Hong Kong: la défense de Jimmy Lai s’exprime lors des plaidoiries finales

La défense du militant prodémocratie Jimmy Lai doit à nouveau s’exprimer jeudi à Hong Kong lors des plaidoiries finales de son procès pour atteinte à la sécurité nationale, après avoir déclaré qu’il était bon de “soutenir la liberté d’expression”.L’homme d’affaires âgé de 77 ans est accusé de collusion avec des forces étrangères et encourt l’emprisonnement à perpétuité.Les autorités affirment que le fondateur du journal Apple Daily, de nationalité britannique, a fait pression sur des gouvernements occidentaux pour qu’ils imposent des sanctions à la Chine et à sa région administrative spéciale de Hong Kong. Jimmy Lai est également accusé d’avoir écrit des textes séditieux dans son journal.Le quotidien Apple Daily a dû fermer en raison de son soutien aux grandes manifestations prodémocratie de 2019 à Hong Kong, parfois violentes, après lesquelles Pékin a mis en place une loi de sécurité nationale dans ce haut-lieu de la finance mondiale – celle qui vaut à l’homme d’affaires d’être poursuivi.Mercredi, lors des plaidoiries finales, l’avocat de M. Lai, Robert Pang, a déclaré à la cour qu’il n’était “pas mauvais de soutenir la liberté d’expression” et les droits humains. “Il n’est pas mauvais d’essayer de persuader le gouvernement de changer sa politique”, a-t-il ajouté.Plus tôt mercredi, le procureur Anthony Chau a jugé que le témoignage de Jimmy Lai, intervenu plus de 50 jours à l’audience, n’était “pas crédible”.Décrire l’Apple Daily comme un “défenseur neutre des valeurs fondamentales de Hong Kong” est “tout à fait trompeur”, a déclaré Anthony Chau à la cour. Jimmy Lai “et l’Apple Daily ont été anticommunistes pendant de nombreuses années”, et le magnat des médias “a glorifié la violence (…) et le martyre contre le régime du (Parti communiste chinois)”, a-t-il affirmé.Il a ajouté que de nombreuses correspondances prouvaient ses liens avec des personnalités politiques occidentales, et un projet pour faire mettre en place des sanctions contre la Chine et Hong Kong lors des manifestations massives de 2019.Des pays occidentaux et organisations de défense des droits humains appellent à la libération de l’homme d’affaires, en détention depuis décembre 2020. La semaine dernière, les plaidoiries finales avaient été reportées en raison de “palpitations” cardiaques chez Jimmy Lai.

Africa could become ‘renewable superpower’, says GuterresThu, 21 Aug 2025 05:12:13 GMT

Africa has everything it takes to become a “renewable superpower”, UN head Antonio Guterres said Thursday, as he called for greater investment in green energy across the resource-rich continent.Guterres spoke at a three-day development conference in Japan attended by African leaders, where Tokyo is offering itself as an alternative to China as African nations reel …

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US intel chief slashes payroll to root out ‘deep state actors’

US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday she will make heavy cuts to her office, which she declared has “fallen short” of fulfilling its mandate and is “rife with abuse of power.”Gabbard announced she will reduce the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by over 40 percent by the end of fiscal year 2025, estimated to save $700 million.”Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” Gabbard said in a news release.In a series of social media posts, Gabbard added that she is “cutting bloated bureaucracy, rooting out deep state actors, and restoring mission focus.”A four-page fact sheet posted to her department’s website describes the plan for “ODNI 2.0,” which involves reducing her office’s efforts to monitor biosecurity, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber intelligence threats and other areas.In explaining cuts to the Strategic Futures Group, the office’s intelligence forecasting unit, Gabbard’s team said they were “found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards in an effort to propogate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president’s national security priorities.”The cuts were, at times, explained with accusations against previous Democrat-led administrations.Cuts to the Foreign Malign Influence Center — established to combat foreign threats to democracy and US interests — were conducted because it was “used by the previous administration to justify the suppression of free speech and to censor political opposition,” the fact sheet alleged, in reference to President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.The fact sheet also touted previous cuts, saying since “Gabbard’s first day, ODNI has already reduced its size by nearly 30%, with more than 500 staffers now off the books.”In July, Gabbard accused former president Barack Obama of heading a “treasonous conspiracy” to allege Russia interfered with American elections to help Trump.But Gabbard’s findings run up against four separate criminal, counterintelligence and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023 — each of them concluding that Russia did interfere and helped Trump in various ways.Critics have accused Gabbard, 43, of being close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The purge extends beyond slashing the agency’s current payroll. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials — many of whom worked on Russia analysis or foreign threats to US elections — at the president’s direction. President Donald Trump took office on the promise of reducing the size of the federal government, and has since slashed US foreign aid contributions, the Department of Education — which required the US Supreme Court’s approval — and other agencies.

Surging tourism is polluting Antarctica, scientists warnThu, 21 Aug 2025 03:32:25 GMT

Soaring numbers of tourists and expanding research projects are increasingly polluting Antarctica, scientists warned Wednesday, a fresh blow for one of Earth’s most pristine environments already threatened by human-driven climate change.In Antarctic areas where humans have been active, the concentration of fine particles containing heavy metals is 10 times higher than it was 40 years …

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Asian markets creep up as investors await key speech

Asian markets edged mostly upward in muted morning trading on Thursday, one day before a key speech expected to offer signals about future interest rate cuts in the United States.US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has resisted public demands by President Donald Trump to cut rates, is scheduled to deliver remarks Friday at the annual central bankers conference in Wyoming.Data last week provided a mixed picture of US inflation, making it uncertain if the Fed will lower rates as many investors expect in September — which could bolster growth in the world’s largest economy.In a sign of further uncertainty, recent days have seen a sell-off of major technology stocks as investors grow wary of a sustained rally in the industry despite a range of global economic hurdles.Wall Street closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling again as shares in AI chip-maker Nvidia ticked down.Despite the building unease, shares in Seoul were up Thursday morning, bolstered by a rise in Samsung’s price.Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Bangkok also charted moderate rises.Tokyo’s Nikkei index continued its fall from the previous day, while shares in Hong Kong were flat.Japan reported Wednesday that the country’s July exports plunged at the steepest rate in over four years, straining under hefty US tariffs.Wednesday also saw Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator post record half-year revenue, riding a renewed surge in listings and trading activity in the Chinese finance hub.Global markets have fluctuated recently on the prospects of a peace deal in Ukraine, following days of high-stakes diplomacy in the aftermath of Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.But hopes for an imminent end to the war — started by Moscow’s invasion over three years ago — were tempered Wednesday after Russia said it must be included in any discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.The diplomatic whirlwind has sparked volatility in oil markets as traders speculate over the possible lifting of sanctions on Russia, a major producer.Oil prices continued to rise Thursday on the heels of a report the previous day showing a sharp decline in crude stockpiles.- Key figures at around 0215 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,706.39Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 25,162.78Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,773.56Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1647 from $1.1648 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3455 from $1.3452Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.31 yen from 147.44 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.56 pence from 86.59 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $63.00 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $67.09 per barrelNew York – Dow: FLAT at 44,938.31 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 9,288.14 (close)