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Macron vows to punish antisemitic ‘hatred’ after memorial tree cut down

The cutting down of an olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 stirred outrage in France on Friday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing punishment over an act of antisemitic “hatred”.Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was kidnapped by a gang of around 20 youths in January 2006 and tortured in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux. Found three weeks later, the 23-year-old died on the way to hospital.An olive tree, planted in 2011 in Halimi’s memory, was cut down, probably with a chainsaw, on Wednesday night in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine.The incident stoked fresh concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes in France as international tensions mount over Gaza.”Every effort will be made to punish this act of hatred,” Macron said on X, adding that France’s fight against antisemitism will be “uncompromising”.”The nation will not forget this son of France who died because he was Jewish,” Macron said.Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the tree “a living bulwark against oblivion”.”The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty,” he added.Officials pledged to plant a new memorial tree “as soon as possible”.- ‘Extremely painful’ – Members of France’s Jewish community — one of the largest in the world — have said the number of antisemitic acts has surged following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 which was followed by Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip and aid blockade.In 2006, Halimi’s murder struck horror into France’s Jewish community and stirred debate about antisemitism in France. Police at the time initially refused to consider the murder a hate crime, and tens of thousands took to the street to demand justice.Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), said on Friday the felling of the tree was “extremely painful”.”There is nothing more cowardly, and those who have murdered his memory are no better than those who took his life 20 years ago,” Arfi told AFP.”This is not just another antisemitic act, it is a way for antisemites to shout that they are here more than ever.” Herve Chevreau, the mayor of Epinay-sur-Seine, filed a criminal complaint.Paris police chief Laurent Nunez condemned what he called a “despicable act” and said an investigation had been launched.Halimi was lured by a 17-year-old girl to a housing estate basement in the suburbs, where he was attacked and subdued with ether. Held prisoner for ransom, Halimi was tortured for 24 days before he was found naked, bound and gagged on February 13, 2006. Youssouf Fofana, the head of the gang dubbed the “Barbarians”, was sentenced to life in prison. The son of Ivorian immigrants, Fofana had recruited followers among youths from Paris’s bleak immigrant suburbs.Two other trees planted in tribute to Halimi were vandalised and sawn down in 2019 in the southern suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, where Halimi was found dying near a railway track.Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry.hr-grd-jdy-meh-as/rmb

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Charles III rappelle le coût des conflits pour les 80 ans de la fin de la guerre dans le Pacifique

Le roi Charles III a rendu hommage vendredi aux soldats ayant servi en Asie et dans le Pacifique pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, rappelant le coût des conflits, pour le 80e anniversaire de la victoire des forces alliées sur le Japon.Le monarque a déposé une couronne de fleurs et respecté deux minutes de silence à 12H00 (11H00 GMT) lors d’une cérémonie au National Memorial Arboretum, dans le centre de l’Angleterre, aux côtés de la reine Camilla et du Premier ministre Keir Starmer.33 vétérans britanniques, du Commonwealth ou de pays alliés, âgés de 96 à 105 ans et ayant servi en Asie et dans le Pacifique, ont été mis à l’honneur lors de cette commémoration, avec un survol d’avions militaires devant 1.500 invités.Dans un message diffusé dans la matinée par le palais de Buckingham, Charles III a évoqué le “courage” des vétérans, l'”horreur” vécue par les prisonniers de guerre, mais aussi “le prix immense” payé par “les populations civiles innocentes” lors des bombardements atomiques d’Hiroshima et Nagasaki.”Leur expérience nous rappelle que le véritable coût de la guerre dépasse les champs de bataille, touchant tous les aspects de la vie – une tragédie tristement illustrée par les conflits qui sévissent encore aujourd’hui dans le monde”, a-t-il ajouté.Jeudi soir, le Premier ministre Keir Starmer avait reçu des vétérans à Downing Street, après y avoir accueilli le matin même le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky, “qui se bat pour les mêmes valeurs que celles pour lesquelles nous nous battions”, avait-il souligné durant cette réception.Le 6 août 1945, les Etats-Unis avaient largué une bombe atomique sur la ville japonaise d’Hiroshima, suivie par une autre sur celle de Nagasaki trois jours plus tard, causant la mort de centaines de milliers de personnes et précipitant la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale avec la capitulation du Japon le 15 août.Le 15 août est le jour officiel de la victoire pour le Royaume-Uni.

Stocks mostly higher before US-Russia summit

Stock markets mostly rose Friday with all eyes on a landmark US-Russia summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska later in the day.After Asia’s main exchanges mostly closed higher, European markets were “gaining traction”, noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets, as the Trump-Putin meeting raised hopes of a “potential end to the war”.Russia’s foreign minister said his country would not make guesses on the outcome of Friday’s summit.”We never make any predictions ahead of time,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state TV after landing in Alaska.Putin steps onto Western soil for the first time since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a war that has killed tens of thousands of people.Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has publicly refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.”Broadly, markets seemed in an optimistic mood,” said AJ Bell, investment director Russ Mould.”Oil prices have been somewhat volatile ahead of the summit as traders seek to work out if Russian exports to Western countries might resume.”After climbing Thursday, crude futures were lower Friday.Elsewhere, Tokyo’s main stocks index extended a record-run higher following Japanese economic growth data that beat expectations.Weak Chinese economic figures resulted in a mixed showing for Chinese stocks.Wall Street finished little changed on Thursday as US wholesale inflation data tempered optimism about the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates. A quarter-point cut is still expected next month but a larger half-point rate cut is likely “off the table”, said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,185.95 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,926.17Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,438.63Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 43,378.31 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,264.47 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,696.77 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.692 from $1.1657 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3561 from $1.3535 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.92 yen from 147.76Euro/pound: UP at 86.22 pence from 86.05 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $63.59 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $66.53 per barrelburs-bcp/ajb/jxb

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Rugby Championship kicks off amid uncertain future

The annual Rugby Championship, featuring World Cup title-holders South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, kicks off on Saturday amid uncertainty over its future.New Zealand will do an eight-match tour of South Africa next year, including three Tests, during the August to October window when the Championship is staged. That tour is aimed at boosting the coffers of the two national rugby bodies, and rules out the Springboks and All Blacks being involved in a double-round Championship as well. Australia are set to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup and the Championship has always been reduced from a double to single round in years when the global showpiece takes place. Adding to the long-term uncertainty is South Africa agreeing to an eight-match tour of New Zealand in 2030.Record four-time world champions South Africa and Australia get what could be the last six-round Rugby Championship, at least for the foreseeable future, underway at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.A few hours later, nine-time Championship winners New Zealand take on Argentina in Cordoba.Pre-Championship discussions among Springbok supporters centred around the chances on September 6 of South Africa defeating greatest rivals New Zealand in Auckland for the first time since 1937.The matches against Australia — they clash again on August 23 in Cape Town — were rarely discussed as the fortunes of the Wallabies had hit rock bottom in the past two years. – Unwanted history -Australia created unwanted history at the 2023 World Cup in France by failing to make the knockout stages for the first time.Last year, they suffered a 40-point loss in Argentina, one of five defeats in six Championship matches.But the just completed three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions saw dramatic Test-by-Test improvement, culminating in a 22-12 triumph in the last encounter under a Sydney deluge.Australia lost the series 2-1, but impressed with their physicality and passion, with Lions coach Andy Farrell among their cheerleaders.”I think special things are going to happen for this team (Australia) over the next 18 months. By the time the World Cup comes round, they will be a force to reckon with,” he said.South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus was particularly impressed with the work of the Australian pack, led by captain and No 8 Harry Wilson, at the breakdowns.This was an area where the Springboks did not always impose themselves when beating Italy twice and Georgia comfortably in warm-up matches.”They (Australians) really fight hard at the breakdowns and clean out well. We have to nullify that threat,” said Erasmus. While South Africa have become wary of Australia, tradition favours a home victory as the Springboks have won 10 of 11 Tests against the Wallabies at Ellis Park.In Cordoba, New Zealand will be favoured to beat Argentina, but the days when an All Blacks victory over the Pumas was taken for granted are over.Three-time World Cup winners New Zealand won 28 of the first 29 Tests against the South Americans, with the other drawn.But the unpredictable Pumas have won three of 10 internationals between the countries since, two of which came in Christchurch and Wellington. “We want to play fast and be really strong at the set-pieces. Our team is really trying to find its identity this year,” All Blacks prop Fletcher Newell told reporters in Cordoba.New Zealand warmed up with a hat-trick of victories over France, who lacked many resting stars, including scrum-half Antoine Dupont. Argentina confirmed their hard-to-fathom form by beating the British and Irish Lions in Dublin, then losing twice at home to a severely-weakened England.”The key is to give our backs a plentiful supply of ball. They have the ability to cause problems for any opponents,” said Argentina loose forward Marcos Kremer.