Man missing after reported shark attack off Israel’s coast
Israeli police have been searching for a man reported missing following a suspected shark attack off the country’s Mediterranean coast, the force said on Tuesday.Shark attacks have not been reported in Israel for decades.Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said that “several findings have been sent for examination”, without specifying the nature of the recovered evidence.Search operations continued Tuesday in the southeastern Mediterranean, near the area of the central city of Hadera where the swimmer had disappeared.”The search area is very large, very complex, especially due to the danger posed by diving near sharks,” said Doron Elmashali, commander of the fire and rescue unit involved in the operation.He said underwater cameras were being used in the operation.Emergency organisations Magen David Adom and Zaka on Monday said they had been informed of a man’s disappearance off the coast near Hadera, after witnesses said he had been attacked by a shark.An AFP journalist at the site saw shark silhouettes with dorsal fins breaking through the water’s surface.Israeli media have broadcast several videos in recent days showing sharks swimming near bathers, including children. One video appears to show a swimmer being attacked.Police said Tuesday that a ban on entering the sea along large stretches of the coast would remain in effect.Shark attacks in the calm waters of the Mediterranean are rare, but shark sightings, particularly off the coast of Hadera, are well documented, as dozens are known to gather near the local power station in winter months.The plant uses sea water to cool its turbines, then discharges the warm water which is believed to attract sandbar and dusky sharks.Although these species can grow to several metres in length, they are generally not aggressive toward humans.The seasonal shark population off Hadera has increased in recent years, likely due to the expansion of the power plant and the implementation of legislation prohibiting their capture.The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority and the Israeli diving association have issued warnings urging divers drawn by the presence of the sharks not to approach them.bur-crb-phy-reg-jd/ami
Volkswagen unveils its electric counter-offensive in China
The Volkswagen group on Tuesday unveiled a series of new vehicles and a driver assistance system built “in China for China”, which it hopes will help reverse its declining fortunes in the world’s largest car market.Though it is still the leading foreign group operating in the country, Volkswagen has seen its sales droop as local brands’ rise — a fate that has also befallen its fellow German carmakers BMW and Mercedes.The group, which encompasses ten brands including VW, Audi and Porsche, sold 644,100 vehicles in China in the first quarter of 2025, a drop of 7.1 percent year-on-year. To counter that decline, Volkswagen plans to launch over 20 electric and hybrid models in the country by 2027, the group’s China head Ralf Brandstatter said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Our biggest push in EV history begins here,” he said. On the eve of the opening of massive industry show Auto Shanghai, Volkswagen presented three high-tech prototypes. The two SUVs and one saloon model were developed for China with the group’s local partners, industrial giants FAW, SAIC and JAC.”Our industry is at a turning point,” CEO Oliver Blume said Tuesday, noting a “highly competitive market” and “rising trade barriers” as major challenges.Blume said the group had adjusted its China strategy around two years ago, and that progress had been made quicker than expected.Its work in the China market was “another step towards becoming the global tech driver for the automotive industry,” he said.The group’s premium Audi brand on Tuesday presented an electric model that promises a range of 770 kilometres. The first series model from its separate AUDI brand was also revealed. Complete with multiple AI functions digitally specific to China, it is aimed at “technology-focused premium” Chinese customers.Volkswagen also presented a new generation of driver assistance “specifically designed for the complex traffic conditions in China”. The Level 2++ technology, which allows the driver to temporarily take their eyes off the road, will first roll out later this year.Â
Concert “Solidarité Congo” à Paris: pluie de stars et discours engagés attendus
Gims, Dadju, Soolking, Fally Ipupa: un plateau prestigieux est attendu mardi soir à Paris pour le concert caritatif “Solidarité Congo” en soutien aux victimes du conflit en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), “une mobilisation sans précédent” dans la musique, selon les organisateurs.Parmi les grands noms programmés à l’Accor Arena à partir de 19H00 (17h00 GMT), le rappeur et chanteur congolais Gims avait déjà profité de son sacre comme meilleur artiste masculin aux Victoires de la musique, en février, pour rappeler la situation “terrible” en RDC. “C’est inhumain ce qui se passe là -bas”, avait lancé l’interprète de “Sapés comme jamais”.Son petit frère Dadju (8,9 millions d’abonnés sur Instagram) participe également, sur scène et comme partenaire caritatif.Son association, Give back charity, créée en 2019, doit récolter les recettes du concert et assurer leur redistribution. La récolte des fonds était initialement opérée par l’Unicef, mais celle-ci s’est retirée lors de la polémique sur sa date initiale.Le concert était prévu le 7 avril, qui correspond à la journée internationale de commémoration du génocide des Tutsi, ayant fait au moins 800.000 morts en 1994 au Rwanda. Des associations rwandaises avaient exigé un report, vivant ce concert comme un affront. Les organisateurs avaient évoqué “une date choisie malencontreusement”. Sous la menace d’une interdiction par la Préfecture de police de Paris, le concert avait été décalé.- “Impliqués” -Au total, une trentaine d’artistes interpréteront chacun quelques morceaux.”Ils sont plus qu’impliqués, ça fait vraiment sens” pour eux, a souligné l’organisation auprès de l’AFP, expliquant que les artistes se produiront sans cachet. Signe de cet intérêt, la liste des participants s’est allongée: la star algérienne Soolking, le spécialiste de la drill francophone Gazo, le pilier Youssoupha, mais aussi le joueur de kora Sidiki Diabaté et Fally Ipupa, vedette de la nouvelle pop congolaise, sont attendus.Le concert affiche complet, avec jusqu’à 11.000 spectateurs attendus, dont de nombreuses personnes de la diaspora congolaise. “La cause est noble, il faut élever nos voix”, affirme Emmanuel Duciel, 23 ans, venu “exprès” de Lille pour ce concert qui doit “attirer le regard” sur le conflit, qu’il suit au quotidien. Mais il vient aussi pour Fally Ipupa, dont il est fan.En face de la salle, Filomena Kadimua, une Congolaise de 70 ans habitant à Bruxelles (Belgique), vend des drapeaux de la RDC. “Je suis venue pour soutenir le Congo et ce qu’il se passe à l’est”, assure-t-elle.”On sait tous qu’un concert ne va pas changer les choses mais c’est une solution de plus vers des solutions pérennes”, estime de son côté Isaac Massiala, conseiller au Ministère des Sports et Loisirs de la RDC, rencontré par l’AFP sur place.La mobilisation pour cet évènement démontre le besoin de “tirer la sonnette d’alarme une fois de plus”, souligne-t-il.- “Free Congo” -“Des prises de parole” jalonneront le show, avec des “interventions de militants, des victimes, de partenaires afin d’attirer l’attention sur la situation des enfants victimes de la guerre”, ont précisé les organisateurs.Deux mois plus tôt, six poids lourds du rap francophone (Damso, Ninho, Gradur…) ont sorti “Free Congo”, une chanson pour dénoncer un conflit qu’ils estiment passé sous silence.Depuis 30 ans, l’est de la RDC, région riche en ressources naturelles et frontalière du Rwanda, est ravagé par des violences meurtrières impliquant une myriade de groupes armés et certains pays voisins. Ces conflits se sont récemment intensifiés avec l’offensive éclair menée par le groupe armé M23, soutenu par des troupes rwandaises, qui lui a permis de s’emparer de Goma (Nord-Kivu) et de Bukavu (Sud-Kivu).Les dernières violences ont fait des milliers de morts et forcé des centaines de milliers de personnes à quitter leur foyer, selon l’ONU et le gouvernement congolais.Ce conflit puise ses racines dans le génocide des Tutsi, la fuite en RDC de centaines de milliers de Hutu, dont de nombreux génocidaires, et les guerres qui ont suivi.
At least 24 killed in Kashmir attack on tourists: Indian police source
At least 24 people were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on tourists on Tuesday, a senior police officer told AFP, with authorities calling it the worst attack on civilians in years.Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the “heinous act” in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers “will be brought to justice”.A tour guide told AFP he reached the scene after hearing gunfire and transported some of the wounded away on horseback.”I saw a few men lying on the ground looking like they were dead,” said Waheed, who gave only one name.The attack targeted tourists in Pahalgam, which lies about 90 kilometres (55 miles) by road from the key city of Srinagar.The senior police officer in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a massacre in which at least 24 people had been killed.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebels in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989.They are seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls a smaller part of the Kashmir region and, like India, claims it in full.The killings come a day after Modi met with US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with his wife Usha and children.Vance offered his and Usha’s condolences to the “victims of the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam”.”Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack,” he wrote on X.- ‘Abomination’ -Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that “the attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”, with the death toll “still being ascertained”.”This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” he said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”An AFP reporter at Pahalgam spoke to another witness of the shooting who asked not to be identified.”The militants, I can’t say how many, came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing,” said the witness, who cares for the horses that are popular with tourists in the area. “They were clearly sparing women and kept shooting at men, sometimes single shot and sometimes many bullets, it was like a storm.” The witness said dozens of people fled as the gunmen opened fire. “They all started running around in panic”, he added. “We tried to comfort them but they were just screaming… we helped carry some injured out of there on ponies.”India’s interior minister Amit Shah flew to Kashmir and vowed those responsible would be caught.”Those involved in this dastardly act of terror will not be spared, and we will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” Shah said in a statement.One security source said that foreign tourists were among those shot, but there was no official confirmation.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a post on X, said he was “deeply saddened by the heinous terror attack on tourists”, adding that his nation “stands united with India”.- Popular tourist destination – Medics at a hospital in Anantnag said they had received some of the wounded, including at least two with gunshot wounds, one with a bullet injury to the neck.Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, called the killings “heartbreaking”.India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory, but fighting decreased since Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.”Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger,” Modi said in a statement following the attack.In recent years, the authorities have heavily promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination, both for skiing during the winter months, and to escape the sweltering heat during the summer elsewhere in India.Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, according to official figures, the majority domestic visitors.In 2023, India hosted a G20 tourism meeting in Srinagar under tight security in a bid to show that what officials call “normalcy and peace” were returning after a massive crackdown.A string of resorts are being developed, including some close to the heavily militarised de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.India regularly blames Pakistan for backing gunmen behind the insurgency.Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination.The worst attack in recent years took place in Pulwama in February 2019, when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy killing 40 and wounding at least 35 others.The deadliest recent attack on civilians was in March 2000, when 36 people, all Indian civilians, were killed.pzb-bb-sai-ash-pjm/sco
Vérification d’âge: l’Arcom met en demeure deux sites pornographiques
L’Arcom a mis en demeure deux sites pornographiques pour ne pas avoir mis en place un système de vérification d’âge de leurs utilisateurs, première étape avant un éventuel blocage, a indiqué mardi le gendarme du numérique.Les deux sites pornographiques visés sont Pornovore et Chaturbate, selon les décisions publiées sur le site de l’Arcom.Ils disposent d’un délai de 15 jours pour se mettre en conformité avec une loi, entrée en vigueur en janvier, qui oblige les éditeurs de ces sites à mettre en place un système d’identification empêchant les mineurs d’y accéder.Passé ce délai, “l’Arcom pourra demander leur blocage et leur déréférencement ou prononcer des sanctions pécuniaires”, précise le gendarme du numérique et de l’audiovisuel.Cette mesure, obtenue après une longue bataille entre les pouvoirs publics et les éditeurs, était réclamée depuis longtemps par les associations de protection de l’enfance en France, où 2,3 millions de mineurs fréquentent des sites pornographiques selon l’Arcom.Début mars, le gendarme du numérique avait indiqué avoir identifié six sites porno établis en France ou en dehors de l’Union européenne qui ne s’étaient pas conformés à la loi, dont l’un a déjà été bloqué.Les trois autres sites n’ont, eux, pas écopé d’une mise en demeure car ils ont depuis mis en place divers moyens de prouver sa majorité, comme par exemple un selfie évalué par l’intelligence artificielle.L’Autorité rappelle également que “à compter du 7 juin prochain, elle sera également compétente pour vérifier la conformité de plusieurs plateformes pornographiques établies dans d’autres Etats membres de l’Union européenne”, conformément à l’arrêté interministériel publié en ce sens début mars.