Jimmy Kimmel show yanked after government pressure over Kirk comments

Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was pulled from the air Wednesday hours after the US government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments the host made about the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.The stunning move by network ABC to remove one of America’s most influential late-night shows was blasted by critics as government censorship but celebrated by Donald Trump, who has long chafed at the comedians who mock him.”Great News for America,” he wrote on his Truth Social page.”Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”Trump, who also rejoiced in July at the cancellation of Kimmel’s fellow late-night satirist Stephen Colbert, then urged that two other comedians be removed.”That leaves Jimmy (Fallon) and Seth (Meyers), two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”In Hollywood, where Kimmel’s show is recorded, audience members were turned away at the door before taping began Wednesday.Tommy Williams, a longshoreman from Florida, told AFP the move felt un-American.”Any show that’s on TV that speaks out against Donald Trump, he’s trying to shut down,” the 51-year-old said.”We’re losing our freedom of speech. This is something that happens in Russia and North Korea and China, state-run TVs stuff.”Sherri Mowbray, a San Francisco resident, said she was “devastated.” “This is free speech. We are supposed to have free speech in this country, and this is not free speech. He didn’t say anything wrong. I’m really upset.”- FCC threat -The furor comes a week after Kirk, a close Trump ally, was shot dead on a Utah university campus, setting off a bitter battle over responsibility in deeply polarized America, with conservatives — including Trump — blaming “the radical left.”Authorities said this week that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was the lone gunman and brought a murder charge against him.Kimmel spoke about the shooting in his show-opening monologue on Monday.”The MAGA gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and (doing) everything they can to score political points from it,” said Kimmel, referring to the president’s “Make America Great Again” movement.He then showed footage of Trump pivoting from a question about how he had been affected by Kirk’s death to boasting about the new ballroom he is building at the White House, prompting laughter from the studio audience.”This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish,” Kimmel said.On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr openly threatened the license of ABC affiliates that broadcast Kimmel’s show.”I think it’s past time these (affiliates) themselves push back… and say, ‘Listen, we’re not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out because we’re running the possibility of license revocation from the FCC,'” he told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson.Hours later, Nexstar, one of the country’s biggest owners of ABC affiliate stations, announced it would be removing the show from its stations.Nexstar is in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar merger with a rival that will require FCC approval.ABC — which is owned by Disney — then followed suit, pulling the show nationwide.Kimmel did not comment immediately and representatives for the entertainer did not respond to AFP queries.- ‘They are censoring you’ -The White House has fired several broadsides at cultural institutions it views as critical of Trump.Law firms, universities and the media have all been targeted, including with lawsuits that legal experts say are meritless but which have resulted in huge payments.ABC and Paramount-owned CBS have both coughed up.The settlements — which are to be paid to Trump’s future presidential library — were seen as being motivated by the desire of the news outlets’ parent companies to stay in Trump’s good graces.”President Trump and FCC Chair Carr made it clear: fall in line or be silenced,” Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan posted on X. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote: “Buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren’t coincidences. It’s coordinated. And it’s dangerous.””They are censoring you in real time.”

Trump’s UK state visit turns to politics after regal welcome

Prime Minister Keir Starmer Thursday welcomed Donald Trump to his country home of Chequers for talks on difficult issues including trade, Ukraine and Gaza after the US president hailed his second state visit to the UK as the “highest honour”.After a day of royal pomp and pageantry at Windsor Castle, Starmer trumpeted the announcement of £150 billion of investment into the UK from US giants including Microsoft and Blackstone.”Jobs, growth and opportunity is what I promised for working people, and it’s exactly what this state visit is delivering,” said Starmer.The prime minister has positioned himself as a bridge between the unpredictable US leader and European allies, particularly on the war in Ukraine, in a bid to secure more commitments for Kyiv from Trump.Starmer’s warm tone with the 79-year-old Republican has won some leniency in the president’s trade war, with the two countries signing an “economic prosperity deal” at the White House in May.Britain hopes to secure further concessions, and is keen to see 25-percent duties on aluminium and steel reduced to zero, but Trump’s non-committal comments suggest an agreement is not imminent.”They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal. So, we’ll talk to them,” Trump said before leaving for Britain.- Epstein shadow -The talks could turn awkward on several fronts, with Starmer facing political troubles at home after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a furore involving the diplomat’s connections to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Epstein has also haunted Trump over recent weeks, with further revelations about the pair’s relationship in the 1990s and the issue may crop up in a press conference later Thursday.But it was all smiles for the US leader on Wednesday as he was lavished with the full pomp and circumstance of the British state.King Charles III welcomed Trump to Windsor Castle with a royal spectacle featuring gun salutes, mounted horses and bagpipes.The pair laughed and joked as Trump inspected troops at the castle west of London, in an elaborate welcome which played into the mercurial US leader’s love of pageantry.Around 120 horses and 1,300 members of the British military — some in red tunics and gold plumed helmets — feted Trump during a ceremonial guard of honour that British officials called the largest for a state visit in living memory.- ‘Greatest honour’ -The president and Charles ended the day with a white-tie state banquet, attended by 160 guests including senior royals, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook and golfer Nick Faldo. On the menu: Watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, chicken wrapped in courgettes and vanilla ice cream bombe with raspberry sorbet.The playlist included Trump favourites such as Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s opera Turandot and a James Bond medley.Before the dinner, Trump told guests the state visit was “truly one of the highest honours of my life,” describing the UK and US as “two notes in one chord … each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together.”In his speech, the king praised Trump’s “personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable conflicts”.But he stressed too the environmental obligations leaders had to “our children, grandchildren, and those who come after them”.First Lady Melania Trump remained in Windsor on Thursday morning, where she was due to view Queen Mary’s Doll’s House with Queen Camilla.Her husband is being kept far away from the British public, among whom polls indicate Trump remains unpopular, with the entire trip happening behind closed doors.An estimated 5,000 people marched through central London on Wednesday, waving Palestinian flags and displaying banners with slogans including “Migrants welcome, Trump not welcome”.

Pour Mélenchon, Retailleau est “une provocation ambulante”, un homme “odieux”

Le leader de la France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon a qualifié jeudi le ministre démissionnaire de l’Intérieur Bruno Retailleau (LR) de “provocation ambulante”, d’homme “odieux”, en marge de la manifestation à Marseille où il a été député.”Toute action violente ne sert qu’une seule et unique personne, monsieur Retailleau, qui a besoin de la violence, qui a besoin des poubelles qui brûlent, qui a besoin de tout ça pour affirmer son rôle de sauveur de je ne sais quoi. En réalité, cet homme est une provocation ambulante”, a-t-il déclaré à la presse, entouré des députés LFI de Marseille Manuel Bompard et Sébastien Delogu.”Cet homme est odieux, il représente une forme de notre pays rassie, rabougrie, haineuse, méfiante contre tout et tout le monde, et qui donne continuellement le sentiment de détester la vie”, a-t-il ajouté.Pour lui, “le président de la République ferait bien de le ramener à la raison”.S’agissant d’Emmanuel Macron, il l’a accusé : “le président, c’est lui le chaos, et tout ce qu’il y a eu en ce moment est le résultat de son action à lui, pas la mienne”, appelant à nouveau à un “départ du président de la République”.

Ciotti propose un contre-budget à Lecornu pour économiser 120 milliards

Le patron de l’Union des droites pour la République (UDR) Eric Ciotti, allié du RN, propose au Premier ministre Sébastien Lecornu un contre-budget qui prévoit 120 milliards d’économies à réaliser sur l’immigration, la politique sociale ou encore la contribution de la France au budget de l’UE.Ce contre-budget “vise à réaliser 120 milliards d’euros d’économies structurelles, non par une hausse des impôts mais par une remise en ordre profonde de nos finances publiques”, écrit le député des Alpes-Maritimes dans un courrier adressé au chef du gouvernement dont l’AFP a obtenu une copie, avant leur rencontre prévue jeudi à midi à Matignon dans le cadre des entretiens menés par Sébastien Lecornu. Eric Ciotti, qui ne cache pas sa sympathie pour le président ultralibéral argentin Javier Milei élu en promettant de couper dans la dépense publique à la tronçonneuse, propose d’effectuer ainsi des économies près de trois fois supérieures à celle de 44 milliards prévues dans le budget de l’ex-Premier ministre François Bayrou, que l’Assemblée a fait tomber le 8 septembre. Pour y parvenir, il veut “mettre fin aux abus liés à l’immigration”, transformer l’aide médicale d’Etat (AME) “en dispositif d’urgence strictement limité”, réduire la contribution française au budget européen et l’aide au développement, “réformer en profondeur nos politiques sociales” ou encore moderniser l’assurance chômage et la formation professionnelle.Eric Ciotti, qui se présente aux municipales à Nice en mars, fixe des “lignes rouges claires et non négociables” pour le budget, citant notamment son exigence qu’il n’y ait aucune augmentation des prélèvements obligatoires, ni désindexation des retraites ou diminution de la prise en charge des soins et des médicaments.

Asian markets fluctuate after Fed cuts interest rates

Equities wavered in Asia on Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates but left investors wondering how many more cuts were in the pipeline despite boss Jerome Powell warning about the struggling jobs market.On the heels of recent economic reports showing weaker job growth, the US central bank said it would lower borrowing costs 25 basis points, its first reduction since December.The 11-1 decision to cut — US President Donald Trump’s appointee Stephen Miran voted for a 50-point cut — came even as inflation runs well above policymakers’ two percent target, but analysts said the main focus was on jobs. The bank’s closely watched forecast for future rates showed some division on the path forward, with a narrow majority of the 19 officials assessing the outlook eyeing two more cuts but seven projecting none.Powell remained cagey, telling reporters decision-makers were approaching it “meeting by meeting”.Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics said the figures showed a “stark divide” that was “unusual” and that the October move could depend on jobs figures.US markets ended on a tepid note, with the Dow up but S&P 500 and Nasdaq down.Asian investors were also cautious.Tokyo closed in the green as the Fed decision boosted the dollar against the yen and other currencies, helping Japanese exporters, while Shanghai retreated by day’s end. Hong Kong’s session ended in the red as well.Seoul closed at a record high, fuelled by a tech stock surge led by Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK hynix, which soared nearly six percent, following reports that China banned its tech firms from purchasing Nvidia chips.Taipei and Manila rose, while there were losses in Sydney, Wellington, Singapore and Jakarta.London, Paris and Frankfurt were up.”The selloff in rates markets after the presser suggests that investors were looking for Powell to lean more decisively toward the employment mandate,” said economists at Bank of America.”We stick with our view that the Fed will cut only once more this year, in December.”However, after Powell’s comment that (the) rate cut ‘isn’t just one action’, the risk has risen that the second cut will be pulled forward to October (with potentially a third cut in December).”Jack McIntyre at Brandywine Global, part of Franklin Templeton, said the Fed is “putting more emphasis on the softening in the labour market”.”The weakening labour market will have a deleterious impact on inflation, so the Fed is willing to wait out sticky inflation.”The split in the Fed outlook “probably means more volatility in financial markets next year”, he added. Gold prices held losses around $3,660, having spiked on Wednesday at a record above $3,707.In company news, Chinese chip firms surged after the Financial Times reported that China’s internet regulator had instructed firms including Alibaba and ByteDance to terminate orders for Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D chips.The state-of-the-art processors are made especially for China.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 45,303.43 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,831.66 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,544.85 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,232.14Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1825 from $1.1811 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3632 from $1.3626Dollar/yen: UP at 147.26 yen from 147.00 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 86.74 pence from 86.70 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $63.87 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $67.81 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 46,018.32 (close)

En France, un déploiement “sans précédent” de drones pour surveiller les manifestations

L’utilisation de drones par les forces de l’ordre, encadrée par un décret de 2023, s’est généralisée pour la surveillance de manifestations, lors des mobilisations des 10 et 18 septembre notamment, malgré l’inquiétude des défenseurs des libertés publiques.Moyens de surveillance, de détection ou d’appui pour des opérations: en deux ans, ces petits aéronefs télécommandés et équipés de caméras, dont l’usage nécessite la prise d’arrêtés préfectoraux, sont ainsi devenus des outils “indispensables”, notamment sur les grands événements, selon la police nationale.En cinq ans, la flotte nationale a triplé, comptabilisant 965 drones pour la gendarmerie, et 650 pour la police nationale, selon les chiffres communiqués par les autorités à l’AFP. En tout, plus de 1.500 gendarmes et policiers ont ainsi été formés “à la fois sur le pilotage, les sujets de sécurité aérienne mais également le cadre d’emploi de la caméra déportée”, précise le général Philippe Mirabaud, sous-directeur de l’emploi des forces de gendarmerie. Il insiste sur le cadre juridique strict dans lequel sont utilisés les drones.”Chaque mission est tracée, on sait quel est le télépilote qui l’a réalisée, où, quand, combien de temps, on sait où sont stockées les images, que les images ne seront stockées que sept jours et qu’elles seront ensuite détruites”, assure-t-il.Utilisés à des fins de maintien de l’ordre depuis le milieu des années 2010, les drones ont fait l’objet d’une bataille juridique de plusieurs années, avec de nombreux recours associatifs, notamment devant le Conseil d’Etat, qui ont permis d’aboutir à un “cadre législatif” défini par la loi relative à la responsabilité pénale et la sécurité intérieure de 2022.Une demande soumise à autorisation préfectorale doit être faite par la gendarmerie ou la police, en détaillant les raisons, mentionnant le périmètre géographique surveillé, la durée d’utilisation ou encore le nombre de caméras qui enregistrent en simultané. La captation de son, la reconnaissance faciale ou le croisement de fichiers ne sont pas autorisés.Mercredi soir, trois arrêtés de la préfecture de Seine-Maritime autorisant le survol des manifestations à Gonfreville, le Havre et Rouen ont été suspendus après des recours du Syndicat des avocats de France (SAF).Pour le mouvement “Bloquons Tout” du 10 septembre, 82 arrêtés préfectoraux autorisant l’usage de drones ont été comptabilisés sur le territoire par l’Association de défense des libertés constitutionnelles (ADELICO), le SAF et le Syndicat de la magistrature.Les activistes en ont contesté “une trentaine” devant le juge des référés, aboutissant à “une douzaine” de suspensions, rapporte Serge Slama, professeur de droit public et président de l’ADELICO, dénonçant un déploiement d’une ampleur “sans précédent en France”.Les arrêtés couvraient des zones parfois très importantes, jusqu’à des départements entiers, comme dans l’Orne et le Morbihan, où ils ont été suspendus par les tribunaux administratifs.-“Massification”-Les critères requis sont l'”adéquation, (la) nécessité, (la) proportionnalité”, liste Me Nathalie Tehio, présidente de la Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH), en soulignant un dernier posé par le Conseil constitutionnel: “Etant donné les libertés qui sont en cause, il faut que l’usage du drone soit le dernier recours”.   En dépit de ce dernier critère, la LDH dénonce “un côté exponentiel” des moyens engagés, et un “moindre contrôle” de l’autorité préfectorale et des juges administratifs.”Vous avez une généralisation du drone, une massification dans toute la métropole, et des pratiques préfectorales empêchant la contestation et n’informant pas le public de l’utilisation des drones”, appuie M. Slama.Selon la police nationale, cette technologie est pourtant “devenue indispensable à la sécurisation des grands évènements”.”Il apparaîtrait aujourd’hui difficile de se passer de cet outil qui représente une véritable plus-value dans les missions de police du quotidien”, soutient l’institution, citant “la surveillance des frontières, la lutte contre les rodéos urbains, les violences urbaines, le trafic de stupéfiants ou plus généralement la sécurisation de nos concitoyens”.”Aujourd’hui, se passer de drones, c’est comme se passer de la vue”, résume le général Mirabaud. Selon lui, les forces de l’ordre visent un “équilibre entre demande de sécurité” de la population et “vigilance par rapport aux libertés et à la protection des personnes”. Pour Serge Slama, “la bataille des drones est perdue”, puisque ceux-ci sont entrés dans les usages des forces de l’ordre. Pour autant, en continuant de contester les arrêtés, il compte “faire en sorte que l’usage soit (…) moins généralisé”, et “corresponde vraiment à une utilité opérationnelle”.