AFP USA

The Israel-Hamas deal was made possible by 18-hour days and a “remarkable” partnership between Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s Mideast envoys — but even then it seemed it might come apart at the last minute.In the final four days of talks, Biden’s pointman Brett McGurk was joined in the region by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to get the deal over the line, US officials said.As they did so, Israeli and Hamas negotiators were huddling on separate floors of a building in the Qatari capital Doha, while moderators from Qatar and Egypt shuttled between them with their proposals.McGurk and Witkoff were talking “multiple times a day, and Mr Witkoff actually helped clinch down some of the details. There was great coordination,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.A senior Biden administration official said that the unlikely pairing — there is little love lost between the outgoing and incoming presidents — had been a decisive factor in reaching a deal.”Four days ago, Steve Witkoff came out to join Brett in his final push, which I think is, historically, almost unprecedented. And it was a highly constructive, very fruitful partnership,” the official said on condition of anonymity.”It was really quite, quite remarkable, and I think speaks to what can be done in the country.”Veteran diplomat McGurk has served in a number of US administrations, including in Trump’s first term. Witkoff is a businessman and real estate expert but has jumped into the negotiations — even insisting that Netanyahu break the sabbath on Saturday for a meeting in his office as he pushed to seal the ceasefire.The cooperation between the two US administrations didn’t stop them battling over who should claim credit for a deal that had seemed out of reach for so many months.Trump said the “epic” win would never have happened without his election putting pressure for a deal, while Biden said “is that a joke?” when a reporter asked which of them should get credit.- ‘Breakthrough’ -But the fact that they worked together at all underscores how crucial a deal was viewed by both presidents.The seed was planted when Biden invited Trump to the Oval Office for a meeting eight days after the Republican’s election win in November, and their national security teams agreed to meet, the US official said.The knowledge that a new US administration would be starting on January 20 then galvanized the Israeli and Hamas sides alike.”In any breakthrough diplomacy, sometimes you need a deadline,” the official said. But another key factor was the dramatic strategic shift in the region in the last half of 2024 that isolated Hamas from its Iranian backers.Biden introduced the outline of the peace plan in May, but Washington had concluded that there would “never be a ceasefire” while Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar was still alive, and while Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah still opposed a deal, the Biden administration official said.Then, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September, and Sinwar in October, while also taking out Iran’s air defenses. The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December was a further blow to Hamas.Negotiations intensified after McGurk returned to the region on January 5 — “18 hours a day, sometimes longer” — but sticking points between Israel and Hamas remained.The final 96 hours were the most intense of all. One of the biggest hang-ups were the “incredibly complicated” lists for the exchanges of hostages held by Hamas with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. “All of that was not fully nailed down until the recent hours,” the senior Biden administration official said.Even then, nothing was agreed until everything was agreed.”I have to say, it wasn’t until this afternoon that we had full confidence that it’s going to come together.”Biden himself expressed relief that the deal was finally done.”At long last,” he said as he announced the deal at the White House.

With endless perimeter fencing, all-seeing drones and some 25,000 security personnel, the US capital is preparing for Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in an unprecedented protective posture after an election cycle marked by violence.Washington is used to high-profile, high-risk happenings, but rarely so many in such quick succession.Monday’s presidential inauguration will be the third top-level “national special security event” in just two weeks, following the election certification on January 6 and former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral.The city is prepping for fewer visitors on January 20 than Trump’s first inaugural eight years ago — when authorities anticipated up to a million guests.Nevertheless, a record 30 miles (48 kilometers) of anti-scale fencing is being erected around the security perimeter.The White House, Capitol, and parts of the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route are already ringed by the eight-foot (2.4-meter) metal barriers.Around 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel are converging on Washington, according to US Secret Service special agent Matt McCool.”We have a slightly more robust security plan” than previous years, he told a briefing Monday, saying attendees would experience extensive security checks and see snipers on rooftops, tactical teams on the ground, and drones patrolling the skies.”What’s different is, we are in a higher threat environment,” he said.Violence marred last year’s presidential race, with Trump narrowly surviving a July assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania rally. One person in the audience was killed.Two months later an apparent gunman was discovered at a golf club in Florida while Trump was on the course. The incidents were seen as major operational failures by the Secret Service.On January 1 two more deadly episodes — a truck ramming in New Orleans and a Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas — set Americans on edge.McCool said “a full slate of visible and invisible security measures” were blanketing Washington for Trump’s big day.According to US Capitol Police chief J. Thomas Manger, about 250,000 ticketed guests will gather for the inauguration.Authorities said there were currently no known credible threats to the ceremony.”The biggest threat I think for all of us remains the lone actor,” Manger said.- ‘Peaceful transition’ -Trump has had a contentious relationship with Washington’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, but this week she pledged no effort was being spared.”Every four years our city supports the peaceful transition of power. We are proud of that responsibility,” she told reporters.Thousands of demonstrators however will be on hand, including during a Saturday “People’s March” to the Lincoln Memorial. Eight years ago hundreds of thousands marched in a similar demonstration, but Trump’s latest win appears to have deflated the #Resistance movement, and authorities said up to 25,000 people are expected Saturday.Sunday will see thousands of MAGA faithful pack a downtown arena for a rally featuring Trump himself.Then on Inauguration Day, multiple smaller protests are scheduled.Police will ensure people can “peacefully protest and assemble,” Bowser said, but “violence, destruction and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated.”For those venturing outside to watch Trump take the oath, it will be a frigid affair: the forecast is for temperatures well below freezing throughout Inauguration Day.Trump supporters are filling the city’s hotel rooms — although not to the level of his or Barack Obama’s first inauguration.As of last week, downtown Washington occupancy rates for Inauguration eve were at 70 percent, lower for the moment than the 92-percent occupancy for Trump’s 2017 inauguration, data firm STR says.Several hotels have unveiled elite inauguration packages, including the famous Watergate, whose “Head of State” package starts at $73,500.It includes helicopter service, a chauffeured armored Maybach, accommodation in the Watergate’s Presidential Suite, and a tour of the “Scandal Suite” where the infamous 1972 break-in occurred.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Wednesday that plans to extend President-elect Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts — which remained in place under Joe Biden but are set to expire — will add to unsustainable deficits.”The projected fiscal path under current budgetary policies is simply not sustainable,” she said, in what is likely to be her final major speech in office.”The consequences of inaction, or action that exacerbates projected deficits, could be dire,” she added in remarks at the New York Association for Business Economics, just days before Trump returns to the White House.On the campaign trail, Trump pledged tax reductions with benefits across income levels.The 2017 cuts, enacted by Trump in his first term, lowered rates for businesses and individuals. But some provisions are set to expire at the end of the year.Yellen pointed to estimates that extending provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could add around $4 trillion to deficits through 2034.While the act lowered income taxes for many in the United States, they have been criticized for being more beneficial to the wealthy.Yellen cautioned that policies like extending the cuts “could undermine our country’s strength, from the resilience of the Treasury market to the value of the dollar, even provoking a debt crisis in the future.””Misguided economic policymaking,” she added, would weigh on the next generation.Looking ahead, she urged for the US government to “give more weight to fiscal sustainability concerns when determining both tax and spending priorities.” In her speech, Yellen also said that it was critical for the United States to sustain investments in cutting-edge industries and research and development.She defended policy decisions of the Biden administration in the period of the Covid-19 pandemic as well, saying its “fiscal policy choices saved millions of jobs.”Although she acknowledged that “the prices of many everyday goods soared,” she argued that government support helped avert significant hardship, allowing Americans to return to work quickly.She also stressed that inflation in the world’s biggest economy fell earlier than in its major peers.”All policy choices entailed trade-offs, but the Biden administration made sound decisions that set the economy on a strong course,” she said.Cost of living concerns were a major voter concern during November’s presidential election, which propelled Trump to victory.

Cuba began releasing people Wednesday who had been jailed for protesting against the regime under a deal that saw departing US President Joe Biden remove the communist island from a list of terrorism sponsors.Biden’s eleventh-hour outreach to Cuba is part of a series of actions designed to cement his legacy before handing power next Monday to Donald Trump.The agreement brought joy to the families of Cubans held since 2021 for demonstrating over recurring power blackouts, food shortages and soaring prices. A first group of around 20 prisoners were released on Wednesday, their families and NGOs told AFP.The delisting paves the way for increased US investment in the Caribbean island, which has been under a US trade embargo for over six decades.But in a sign that the thaw may be short-lived, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, suggested he could reverse Biden’s decision.- ‘Literally collapsing’ -Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, who is vociferously opposed to Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, said Trump’s incoming administration was not bound by Biden’s policies.”Cuba is literally collapsing,” Rubio told his US Senate confirmation hearing, calling it a “fourth-world country” run by “corrupt” and “inept” Marxists.”There is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said.Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez admitted that Biden’s decision to undo the terror designation levied by Trump during the last days of his first presidency could be reversed.But he argued that the repeated addition and removal of Cuba to the list by successive US administrations had robbed it of its meaning, turning it into a “vulgar instrument of political coercion.”- Families’ joy -Under the deal brokered by the Vatican, Cuba promised to release 553 prisoners, which a senior US official said included “political prisoners” and others “detained unjustly.”Vatican number two Cardinal Pietro Parolin said it was “significant” that Havana had responded to an appeal by Pope Francis for clemency.Social media in Cuba lit up on Wednesday morning with relatives and friends of prisoners confirming their loved ones had been released.”We received a call yesterday evening to go to the prison today,” Rosabel Loreto, daughter-in-law of prisoner Donaida Perez Paseiro, told AFP. Perez Paseiro had been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for participating with thousands of others in the 2021 protests — the biggest in Cuba since the revolution, which Havana accused Washington of orchestrating.In a video posted on social media, she vowed to continue to “fight for Cuba’s freedom.”In Havana, a woman who asked to remain anonymous said her husband remained behind bars for demonstrating against the government, but her daughter — who had been arrested on the same charges — was freed Wednesday.The Miami-based Cuban NGO Cubalex said it had confirmed the release of 20 people, all jailed. According to official Cuban figures, some 500 protesters were given sentences of up to 25 years in prison, but rights groups and the US Embassy say the figure is closer to 1,000.- ‘Detained unjustly’ -With authorities providing no list of those due for release, many prisoners’ families were still anxiously waiting for news of their relatives.Liset Fonseca, mother of 41-year-old Roberto Perez, who is serving a 10-year jail term for joining the 2021 protests, said she had no news of his possible release.Havana on Tuesday had welcomed its removal from the terrorism sponsor listing as a step in the “right direction,” but lamented that the trade embargo was still in place.Cuba blames the blockade for its worst economic crisis in decades, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people emigrate to the United States in the last two years, either legally or illegally, according to US figures.Trump’s first presidential term from 2017 to 2021 saw a tightening of sanctions against Cuba that had been loosened during a period of detente under his predecessor Barack Obama.Before assuming office, Biden had promised changes in US policy towards the island, but held off after Havana’s 2021 crackdown.

When the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles went up in smoke, Alexander Swedelson lost his apartment, but also a bit of his identity: the flames ravaged the businesses he loved, the trails he ran, and even the place he fished.”It’s just been the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Man, it’s just like a war zone,” the 39-year-old photographer told AFP, standing in the ruins of what was once one of the most desirable bits of real estate in the country.The awful sight of a place where familiar landmarks have been erased has re-opened old wounds for Swedelson.”I’m probably gonna restart therapy,” sighed the recovering alcoholic, who has been sober for six years. For the past week, the former volunteer firefighter has been doing his part to help his community. Armed with a water pump and a chainsaw, he first tried — in vain — to save his parents’ house, before fighting the spread of embers in the neighborhood. Then, he delivered food and air filters to the elderly who had not evacuated. Sleep has been a rarity.”I think I hit my limit,” he said, his eyes misty, sitting in a pickup truck covered in pink retardant dropped by the firefighting planes.As a one-time drug rehab counselor who has seen first responders grapple with trauma in the aftermath of a tragedy, he knows enough to see that he is at risk now.”I just kind of stirred up a dormant beast in me, and I’m just gonna have to be really careful.”- Get treatment early -With at least 24 people dead and tens of thousands displaced by fires that continue to smoulder, the last eight days will leave a lasting mark on America’s second biggest city.From the initial panicked evacuation to the terrible firefight that saw hydrants run dry, the opening day of the disaster was just the beginning.Thousands of people have seen their homes reduced to ashes. And even those whose homes were spared have been heartbroken by the ruin of their neighborhoods.Psychotherapist Sonnet Daymont said the mental health impacts will also extend to teenagers in the city who have been glued to rolling imagery of the unfolding carnage, or to people who live outside the diaster zone but who have watched their city burn.”There is such a thing as survivor’s guilt and vicarious trauma,” she told AFP in her Pasadena office, where she offers free sessions to those affected.”The sooner you get treatment, the better, so that you can learn the skills you need to bring your body down, cope and calm, and get strategic about your next steps as you rebuild,” she said.A study by Canada’s Laval University followed survivors of a fire that afflicted Alberta in 2016. A year after the disaster, a third of them suffered from depression, anxiety, drug addiction or post-traumatic stress. – Eco-anxiety – “The impact of wildfire unfolds over time,” said Kathryn Andrews, a 51-year-old artist who lost her mobile home in the flames that wrecked Pacific Palisades. Tragically, this is not the first time she has been through the devastation.In 2020, her house was razed by a fire in Juniper Hills, an hour and a half drive northeast of Los Angeles. “I developed a creative block for about a year and a half,” she said.”When I make art, I feel very vulnerable, and I couldn’t take on feeling any more vulnerable. It was just an overwhelming experience, and I sort of shut down.”Andrews said she also experienced a kind of eco-anxiety, the effect of living in a part of the world that has been raked by increasingly destructive wildfires over the last 15 years.”I began to think of, really, the entire American West as a potential fire zone,” she said.”It made me just have a better understanding of global warming.”Wildfire survivors “bring up climate change all of the time,” said Daymont.In her practice, she encourages them to think of themselves as “survivors,” rather than “victims,” and she works with them to develop strategies to soothe the body and mind. “It is an opportunity to work towards post traumatic growth,” she said.”If we have something hard happen and we deal with it well, we can take those lessons and that strategy and use it for other things.”

The Gaza ceasefire clinched Wednesday was a bittersweet victory for US President Joe Biden days before he hands over the White House to Donald Trump, who claimed credit — and, most experts say, deserves some.Biden first proposed the outlines of the deal between Israel and Hamas on May 31 but diplomatic efforts repeatedly came up short, even when Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in Tel Aviv in August that it may have been the last chance for a deal.Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff marched into Netanyahu’s office on Saturday, forcing the Israeli leader to break the sabbath, and pushed to seal the ceasefire.The timing has echoes of a 1981 deal on US hostages in Iran, freed from 444 days of captivity moments after Republican Ronald Reagan succeeded Democrat Jimmy Carter, although this time the outgoing and incoming administrations worked together. In scenes unprecedented in recent US history, Witkoff and Biden’s Middle East advisor Brett McGurk met jointly with the emir of Qatar — a key intermediary between Israel and Hamas — when sealing the deal.Trump quickly boasted that the “epic” deal “could only have happened” due to his election as US president in November. Asked if Trump deserved credit, Biden quipped: “Is that a joke?”  Speaking hours before a previously scheduled farewell address to the nation, the outgoing president said he included the Trump team in negotiations so that the United States was “speaking with one voice.”White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it was not unexpected for all sides to seek credit for positive news.”What I can say is, the president got it done,” she said, referring to Biden.State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Trump team’s presence was about demonstrating “continuity” rather than the Republican exerting new pressure.- Staunch support for Israel -Biden faced heated criticism from the left of his Democratic Party during its unsuccessful election year over his staunch support of Israel since Palestinian group Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.Biden authorized billions of dollars in weapons for Israel’s relentless retaliatory campaign on Gaza, despite criticizing the strategic US ally for the civilian death toll — which authorities in Gaza say is in the tens of thousands.”The Biden administration was terrified of the political cost of being seen to be pressing Israel in any way,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now.Trump, while vowing to be even more pro-Israel, was able to make clear to Netanyahu that “I do not want to inherit this,” Whitson said.”It made me think that all of this would have been possible months ago and we could have saved thousands of Palestinian lives,” she said.Trump had warned Hamas of “hell to pay” if it did not agree to a deal, which includes in its first phase the release of 33 hostages seized on October 7.David Khalfa, an expert on Israel at the Jean Jaures Foundation in Paris, said that Trump’s unpredictability likely impacted Hamas. He also pointed to Netanyahu’s political position heading a hard-right but shaky coalition government.”There is today an ideological alignment between the American populist right and the Israeli prime minister. So he has very weak room to maneuver against a Trump who doesn’t face the pressures of reelection,” said Khalfa.- Power of uncertainty -Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said a desire by Israel and others for the right optics as Trump takes over could have played a role in sealing the deal.But a larger factor than Trump was the changing dynamics in the region — the major blows inflicted both on Hamas and its patron Iran, he said.Israel has devastated Iranian ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran’s own air defenses, with Tehran’s main ally in the Arab world, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, ousted last month by rebel forces.”I don’t think any of the threats and bluster that we saw from Trump were a huge factor on either side. I think it’s mostly a baby that’s fathered by Biden and his team,” Katulis said.”But I think the sense that there were big question marks on what was coming might have motivated those who were stonewalling,” he said.Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that the uncertainty following Trump’s victory contributed to the deal.Israel and Hamas were negotiating “under the terms that each side had become familiar with” and knew there was a high risk “that the parameters were about to change.”And if the deal falls apart? “Then it doesn’t matter who implemented it; there will be plenty of blame to go around,” Alterman said.

US consumer inflation rose for a third straight month in December as energy prices jumped but a widely watched measure eased slightly, raising hopes that underlying inflation may be moderating.The consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 2.9 percent last month from a year ago, up from 2.7 percent in November, the Labor Department said in a statement on Wednesday.This was in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.Stocks jumped on the news, with all three major indices on Wall Street closing sharply higher. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 0.4 percent, slightly faster than expected. One of the biggest drivers of inflation in December was the energy index, which jumped by 2.6 percent, accounting for “over” 40 percent of the monthly increase, according to the Labor Department. In some good news for the Federal Reserve, annual inflation excluding volatile food and energy costs came in at a lower-than-expected 3.2 percent, marking a slight decline from the month earlier. – Focus on the core -The so-called “core” measure of inflation increased by 0.2 percent, also slightly below expectations.”The focus is really on the core reading, and the core reading did come in better than the consensus expectations,” Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic told AFP. The US central bank has cut rates by a full percentage point since September as it looks to bolster the labor market.The recent uptick in inflation adds to expectations that it will remain firmly on pause at its next rate decision later this month. However, higher prices could complicate President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plans as he prepares to return to office on Monday.Trump has floated several policies, from tariffs to deportation, that many economists say could have an inflationary impact. The Republican and his supporters have disputed this characterization, claiming that many of his proposals aimed at deregulation and boosting energy production should help keep prices in check. – Bond yields drop -US bonds rallied as investors reacted to signs of slowing core inflation, pushing down yields, which move inversely to prices. “The softer core reading is really what the markets are focusing on right now, and that’s why you’re seeing a big rally in the bond market,” said Bostjancic from Nationwide. Lower yields on US Treasurys — especially the popular 10-year note — would be good news for consumers, since they are referenced by businesses when they price mortgages and car loans. Wednesday’s data release is nevertheless expected to fuel expectations that the Fed will pause rate cuts later this month, as headline inflation appears to be moving away from its long-term goal of two percent.The Fed uses a different inflation measure to set interest rates, known as the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. That index has also been rising in recent months. Futures traders see a roughly 97 percent chance that Fed policymakers will vote to hold interest rates between 4.25 and 4.50 percent at the next rate meeting on January 28 and 29, according to data from CME Group.”The pace of inflation is still elevated,” said Bostjancic.”There’s strength in the labor market, and the prospects of changes in tariffs and immigration policies that could push inflation higher will keep the Fed cautious and patient with regard to cutting rates further,” she said. “In that light, we see the Fed moving to the sidelines in the first half of the year to assess the evolving economic inflation and policy landscape,” she added.The financial markets see a roughly 80 percent chance that the Fed will make no more than two rate cuts this year, according to data from CME Group.

Cuba began releasing people Wednesday who were jailed for protesting against the regime under a deal that saw the United States remove the communist island from a list of terrorism sponsors, causing relatives of detainees to rejoice.About a dozen had been freed as of midday, according to social media posts by family members and friends, a day after Havana said it would free 553 prisoners under the agreement with departing US President Joe Biden.”We received a call yesterday evening to go to the prison today,” Rosabel Loreto — daughter-in-law of prisoner Donaida Perez Paseiro, 53 — told AFP. “We got there at 7:00 am, and by 7:30 am she was freed” from a prison in the central province of Villa Clara.Perez Paseiro had been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for participating with thousands of others in rare anti-government protests that broke out on July 11, 2021 as Cubans vented years of frustration over power blackouts, food shortages and soaring prices.One person was killed and dozens injured in the protests, which Havana accused Washington of orchestrating.According to official Cuban figures, some 500 protesters were given sentences of up to 25 years in prison, but rights groups and the US Embassy say the figure is closer to 1,000.”For Cuba to be removed from the terrorist list, we were the bargaining chip,” Perez Paseiro said in a video posted on social media, as she vowed to continue to “fight for Cuba’s freedom.”In Havana, a woman who asked to remain anonymous said her daughter, similarly jailed for demonstrating against the government, had also been freed.- ‘Detained unjustly’ -In his final days in office, Biden has rushed through a series of actions designed to cement his legacy both on the domestic and foreign fronts, before handing power next week to Donald Trump.On Tuesday, he removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism to which it was added by Trump at the end of his first presidential term.Cuba in return announced it would release 553 prisoners, which a senior administration official said included “political prisoners” and others “detained unjustly.”The deal is widely expected to be overturned by Trump’s incoming administration.Some of the people arrested for taking part in the anti-government rallies of 2021 have already been freed after serving their sentences. Cuban authorities have not released a list of the prisoners to be freed under the deal with Biden, or confirmed that they have begun releasing them.- ‘Long night’ -Many families were anxiously awaiting news. “Last night was a long night. It’s been many long nights… much nervousness, waiting for the phone to ring,” Liset Fonseca, mother of 41-year-old Roberto Perez, told AFP at her home in the city of San Jose de las Lajas, southeast of Havana.Perez was sentenced 10 years in prison for taking part in the 2021 demonstrations.”I am still waiting… Concretely, we still have nothing,” said Fonseca.Havana does not recognize the existence of political prisoners on its soil, and accuses opponents of being “mercenaries” of the United States.It welcomed Washington’s announcement Tuesday as a step in the “right direction,” but lamented it was still under a US trade embargo in place since 1962.Cuba blames the blockade for its worst economic crisis in decades, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people emigrate to the United States in the last two years, either legally or illegally, according to US figures.Trump’s first presidential term from 2017 to 2021 saw a tightening of sanctions against Cuba that had been loosened during a period of detente under his predecessor Barack Obama.Before assuming office, Biden had promised changes in US policy towards the island, but postponed these after Havana’s 2021 crackdown.

Rapper Drake on Wednesday filed suit against his own label, saying Universal Music Group’s release and promotion of a Kendrick Lamar track dissing him amounted to defamation and harassment.UMG is behind both Drake and Lamar, two superstar rappers who last year exchanged a litany of increasingly vitriolic diss tracks.Lamar’s chart-topping Grammy-nominated “Not Like Us” was the major blow in the war of words, and Drake said its punchlines accusing him of pedophilia saw Universal betray him in favor of profits.In the suit filed in Manhattan’s federal court and seen by AFP, Drake says Universal “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”In releasing and promoting “Not Like Us,” the Canadian artist born Aubrey Drake Graham, 38, says the record company chose “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”The lawsuit cited the track’s promotion as causing a “physical threat to Drake’s safety” as well as a “bombardment of online harassment.”It cited a pre-dawn shooting last May that saw a gunman shoot and wound a security guard at the superstar rapper’s estate in Toronto, and described subsequent break-in attempts.”These events were not coincidental,” the suit says, before detailing the defamation allegations.A Universal representative did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.- ‘Monetize allegations’ -Drake — the reigning highest-grossing rapper — is not taking legal action against Lamar, and he is not suing over the lyrics themselves.”This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,'” read the court documents. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”The filing says Universal did so by promoting the song, but also the album image — which Drake says features his actual house — and music video associated with the track.The suit alleges that because Drake’s current record deal with UMG — he’s been with the company for over a decade — is nearing expiration, the label is aiming to devalue his music in a bid to lessen his bargaining power to renegotiate his contract.Lamar, meanwhile, was under a short-term deal with the company extended last year.”UMG’s campaign was successful. The recording cloaks cleverly dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook,” reads the suit. “Capitalizing on those attributes, UMG used every tool at its disposal to ensure that the world would hear that Drake ‘like ’em young.'””Not Like Us” is up for five Grammys early next month, including the prizes for the year’s best record and best song.Lamar, 37, is also due to helm the exceedingly high-profile Super Bowl halftime show later February in New Orleans.Proving defamation requires that a publisher knowingly distributed false information.The suit emphasizes that Universal wouldn’t have maintained the long-standing business relationship with Drake it has if it believed he engaged in pedophilia or sex abuse.Late last year Drake had filed pre-litigation actions against Universal, which also named Spotify, in a New York state court as well as in Texas.His lawyers withdrew the New York filing as they filed the federal case. A statement from Universal released at the time of that filing said that “the suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.””We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns,” the statement continued. “No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

US businesses across the country are concerned about the economic impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to raise tariffs and sharply curtail immigration, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.”More contacts were optimistic about the outlook for 2025 than were pessimistic about it,” the US central bank said in its “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions. However, “contacts in several Districts expressed concerns that changes in immigration and tariff policy could negatively affect the economy,” it said.On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on all goods entering the United States, and to carry out mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.Whether or not Trump follows through on his plans once he takes office as president on Monday remains to be seen.But manufacturers in a number of districts told the Fed they are already stockpiling inventories “in anticipation of higher tariffs.”In the Philadelphia district, inflation expectations rose on concerns about “deficits, tariffs, and immigration,” the Fed said. And in the Dallas district, contacts “noted concern about disruption from potential retaliatory tariffs on agriculture exports,” and raised concerns that they would have to pass on higher cost to consumers.Concerns in the Atlanta district meanwhile were broad-based, and included “labor shortages, concerns over tariffs, and potential supply chain disruptions at east coast ports that would result from a labor strike,” the Fed said.Despite the worries, businesses across the Fed’s 12 districts reported an overall increase in economic activity in late November and December, the Fed said.Prices increased modestly overall, the Fed continued, adding that contacts had said they expected prices would “continue to rise in 2025, with some noting the potential for higher tariffs to contribute to price increases.”