Leaders warn race for minerals could turn seabed into ‘wild west’

World leaders on Monday called for strong rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor in a thinly-veiled rebuke of US President Donald Trump.Growing anxiety over Trump’s unilateral push to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters shot to the surface at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in southern France.”I think it’s madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks — when we know nothing about it,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.Imposing a moratorium on seabed mining was “an international necessity”, said Macron.The number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday, according to a tally kept by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations.Trump was not among the roughly 60 heads of state and government in the seaside town of Nice but his spectre loomed large as leaders defended the global multilateralism he has spurned.Of particular concern, his move to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and issue permits directly to companies wanting to extract nickel and other metals from waters beyond US jurisdiction. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for “clear action” from the seabed authority to end a “predatory race” for deep-ocean minerals.”We now see the threat of unilateralism looming over the ocean. We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea,” he said.The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica were “not for sale”, Macron said in further remarks directed clearly at Trump’s expansionist claims.The ISA, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting in July to discuss a global mining code to regulate mining in the ocean depths.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he supported these negotiations and urged caution as countries navigate these “new waters on seabed mining”.”The deep sea cannot become the wild west,” he said, to applause from the plenary floor.- ‘Wave of hope’ -Island nations also spoke out against seabed mining, which scientists warn could result in untold damage to ecosystems largely unexplored by humanity.”Here in Nice, we can feel that the looming threat of deep sea mining, and the recent reckless behaviour of the industry is seen by many states as unacceptable,” said Megan Randles from Greenpeace.Meanwhile, a flurry of last-minute signatures in Nice brought a treaty to protect the 60 percent of the world’s oceans outside national jurisdiction closer to law.Macron told reporters that 55 nations had ratified the high seas treaty, just five shy of the number required for its enactment.The president gave two thumbs up and a broad grin as he posed with the new signatories, and said the accord would come into force by January 1, 2026.”Today’s surge of ratifications for the High Seas Treaty is a tidal wave of hope and a huge cause for celebration,” Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, told AFP.- ‘Prove you’re serious’ -On Monday, the United Kingdom announced plans to extend a partial ban on bottom trawling in some of its protected marine areas, following a similar move by France at the weekend.Greece, Brazil and Spain took the opportunity Monday to announce the creation of new marine parks, following recent similar action from Samoa.And French Polynesia unveiled what will be the world’s largest marine protected zone, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature.Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 percent by the summit’s close on Friday.Environment groups say that for marine parks to be considered truly protected they need to ban trawling and other harmful activities, and be properly funded.Wealthy nations face pressure in Nice to commit money to make that level of ocean conservation a reality.Small island states are leading the charge for money and political support to better combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks that hurt their economies.”We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it,” said President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau, a low-lying Pacific nation.np-aag-fcc-fff/gv

Musulmans, juifs et catholiques marchent ensemble à Villeurbanne

Plus de 200 catholiques, juifs et musulmans ont marché côte à côte lundi à Villeurbanne, après l’incendie d’un coran dans une mosquée de la ville, a constaté un journaliste de l’AFP.”Il est important que des fidèles de différentes croyances s’entendent et marchent ensemble. Nos concitoyens se sentent en insécurité, nous devons démontrer que nous pouvons vivre ensemble en paix” a témoigné Margault Odet, ingénieure, habitante de Villeurbanne, venue participer à la marche avec son mari et ses trois enfants âgés de 3 à 7 ans.Cette initiative, plutôt rare depuis la reprise du conflit israélo-palestinien, a été lancée par des citoyens et des responsables religieux locaux.”On ne se sent pas en sécurité. Cela dure depuis des années, et ça ne va pas en s’arrangeant, l’actualité internationale n’arrange rien” déplore Laure Charbonnier, 40 ans, de confession musulmane.Dans une ambiance fraternelle, la marche a relié symboliquement trois lieux de culte de la cité populaire de la banlieue lyonnaise : l’Église Sainte-Madeleine, la synagogue Keren Or et la mosquée Errahma. Une façon symbolique d’entretenir le dialogue entre communautés religieuses, dans une cité populaire historiquement attachée au respect des origines et des cultures.”Nous voulons rendre visible ce qui est positif, nous voulons faire vivre l’entente intereligieuse. Cela était nécessaire après les moments douloureux vécus par la communauté musulmane” a plaidé Olivier de Gersigny, curé de la paroisse Sainte-Madeleine.Cette marche de “sursaut républicain” visait à appeler à la fraternité citoyenne et au dialogue inter-religieux, en réaction à l’incendie d’un exemplaire du Coran dans la mosquée de la commune, dans la nuit du 1er au 2 juin.”Les discours de haine se développent, les musulmans sont montrés du doigt et cela pèse sur la population” a confié Azzedine Gacci, imam à Villeurbanne et figure musulmane de la région lyonnaise. Selon lui, les mosquées fonctionnent différemment depuis quelques mois, en surveillant les entrées durant les prières, alors qu’elles avaient l’habitude d’ouvrir librement même pour les retardataires.”Nous avons besoin de dire que ça suffit, stop à la haine, stop à la violence” a expliqué Daniela Touati, rabbine de la synagogue libérale, sur les marches de l’hôtel de ville, où le maire Cédric Van Styvendael, maire (PS) de Villeurbanne, a accueilli le cortège.Peu avant, un rassemblement de soutien aux militants présents sur un bateau pour Gaza intercepté par les autorités israéliennes avait réuni 600 personnes à Lyon.

Trump souffle sur les braises après les heurts à Los Angeles

Donald Trump souffle sur les braises après trois jours d’affrontements parfois violents à Los Angeles, tandis que les autorités démocrates de Californie s’efforcent de contrer le déploiement militaire ordonné par le président américain.”S’ils crachent, nous frappons, et je vous promets que nous frapperons comme jamais auparavant”, a écrit le républicain de 78 ans lundi sur son réseau social Truth à l’intention de ceux qu’il appelle des “insurgés”. Il avait déjà utilisé dimanche cette expression incendiaire, encore plus frappante en anglais (“If they spit, we will hit”).Carcasses de voitures incendiées – cinq véhicules autonomes Waymo sont partis en fumée – , bâtiments couverts d’insultes à l’intention de la police anti-immigration, patrouilles de policiers… La mégapole californienne, où réside une importante population hispanique, porte lundi des traces des heurts survenus quand des manifestants ont tenté de s’interposer face aux arrestations musclées d’immigrés menées par la police fédérale de l’immigration (ICE).- “Excès de pouvoir” -Si pour l’essentiel Los Angeles entamait la semaine tout à fait normalement, le centre-ville était interdit aux rassemblements, suite à ces débordements qui ont débouché en deux jours sur 56 arrestations.Le procureur général de Californie Rob Bonta a annoncé lundi poursuivre Donald Trump en justice, estimant que son choix de mobiliser les gardes nationaux, c’est-à-dire des militaires, sans l’aval du gouverneur “dépassait l’autorité du gouvernement fédéral” et “violait” la Constitution.Ce déploiement, du jamais vu depuis 1965, est un “excès de pouvoir scandaleux”, a écrit le gouverneur Gavin Newsom dans un communiqué, accusant le président de “provoquer le chaos intentionnellement”.Dans un court échange avec des journalistes lundi à la Maison Blanche, le républicain a rejeté la faute des débordements sur des “agitateurs professionnels” et des “insurgés”, mais n’a pas dit s’il déclarerait un état “d’insurrection” à proprement parler, ce qui lui donnerait des pouvoirs extrêmement étendus.Il a aussi défendu comme “excellente” sa décision d’envoyer la Garde nationale.”Tout ce que nous demandons, c’est que les gens ne soient pas arrachés à leur travail ou à la remise des diplômes de leurs enfants, qu’ils ne soient pas séparés de leur famille d’une manière très traumatisante et angoissante”, a expliqué dimanche Estrella Corral, une manifestante, à l’AFP.La maire démocrate de Los Angeles, Karen Bass, a assuré que le périmètre des affrontements ne concernait que “quelques rues” du centre-ville, et non pas toute la ville, contrairement à ce qu’a insinué Donald Trump.- Pente autoritaire -A croire le président, la métropole californienne aurait été “rayée de la carte” s’il n’avait décidé d’envoyer la Garde nationale, un corps de réserve sous double tutelle du pouvoir fédéral et des Etats, face à “l’incompétence” selon lui des autorités locales.Gavin Newsom, considéré comme un potentiel candidat à la Maison Blanche, fait partie des cibles favorites de Donald Trump, qui a lancé lundi qu’il serait “super” de l’arrêter, sans que l’on sache s’il s’agit d’une provocation ou d’une réelle intention.Le gouverneur, qui avait lui-même dimanche mis au défi le gouvernement fédéral de lui passer les menottes, a réagi en dénonçant une pente “autoritaire”.Environ 300 de ces 2.000 membres de la Garde nationale, une force souvent mobilisée lors de catastrophes naturelles, étaient arrivés à Los Angeles dimanche matin.Leur mission, stricto sensu, n’est pas de maintenir l’ordre mais de protéger les fonctionnaires fédéraux procédant à des arrestations de migrants.”Nous ne voulons pas voir plus de militarisation de la situation”, a réclamé lundi l’ONU.Les autorités mexicaines ont expliqué qu’une quarantaine de ressortissants mexicains avaient été arrêtés vendredi et samedi lors des opérations de l’ICE.Dans l’autre grande ville californienne, San Francisco, la police a annoncé avoir interpellé une soixantaine de personnes après qu’une manifestation contre la politique anti-immigration du gouvernement a dégénéré.Evoquant une “invasion” des Etats-Unis par des “criminels venus de l’étranger”, Donald Trump a érigé la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine en priorité absolue de son second mandat.

Trump souffle sur les braises après les heurts à Los Angeles

Donald Trump souffle sur les braises après trois jours d’affrontements parfois violents à Los Angeles, tandis que les autorités démocrates de Californie s’efforcent de contrer le déploiement militaire ordonné par le président américain.”S’ils crachent, nous frappons, et je vous promets que nous frapperons comme jamais auparavant”, a écrit le républicain de 78 ans lundi sur son réseau social Truth à l’intention de ceux qu’il appelle des “insurgés”. Il avait déjà utilisé dimanche cette expression incendiaire, encore plus frappante en anglais (“If they spit, we will hit”).Carcasses de voitures incendiées – cinq véhicules autonomes Waymo sont partis en fumée – , bâtiments couverts d’insultes à l’intention de la police anti-immigration, patrouilles de policiers… La mégapole californienne, où réside une importante population hispanique, porte lundi des traces des heurts survenus quand des manifestants ont tenté de s’interposer face aux arrestations musclées d’immigrés menées par la police fédérale de l’immigration (ICE).- “Excès de pouvoir” -Si pour l’essentiel Los Angeles entamait la semaine tout à fait normalement, le centre-ville était interdit aux rassemblements, suite à ces débordements qui ont débouché en deux jours sur 56 arrestations.Le procureur général de Californie Rob Bonta a annoncé lundi poursuivre Donald Trump en justice, estimant que son choix de mobiliser les gardes nationaux, c’est-à-dire des militaires, sans l’aval du gouverneur “dépassait l’autorité du gouvernement fédéral” et “violait” la Constitution.Ce déploiement, du jamais vu depuis 1965, est un “excès de pouvoir scandaleux”, a écrit le gouverneur Gavin Newsom dans un communiqué, accusant le président de “provoquer le chaos intentionnellement”.Dans un court échange avec des journalistes lundi à la Maison Blanche, le républicain a rejeté la faute des débordements sur des “agitateurs professionnels” et des “insurgés”, mais n’a pas dit s’il déclarerait un état “d’insurrection” à proprement parler, ce qui lui donnerait des pouvoirs extrêmement étendus.Il a aussi défendu comme “excellente” sa décision d’envoyer la Garde nationale.”Tout ce que nous demandons, c’est que les gens ne soient pas arrachés à leur travail ou à la remise des diplômes de leurs enfants, qu’ils ne soient pas séparés de leur famille d’une manière très traumatisante et angoissante”, a expliqué dimanche Estrella Corral, une manifestante, à l’AFP.La maire démocrate de Los Angeles, Karen Bass, a assuré que le périmètre des affrontements ne concernait que “quelques rues” du centre-ville, et non pas toute la ville, contrairement à ce qu’a insinué Donald Trump.- Pente autoritaire -A croire le président, la métropole californienne aurait été “rayée de la carte” s’il n’avait décidé d’envoyer la Garde nationale, un corps de réserve sous double tutelle du pouvoir fédéral et des Etats, face à “l’incompétence” selon lui des autorités locales.Gavin Newsom, considéré comme un potentiel candidat à la Maison Blanche, fait partie des cibles favorites de Donald Trump, qui a lancé lundi qu’il serait “super” de l’arrêter, sans que l’on sache s’il s’agit d’une provocation ou d’une réelle intention.Le gouverneur, qui avait lui-même dimanche mis au défi le gouvernement fédéral de lui passer les menottes, a réagi en dénonçant une pente “autoritaire”.Environ 300 de ces 2.000 membres de la Garde nationale, une force souvent mobilisée lors de catastrophes naturelles, étaient arrivés à Los Angeles dimanche matin.Leur mission, stricto sensu, n’est pas de maintenir l’ordre mais de protéger les fonctionnaires fédéraux procédant à des arrestations de migrants.”Nous ne voulons pas voir plus de militarisation de la situation”, a réclamé lundi l’ONU.Les autorités mexicaines ont expliqué qu’une quarantaine de ressortissants mexicains avaient été arrêtés vendredi et samedi lors des opérations de l’ICE.Dans l’autre grande ville californienne, San Francisco, la police a annoncé avoir interpellé une soixantaine de personnes après qu’une manifestation contre la politique anti-immigration du gouvernement a dégénéré.Evoquant une “invasion” des Etats-Unis par des “criminels venus de l’étranger”, Donald Trump a érigé la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine en priorité absolue de son second mandat.

Looser gun laws tied to thousands more US child shooting deaths

US states that loosened their gun laws following a landmark court ruling saw thousands more childhood firearm deaths than they otherwise would have — the vast majority homicides and suicides — according to a study published Monday.Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and lead author of the paper in JAMA Pediatrics, told AFP he was drawn to the topic as a father wondering whether today’s world is safer for children than when he was growing up.”Mortality from car accidents has fallen dramatically, but at the same time, firearm mortality rose and replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children over the age of one,” he said — a trend unique among peer nations.To probe this shift, Faust and his colleagues analyzed state-level data before and after McDonald v Chicago, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local governments. The ruling sparked a wave of legislation, some tightening gun laws but much of it loosening them.The team grouped states into three categories — most permissive, permissive, and strict — and used Centers for Disease Control data on firearm deaths among children aged 0–17. They ran an “excess mortality analysis,” comparing actual deaths from 2011 to 2023 against projections based on prior trends from 1999 to 2010 and population growth.The results were stark: more than 7,400 excess pediatric firearm deaths in states that loosened gun laws — including over 6,000 in the most permissive group of states. By contrast, the eight strictest states overall saw no excess deaths. The model predicted 4,267 fatalities, while 4,212 were recorded — a near-match that bolstered confidence in the analysis.”The biggest thing people always want to know is, what’s the intent behind these?” said Faust. “And I think what surprises most people is that accidents are a very small number of these deaths — it’s mostly homicide and suicide.”While the study showed strong associations, it cannot prove causation — a key limitation.  But in a test of whether broader increases in violence might explain the trend, rather than changes to the law, the team analyzed non-firearm homicides and suicides and found no similar rise, a result that makes the findings “pretty compelling,” said Faust.Black children saw the steepest increases. While the reasons are unclear, the authors speculated that disparities in safe firearm storage could play a role.There were some exceptions. Deaths rose in Illinois and Connecticut despite tighter laws — though in the latter case, the spike was entirely attributable to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school.”Big picture, we have a major problem in this country,” said Faust. “But we also have a handful of states that are resisting these increases and, in fact, turning the other direction.”

Trump ratchets up threats over Los Angeles protests

US President Donald Trump on Monday accused protesters in Los Angeles of insurrection and threatened they would be “hit harder” than ever if they disrespect security forces during clashes triggered by anger over immigration raids.Demonstrators in a small part of the second biggest US city’s downtown area  torched cars and looted stores in ugly scenes Sunday that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.Trump posted he had deployed National Guard troops “to deal with the violent, instigated riots” and “if we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.””The people are causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists,” he told reporters in Washington.On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, “I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!”California Governor Gavin Newsom accused the president of deliberately stoking tensions by using the National Guard, a reserve military force usually controlled by state governors.”This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires,” Newsom said, adding California would be suing the federal government over the deployment.Trump shot back, saying “I would do it” when asked if Newsom should be arrested.The protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, were triggered by dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was targeting members of cartels in Mexico and Colombia.Many locals painted a different picture.They are “people who are here earnestly trying to improve their lives (and) deserve a chance and don’t deserve to be treated as criminals,” Deborah McCurdy, 64, told AFP at a rally where hundreds gathered on Monday.- ‘Isolated’ -On Monday morning, a heavy police presence stood watch in Downtown LA, where streets were quiet.Overnight, vandals had set fires and smashed windows, adding to the scenes of damage left after five Waymo self-driving cars were torched. Obscene graffiti was daubed over many surfaces.Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that in contrast to Trump’s rhetoric, “this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest.”Immigration arrests were designed to stir tensions, she said, while the troop deployment was “a recipe for pandemonium.”The United Nations warned against “further militarization” of the situation, in remarks likely to anger the White House.After initial confrontations between demonstrators and federal forces on Sunday, local law enforcement took the lead, using what they called “less lethal weapons” to disperse crowds.Viral footage showed one rubber bullet being fired at an Australian TV reporter, who was hit in the leg on live television.At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests i San Francisco.The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.Trump’s deployment of the force — the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement — was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris.The former vice president and Trump’s opponent in the 2024 election called it “a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday condemned the violence, while calling on the United States to respect migrant rights.Sheinbaum urged Mexicans living in the United States “to act peacefully and not give in to provocations.”

Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg reaches Israeli port

A Gaza-bound aid boat reached Israel’s Ashdod port on Monday after being intercepted by Israeli forces, preventing the dozen activists on board including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.An AFP photographer said that the Madleen, which organisers said was intercepted in international waters overnight, reached the port north of Gaza at around 8:45 pm (1745 GMT), escorted by the Israeli navy.The Madleen set sail from Italy on June 1 to raise awareness of food shortages in the Gaza Strip, which the United Nations has called the “hungriest place on Earth”.After more than 20 months of war, triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the UN has warned that Gaza’s entire population is at risk of famine.At around 4:02 am (0102 GMT) on Monday, Israeli troops “forcibly intercepted” the vessel as it approached Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said.”If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped,” Thunberg said in pre-recorded footage shared by the coalition.Video from the group shows the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured prior to the interception.Israel’s foreign ministry, in a post on social media, said “all the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed”, adding it expected the activists to return to their home countries.Turkey condemned the interception as a “heinous attack” and Iran denounced it as “a form of piracy” in international waters.In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported it was struck by drones in an attack the group blamed on Israel. In 2010, an Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead.On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons.- Journalists on board -The Madleen was intercepted about 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of the coast of Gaza, according to coordinates from the coalition.President Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat “be allowed to return to France as soon as possible”, a presidential official said.Two of them are journalists, Omar Fayyad of Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi who works for online publication Blast, according to media rights group Reporters Without Borders, which condemned their detention and called for their “immediate release”.Al Jazeera “categorically denounces the Israeli incursion”, the network said in a statement, demanding the reporter’s release.Adalah, an Israeli NGO offering legal support for the country’s Arab minority, said the activists on board the Madleen had requested its services, and that the group was likely to be taken to a detention centre before being deported.Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.In what organisers called a “symbolic act”, hundreds of people launched a land convoy on Monday from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza.- ‘Our children are dying ‘-Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.In Gaza City on Monday, displaced Palestinian Umm Mohammed Abu Namous told AFP that she hopes “that all nations stand with us and help us, and that we receive 10 boats instead of one”.”We are innocent people,” she said. “Our children are dying of hunger… We do not want to lose more children because of hunger.”The Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,880 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable.Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

Kenya’s plus-size fashion show says ‘big is beautiful’Mon, 09 Jun 2025 18:47:46 GMT

In African wax print dresses and tight-fitting evening wear, the “plus-size” models strutted up the runway in Kisumu, western Kenya, in a special event designed to celebrate the beauty of larger women.Started nine years ago, the East Africa Plus Size Fashion Affair is, according to founder Winnie Wenga Walcott, the only event of its kind …

Kenya’s plus-size fashion show says ‘big is beautiful’Mon, 09 Jun 2025 18:47:46 GMT Read More »