances and speed up the end of the Ukraine war, or that Riyadh wants to push out US shale businesses and increase its market share.”We don’t know for sure. The exact motive remains unclear,” Ozkardeskaya said.- Fed move -On stock markets, Wall Street’s three main indices slid lower at the opening bell.US stocks are coming off two strong weeks, with gains last Friday driven by strong jobs data and improving sentiment about US-China trade talks.Shares in Berkshire Hathaway fell more than five percent after influential billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday he would retire from leading the firm which he built into a conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion.Shares in entertainment firms slid after Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being “devastated” by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad.Shares in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery were down around three percent, while Lionsgate fell more than five percent.Shares in Paramount dropped more than two percent and Disney 1.5 percent.In Europe, Paris was down in afternoon deals while Frankfurt pushed higher.London was closed for a public holiday, as were Tokyo and Hong Kong in Asia.Investors are waiting for interest rate decisions this week, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England holding policy meetings on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.”Our US economists expect the Fed to keep rates steady and avoid explicit forward guidance about the policy path ahead,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.The dollar fell against other major currencies.But the Australian dollar gained against the US dollar after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election victory on Saturday, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell almost one percent.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $57.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $60.37 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 41,107.23 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.7 percent at 5,647.28New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 17,832.95Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,726.57 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 23,273.07London – FTSE 100: closed for holidayTokyo – Nikkei 225: closed for holidayHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: closed for holiday Shanghai – Composite: closed for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1359 from $1.1299 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3329 from $1.3268Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.67 yen from 144.97Euro/pound: UP at 85.21 pence from 85.14burs-rl/lth

African players in Europe: Wissa strikes as Bees sting UnitedMon, 05 May 2025 13:42:11 GMT

Democratic Republic of Congo winger Yoane Wissa scored his 19th goal in all competitions this season to help Brentford secure an impressive 4-3 win against Manchester United at the weekend.A third consecutive Premier League victory for the Bees opened up the possibility of them qualifying for the third-tier UEFA Conference League next season. Guinea forward Serhou …

African players in Europe: Wissa strikes as Bees sting UnitedMon, 05 May 2025 13:42:11 GMT Read More »

Warren Buffett to remain as Berkshire Hathaway board chair

American investor Warren Buffett, 94, will remain as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors once he steps down as chief executive at the end of this year, the conglomerate announced Monday.Following a vote at the Berkshire Hathaway board of directors over the weekend, Buffett will step down as chief executive of the world’s 8th-largest company by market capitalization on January 1, 2026, and hand over the reins to the group’s current vice-chairman, Greg Abel. The vote, which was proposed by Buffett, will bring to and end the revered investor’s more than half-a-century running the group, which he turned into a financial behemoth. “The time has arrived where Greg (Abel) should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett, 94, told an annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, the city in the Midwestern state of Nebraska where Berkshire is based. Abel, 62, had been nominated to succeed Buffett in 2021. The Board of Directors voted unanimously on Sunday to appoint him to his new position, according to a statement from the group published Monday.Berkshire Hathaway, a former small textile company, has grown over the years into a gigantic conglomerate under Buffett’s leadership, and is now worth over $1 trillion on Wall Street — a first for an American group outside the tech sector.Warren Buffett preferred to invest for the long term in stable companies whose accounts he had closely scrutinized, enabling him to build up the world’s fifth-largest fortune over the decades. Today, his conglomerate owns dozens of businesses, from Duracell batteries to US insurer Geico, and shares in carefully selected companies, from Coca-Cola to Bank of America. Shortly before financial markets opened on Wall Street, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares were down around 3.2 percent in pre-market.