Experts call for global panel to tackle ‘inequality crisis’Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:14:37 GMT

Wealth inequality is a global emergency that threatens democracy and social cohesion, experts warned Tuesday, urging G20 leaders meeting in South Africa this month to establish a panel to tackle the crisis.The “inequality emergency” is leaving billions hungry and could worsen under the Trump administration’s “law of the jungle” approach to trade, a committee led …

Experts call for global panel to tackle ‘inequality crisis’Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:14:37 GMT Read More »

Tanzania police warn over graphic images as restrictions easeTue, 04 Nov 2025 15:10:32 GMT

Tanzanians expressed hope Tuesday that days of election violence, in which the opposition says hundreds were killed, was over, as police warned that sharing graphic images was a criminal offence.President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 29 poll with 98 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said, but the opposition has declared the election …

Tanzania police warn over graphic images as restrictions easeTue, 04 Nov 2025 15:10:32 GMT Read More »

Répliques de missiles et faux cercueils israéliens: l’Iran commémore la prise de l’ambassade américaine

Répliques de missiles et mannequins de Donald Trump et Benjamin Netanyahu pendus en public: des milliers d’Iraniens ont commémoré mardi la prise, en 1979, de l’ambassade américaine à Téhéran, dans une ambiance particulièrement vindicative cinq mois après les frappes d’Israël et des Etats-Unis.”Mort à l’Amérique, mort à Israël!”, ont scandé dans la capitale iranienne les …

Répliques de missiles et faux cercueils israéliens: l’Iran commémore la prise de l’ambassade américaine Read More »

A close-up of a stack of newspapers resting on a desk, symbolizing information and media.

Dans les régions afghanes frappées par des séismes, l’angoisse de l’hiver

“Où devrions-nous aller?” Dans le nord de l’Afghanistan, les rescapés du séisme sont démunis face à la pluie qui tombe sur leurs décombres. Ils partagent, avec les rescapés du tremblement de terre survenu il y a deux mois dans l’est, l’angoisse de l’hiver qui approche.D’après les autorités talibanes, 27 personnes ont péri dans le séisme de magnitude 6,3 ayant principalement frappé lundi les provinces de Samangan et de Balkh.A Kaftar Khana, dans le district de Kholm à Samangan, Gulabuddin pleure sa belle-fille qui, lorsque la terre a tremblé dans la nuit, n’a pas eu le temps de descendre du premier étage de la maison familiale.Lui-même a été blessé à la tête par une brique.”Nous avons perdu toutes nos affaires”, déplore-t-il auprès de l’AFP. “L’hiver arrive, nous avons des enfants de quatre et cinq ans : où devrions-nous aller? Cela fait deux nuits que nous restons chez des proches”.Dans le village, la pluie a transformé en flaque un chemin de terre ocre.Ici des pans de murs effondrés, là un toit éventré, partout des fissures.Ces scènes de désolation dans le nord rappellent celles dans l’est, endeuillé par un séisme de magnitude 6 ayant fait 2.200 morts fin août, le plus meurtrier de l’histoire récente de l’Afghanistan.A Mazar Dara, village agricole accroché à la montagne de Kounar, Bazarga Safay a vu des enfants être emportés par ce séisme.Deux mois plus tard, elle craint que “d’autres pourraient bien mourir de froid”.- Neige par -20° -“On nous a donné une tente mais elle ne convient pas pour l’hiver”, remarque l’agricultrice de 50 ans aux yeux clairs, qui a perdu une belle-soeur et une nièce.Elle partage sa tente avec trois autres adultes et 12 enfants.Tous les habitants préfèrent camper dans les jardins ou les terrasses cultivées car ils sont terrorisés à l’idée de rester dans les quelques maisons qui tiennent encore. Les séismes, de moindre intensité, sont encore fréquents dans la région.Et leurs craintes ne font que s’aggraver lorsqu’ils constatent le manque de couvertures, de vêtements et de moyens de se chauffer, alors que les températures pourraient bientôt avoisiner les -20°, accompagnées de neige.”Le séisme est arrivé en été et les organisations ont fourni une aide d’après les besoins du moment”, note Najibullah Hanafi, responsable taliban en charge de l’Information à Kounar. “Maintenant que l’hiver arrive, (les sinistrés) demandent des vêtements et des choses qui pourraient les aider à survivre au froid”.”Sans toit sur leur tête, la situation va être très difficile”, alertait début octobre Achille Després, coordinateur de la communication d’urgence du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), soulignant auprès de l’AFP la “probabilité que certains meurent”.Les organisations internationales n’ont cessé de dire que, confrontées à l’une des pires crises budgétaires de leur histoire en raison du retrait de nombreux donateurs en tête desquels les Etats-Unis, leur aide serait limitée.- Le béton, la solution? -En contrebas de la montagne de Mazar Dara, des camps d’accueil ont été érigés mais l’Organisation mondiale pour les migrations (OIM) estime que 77% des rescapés qu’elle a interrogés veulent rester chez eux malgré l’hiver, la plupart disant ne pas avoir les moyens de déménager ou ne pas savoir où aller.Seule solution selon eux : reconstruire, en mieux.M. Hanafi affirme que de nouvelles bâtisses sont en train d’être construites par dizaines par les autorités talibanes.Sur place, des correspondants n’ont toutefois vu qu’un seul bulldozer déblayer les décombres à Mazar Dara.”Il faut reconstruire de façon appropriée: avec du béton et des briques”, y juge Sayid Wali Safay, agriculteur de 27 ans.”Nous voulons reconstruire notre maison au même endroit mais pas de la même façon: si nous ne voulons pas que notre maison s’effondre de nouveau, seul le béton fonctionnera”, renchérit Awal Jan.Quitte à oublier les pittoresques maisons en pierre et à dénaturer le hameau verdoyant.

Tanzania protests ‘not legal’, says ex-FM as hundreds feared deadTue, 04 Nov 2025 14:27:44 GMT

Tanzania’s recent foreign minister, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, told AFP on Tuesday that the government still did not know how many were killed in protests, which he deemed illegal, around the election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.Kombo relinquished his position as foreign minister on Monday when Hassan was sworn in for a second term after winning …

Tanzania protests ‘not legal’, says ex-FM as hundreds feared deadTue, 04 Nov 2025 14:27:44 GMT Read More »

Starbucks cedes China control to Boyu Capital

Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated.Hong Kong-based investment firm Boyu Capital will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, under a deal which values the business at around $4 billion.Seattle-based Starbucks said on Monday it will retain a 40-percent stake and continue to own the brand and intellectual property.The partnership marks a strategic shift for Starbucks after more than 26 years in China, where it has seen its market share fall to 14 percent in 2024 from a peak of 42 percent in 2017.China represents Starbucks’s second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.Luckin, founded in 2017, has expanded rapidly to more than 26,000 stores by targeting young spendthrift consumers with aggressive discounts, a host of quirky drink flavours, and brand tie-ups with everything from anime to the traditional Chinese liquor baijiu.It opened its first US store in June.- ‘So much more’ -Dozens of other chains have emerged in China, many following Luckin’s model of handling orders through mobile apps and operating small stores with few staff and little or no seating, which helps to lower costs.Cotti Coffee, another competitor, targets smaller cities and towns with drinks starting at 9.9 yuan ($1.40), and already has more China stores than Starbucks despite being founded only three years ago.Starbucks has failed to meet customers’ rising demand for better value, said Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina and author of a newsletter on Chinese consumers.”Consumers feel they can get so much more from domestic competitors,” she told AFP.Starbucks cut its prices in June, but its cheapest Americano still costs 27 yuan ($3.80).Luckin’s marketing, often focusing on viral online trends, has also given it an edge over Starbucks’ more traditional approach.Luckin also leverages its data-centric operation to analyse and anticipate trends for its product development, said Felipe Cabrera from Ad Astra Coffee Consulting, a specialist in the Chinese market.Boyu Capital will likely “manage the company in a very Chinese style, which will give some advantage to Starbucks China teams to react fast to trends in the local coffee industry”, he said, possibly even surpassing competitors in “creating ‘hot’ new” products.- Expansion -Starbucks reported last week that its latest quarterly same-store sales in China increased by two percent, fuelled by an increase in traffic, but added that average spending per ticket had dropped.The company said it expects the total value of its China retail business to exceed $13 billion, including proceeds from the sale, its retained interest, and future licensing fees over the next decade.”Boyu’s deep local knowledge and expertise will help accelerate our growth in China, especially as we expand into smaller cities and new regions,” said Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.While local brands have embraced franchise models to expand rapidly, Starbucks continues to directly operate large traditional coffee stores concentrated mostly in large cities.Jiang said that “they need a new generation of local and young leaders to make changes, especially in terms of marketing”.”If they keep what they’re doing… Boyu is only going to waste their money,” she said.The companies said they aim to grow the store count to as many as 20,000 locations over time, with the business continuing to be headquartered in Shanghai.The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

Starbucks cedes China control to Boyu Capital

Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated.Hong Kong-based investment firm Boyu Capital will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, under a deal which values the business at around $4 billion.Seattle-based Starbucks said on Monday it will retain a 40-percent stake and continue to own the brand and intellectual property.The partnership marks a strategic shift for Starbucks after more than 26 years in China, where it has seen its market share fall to 14 percent in 2024 from a peak of 42 percent in 2017.China represents Starbucks’s second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.Luckin, founded in 2017, has expanded rapidly to more than 26,000 stores by targeting young spendthrift consumers with aggressive discounts, a host of quirky drink flavours, and brand tie-ups with everything from anime to the traditional Chinese liquor baijiu.It opened its first US store in June.- ‘So much more’ -Dozens of other chains have emerged in China, many following Luckin’s model of handling orders through mobile apps and operating small stores with few staff and little or no seating, which helps to lower costs.Cotti Coffee, another competitor, targets smaller cities and towns with drinks starting at 9.9 yuan ($1.40), and already has more China stores than Starbucks despite being founded only three years ago.Starbucks has failed to meet customers’ rising demand for better value, said Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina and author of a newsletter on Chinese consumers.”Consumers feel they can get so much more from domestic competitors,” she told AFP.Starbucks cut its prices in June, but its cheapest Americano still costs 27 yuan ($3.80).Luckin’s marketing, often focusing on viral online trends, has also given it an edge over Starbucks’ more traditional approach.Luckin also leverages its data-centric operation to analyse and anticipate trends for its product development, said Felipe Cabrera from Ad Astra Coffee Consulting, a specialist in the Chinese market.Boyu Capital will likely “manage the company in a very Chinese style, which will give some advantage to Starbucks China teams to react fast to trends in the local coffee industry”, he said, possibly even surpassing competitors in “creating ‘hot’ new” products.- Expansion -Starbucks reported last week that its latest quarterly same-store sales in China increased by two percent, fuelled by an increase in traffic, but added that average spending per ticket had dropped.The company said it expects the total value of its China retail business to exceed $13 billion, including proceeds from the sale, its retained interest, and future licensing fees over the next decade.”Boyu’s deep local knowledge and expertise will help accelerate our growth in China, especially as we expand into smaller cities and new regions,” said Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.While local brands have embraced franchise models to expand rapidly, Starbucks continues to directly operate large traditional coffee stores concentrated mostly in large cities.Jiang said that “they need a new generation of local and young leaders to make changes, especially in terms of marketing”.”If they keep what they’re doing… Boyu is only going to waste their money,” she said.The companies said they aim to grow the store count to as many as 20,000 locations over time, with the business continuing to be headquartered in Shanghai.The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.