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India, Pakistan military to confer as ceasefire holds

Indian and Pakistani military chiefs were set to confer Monday as a ceasefire that brought the nuclear-armed rivals back from the brink of all-out war held.US President Donald Trump announced the truce late Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks which killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing on both sides.The phone call between the heads of military operations comes after the Indian army reported the “first calm night in recent days” in Kashmir and along its western border with Pakistan.Initially the conversation had been due to take place at 12:00 pm (0630 GMT) but Indian officials said it had been delayed to the evening.Abdul Basit at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said it would be about modalities of the ceasefire and not policy decisions.The aim is to “avoid any miscalculations, because right now one spark could quickly move towards a nuclear catastrophe,” Basit told AFP.The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals’ last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.There were initial doubts as the rivals accused each other of breaching the ceasefire just hours after it was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media.”The night remained largely peaceful across… Kashmir and other areas along the international border,” the Indian army said. “No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” the statement added. India reopened 32 airports on Monday that had been closed due to the conflict, authorities said.- ‘Victory’ claims -Top India and Pakistan military officials held briefings late Sunday with each claiming the upper hand and warning they were ready to respond if there were fresh attacks.”We have delivered the promise we made to our people”, Pakistan’s military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, calling it a “success on the battleground”.”We re-established deterrence and neutralised key threats”, Pakistani Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Aurangzeb told reporters.”We have thus far exercised immense restraint so far and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory,” said Indian Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai.But he added: “Any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety of our citizens will be met with decisive force,” he added.- ‘Our worst nightmare’ -It was also the second straight night without gunfire or shelling at Poonch, a frontier town in the part of divided Kashmir administered by India. Poonch was one of the worst-hit places in India, with at least 12 residents killed and most of the estimated 60,000 residents fleeing their homes. On Sunday, people started trickling back, although many were still jittery about the ceasefire.Abdul Razzak returned after fleeing with four children and two other relatives on two motorbikes with nothing but their clothes. “It was our worst nightmare… We’ve seen our people die around us, so none of us want a war,” the 50-year-old told AFP after returning to his house.Thousands of schools remained closed across Pakistan-administered Kashmir as areas were cleared of debris from strikes and firing, said local official Naveed-Ul-Hassan Bukhari.The alarming spiral towards all-out conflict began before dawn on Wednesday, when India launched missile attacks destroying what it called “terrorist camps” in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.This followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.India accused Pakistan of backing the attack but Islamabad denied involvement and immediately responded to the strikes with heavy artillery fire.It claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets — something New Delhi has not commented on.Militants have stepped up operations in Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and took it under direct rule from New Delhi.Divided Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, who have fought several wars over the territory since their independence from Britain in 1947.

India, Pakistan military to confer as ceasefire holds

Ocalan: founder of the Kurdish militant PKK who authored its end

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), is an icon to many Kurds but a “terrorist” to many within wider Turkish society.After a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, the PKK said on Monday it was disbanding and ending its armed struggle.The move came after Ocalan issued a historic call on February 27 for his fighters to lay down their arms in a major step towards ending the decades-long conflict.Now 76, Ocalan has been held in solitary confinement since 1999 on Imrali prison island near Istanbul. But since October, when Turkey tentatively moved to reset ties with the PKK, Ocalan has been visited several times by lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party.For many Turks, the PKK leader is public enemy number one. He founded the group in 1978. Six years later, it began an insurgency demanding independence and later broader autonomy in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast. A Marxist-inspired group, the PKK was blacklisted as a “terror” organisation by Ankara, Washington, Brussels and many other Western countries.- An olive branch -Attitudes began shifting in October when ultra-nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered Ocalan an olive branch if he would publicly renounce violence.The next day, the former guerrilla, who embodies the decades-long Kurdish rebellion, received his first family visit in four years. He sent back a message saying he alone could shift the Kurdish question “from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics”, later offering assurances he was “ready to… make the call”.Ankara’s move came shortly before Syrian rebels overthrew ruler Bashar al-Assad, upending the regional balance of power and thrusting Turkey’s complex relationship with the Kurds into the spotlight.- From village life to militancy -Ocalan was born on April 4, 1949, one of six siblings in a mixed Turkish-Kurdish peasant family in Omerli, a village in Turkey’s southeast.His mother tongue is Turkish. He became a left-wing activist while studying politics at university in Ankara and was first jailed in 1972. He set up the PKK six years later, then spent years on the run, launching the movement’s armed struggle in 1984. Taking refuge in Syria, he led the fight from there, causing friction between Damascus and Ankara. Forced out in 1998, he moved from Russia to Italy to Greece in search of a haven, ending up at the Greek consulate in Kenya, where US agents got wind of his presence and tipped off Turkey. He was arrested on February 15, 1999, after being lured into a vehicle in a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces. Sentenced to death, he escaped the gallows when Turkey started abolishing capital punishment in 2002, living out the rest of his days in isolation on Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul.For many Kurds, he is a hero whom they refer to as “Apo” (uncle). But Turks often call him “bebek katili” (baby killer) for ruthless tactics that include the bombing of civilian targets.- Jailed but still leading -With Ocalan’s arrest, Ankara thought it had decapitated the PKK. But even from his cell he continued to lead, ordering a ceasefire that lasted from 1999 until 2004.In 2005, he ordered followers to renounce the idea of an independent Kurdish state and campaign for autonomy in their respective countries.Tentative moves to resolve Turkey’s “Kurdish problem” began in 2008 and several years later Ocalan became involved in the first unofficial peace talks, when Erdogan was prime minister. Led by then spy chief Hakan Fidan — who is now foreign minister — the talks raised Kurdish hopes for a solution with their future within Turkey’s borders.But the effort collapsed in July 2015, sparking one of the deadliest chapters in the conflict.The government has defended its de facto silencing of Ocalan, saying he failed to convince the PKK of the need for peace.Seen as the world’s largest stateless people, Kurds were left without a country when the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I.Although most live in Turkey, where they make up around a fifth of the population, the Kurds are also spread across Syria, Iraq and Iran.Turkey’s widescale use of combat drones has pushed most Kurdish fighters into northern Syria and Iraq, where Ankara has continued its raids.

Cinéma: la famille Saadé entre au capital de Pathé à hauteur de 20%

La famille Saadé entre à hauteur de 20% au capital du groupe Pathé via sa holding Merit France, a annoncé lundi le géant français du cinéma, leader de la production de films cinématographiques et de l’exploitation de salles de cinéma en Europe et en Afrique. “Dans un environnement macroéconomique et industriel en pleine évolution, porteur d’opportunités, cette opération a pour objectif de donner à Pathé les moyens d’accélérer son développement notamment dans la production de films et séries à vocation internationale, et dans la modernisation de son réseau de salles de cinéma”, souligne Pathé dans un communiqué.Avant cette annonce, le groupe dirigé par Jérôme Seydoux, 90 ans, avait envisagé d’autres options dont une introduction en bourse en 2024 pour remonter la pente après les années Covid qui avaient lourdement pénalisé les salles de cinéma.Un rapprochement avec le rival UGC a même été un temps évoqué, mais n’a jamais eu lieu. “Nous avions proposé à UGC de fusionner en 2021, car nous sommes très complémentaires et que dans l’avenir, il faudra être plus gros pour avoir la capacité de se développer sur le long terme”, déclarait alors Jérôme Seydoux. “L’arrivée de la famille Saadé comme partenaire va accélérer le développement et la modernisation de Pathé, elle va aussi permettre de continuer à travailler avec les talents auxquels nous sommes attachés et d’aller chercher ceux qui partagent nos ambitions et souhaitent une réussite internationale”, déclare Jérôme Seydoux, cité lundi dans le communiqué.”Nous avons la volonté de contribuer au développement du secteur et de promouvoir la culture cinématographique française dans le monde”, a renchéri Rodolphe Saadé.L’arrivée au capital de Pathé de la famille du milliardaire franco-libanais intervient à la veille de l’ouverture du 78e Festival de Cannes, où Pathé sera représenté via le film d’ouverture “Partir un jour”, qu’il a produit, tout comme “13 jours, 13 nuits” de Martin Bourboulon avec Roschdy Zem, présenté hors compétition à la fin du festival. Acteur majeur du cinéma en France, Pathé est un producteur important de films, misant notamment sur des blockbusters à la française comme “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo”, succès de 2024 avec 9,4 millions d’entrées.Le groupe compte 130 cinémas pour un total de 1.316 écrans.

La Bourse de Paris portée par les annonces commerciales sino-américaines

La Bourse de Paris gagne du terrain lundi, portée par les négociations commerciales entre les Etats-Unis et la Chine au cours du week-end qui ont débouché sur des baisses significatives des droits de douane.L’indice vedette de la Bourse de Paris, le CAC 40, prenait 0,75% vers 10H10, soit 57,80 points pour s’établir à 7.801,55 points. Vendredi, le CAC 40 a terminé en hausse de 0,64% à 7.743,75 points.”Les actions montent en flèche ce lundi, les États-Unis et la Chine ayant conclu un accord commercial à l’issue de discussions productives en Suisse”, commente Neil Wilson, analyste de Saxo.Tandis que les investisseurs attendaient un communiqué commun de Pékin et Washington dans la journée, il a finalement été publié à l’ouverture des marchés européens, “ce qui a quelque peu surpris”, permettant aux marchés “de repartir à la hausse car la désescalade semble dépasser tout ce que l’on pouvait espérer”, a-t-il poursuivi.Dans le détail, “les États-Unis vont baisser leurs droits de douane sur les produits chinois de 145% à 30% pendant 90 jours, tandis que la Chine abaissera ses droits de douane sur les produits américains de 125% à 10%” pendant la même période, a détaillé M. Wilson dans une note.Ces annonces arrivent après deux jours de négociations en Suisse entre les Américains et les Chinois, sur l’épineux dossier des droits de douane qui oppose les deux plus grandes puissances économiques du monde, engagées dans un bras de fer commercial depuis l’imposition de droits de douane prohibitifs par Donald Trump.La rencontre de Genève était la première en face à face de hauts responsables des deux pays depuis que Donald Trump a imposé début avril une surtaxe de 145% sur les marchandises venant de Chine, en plus des droits de douane préexistants.Les avancées sur le plan commercial entre Pékin et Washington étaient ainsi attendues depuis plusieurs semaines par les acteurs des marchés financiers. “Les expéditions de marchandises quittant les ports chinois à destination des Etats-Unis ont chuté de 40% depuis le mois d’avril”, illustrait Andreas Rees, chef économiste pour l’Allemagne chez UniCredit, dans une note.Bouffée d’air frais pour le luxeLes valeurs du luxe étaient en forte hausse à la cote parisienne. LVMH bondissait de 5,17% à 521,40 euros et Kering de 5,40% à 184,54 euros. Depuis le 1er janvier ces deux valeurs du secteur ont vu leur valorisation boursière fondre respectivement de plus de 17% et 21%.Hermès, récemment passée première plus grande valorisation boursière du secteur du luxe dans le monde, s’octroyait 2,65% à 2.518,00 euros. Depuis le 1er janvier, le cours du titre a avancé de plus de 8%.Ailleurs à la cote parisienne, le constructeur automobile Stellantis s’envolait de 6,23% à 9,32 euros, lui aussi soulagé par l’amélioration des relations commerciales entre la Chine et les Etats-Unis.

Le calme revenu à la frontière de l’Inde et du Pakistan, leurs généraux reprennent langue

Généraux indiens et pakistanais doivent s’entretenir lundi de la situation à leur frontière, où le calme est revenu après la confrontation militaire la plus grave entre les deux puissances nucléaires depuis deux décennies.Pour la première fois depuis plusieurs nuits, l’armée indienne n’a fait état d’aucun incident significatif le long de la “ligne de contrôle” (LoC) qui sépare la région contestée du Cachemire entre les deux pays.”La nuit est restée largement calme”, a-t-elle constaté dans un communiqué.Initialement annoncé pour la mi-journée, un échange téléphonique est finalement prévu “en soirée” entre les chefs des opérations militaires des deux camps pour discuter de la situation sur le terrain, a fait savoir l’état-major indien.La semaine dernière, l’Inde et le Pakistan se sont retrouvés au seuil d’une nouvelle guerre ouverte, échangeant les attaques de drones, les tirs d’artillerie et les frappes de missiles sur leurs sols.Tout a démarré mercredi avant l’aube, lorsque des missiles indiens ont détruit sur le sol pakistanais des camps censés abriter le groupe jihadiste que New Delhi soupçonne d’avoir assassiné 26 civils le 22 avril dans sa partie du Cachemire.Accusé de soutenir ce mouvement, le Pakistan a fermement démenti toute implication dans l’attaque et a aussitôt riposté, replongeant les deux puissances nucléaires rivales aux pires heures du dernier conflit ouvert qu’elles se sont livré en 1999.Selon leurs décomptes très partiels, ces combats ont tué une soixantaine de civils des deux camps.- “Missions accomplies” -Alors que les hostilités ne montraient aucun signe de ralentissement, Donald Trump a créé la surprise samedi après-midi en annonçant avoir arraché “un cessez-le-feu total et immédiat”.Les deux capitales ont rapidement confirmé s’être accordées – “directement”, a tenu à préciser New Delhi – pour rengainer leurs armes.Quelques heures plus tard, l’Inde et le Pakistan se sont accusés de “violations répétées” de la trêve, alors que de violentes détonations secouaient la nuit Srinagar, la principale ville du Cachemire indien, et plusieurs endroits du territoire indien.Mais le calme est revenu à l’aube des deux côtés de la frontière, ont constaté les journalistes de l’AFP.Dimanche soir, les hauts-gradés des deux camps se sont bruyamment félicités, photos et vidéos à l’appui, d’avoir rempli leur mission, en évitant soigneusement de faire état de leurs pertes.”Les pertes font partie du combat”, a concédé devant la presse le général AK Barthi, de l’armée de l’air indienne. “Mais la seule question est de savoir si nous avons atteint notre objectif. Et la réponse à cette question est un oui éclatant”.Le même aviateur a refusé de commenter les affirmations du Pakistan, qui dit avoir abattu cinq chasseurs indiens dont trois Rafale dernier cri de fabrication française. “Tous nos pilotes sont rentrés”, s’est-il contenté d’assurer.Deux heures plus tard, le porte-parole de l’armée pakistanaise, le général Ahmed Chaudhry a salué avec le même enthousiasme “un succès sur le champ de bataille” de ses troupes.- Trêves fragiles -“Nous avons tenu la promesse que nous avions faite à notre peuple”, a-t-il ajouté, se vantant que “des dizaines de drones pakistanais ont survolé l’Inde, notamment New Delhi”.Les généraux des deux camps ont également souligné qu’ils restaient sur le qui-vive.Autre signe du retour à la normale, l’Autorité indienne de l’aviation civile a annoncé lundi la réouverture “immédiate” au trafic aérien de 32 aéroports du quart nord-ouest de son territoire.Malgré ce cessez-le-feu, la prudence reste toutefois de mise dans les populations, encore sous le choc de la violence des derniers jours.”Un cessez-le-feu signifie que tout est réglé mais ce n’est clairement pas le cas”, a confié à l’AFP Kuldeep Raj, 56 ans, un habitant du village indien de Kotmaira, victimes samedi soir de tirs d’artillerie pakistanais malgré la trêve.”Cela fait 50 ans que je vis le long de la LoC. Les trêves sont annoncées et les échanges de tirs reprennent quelques jours plus tard”, a lancé en écho Mohammed Munir, un fonctionnaire pakistanais de 53 ans vivant à Chakhoti.L’Inde et le Pakistan revendiquent l’entière souveraineté du Cachemire depuis leur indépendance en 1947.En annonçant le cessez-le-feu, Donald Trump avait évoqué samedi des discussions en vue d’une “solution au Cachemire”. Une source gouvernementale à New Delhi a toutefois rapidement écarté cette éventualité.”Les relations (entre les deux pays) vont rester hostiles, les relations vont rester difficiles”, prédit Praveen Donthi, analyste au centre de réflexion International Crisis Group (ICG).burs-pa/pt

Le calme revenu à la frontière de l’Inde et du Pakistan, leurs généraux reprennent langue

Markets rally after China and US slash tariffs for 90 days

Stocks rallied Monday after Chinese and US officials made “substantial progress” at trade talks in Geneva and slashed their tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, fuelling hopes the two sides will pull back from a standoff that has rattled global markets.Investors have been on a rollercoaster ride since Donald Trump unveiled eye-watering tolls on trading partners on April 2, with the heftiest saved for Beijing, raising concerns of a trade war between the economic superpowers.The US president eventually hiked the measures against China to 145 percent, which were met with retaliatory rates of 125 percent.However, there have been signs of an easing of tensions and after two days of highly anticipated negotiations in Geneva, the two countries hailed progress towards ending a crisis that fuelled fears of a global recession.On Monday the two said they would slash their levies to cool tensions and give officials time to resolve their differences.In a joint statement, the US side said it would reduce tolls to 30 percent while Chinese tariffs on American goods would be cut to 10 percent.That came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and international trade representative Li Chenggang in the first known talks since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement.”We’ve made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” Bessent told reporters, while the White House has hailed what it called a new “trade deal”.China on Monday also hailed “substantial progress”, with the commerce ministry saying the move “is in the interest of the two countries and the common interest of the world”.Tai Hui, Asia-Pacific chief market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, said: “The magnitude of this tariff reduction is larger than expected. This reflects both sides recognising the economic reality that tariffs will hit global growth and negotiation is a better option going forward.”The 90-day period may not be sufficient for the two sides to reach a detailed agreement, but it keeps the pressure on the negotiation process.”Hong Kong led Asian markets higher, jumping three percent, while Shanghai — which closed before the tariff cuts were announced — also enjoyed healthy buying interest.Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei and Wellington were all in the green.Paris and Frankfurt rose more than one percent, while London was also higher.US futures surged more than one percent.Mumbai jumped more than three percent after India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire at the weekend following four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks between the two countries which killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing.Pakistan’s stock exchange rocketed more than nine percent.Oil prices, meanwhile, jumped more than two percent on speculation that the easing of China-US tensions would help demand.The dollar also advanced one percent against the euro and yen.Gold, which rallied last month over a rush to safe havens, extended losses.”The initial reaction to the weekend US-China talks (is) predictably encouraging,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. However, Karsten Junius at Bank J. Safra Sarasin was cautious.”We expect financial markets to remain volatile over the coming months, as they have almost fully priced out negative economic surprises and could once again be disrupted by more serious obstacles in trade negotiations,” he said in a commentary.”In all likelihood, things may still get worse before they get better.”Investors are also awaiting the release this week of data on US inflation and retail sales, which will provide a fresh snapshot of the world’s biggest economy since the tariffs were first unveiled.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 37,644.26 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.0 percent at 23,549.46 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,369.24 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,593.36 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1102 from $1.1257 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3166 from $1.3308Dollar/yen: UP at 147.99 yen from 145.31 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 84.31 pence from 84.57 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.6 percent at $62.60 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 percent at $66.51 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 41,249.38 (close)

Kurdish militant PKK says disbanding, ending armed struggle

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday announced its dissolution, saying it was ending its armed struggle against the Turkish state and drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency. Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of attacks against the Turkish state that would cost more than 40,000 lives. “The 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK’s organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle,” the group said in a statement published by the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency. The move was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party as an “important step”, but it warned the process would be “meticulously monitored” by the government.The historic announcement came after an appeal by Ocalan, who on February 27 urged his fighters disarm and disband in a letter from Istanbul’s Imrali prison island, where he has been held since 1999.He also asked the PKK to hold a congress to formalise the decision, which it did last week in Iraq’s Kandil mountains, when it declared a ceasefire.There its leader took “decisions of historic importance concerning the PKK’s activities”, ANF had reported on Friday. “This is not the end, it is a new beginning,” PKK executive committee member Duran Kalkan told delegates in remarks quoted by the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency.AKP spokesman Omer Celik said if the decision were “implemented in practise and realised in all its dimensions” it would open the door to a new era. – ‘Huge win for Erdogan’ -“The PKK’s decision to dissolve itself and lay down its arms following the call from Imrali is an important step towards a terror-free Turkey,” Celik said. “The full and concrete implementation of the decision to dissolve and surrender arms… will be a turning point,” he added, saying the process would be “meticulously monitored” by the government. The declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began in October when Ankara offered Ocalan an unexpected olive branch. “If the PKK announces it is disbanding and finalises the process without any road accidents, that will be a huge win for Erdogan,” Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute told AFP. She said seeking a rapprochement with the Kurds was very much related to domestic politics, coming just months after Erdogan’s AKP suffered a blow at the ballot box. Analysts say a deal with the Kurds could allow Erdogan to amend the constitution and extend his term in office, while simultaneously driving a wedge between pro-Kurdish parties and the rest of Turkey’s opposition. “The main driver behind this Ocalan opening has always been about consolidating Erdogan’s rule. Because if this whole process succeeds, he will go into the 2028 elections as a stronger candidate who is facing a divided opposition,” Tol said. In a weekend speech, Erdogan hinted the dissolution could be announced at any moment, saying that “We are advancing with firm steps on the path toward the goal of a terror-free Turkey”. The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Ankara, Washington and Brussels, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.Its original aim was to carve out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey’s 85 million people.