Trump warns Israel not to ‘interfere’ in Syria

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Monday to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people.Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu’s office said shortly after Trump issued the warning.”It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.The US leader has been pushing for a security pact between Israel and Syria since President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago.But tensions have risen over hundreds of strikes by Israel on Syria, and in the deadliest so far Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in the southern village of Beit Jin.Syria called the Israeli operation a “war crime.” Israel said it targeted an Islamist group.Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s performance under former Islamist rebel Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House a few weeks ago.The US president insisted that Sharaa “is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together.”He added that the United States was “doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended” to rebuild the war-torn country.- ‘Expanding’ peace agreements -Good relations between Syria and Israel would add to his efforts for a wider Middle East peace following the fragile Gaza ceasefire in October, added Trump.The Trump administration lifted sanctions against Syria as part of its efforts to help Sharaa, while Washington says Damascus is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State group.Netanyahu and Trump discussed “expanding” regional peace deals when they spoke on Monday, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that came hot on the heels of Trump’s post.”Trump has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House in the near future,” it said. Netanyahu has already made more visits to Trump than any other foreign leader since the US president’s return to power.”The two leaders stressed the importance and obligation of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and discussed expanding the peace agreements,” Netanyahu’s office said.Israel has defended its right to keep on striking militant groups in neighboring countries despite the Gaza deal with Palestinian armed group Hamas and last year’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.The Israeli army said the targets of the Beit Jin operation were fighters from Jamaa Islamiya, an Islamist group based in Lebanon and allied with Hamas.Netanyahu meanwhile drew a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region after visiting Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974.

Bardella agressé: le suspect de 74 ans renvoyé en comparution immédiate mardi

Le septuagénaire ayant écrasé samedi un oeuf sur la tête de Jordan Bardella doit comparaître libre mardi devant le tribunal correctionnel de Montauban, a-t-on appris lundi auprès de son avocate. Le juge des libertés et de la détention (JLD) n’a pas suivi les réquisitions du parquet de Montauban qui avait demandé le placement en détention provisoire de cet homme dans l’attente de sa comparution, a indiqué Me Rachel Lheureux à un correspondant de l’AFP.”Il est éprouvé par ses 48h de garde à vue, mais soulagé d’être rentré chez lui”, a-t-elle affirmé, ajoutant: “il exprime des regrets quant au fait d’avoir exprimé son mécontentement par ce biais”.”Il souligne qu’il ne visait pas l’homme mais le mouvement politique, qui lui fait peur dans sa dimension incompatible avec la démocratie”, a-t-elle encore affirmé.Cet homme de 74 ans, connu de la justice “pour avoir commis exactement les mêmes faits” à l’encontre d’Eric Zemmour en 2022, a indiqué en garde à vue avoir agi en “opposition par rapport à l’extrême droite”, a indiqué Bruno Sauvage, procureur de la République de Montauban, dans un communiqué.Selon la gendarmerie, cet agriculteur à la retraite s’est présenté samedi après-midi à une séance de dédicace du président du Rassemblement national à Moissac (Tarn-et-Garonne) puis a cassé un œuf sur le tête de celui-ci avant d’être maîtrisé par la sécurité du RN et d’être interpellé. L’eurodéputé a pu ensuite reprendre la séance de dédicace de son livre.La garde à vue du septuagénaire, “en état de récidive légale de violence volontaires notamment à l’égard d’un élu”, a été prolongée de 24 heures pour déterminer s’il avait participé auparavant au rassemblement anti-RN en marge de la séance de dédicace.Une plainte a été déposée au nom de Jordan Bardella et du Rassemblement national, a précisé le parti samedi.Jordan Bardella a également été enfariné mardi lors de la visite d’une foire agricole à Vesoul et un lycéen de 17 ans a été placé en garde à vue avant d’être libéré. Le mineur devra suivre un stage de citoyenneté.Outre les faits visant MM. Bardella et Zemmour, le retraité avait aussi jeté des œufs en avril 2022 sur un des bus de campagne de Marine Le Pen de passage dans le département. Cet incident n’avait pas donné lieu à poursuites.

Trump réunit son Conseil de sécurité nationale pour parler du Venezuela

Donald Trump va réunir lundi son Conseil de sécurité nationale pour évoquer le Venezuela, a affirmé la Maison Blanche, en pleine montée des tensions entre Washington et Caracas.”Je peux confirmer que le président se réunira avec son équipe de sécurité nationale sur ce sujet et beaucoup d’autres”, a déclaré la porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, Karoline Leavitt, lors d’un point presse.Karoline Leavitt n’a cependant pas répondu directement à la question de savoir si Donald Trump avait pris une décision finale sur une potentielle intervention américaine, après plusieurs mois de tensions avec Caracas, déclarant qu’elle ne “rentrerait assurément pas dans les détails de la rencontre”.La porte-parole a également refusé d’écarter la possibilité de déployer des troupes américaines sur le sol vénézuélien, maintenant l’ambiguïté de la Maison Blanche sur la question.”Des options sont à la disposition du président, et je le laisserai s’exprimer sur celles-ci”, a-t-elle déclaré.Le Conseil de sécurité nationale se réunit deux jours après que Donald Trump a décrété que l’espace aérien du Venezuela devait être considéré comme “totalement fermé”. Avant cela, le président américain avait déclaré jeudi que les Etats-Unis allaient “très bientôt” commencer à cibler des “trafiquants de drogue vénézuéliens” lors d’opérations “sur terre”, et pas seulement en mer.Depuis septembre, les Etats-Unis ont considérablement renforcé leur présence militaire en mer des Caraïbes, au nom de la lutte contre le narcotrafic selon Washington, qui accuse le président vénézuélien Nicolas Maduro de diriger un cartel. Caracas dément et rétorque que l’objectif de Washington est de renverser le président vénézuélien et de mettre la main sur le pétrole du pays.Une activité constante d’avions de combat américains a été enregistrée ces derniers jours à quelques dizaines de kilomètres des côtes vénézuéliennes, selon des sites de suivi du trafic aérien.- “Dans son bon droit” -La réunion à la Maison Blanche arrive en outre sur fond de polémique croissante aux Etats-Unis concernant une frappe en septembre sur une embarcation suspectée de narcotrafic.Le Washington Post a rapporté vendredi que le ministre de la Défense, Pete Hegseth, aurait ordonné que tous les passagers du bateau soient tués, conduisant les forces américaines – après une frappe initiale – à viser à nouveau deux survivants qui s’accrochaient au bateau en flammes.Dimanche, Donald Trump a déclaré vouloir vérifier ces informations, disant qu’il n’aurait “pas voulu ça”. A bord d’Air Force One, le président américain a cependant défendu Pete Hegseth: “Il dit qu’il n’a pas dit ça et je le crois”.La Maison Blanche a affirmé lundi que l’amiral Frank Bradley, à la tête du commandement des opérations spéciales des forces armées américaines, avait ordonné cette frappe, menée de manière tout à fait légale selon l’exécutif américain.L’amiral “était pleinement dans son bon droit” pour prendre cette décision, a déclaré Karoline Leavitt lors du point presse.Mais plusieurs élus, républicains comme démocrates, ont exprimé leur indignation face aux informations rapportées par le Washington Post.La commission des forces armées à la Chambre des représentants enquêtera pour obtenir “un récit complet de l’opération en question”, a ainsi annoncé samedi son chef républicain, le député Mike Rogers. La commission homologue au Sénat en fera de même, avait également annoncé le sénateur républicain Roger Wicker.Au total, les Etats-Unis ont mené des frappes contre plus de 20 navires dans les Caraïbes et le Pacifique, tuant au moins 83 personnes, sans fournir de preuves que ces navires soient impliqués dans le trafic de drogue, et menant ainsi des experts et l’ONU à questionner la légalité des opérations.

Trump to meet top national security team on Venezuela

US President Donald Trump summoned his top national security officials to the White House on Monday to discuss Venezuela, as tensions rise over potential military action by Washington.The meeting in the Oval Office comes as Trump piles pressure on President Nicolas Maduro with a major naval build-up in the Caribbean and ominous warnings to avoid Venezuelan airspace.”I will confirm that the president will be meeting with his national security team on this subject and on many matters,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing when asked by AFP about reports of the meeting.Leavitt would not say whether Trump would reach a final decision after months of tensions with Caracas, saying she was “definitely not going to detail the specifics of the meeting.”But she declined to rule out the possibility of US troops on the ground on Venezuela, maintaining the White House’s previous ambiguity about possible military action.”There’s options at the president’s disposal that are on the table, and I’ll let him speak on those,” Leavitt said.The United States has moved the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other warships into the region, and designated an alleged drug cartel run by Maduro as a terrorist group as tensions mount with Venezuela.Washington says the aim of the military deployment launched in September is to curb drug trafficking in the region, but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal.Trump confirmed Sunday he had recently spoken with Maduro for the first time since returning to office in January, but would not give details.”I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.- ‘Threat to the United States’ -The New York Times reported that Trump and Maduro had discussed a possible meeting, while The Wall Street Journal said that the conversation also included conditions of amnesty if Maduro were to step down.Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show that the United States has offered Maduro the chance to leave his country for Russia or elsewhere. The United States accuses Maduro, the political heir to Venezuela’s late leftist leader Hugo Chavez, of heading the “Cartel of the Suns” and has issued a $50 million reward for his capture.Venezuela and countries that support it insist no such organization even exists. The United States also does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of last year’s presidential election.Trump’s administration meanwhile faces growing controversy over air strikes that have targeted alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people. Trump said Sunday he would “look into” claims the military conducted a “double-tap” strike that killed two survivors clinging to a burning boat in the Caribbean in early September.The White House defended the move, saying that the admiral who leads US Special Operations Command had ordered the follow-up strike, and that he was acting lawfully.Admiral Frank Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” Leavitt said.

Pope preaches unity at gathering of Christian, Muslim leaders in Beirut

In a Beirut square that was once a physical embodiment of Lebanon’s sectarian rifts, Christian and Muslim leaders united around Pope Leo XIV on Monday as he urged them to work for peace in their divided nation.Lebanon, whose political system has long been based on religious balance, suffered through years of sectarian conflict, and faith leaders at Monday’s interreligious meeting emphasised the importance of unity and coexistence.Speaking from Martyrs’ Square — which served as a demarcation dividing Beirut along sectarian lines during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war — Leo called on the leaders to be “builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice and concord”.He sat surrounded by the spiritual heads of 16 Muslim and Christian denominations, out of the 18 recognised by Lebanon.The Jewish and Ismaili faiths were not represented, as those recognised communities have very few members remaining in the country.As the call to prayer was heard from the nearby Mohammed al-Amin mosque, which is located next to a church, clerics gave speeches and a children’s choir sang Christian and Muslim hymns.Under a pavilion erected for the occasion, the leaders stood on a stage bearing the word “peace” in French and Arabic.The meeting “highlights that Lebanon is a country with great experience in dialogue and meetings between sects”, said Naila Tabbara, founder of the Adyan foundation, which focuses on interreligious rapprochement.”Even in the most difficult times, this dialogue has continued,” she added, saying that the pope wished to show that “solidarity that transcends affiliations does not exist in any other country” in the region.- Symbolic olive tree -Lebanon’s religious diversity is reflected in its political system.The president of the republic must always be a Maronite Christian — the only Christian leader in the Arab world — while the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.But political and religious divisions have repeatedly been exacerbated by Lebanon’s many crises, most recently the war between the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel.Shiite Hezbollah had opened a “solidarity front” with its ally Hamas in Gaza by launching rockets at Israel, sparking anger in other Lebanese communities.Leo’s visit — part of his first trip abroad as pontiff — “underscores the importance of dialogue and coexistence in Lebanon”, said Fuad Khreis, a Shiite cleric.”Lebanon is strong because of its people and all its sects… We must stand together as one and talk to each other, especially in light of the difficult situation we are suffering through.”In his speech, Pope Leo said coexistence in Lebanon was “a mission that remains unchanged throughout the history of this beloved land: to bear witness to the enduring truth that Christians, Muslims, Druze and countless others can live together and build a country united by respect and dialogue”.He concluded the meeting by planting an olive tree, saying it “not only adorns this space in which we gather today, but it is also revered in the sacred texts of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, serving as a timeless symbol of reconciliation and peace”.

Trump MRI shows president in ‘excellent’ cardiovascular health: physician

US President Donald Trump has “excellent” cardiovascular health, his doctor said Monday, citing an MRI taken during an unannounced hospital visit that ignited fresh scrutiny over his medical condition.The Republican billionaire, who turns 80 in June, has long faced criticism for limited transparency around his health. His sudden October 10 trip to Walter Reed medical center — outside the usual annual exam — spurred speculation about what prompted the check-up.But in a memo released by the White House, physician Sean Barbabella said the advanced imaging was purely preventive, intended “to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality.””Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health. His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal. All major organs appear very healthy and well-perfused,” Barbabella said.MRI scans, or magnetic resonance imaging, are commonly used to detect serious conditions such as tumors, strokes and multiple sclerosis, as well as more minor issues like muscle tears and inflammation.Pressed by reporters in recent weeks, Trump — the oldest person ever sworn in as US president — had sidestepped questions about the purpose of the visit, directing inquiries to his medical team.During his second term, he has often appeared with bruising on his right hand, occasionally covered with makeup. The White House has attributed the marks to the aspirin he takes as part of a “standard” cardiovascular health regimen.In the summer, the administration disclosed that Trump had been evaluated for swelling in his legs and diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency — a common condition in which faulty vein valves allow blood to pool, causing swelling, cramping and skin changes. It can be managed with medication or targeted procedures.