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From refugee to Nobel: Yaghi hails science’s ‘equalizing force’

Nobel chemistry laureate Omar Yaghi was born to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, a quiet, studious child in a “large, rowdy family” that shared a single room with cattle they raised.Which made Wednesday’s news that the chemist at the University of California, Berkeley was among 2025’s class of Nobel winners all the more emotional, Yaghi told journalists as he heralded the US public school system he said he is a product of.He also emphasized that publicly financed education and research have been key to his career, at a moment when US President Donald Trump is upending the long-standing funding structures that undergird the work of universities.”This recognition is really a testament of the power of the public school system in the US that takes people like me with a major disadvantaged background, a refugee background, and allows you to work, and work hard, and distinguish yourself,” Yaghi said.He described how his parents spent “every minute of their time dedicated to their kids and to their kids’ education, because they saw that as a way to lift themselves and the kids out of challenging situations.”Their home had no electricity or running water. His father had finished school through sixth grade and his mother could neither read nor write.”We didn’t have a lot of the conveniences that many others do, but we had a lot of love and a lot of care,” the scientist said.Yaghi won the 2025 prize together with Susumu Kitagawa of Japan and UK-born Richard Robson for their groundbreaking discoveries on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), whose uses include capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air.Born in 1965, he spent his childhood in Amman, Jordan, before leaving for the United States at the age of 15, on the advice of his stern father who saw for his son an opportunity to thrive. At that point young Yaghi had already grown enamored with molecular structures after being drawn to “unintelligible but captivating” images in a book.”I fell in love with them, even before I knew they were molecules,” Yaghi said. – ‘Equalizing force’ of science -He began at a community college in upstate New York before transferring and finishing a degree at the State University of New York at Albany, supporting himself by bagging groceries and mopping floors.Yaghi completed his PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1990 and went on to work at a number of US universities before landing at UC Berkeley in 2012.He emphasized Wednesday that groundbreaking research was made possible with grants that stemmed from federal sources.”They were absolutely key in enabling me to go off in my own direction” and experiment, Yaghi said. “Science costs money, and it’s an investment into our future.”He louded the “amazing” higher education, research and mentorship system in the United States that public funding is vital to: “Science is a jewel in the crown of our country.””We cannot allow that to slip.”Yaghi was en route to Brussels via Frankfurt for a chemistry conference when the Nobel organizers got in touch with him with news of his prestigious honor, which he said “surprised and delighted” him.”You cannot prepare for a moment like that,” he said. Yaghi’s accomplishments include leading a research group that extracted water from desert air in Arizona, work his students have told him has garnered more than 250,000 citations.The child of refugees told the Nobel Foundation Wednesday that “science is the great equalizing force in the world.””Smart people, talented people, skilled people exist everywhere,” Yaghi said.”That’s why we really should focus on unleashing their potential through providing them with opportunity.”

Leveraging Hamas ties, Turkey joins Gaza peace talks

By joining the indirect talks in Egypt between Israel and Hamas, Turkey hopes to use its longstanding relationship with the Palestinian Islamist movement to help end the Gaza war.Speaking late Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Donald Trump had “specifically requested that we meet with Hamas and persuade them” to accept the peace plan the US leader laid out last month.Erdogan has led this Muslim-majority nation of 86 million inhabitants since 2003 and is known for his Islamic-leaning conservatism. He has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza — a charge denied by Israel.He said a Turkish team led by spy chief Ibrahim Kalin would join negotiators in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh as they met for a third day seeking to halt the two-year war alongside US and Qatari officials.Last week, Kalin joined Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha to discuss Trump’s 20-point peace plan with Hamas negotiators, Qatar said.While Hamas is blacklisted by Washington, Brussels and Israel as a terrorist organisation, Erdogan has always referred to it as “a liberation movement”. He nurtures close ties with it and frequently hosts its leaders.Since 2011, when Ankara helped broker an agreement for the movement to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit whom it had held captive for five years, Turkey has provided a place of refuge for Hamas officials. – ‘Strong support’ – Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the German Marshall Fund’s Ankara office director said Erdogan had always offered “strong” support for the group.He “equated Hamas’ resistance with Turkish resistance (to European powers) during World War I,” he said.”But right now, there is only one position in Turkey: Israel is committing genocide and it needs to be stopped,” Unluhisarcikli added.When Hamas staged its deadly October 7, 2023 attacks, media reports said several of its leaders — including the late Ismail Haniyeh — were in Turkey at the time.According to these reports, Erdogan discreetly asked them to leave as he was trying to rebuild bridges with Israel at the time.The October 7 attacks caused the deaths of 1,219 people in Israel with another 251 taken hostage. It sparked a retaliatory military campaign that has killed more than 67,183 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry — figures the UN considers credible.”The fundamental criteria for Turkey is Hamas’s resistance to Israeli occupation and its legitimacy for the Palestinian people,” said Mustafa Yetim, an international relations expert at Osmangazi University in Eskisehir.According to Talha Ismail Duman, a Middle East researcher at Sakarya University, many Hamas officials have used Turkey as a safe haven in recent decades.”Some live here and Hamas delegations often come to meet with Turkey’s political and security leaders,” he told AFP.Over the past eighteen months, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan and political bureau member Bassem Naim have both been interviewed by AFP in Istanbul.Duman said Hamas’s ties with Turkey were “particularly good under (its former chief) Khaled Meshaal” over their shared position on the Arab Spring and the war in Syria.Another part of the Palestinian group aligned itself more with Iran and its Hezbollah proxy. But “the rise of Haniyeh (who took over) in 2017 and that of Yahya Sinwar” — the late Hamas leader accused by Israel of masterminding the October 7 attacks — “progressively reduced Turkey’s influence”, he said. “Today Hamas has a policy of balancing its ties with Iran and Turkey”, meaning Ankara can leverage its influence over the group in its dealings with the White House, he said.

Gold tops $4,000 for first time on political, economic worries

Gold topped $4,000 an ounce for the first time Wednesday as investors flocked to the safe haven metal on worries over the US government shutdown, France’s political crisis and other global economic uncertainties.US and European stock markets rose while Asian equities fell as investors also kept tabs on the AI investment boom and the prospect of further US interest rate cuts this year.Gold, considered a safe investment in times of uncertainty, reached an all-time high above $4,040 an ounce Wednesday. Silver also rose close to a record high.”Gold is continuing to glitter, and it is a gift that keeps on giving,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and Forex.com.”Markets hate uncertainty, and right now, it’s in no short supply –- although stocks haven’t exactly sold off,” he added.”Instead, it is gold that continues to benefit from haven flows while stock markets continue to find buyers on the dips too,” he added.- US political deadlock -Parts of the US government began to close last week after Democrats and President Donald Trump failed to break a deadlock over spending.The closure has added to the sense of unease among investors. The release of key economic data, including on jobs, has been postponed — muddying the waters for the Federal Reserve as it relies on the figures to decide on its rate plans.Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that the price of gold had doubled over the last two years.While France’s political upheaval has contributed to the gold rush, the Paris stock market rose on Wednesday.President Emmanuel Macron is facing the worst domestic crisis of his mandate, with the clock ticking down to a Wednesday evening deadline for a working government to be formed.Frankfurt’s DAX was also higher following mixed economic news.The German government raised its growth forecast for 2025 from zero to 0.2 percent growth, and its 2026 projection from one to 1.3 percent.Earlier, however, official data showed a sharp decline in industrial production in August, particularly in the automotive sector.The euro fell further against the dollar.In New York, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rebounded after falling the previous day, partly over a report that software firm Oracle’s cloud computing profit margin was much lower than expected. Both stood close to record highs.”Traders seem to consider the shutdown no more than a mild inconvenience due to the postponement of certain economic data releases,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.”Instead, investors continue to expect more upside in US equities, supported by ongoing investment in artificial intelligence, along with the prospect of 50 basis-points-worth of rate cuts before the year-end,” he said.Tech firms led selling in Asia, with Alibaba and JD.com down in Hong Kong, chip-maker TSMC dropping in Taipei and Renesas sharply lower in Tokyo.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 46,732.19 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,748.56New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 22,961.60London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 9,548.87 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 8,060.13 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 24,497.13 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 47,734.99 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 26,829.46 (close)Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1617 from $1.1652 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3409 from $1.3422Dollar/yen: UP at 152.64 yen from 151.97 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.63 pence from 86.83 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.6 percent at $66.49 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.9 percent at $62.90 per barreldan-bcp-lth-rl/gv

Le Nobel de chimie consacre de nouvelles structures moléculaires au “potentiel énorme”

Le Nobel de chimie 2025 a été décerné mercredi à un trio de chimistes ayant développé de nouvelles structures moléculaires capables d’emprisonner des gaz.Le trio composé du Japonais Susumu Kitagawa, de Richard Robson, né au Royaume-Uni, et de l’Américano-Jordanien Omar M. Yaghi a été récompensé pour “le développement des structures métallo-organiques” (MOF), selon le jury.”Ces constructions, les structures métallo-organiques, peuvent être utilisées pour récupérer l’eau de l’air du désert, capturer le dioxyde de carbone, stocker des gaz toxiques ou catalyser des réactions chimiques”, a-t-il souligné dans un communiqué.Les noms de Yaghi et Kitagawa revenaient depuis plusieurs années dans les prévisions des experts pour le Nobel de chimie. Ces structures “ont un potentiel énorme, car elles offrent des possibilités jusqu’alors insoupçonnées de créer des matériaux sur mesure dotés de nouvelles fonctions”, a déclaré Heiner Linke, président du comité Nobel de chimie, dans un communiqué.En variant les éléments constitutifs utilisés dans les MOF, “les chimistes peuvent les concevoir pour capturer et stocker des substances spécifiques. Les MOF peuvent également déclencher des réactions chimiques ou conduire l’électricité”, relève le comité.”On pourrait imaginer créer des matériaux capables de séparer le dioxyde de carbone de l’air ou des tuyaux d’échappement industriels, ou pour séparer les molécules toxiques des eaux usées”, a expliqué Hans Ellegren, secrétaire général de l’Académie des sciences qui décerne le Nobel.Yaghi, âgé de 60 ans, travaille à Berkeley en Californie, et Kitagawa, 74 ans, est professeur à l’université de Kyoto. Robson, 88 ans, est professeur à l’université de Melbourne, en Australie.- Diamant aux innombrables cavités -La première avancée remonte à 1989 quand Richard Robson teste une nouvelle façon d’utiliser les propriétés des atomes en utilisant des ions de cuivre. “Lorsqu’ils ont été combinés, ils se sont liés pour former un cristal spacieux et bien ordonné. C’était comme un diamant rempli d’innombrables cavités”, selon le comité.Cette construction était cependant instable.Omar M. Yaghi et Susumu Kitagawa ont ensuite mis au point une “base solide” pour la méthode de construction de ces structures, réalisant chacun de leur côté des “découvertes révolutionnaires”.M. Kitagawa “a montré que les gaz pouvaient entrer et sortir des constructions et a montré que les MOF pouvaient être rendus flexibles”, selon le comité.Entre-temps, Yaghi a créé “un MOF très stable et a montré qu’il pouvait être modifié”.- Famille de réfugiés -A l’annonce du prix, M. Yaghi s’est dit “étonné, ravi, bouleversé”. Le lauréat, né dans une famille de réfugiés palestiniens en Jordanie, a rappelé son origine très humble.”J’ai grandi dans un foyer très modeste. Nous étions une dizaine dans une petite pièce, que nous partagions avec le bétail que nous élevions”, se souvient-il auprès de la fondation Nobel.Ses parents l’ont envoyé étudier à l’âge de 15 ans aux Etats-Unis. Ce “sacré parcours” montre que “la science est la plus grande force” au service de l’égalité des chances, a déclaré M. Yaghi.De son côté, Susumu Kitagawa s’est dit “très honoré et ravi que mes recherches de longue date aient été distinguées”, lors d’un entretien téléphonique peu après l’annonce du prix.”Je ne suis pas très doué moi-même. Je me lance simplement tête baissée dans tout ce qui me semble vraiment intéressant, donc les choses ne se passent pas toujours de façon fluide”, a-t-il raconté lors d’un point presse au Japon.Le comité Nobel a donné des exemples d’applications concrètes obtenues de ces recherches: “Le groupe de recherche de Yaghi a extrait de l’eau de l’air désertique de l’Arizona. Pendant la nuit, leur matériau MOF a capturé la vapeur d’eau de l’air. Lorsque l’aube est arrivée et que le soleil a chauffé le matériau, ils ont pu collecter l’eau”.Les travaux de ces chimistes ont donné naissance à des dizaines de milliers de nouveaux réseaux moléculaires différents par d’autres scientifiques.Ces réseaux pourraient par exemple permettre de séparer les polluant éternels PFAS de l’eau, selon Olof Ramström, professeur en chimie organique et membre de l’Académie royale des sciences.Pour Dorothy J. Phillips, présidente de l’American Chemical Society, l’application la plus intéressante est la capture du dioxyde de carbone. “Nous sommes en plein réchauffement climatique, nous voulons vraiment faire des choses comme suivre et réduire le dioxyde de carbone… c’est une application formidable”, a-t-elle déclaré à l’AFP.Pour les lauréats du millésime 2025, le chèque accompagnant le prix est de 11 millions de couronnes (920.000 euros), à partager entre eux.

World economy not doing as badly as feared, IMF chief saysWed, 08 Oct 2025 15:46:36 GMT

World economy not doing as badly as feared, IMF chief saysWed, 08 Oct 2025 15:46:36 GMT Read More »

World economy not doing as badly as feared, IMF chief says

The global economy is doing better than expected, even as it faces prolonged uncertainty and underwhelming medium-term growth prospects, the head of the IMF said Wednesday. The world economy is doing “better than feared, but worse than we need,” International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters in Washington.She added that the Fund now expects global growth to slow “only slightly this year and next,” propped up by better-than-expected conditions in the United States, and among some other advanced, emerging market and developing countries. Georgieva’s remarks came ahead of next week’s gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors at the World Bank and the IMF in Washington. Trade is once again likely to dominate the agenda at the annual meetings, following US President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this year to unleash sweeping tariffs against many trading partners.- ‘Multiple shocks’ -“All signs point to a world economy that has generally withstood acute strains from multiple shocks,” Georgieva said, pointing to “improved policy fundamentals,” the adaptability of the private sector, lower-than-expected tariffs, and supportive financial conditions. “The world has avoided a tit-for-tat slide into trade war — so far,” she added. She noted that the average US tariff rate has fallen from 23 percent in April to 17.5 percent today, while the US effective tariff rate of around 10 percent remains “far above” the rest of the world.But, she warned, the full effect of those tariffs “is still to unfold,” adding that the resilience of the world economy has yet to be “fully tested.” Against this backdrop, the Fund still expects global growth to remain at roughly three percent over the medium term, in line with previous forecasts — below the 3.7 percent, on average, seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.”Global growth patterns have been changing over the years, notably with China decelerating steadily while India develops into a key growth engine,” Georgieva said. To boost lackluster growth prospects elsewhere, she called on countries to act swiftly to “durably” lift output, rebuild fiscal buffers, and address “excessive” trade imbalances. The Fund’s prescriptions for policymakers differed by region, with Asia urged to deepen its internal trade, and to strengthen the service sector and access to finance. Carried out correctly, this could raise economic output by as much as 1.8 percent in the long run, Georgieva said. African countries should promote “business-friendly reforms” and continue with efforts to build up the Continental Free Trade Area which, she said, could lift their real GDP per capita by “over 10 percent.””Gains from this region can be especially large,” she said. – Tough love for Europe -Georgieva reserved her harshest criticism for Europe, which has struggled with economic growth in recent years, in marked contrast to the United States.To raise competition in the bloc, Georgieva called on the European Union to appoint a new “single market czar” to drive reforms, a move that would simplify the EU’s structure and consolidate the power to make the changes required. These changes include steps to deepen EU single market integration in financial services and energy. “Catch up with the private sector dynamism of the US,” she said, adding that Europe must “recognize that there will be some sacrifices on the way.”For the world’s largest economy, Georgieva urged the Trump administration to address the country’s federal deficit and to take steps to incentivize household savings. And for China, the world’s second-largest economy, Georgieva reiterated the IMF’s ongoing calls for fiscal reforms to boost private consumption and reduce dependence on industrial policy to drive growth.

World economy not doing as badly as feared, IMF chief says

“Assumez votre acte”, lance Gisèle Pelicot à l’accusé dans le déni

“A quel moment je vous ai donné le consentement ? Jamais !”, a lancé Gisèle Pelicot à Husamettin Dogan. Avant d’ajouter, face à un accusé qui s’enfonce dans le déni malgré des preuves vidéos accablantes: “Assumez votre acte, j’ai honte pour vous !”.Depuis un an et le verdict d’Avignon où 51 hommes dont son ex-mari avaient été condamnés, celle qui est devenue un symbole des violences sexuelles faites aux femmes n’avait plus pris la parole.Depuis lundi, ses entrées et sorties de la cour d’assises d’appel du Gard sont couvertes d’applaudissements, hommage populaire à une femme qui a redit mercredi: “Que les victimes n’aient jamais honte de ce qu’on leur a imposé par la force”.Chemisier blanc, gilet noir et blanc, Gisèle Pelicot, bien droite, la parole posée et affirmée, commence: “J’ai le sentiment d’être allée au bout de cette épreuve qui a duré cinq ans, je souhaite ne jamais retourner dans un tribunal de ma vie. Moi, le mal est fait, il va falloir que je me reconstruise sur cette ruine. Je suis en bonne voie”.”Bien évidemment, Monsieur Pelicot est responsable de ma souffrance, mais Monsieur Dogan et les 50 autres aussi”, a ajouté cette femme de 72 ans aujourd’hui. “La seule victime, c’est moi ! En aucun cas vous n’êtes victime de monsieur Pelicot, assumez votre acte, j’ai honte pour vous !”- Icône “malgré” elle -Elle a aussi évoqué le “tsunami” familial qu’a déclenché l’affaire et dit “comprendre la souffrance” de sa fille Caroline Darian. Cette dernière a porté plainte contre son père qu’elle accuse de l’avoir agressée sexuellement et a publiquement reproché à sa mère de ne pas la soutenir, remettant en cause son statut “d’icône” des luttes féministes.A ce sujet, “arrêtez de dire que je suis une icône. C’est malgré moi. Je suis une femme ordinaire qui a levé le huis clos”, a lancé Gisèle Pelicot.Depuis lundi Husamettin Dogan, le seul à avoir fait appel de sa condamnation en première instance à neuf ans de prison, continue de nier toute intention de la violer.Même après la diffusion mercredi matin d’une douzaine de courtes vidéos tournées par Dominique Pelicot ce fameux 28 juin 2019 où l’accusé s’est rendu à leur domicile de Mazan.On y voit l’accusé réaliser plusieurs actes sexuels sur une Gisèle Pelicot en sous-vêtements, portant des sandales et parfois un bandeau sur les yeux, totalement inerte et ronflant parfois fortement. Husamettin Dogan et Dominique Pelicot chuchotent pour éviter de la réveiller. A aucun moment, la victime ne manifeste la moindre activité.Interrogé par la cour, l’accusé, un ex-ouvrier de 44 ans, a fermement maintenu: “J’ai fait un acte sexuel, j’ai jamais violé personne”, “c’est lui le manipulateur, c’est pas moi. C’est lui qui m’a attiré là-bas”. Disant avoir été “sous l’emprise” de Dominique Pelicot, il explique être resté car il se sentait menacé.Ses avocats ont ensuite tenté d’appuyer sur le point central de leur défense, l’intentionnalité: “Vous aviez conscience de commettre un viol ?”. “S’il avait dit: +Viens, je vais te filmer, on va la violer+, je serais jamais allé là-bas.”- Peine alourdie ? -Mais pour Gisèle Pelicot: “Toute sa vie, il sera violeur” et il n’a ni fait demi-tour ni dénoncé la situation.”Ce procès doit être un procès ordinaire. C’est celui d’Husamettin Dogan”, a ensuite plaidé Stéphane Babonneau, l’un de ses avocats, assurant qu’il “n’a jamais été question pour Gisèle Pelicot de réclamer vengeance, la tête d’un homme”. Mais “juste qu’on reconnaisse ce dont elle a été victime. Qu’on ne remette plus en cause son vécu” comme cela est trop souvent le cas pour les victimes de viol.Puis son autre avocat, Antoine Camus, s’est adressé aux neuf jurés populaires et aux trois magistrats: “La peine est à revoir”, sous-entendant qu’il fallait, selon lui, alourdir celle prononcée à Avignon. Car, “une victime endormie, on n’y touche pas”.Jeudi matin, le procès se terminera avec le réquisitoire puis les plaidoiries de la défense et enfin le verdict. En première instance, 12 ans de prison avaient été requis contre l’accusé qui, poursuivi pour “viols aggravés”, risque un maximum de 20 ans de réclusion.