Israeli army kills municipal worker in raid on south Lebanon

The Israeli military on Thursday killed a municipal worker in a raid in southern Lebanon, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions.Israel’s military confirmed the raid, saying it was operating against Hezbollah infrastructure when its forces fired on a “suspect”.Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes.An AFP journalist saw bullet holes in the walls and windows of the municipal building in Blida.Early in the day, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli troops “stormed the Blida municipality building, where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping, and enemy soldiers proceeded to kill him”.Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed the death.In the room where Salameh had been sleeping, the floor, blankets and mattress were stained with blood, with the victim’s glasses, papers and cigarettes scattered around.Salameh had been sleeping in the building because he was on duty, said the mayor of Blida, where most houses were destroyed during last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah.”We heard Israeli soldiers shout, then there were gunshots,” Hisham Abdel Latif Hassan, Salameh’s nephew, told AFP.After Israeli soldiers withdrew, “we found him dead near his mattress”.- ‘Confront any Israeli incursion’ -Village residents cited by NNA said the raid lasted several hours, and that Israeli forces withdrew at dawn.The state-run outlet called the raid “unprecedented”.Aoun instructed the military to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens”, during a meeting with the army chief, according to a statement from the presidency.Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incursion as “a flagrant aggression against Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty”.The Israeli military said that during an operation to “dismantle Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the Blida area in southern Lebanon, the troops identified a suspect inside the structure”.It added that “an immediate threat against the troops was identified, and they fired to remove it”, noting the “incident is under review”.The military accused Hezbollah of using the building “for terrorist activity under the guise of civilian infrastructure”.In a statement, Hezbollah condemned the “cold blooded” killing of Salameh and commended Aoun for instructing the army to confront such raids.United Nations peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon expressed their “deep concerns” over the incursion, calling it a “blatant violation of the Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanon’s sovereignty”, referring to the resolution that ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, which the current ceasefire is based on.- New strike -In the nearby border village of Adaisseh, NNA reported that Israeli forces also blew up a hall for religious ceremonies at dawn.Israeli drones were also flying over Beirut at low altitude on Thursday, according to the NNA.Hezbollah first began launching cross-border fire at Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, kicking off a more than year-long conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year’s ceasefire was agreed.Israel, however, has never stopped carrying out air strikes on Lebanon — usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions — and has stepped up the attacks in recent days.Its military announced another strike on Thursday, saying it targeted “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, including a launcher and tunnel shaft in the area of Mahmudiyah in southern Lebanon”.The NNA reported a strike near Mahmudiyah and another on Labbouneh, near the eastern side of the border with Israel.On Tuesday, the spokesman for the UN rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect.Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the Iran-backed group.On Wednesday, during a meeting of the ceasefire’s monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year”.The Lebanese army “must now fully implement its plan”, she added.

Fentanyl, beans and Ukraine: takeaways from Trump-Xi’s ‘great meeting’

From a crippling trade conflict to the Ukraine war, here’s what Beijing and Washington say was achieved during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s first face-to-face talks in six years:- Fentanyl, tariffs -The fentanyl trade has long been a sore point: Washington accuses Beijing of turning a blind eye to exports of chemicals used to make the drug, a charge China denies.Trump hit China with a 20-percent levy early this year over fentanyl, but said it would be reduced to 10 percent after Xi agreed at their Busan summit to “work very hard to stop the flow” of the powerful opioid, which has killed thousands of Americans.The reduction would bring average US tariffs on China to 47 percent.Washington would also suspend for a year steeper “reciprocal” tariffs that targeted China, Beijing’s commerce ministry said, ahead of a trade truce set to expire next month. China will make corresponding adjustments.- Hill of beans -Beijing has retaliated against the US tariffs with levies on American agricultural products, including soybeans, hurting a key source of Trump’s political support: farmers.More than half of US soybean exports went to China last year, but Beijing halted all orders as the trade dispute deepened.Trump said China had now agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans and other farm products.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of the crop “during this season”.- Rare earths, ships -A strategic field dominated by China that is essential for manufacturing in defence, automobiles and consumer electronics, rare earths were expected to occupy a central role in the Busan talks.Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on the materials and related technology this month. Trump swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of 100 percent on all Chinese goods, which he threatened would start this weekend.But the US leader insisted Thursday that “that whole situation, that roadblock is gone now”.China’s commerce ministry confirmed the rare earths restrictions had been suspended “for one year”.Washington in turn agreed to suspend for one year a move imposing “Entity List” export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they had at least a 50 percent stake, a Chinese spokesperson said.The United States also agreed to halt for a year measures targeting China’s shipbuilding industry that led to both sides applying port fees against each other’s ships, they said.China would suspend its “countermeasures” after the US action, they added, for one year too.- Ukraine – Trump said the United States and China agreed to cooperate more on seeking an end to war in Ukraine.China says it is a neutral party, but Kyiv and Western governments have long accused Beijing of providing political and economic support to Moscow.Trump told reporters the subject came up “very strongly” during his talks with Xi.”He’s going to help us, and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump said.- Chips -Beijing has ramped up its chip industry to beat Washington’s export restrictions on the critical component used to power artificial intelligence systems.US chip giant Nvidia has been caught in the geopolitical tussle. Nvidia’s chips are currently not sold in China due to a combination of Beijing government bans, US national security concerns and ongoing trade tensions.Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has urged the United States to allow the sale of US-made AI chips in China to ensure Silicon Valley companies remain a global powerhouse in AI development.”We did discuss chips,” Trump said, adding that Huang would speak to Beijing about the dispute. “We’re sort of the arbitrator or the referee.”- TikTok -The talks failed to result in a final deal for TikTok’s US operations to be transferred to American ownership, despite Bessent saying beforehand that Xi and Trump may “consummate” an agreement in Busan.Washington has sought to wrest the popular social media app’s US operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance, citing national security concerns.aue-oho-mya-bys/des

Fentanyl, beans and Ukraine: takeaways from Trump-Xi’s ‘great meeting’

From a crippling trade conflict to the Ukraine war, here’s what Beijing and Washington say was achieved during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s first face-to-face talks in six years:- Fentanyl, tariffs -The fentanyl trade has long been a sore point: Washington accuses Beijing of turning a blind eye to exports of chemicals used to make the drug, a charge China denies.Trump hit China with a 20-percent levy early this year over fentanyl, but said it would be reduced to 10 percent after Xi agreed at their Busan summit to “work very hard to stop the flow” of the powerful opioid, which has killed thousands of Americans.The reduction would bring average US tariffs on China to 47 percent.Washington would also suspend for a year steeper “reciprocal” tariffs that targeted China, Beijing’s commerce ministry said, ahead of a trade truce set to expire next month. China will make corresponding adjustments.- Hill of beans -Beijing has retaliated against the US tariffs with levies on American agricultural products, including soybeans, hurting a key source of Trump’s political support: farmers.More than half of US soybean exports went to China last year, but Beijing halted all orders as the trade dispute deepened.Trump said China had now agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans and other farm products.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of the crop “during this season”.- Rare earths, ships -A strategic field dominated by China that is essential for manufacturing in defence, automobiles and consumer electronics, rare earths were expected to occupy a central role in the Busan talks.Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on the materials and related technology this month. Trump swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of 100 percent on all Chinese goods, which he threatened would start this weekend.But the US leader insisted Thursday that “that whole situation, that roadblock is gone now”.China’s commerce ministry confirmed the rare earths restrictions had been suspended “for one year”.Washington in turn agreed to suspend for one year a move imposing “Entity List” export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they had at least a 50 percent stake, a Chinese spokesperson said.The United States also agreed to halt for a year measures targeting China’s shipbuilding industry that led to both sides applying port fees against each other’s ships, they said.China would suspend its “countermeasures” after the US action, they added, for one year too.- Ukraine – Trump said the United States and China agreed to cooperate more on seeking an end to war in Ukraine.China says it is a neutral party, but Kyiv and Western governments have long accused Beijing of providing political and economic support to Moscow.Trump told reporters the subject came up “very strongly” during his talks with Xi.”He’s going to help us, and we’re going to work together on Ukraine,” Trump said.- Chips -Beijing has ramped up its chip industry to beat Washington’s export restrictions on the critical component used to power artificial intelligence systems.US chip giant Nvidia has been caught in the geopolitical tussle. Nvidia’s chips are currently not sold in China due to a combination of Beijing government bans, US national security concerns and ongoing trade tensions.Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has urged the United States to allow the sale of US-made AI chips in China to ensure Silicon Valley companies remain a global powerhouse in AI development.”We did discuss chips,” Trump said, adding that Huang would speak to Beijing about the dispute. “We’re sort of the arbitrator or the referee.”- TikTok -The talks failed to result in a final deal for TikTok’s US operations to be transferred to American ownership, despite Bessent saying beforehand that Xi and Trump may “consummate” an agreement in Busan.Washington has sought to wrest the popular social media app’s US operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance, citing national security concerns.aue-oho-mya-bys/des

La Paris Games Week revisite sa formule pour attirer les fans de pop-culture

Pour sa première journée d’ouverture, la Paris Games Week, plus grand salon du jeu vidéo en France, accueille jeudi plusieurs milliers de visiteurs avides de tester les dernières nouveautés, avant de prendre des allures de festival en soirée avec des concerts et des animations de stars du web.De premières files d’attente se sont formées dès l’ouverture à 9H00 devant les stands des productions les plus attendues comme le jeu d’horreur “Resident Evil Requiem” du japonais Capcom et “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7″, nouvel opus de la série d’Activision.”On est venu de Toulouse pour que mon fils puisse tester +Call of+”, raconte à l’AFP Jérôme Grimal, informaticien de 49 ans, qui patiente derrière plusieurs dizaines de personnes avec son fils Julian, 13 ans.Cette quatorzième édition réunit “tout ce qu’il aime” avec des espaces dédiés aux mangas, au cosplay et jeux de cartes à collectionner, ajoute le père de famille.Avec comme nouveaux partenaires le groupe Fimalac Entertainment (propriétaire de l’agence artistique Webedia) et le spécialiste de l’organisation de salons GL events, la Paris Games Week a pour ambition de s’élargir cette année “à tous les loisirs, que ce soit la musique, les jeux de cartes ou les spectacles”, détaille Nicolas Vignolles, délégué général du Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisirs (Sell), l’organisateur de l’événement.- Nouveautés -“Je suis curieux de voir les nouveautés et l’ambiance”, glisse Fabien, informaticien de 40 ans venu avec sa nièce et sa fille pour tester essentiellement les jeux du géant japonais Nintendo, “plus adaptés aux enfants”. Raccourcie d’une journée, la fête du jeu vidéo propose pour la première fois des nocturnes au Dôme de Paris, avec notamment un concert des rappeurs Bigflo & Oli, des compétitions de esport et un spectacle autour de la musique du jeu vidéo français à succès “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33″.”J’ai pris un billet uniquement pour ce concert”, affirme Cyrille Frouin, 28 ans, arborant béret rouge et marinière à l’effigie des héros du titre de Sandfall Interactive.Plusieurs stars du web comme Inoxtag et Domingo seront présents pour animer quiz et défis.Une partie “business” accueille également des conférences et tables rondes sur l’avenir de l’industrie.Le PDG d’Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, est venu y présenter jeudi matin les grandes lignes de l’avenir du géant français du jeu vidéo.”Depuis le Covid, pour que les gens sortent de chez eux, il faut qu’il y ait une promesse d’expérience très forte”, souligne James Rebours, président du Sell.Les organisateurs promettent plus de 200 jeux jouables, répartis dans deux halls du Parc des expositions.- “Mal aux yeux” -À côté des dernières nouveautés, un espace permet également de découvrir d’anciennes consoles de jeux, pour certaines vieilles de plusieurs décennies.”Ça fait bizarre, j’ai un peu mal aux yeux”, raconte Gaëtan, 14 ans, qui s’essaye à Rayman 2 sur Dreamcast, console de Sega sortie en 1999.Les trois grands constructeurs de consoles (Microsoft, Nintendo et Sony) sont sur place, aux côtés des principaux éditeurs de jeux comme Ubisoft, Bandai Namco ou Capcom.La Switch 2, nouvelle console de Nintendo qui a connu en juin un lancement record, sera également de la partie.”Cette nouvelle console a embarqué le marché avec elle”, s’enthousiasme Charlotte Massicault, directrice des produits multimédias chez Fnac-Darty.Les organisateurs espèrent une affluence au moins similaire à celle de 2024, qui avait comptabilisé plus de 188.000 entrées.Selon une enquête du Sell publiée en septembre, plus de 40 millions de Français déclarent avoir joué au moins une fois aux jeux vidéo dans l’année, un record.

Plus de 900 SDF décédés l’an dernier en France, dont des enfants, alerte un collectif

Les plus jeunes n’avaient que quelques jours, la plus âgée 93 ans: plus de 900 personnes sans domicile fixe sont décédées en France l’an dernier, un chiffre d’une ampleur inédite qui s’explique à la fois par une hausse du sans-abrisme et par un recensement associatif plus efficace.”Tous les indicateurs sont au rouge, il y a urgence à se mobiliser”, alerte auprès de l’AFP Adèle Lenormand, membre du collectif Les morts de la rue, qui a publié jeudi son décompte actualisé du nombre de personnes sans domicile fixe décédées en 2024.Des hommes, des femmes mais aussi des enfants: 912 décès ont été dénombrés, soit “un nouveau record effroyable”, depuis le premier recensement de 2012.A titre de comparaison, à la même période l’an dernier, le collectif avait comptabilisé 735 morts pour 2023. La hausse constatée est liée en partie à “l’augmentation du nombre de personnes sans domicile fixe”, mais aussi au fait que le collectif reçoit plus de signalements de la part des particuliers, d’associations et de structures d’accompagnement social, explique Adèle Lenormand, qui a coordonnée l’enquête.Ces personnes SDF sont décédées de manière “prématurée”: à 47,7 ans en moyenne, soit un écart d’espérance de vie de 32 ans avec la population générale. Un âge moyen en recul.Il s’agit en majorité d’hommes (82%) mais la part de femmes (13%) est “en hausse, reflétant une féminisation du sans-abrisme”, selon le collectif.- Bébés et personnes âgées -Fait “inquiétant”, 4% des décès concernent des moins de 15 ans, soit “un doublement par rapport à la période 2012-2023″.”C’est lié à la progression du nombre de familles dans la rue”, précise Adèle Lenormand. Les plus jeunes personnes décédées recensées sont, selon elle, des bébés de quelques jours à peine. A l’inverse, la personne la plus âgée avait 93 ans. “On observe une progression du nombre de personnes vieillissantes sans domicile fixe”, détaille Mme Lenormand. “Depuis l’an dernier, des personnes âgées se retrouvent à la rue pour la première fois à la suite d’une expulsion”.Une partie des personnes décédées en 2024 vivaient dans la rue au moment de leur mort, d’autres étaient hébergées, dans des structures d’urgence ou de soins.Dans de nombreux cas, la cause du décès reste inconnue (40%). Pour 17%, il s’agit d’une mort violente (noyade, agression, suicide).L’Ile-de-France concentre 37% des décès et la région Hauts-de-France enregistre un doublement (163 décès), “notamment survenus lors de traversées de la Manche”.- Action publique -“Face à cette tragédie, l’urgence est double: protéger les plus vulnérables et réformer en profondeur les politiques publiques pour que le droit au logement convenable devienne enfin une réalité”, soulignent dans un communiqué Les morts de la rue, qui avaient organisé en mai à Paris une cérémonie d’hommage aux disparus.Pour l’heure, l’action des pouvoirs publics est largement insuffisante aux yeux des associations. En février, une vingtaine d’entre elles ont déposé devant le tribunal administratif de Paris deux recours contre l’Etat pour “carence fautive” dans la lutte contre le mal-logement et le sans-abrisme.L’Etat ne remplit pas “correctement” sa mission en matière de politique d’hébergement des personnes sans-abri, avait aussi estimé l’an dernier la Cour des comptes.Le président Emmanuel Macron avait fait la promesse selon laquelle personne ne devait dormir à la rue d’ici à la fin de son premier quinquennat.Il est difficile de connaître précisément le nombre de personnes sans domicile fixe en France: elles seraient environ 350.000, dont 20.000 à la rue, selon la Fondation pour le Logement (ex-Fondation Abbé Pierre).La dernière évaluation officielle de l’Institut national de la statistique, qui remonte à 2012, estimait leur nombre à 143.000. L’Insee devrait dévoiler fin 2026 les résultats d’une enquête pour mettre à jour cette estimation. 

Chinese EV giant BYD says Q3 profit down 33%

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD said on Thursday its third-quarter profit had slumped by 33 percent year-on-year, with sluggish domestic consumption piling pressure on the carmaker as it looks to expand overseas.BYD — which adopts the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has emerged in recent years as the clear leader in China’s highly competitive EV market, which is the largest in the world.The carmaker said its net profit for the third quarter was 7.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), a decrease of 32.6 percent compared to the same period last year and its second consecutive quarterly decline. The Shenzhen-based firm recorded revenue of 195 billion yuan over the same period, a slight decrease of 3 percent year-on-year.China’s EV industry is world-leading but a cutthroat domestic market has weighed on companies’ profitability, with many including BYD turning to overseas markets in response. Scrutiny of the EV market is also growing, with a top industry group in May rebuking Chinese automakers for fuelling a price war, a week after BYD announced sweeping trade-in discounts. However, BYD’s overseas bid appears to be gathering pace. In September, it sold more than 13,000 units in European Union countries, a year-on-year increase of 272.1 percent, according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).The recent slowdown comes after a period of sustained, intense growth, and its profit in the first quarter was a record for the company in that reporting period. In 2024, its annual revenue surpassed that of its American rival Tesla, and crossed the symbolic $100 billion mark.