Emmanuel Macron a dit vendredi vouloir instaurer la possibilité d’une action judiciaire “en référé” contre les “fausses informations” ou les “informations qui sont attentatoires” à la dignité d’une personne diffusées sur les réseaux sociaux pour pouvoir les bloquer en urgence.”Cette semaine, j’ai tenu un conseil de défense sur la lutte informationnelle où j’ai demandé” au …
Les forces israéliennes ont tué vendredi 13 personnes lors d’une opération dans le sud de la Syrie, selon Damas, l’armée israélienne affirmant viser un groupe islamiste.Il s’agit de l’opération israélienne la plus meurtrière depuis la chute il y a près d’un an du président Bachar al-Assad, renversé par une coalition islamiste.L’armée israélienne a fait état …
Les forces israéliennes tuent 13 personnes lors d’une opération en Syrie, selon Damas Read More »
Stock markets were little changed Friday, capping a solid week driven by expectations of more US rate cuts, with trading thinned by the Thanksgiving holiday and a data centre outage.Trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s major operators, was halted by a technical outage first reported at 0240 GMT Friday.”Due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, our markets are currently halted,” the CME said in a statement.Market participants rely heavily on CME platforms to manage risk through futures contracts tied, for example, to stock indices, interest rates and currencies.The outage also froze pricing on the US benchmark crude contract, WTI, for several hours. “It’s been a while since we’ve had such a long outage,” said Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets. “Good news was it happened during the US holiday so there was not a lot of action and orders,” he said.Wall Street’s main indices edged higher at the start of a half-day of trading, having been closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.If the positive start follows through, “this may prove to be the best week for US stock indices since late June,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.Without direction overnight from New York, European and Asian markets moved with little conviction, with investors taking a breather from AI-fuelled debates that had helped drive November trade.Concerns about the high valuations of AI stocks have tempered investor enthusiasm this month.Morrison noted that both the Dow and S&P 500 are both marginally down for November, while the Nasdaq Composite is two percent lower. In Europe, London, Paris, and Frankfurt made modest gains in afternoon trading.In Asia, Tokyo and Shanghai ended marginally higher, while Hong Kong slipped.Focus this week has been firmly on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.A string of top Fed officials have backed a third straight reduction, mostly citing a weakening labour market despite elevated inflation.Attention now turns to a range of data releases over the next week or so that could play a role in the bank’s final decision, with private hiring, services activity and personal consumption expenditure — the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation.With the recent government shutdown postponing or cancelling the release of some key data, closely watched non-farm payrolls figures are now due in mid-December, after the Fed’s policy decision.Markets see around an 85-percent chance of a cut next month and three more in 2026.Meanwhile, the yen was erratic against the dollar after data showed inflation in Tokyo, seen as a bellwether for Japan, came in a little higher than expected, reigniting talk on whether the central bank will hike interest rates in the coming months.The Japanese unit remains under pressure against the greenback amid concerns about Japan’s fiscal outlook and pledges for more borrowing.Oil prices were mixed ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ oil exporting nations.”Markets are expecting the group to hold production levels unchanged from January owing to concerns about excessive supply and weak demand, and, obviously, weaker oil prices,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.- Key figures at around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 47,511.07 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,823.19New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 23,282.85London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,711.34 Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,118.94Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,839.38Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 50,253.91 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 25,858.89 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,888.60 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1571 from $1.1602 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3221 from $1.3252Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.29 yen from 156.30 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.55 pence from 87.56 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $62.65 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $58.89 per barrelburs-rl/rlp
Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in southern Syria, saying they targeted an Islamist group, in Israel’s deadliest attack on the country since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow last year.Since an Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Assad in December of last year, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syria’s military arsenal as well as incursions into the country.The Israeli army said an exchange of fire in the operation to detain militants in the Syrian village of Beit Jin left six Israeli soldiers wounded, with three of them in a serious condition.The official SANA news agency, quoting the Syrian health ministry, reported 13 dead and 24 more wounded in the Israeli operation.The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the operation as a “war crime” and accused Israel of wanting to “ignite the region”.An AFP journalist saw several wounded people being taken to a hospital in Damascus, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the village.”We were asleep when we were woken up at three in the morning by gunfire,” wounded resident Iyad Taher told AFP at al-Mouwassat hospital in the Syrian capital.”We went outside to see what was happening and saw the Israeli army in the village, soldiers and tanks. Then they withdrew, the air force came, and the shells started falling. I was hit by shrapnel in the neck.”The Israeli army said the targets of the operation were fighters from the Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, which is based in neighbouring Lebanon and allied with Palestinian armed group Hamas.”The suspects operated in the area of Beit Jin in southern Syria and advanced terror attacks against Israeli civilians,” it said in a statement.A local official told AFP that Israeli forces raided the village to capture three men, sparking clashes.”Following the clashes, the Israeli occupation forces shelled the area with artillery and drones,” village official Abdul Rahman al-Hamrawi said.At the hospital, Ahmad Kamal told AFP he and others “opened fire on the Israeli patrol to defend ourselves and stop them from taking us. My brother was killed, and I was wounded”.- ‘Territorial integrity’ -In Damascus and other major Syrian cities, demonstrators marking one year since the Islamist-led offensive that toppled Assad denounced Israel’s attacks.Banners in Damascus read “Beit Jin makes us proud” and “stop Israeli attacks”.United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi condemned Israel’s attack, calling it “a grave and unacceptable violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said Friday’s operation was “the deadliest incursion since Israel began conducting operations outside the buffer zone in southern Syria”.Israel sent troops into and beyond the UN-patrolled buffer zone, which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974, in the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall.In June, Syria accused Israel of “abducting seven people” from Beit Jin and killing one civilian “as a result of direct gunfire on the residents”.Israel accused the people of being Hamas members.Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights, a strategic mountain plateau, since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone, drawing a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region.The premier has previously insisted that southern Syria be demilitarised following Assad’s overthrow.Israel’s key backer the United States has been pushing for a security pact between Syria and Israel, part of President Donald Trump’s goal to shore up the fragile Gaza ceasefire with a broader Middle East peace settlement.While Syrian and Israeli officials have held repeated rounds of talks, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ruled out Syria joining the Abraham Accords, under which a handful of Arab countries have normalised ties with Israel.He recently met with Trump and warned in a UN speech that Israel’s persistent attacks put the region at risk, but backed diplomacy.”In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue,” he said.burs-nad/dcp
Palestinian student Razan Shawar has travelled for 24 hours to showcase her team’s AI-powered invention at World Robot Olympiad in Singapore, telling AFP innovation — not war — should be why people hear about her country.The 15-year-old high school student from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said she dreams of making “something big, so the world can know that the one who did this is Palestinian”.Together with the rest of the Palestinian delegation, she made the journey from the West Bank via Jordan and Dubai to attend the three-day global robotic tournament in Singapore that ended on Friday.More than 1,500 competitors from over 90 countries and territories gathered in the Southeast Asian city for the event, aimed at harnessing the innovative spirit of the world’s youth to find solutions for pressing challenges.Malaysia stamped its class in the tournament, winning a third of the contested medals in various categories, according to an AFP tally.Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Canada and the Philippines were also among the first-place awardees.For the Palestinian students, who left without a medal, it was important to represent their nation on the global stage.Palestinian delegations have attended World Robot Olympiads since 2014, but the Israel-Hamas war meant they did not send representatives at all to the 2023 edition in Panama, and since then, no participants from the Gaza Strip — only the West Bank.- ‘Palestinians can’ -Competing in the Future Innovators senior category, this year’s Palestinian delegation created a robot that can be used to boost agriculture production.The “Agribot”, supported by artificial intelligence technology, works by measuring six key soil parameters like moisture, acidity and nutrients using sensors.It takes precise readings with its mechanical arm, and the analysis can help farmers increase yield and reduce waste.The students now aim to make it easily available to farmers who mostly rely on traditional methods, said Razan.Jehad Abudayyeh, 16, said that agriculture “is so important in our country… because it’s a way of life. I’m very happy that my project will help them.”Team member Mustafa Assi, who is also 16 and hopes to become an IT engineer, dreams of a more conducive environment for technology to thrive.”I hope my country will be safer and the war ends,” he said.Razan hopes to shine a light on other aspects of Palestinian life apart from conflict.”We want to show the world that we are not just under war, that we can… stand here and show people and the world that we can do this, we can be in this competition,” she said.”We made our project, we’re proud of it,” she added.”Palestine has students who aim to be better, and show the world that Palestinians can.”
Le Sri Lanka a déployé l’armée vendredi pour secourir des centaines de personnes isolées par la montée des eaux, le bilan des victimes des intempéries grimpant à 69 morts et 34 personnes disparues dans ce pays d’Asie du Sud.Des hélicoptères et des bateaux de la marine ont mené de nombreuses opérations de sauvetage, secourant des habitants réfugiés dans des arbres, des toits et dans des villages isolés par les inondations. Le Centre national de gestion des catastrophes (DMC) a annoncé que le bilan s’était alourdi avec la découverte de nouveaux corps dans le centre du pays, la région la plus touchée, où la plupart des victimes ont été ensevelies vivantes dans des glissements de terrain. Un précédent bilan faisait état de 56 morts et de 21 disparus. De fortes précipitations continent de s’abattre sur l’île, où certaines régions ont enregistré jusqu’à 360 millimètres de pluie au cours des dernières 24 heures, selon les autorités. Le fleuve Kelani, qui se jette dans l’océan Indien près de la capitale Colombo, est sorti de son lit vendredi en fin de journée. Ses habitants avaient été appelés auparavant à se réfugier dans les hauteurs de la ville. – “Pire inondation” -V. S. A. Ratnayake, 56 ans, qui a quitté sa maison inondée à Kaduwela, dans la banlieue ouest de la capitale, redoute que cela soit “la pire inondation dans notre région depuis trois décennies”. “Je me souviens d’une inondation dans les années 1990, ma maison s’était retrouvée sous deux mètres d’eau”, dit-il à l’AFP. Un autre habitant, M. A. Madushantha, 38 ans, raconte que son habitation, située le long des berges du fleuve Kelani, a subi le même sort. “J’ai envoyé mes enfants et ma femme chez ma sœur hier soir parce que nous nous nous y attendions”, dit-il. Dans l’ensemble de l’île, près de 3.000 habitations ont été détruites ou endommagées et près de 18.000 personnes hébergées dans des centres d’accueil d’urgence.- L’Inde mobilise des secours-Dans le district d’Anuradhapura, dans le nord du pays, un hélicoptère Bell 212 de l’armée de l’air a héliporté un homme qui s’était réfugié sur un cocotier pour échapper à la montée des eaux. Le DMC a annoncé que de nouvelles pluies étaient prévues et que le cyclone Ditwah devrait se déplacer du nord vers l’État du Tamil Nadu, dans le sud de l’Inde, d’ici dimanche. Le Premier ministre indien, Narendra Modi, a présenté ses condoléances au Sri Lanka, déclarant que New Delhi mobilisait des secours d’urgence. “Nous sommes prêts à fournir davantage d’aide et d’assistance à mesure que la situation évolue”, a déclaré M. Modi sur X. Des responsables du DMC ont indiqué s’attendre à des niveaux de crue supérieurs à ceux enregistrés en 2016, lorsque des inondations avaient fait 71 morts à travers l’île. – “Nulle part où aller” -La chaîne Sirasa TV a diffusé l’appel à l’aide d’une femme désespérée. “Nous sommes six, dont un enfant d’un an et demi. Si l’eau monte encore de cinq marches, nous n’aurons nulle part où aller”, a-t-elle déclaré par téléphone. Des dizaines de touristes bloqués ont été évacués vendredi depuis les régions de culture du thé dans le centre du pays vers Colombo. Comme chaque année à la même période, le Sri Lanka subit la mousson du Nord-Est, mais le cyclone Ditwah a entraîné une intensification des précipitations. Cette nation insulaire dépend des pluies de mousson pour l’irrigation et l’hydroélectricité. Si les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes sont courants en Asie du Sud pendant la saison des moussons, les scientifiques soulignent que le changement climatique en aggrave la violence et l’impact. Le bilan des victimes des intempéries de cette semaine au Sri Lanka est le plus lourd depuis juin dernier, lorsque 26 personnes ont perdu la vie après de fortes pluies. En décembre, 17 personnes étaient décédées dans des inondations et des glissements de terrain. Le Sri Lanka avait connu en 2003 ses pires inondations du siècle, qui avaient fait 254 morts.
Sri Lankan troops were racing to rescue hundreds of people marooned by rising floodwaters on Friday as weather-related deaths rose to 69, with another 34 people declared missing.Helicopters and navy boats carried out multiple rescue operations, plucking residents from tree tops, roofs and villages cut off by floodwaters.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst affected central region, where most victims had been buried alive as mudslides hit this week.Rain was falling across the island with some regions receiving 360 millimetres in the past 24 hours, the DMC said.The Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean near the capital Colombo, breached its banks on Friday.V. S. A. Ratnayake, 56, said he had to leave his flooded home in Kaduwela, just outside Colombo.”I think this could be the worst flood in our area for three decades,” Ratnayake told AFP. “I remember a flood in the 1990s when my house was under seven feet of water.”Another Kaduwela resident, Kalyani, 48, who uses only one name, said she was sheltering two families whose homes were flooded.At least 3,000 homes were damaged in mudslides and floods, and over 18,000 people had been moved to temporary shelters.In Anuradhapura district in the north, an Air Force Bell 212 helicopter airlifted a man who had climbed a coconut tree to escape rising waters.The DMC said more rain was forecast, with Cyclone Ditwah likely to move away from the north towards the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu by Sunday.- ‘Nowhere to go’ -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of life in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi was rushing aid.”We stand ready to provide more aid and assistance as the situation evolves,” Modi said on X.DMC officials said they expected flood levels to be worse than in 2016, when 71 people were killed nationwide.The Sirasa TV network broadcast an appeal for help from a desperate woman.”We are six people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old child. If the water rises another five steps up the staircase, we will have nowhere to go,” she said by telephone.Dozens of stranded tourists were evacuated to Colombo from the tea-growing central areas on Friday.Sri Lanka is in its northeast monsoon season, but rainfall has intensified because of Cyclone Ditwah, the DMC said.Sri Lanka depends on seasonal monsoon rains for irrigation and hydroelectricity, but experts have warned that the country faces more frequent floods due to climate change.This week’s weather-related toll is the highest since June last year, when 26 people were killed following heavy rains. In December, 17 people died in flooding and landslides.The worst flooding Sri Lanka has experienced since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
