Trump says ‘nothing’ will jeopardise Gaza ceasefire after Israeli strikes

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday “nothing” would jeopardise the ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory accusing Hamas of violating the truce, which the militant group denied.Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 38 people were killed in the Israeli strikes, which took place on Tuesday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful strikes” on Gaza, after his defence minister accused Hamas of attacking Israeli troops in Gaza. While Israel Katz did not say where the troops were attacked, Hamas said its fighters had “no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah” and reaffirmed its commitment to the US-brokered ceasefire.Trump defended Israel’s actions on Wednesday, saying it “should hit back” if Israeli soldiers were killed, but added that “nothing’s going to jeopardise” to truce.”They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during his tour of Asia.US Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire was holding despite the “skirmishes”.”We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an IDF soldier… but I think the president’s peace is going to hold,” he said.- Escalations -Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least three strikes were carried out, while the territory’s main Al-Shifa hospital said one hit its backyard.Al-Awda Hospital said it had received several bodies, including those of four children, killed in the bombing of Gaza’s central Nuseirat refugee camp.Hamas announced it would delay handing over the body of another hostage, due on Tuesday, saying Israeli “escalation will hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies”.Hamas militants had taken 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.A row over the last remaining bodies of deceased hostages has threatened to derail the ceasefire agreement.Israel accuses Hamas of reneging by not returning them, but the Palestinian group says it will take time to locate the remains buried in Gaza’s war-ravaged ruins.Hamas later said on Telegram it had found the bodies of two hostages on Tuesday, but did not specify when it would hand them over.- ‘Act decisively’ -Hamas came under mounting pressure on Monday after it returned the partial remains of a previously recovered captive, which Israel said was a breach of the truce.Hamas had said the remains were the 16th of 28 hostage bodies it had agreed to return under the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on October 10.But Israeli forensic examination determined Hamas had in fact handed over partial remains of a hostage whose body had already been brought back to Israel around two years ago, according to Netanyahu’s office.Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian accused Hamas of staging the discovery of the remains.”Hamas dug a hole in the ground yesterday, placed the partial remains… inside of it, covered it back up with dirt, and handed it over to the Red Cross,” she told journalists.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the government to “act decisively against these violations” and accused Hamas of knowing the location of the missing hostages.Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected claims the group knows where the remaining bodies are, arguing that Israel’s bombardment during the two-year war had left locations unrecognisable.- ‘We want to rest’ -“The movement (Hamas) is determined to hand over the bodies of the Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located,” he told AFP.The Palestinian militant group has already returned all 20 living hostages as agreed in the ceasefire deal.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza killed at least 68,531 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.Despite the ceasefire, the toll has continued to climb as more bodies are found under the rubble.On the ground in Gaza, 60-year-old Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed told AFP he was afraid the war would start again.”Now they accuse Hamas of stalling, and that is a pretext for renewed escalation and war,” he said.”We want to rest. I believe the war will come back.”

Microsoft dit contrôler 27% d’OpenAI après la transformation de la start-up

Microsoft contrôle désormais 27% du capital d’OpenAI après un nouveau tour de table et un changement de statuts de la start-up californienne, qui redéfinit la relation entre ces deux puissances mondiales de l’informatique, désormais plus autonomes.Cette proportion, annoncée mardi par les deux groupes, valorise à 135 milliards de dollars la participation de Microsoft dans la …

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Israël mène des raids meurtriers à Gaza, accuse le Hamas d’avoir attaqué ses soldats

Israël a mené mardi des frappes meurtrières dans la bande de Gaza, en accusant le Hamas, qui dément, d’avoir attaqué ses soldats en violation de l’accord de cessez-le-feu.Au moins 30 personnes sont mortes dans les frappes israéliennes dans le territoire palestinien, ravagé par deux ans de guerre avant l’entrée en vigueur d’un cessez-le-feu fragile le …

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NZ raids shipping insurer over alleged sanctions busting

New Zealand police raided a shipping insurer’s offices over allegations it offered cover to tankers breaking Russian sanctions, a senior detective said Wednesday.Police, who swooped mid-October, did not name the company but the searches followed allegations against New Zealand-headquartered Maritime Mutual Insurance Association.The insurer denies breaching or trying to circumvent any sanctions, including against Russia and Iran.Financial crimes officers seized records on October 16 at company offices in Auckland and Christchurch, also searching a home in Auckland, said Detective Inspector Christiaan Barnard.”Three people were detained and spoken to during the search warrants. At this point, no criminal charges have been filed,” he said in a statement to AFP.Police acted on warrants related to alleged breaches of New Zealand’s Russia Sanctions Act.”As this is an active investigation, NZ Police are not in a position to provide further details, however, we are being assisted by partner agencies, both domestically and internationally.”Insurance journal Lloyd’s List has previously reported that Maritime Mutual had insured tankers shipping Iranian oil.Reuters said this week that the New Zealand insurer had helped tankers carrying Russian and Iranian oil to avoid Western sanctions by providing them with insurance.It said New Zealand, Australia, Britain and the United States were investigating the insurer over alleged violations of sanctions and financial laws, citing an unnamed source.Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (MMIA) denied the allegations.”MMIA categorically rejects any suggestion that the Company has breached applicable sanctions or engaged in conduct designed to circumvent them,” it said in a statement.”For clarification, MMIA does not provide, and has never knowingly provided, P&I (protection and indemnity) insurance to vessels transporting sanctioned Iranian or Russian energy products in contravention of New Zealand, UK, EU, US, or other applicable sanctions regimes.”Maritime Mutual said it immediately withdraws cover from any vessel found to be breaching sanctions.Russia’s shadow fleet is estimated to include up to 1,000 ships, which frequently change their flags and whose ownership is unclear.The fleet has enabled Moscow to keep exporting its crude oil for much-needed revenue despite curbs on exports since its illegal invasion of Ukraine.New Zealand is “engaging” with the shipping insurer, a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters told AFP in a statement.”While the Minister does not comment on operational matters, we can confirm that New Zealand agencies are aware of MMIA and engaging with it actively on regulatory matters. However, we are unable to make any further comment,” the spokesperson said.New Zealand takes breaches of UN sanctions, and the sanctions against Russia, “very seriously”, the official said.

White House axes panel overseeing Trump’s building plans in Washington

The White House has fired all six members of an independent federal agency that reviews construction work in Washington, US media reported Tuesday, as President Donald Trump pushes to remodel the capital in his style.The Commission of Fine Arts was expected to review some of Trump’s current projects, including a new ballroom at the White House and a triumphal arch, according to the Washington Post. Tuesday’s firing of the panel members, also reported by the New York Times and CNN, removes a potential barrier to the president’s ambitions which architectural historians and political opponents have heavily criticized.Trump, 79, has enthusiastically embarked on a series of renovation and building projects since returning to power in January.The Commission of Fine Arts was established by Congress in 1910 and is formed of architects and urban planners. It gives advice on design and preservation in Washington — focusing on government buildings and monuments in the strictly managed area.White House officials have traditionally sought the agency’s approval, the Washington Post reported, but Trump has ignored such formalities. Last week, construction crews tore down part of the White House to build a new ballroom. The Republican has also mulled building an arch resembling the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris across from the Lincoln Memorial. Calling the White House “one of the most important historic buildings in the United States,” the Society of Architectural Historians issued a statement October 16 expressing “great concern,” adding Trump’s plans for the White House “should follow a rigorous and deliberate design and review process.”His plans have also drawn backlash from Democrats, including former presidential secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has accused Trump of “destroying” the White House. Then-president Joe Biden, a Democrat, had appointed all the now-purged members of the Commission of Fine Arts — having himself removed members appointed by Trump in his first term. The New York Times reported that the White House would now appoint a new panel aligned with Trump’s policies.In July, the White House also fired Biden appointees from the National Capital Planning Commission, another urban planning agency. Biden similarly axed Trump nominees in 2021 in an apparent effort to diversify the panel.

As US blows up drug boats, Venezuelan oil sets sail

While the American military blows up boats it claims are transporting drugs from Venezuela, observers say tankers shipping Venezuelan oil in violation of a US embargo continue to navigate the very same Caribbean waters undisturbed.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has claimed a massive US military deployment within striking distance of his country was part of a plan to overthrow him and “steal” his country’s oil under the ruse of an anti-drug operation.Has the perceived US military threat affected crude exports from Venezuela, the country with more of the “black gold” than any other? – Business as usual – Apart from ships used by US energy giant Chevron — which has a temporary license to extract Venezuelan oil — experts say the Caribbean also plays host to so-called “shadow tankers,” which transport sanctioned or illicit oil.”The shadow tankers circulate without problem. Just like before the American deployment. The Americans cannot not see them. They allow them to circulate,” an expert in the sector told AFP on condition of anonymity.Elias Ferrer, founder of the Venezuela-based Orinoco Research group, added “the shadow tankers, sanctioned ships, continue to come and go” as before — feeding a voracious market — mainly in China.Ferrer believes the United States likely does not want to interfere with these ships “as this would be equivalent to a declaration of war” in a time of strained ties with potentially formidable military foes such as China.US strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific — in violation of international law according to human rights experts — have so far claimed at least 57 lives.- Production up -Hastened by a crushing US embargo on crude exports in response to Maduro’s disputed 2018 reelection, production in the country plummeted from three million barrels per day (bpd) in the early 2000s to below 400,000 bpd by 2020.Then-president Joe Biden eased sanctions in 2022 as the world faced an energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But he reinstated them after Maduro was widely accused of stealing his second re-election in a row, in 2024.Chevron was allowed to continue extraction, but in May of this year, Trump ordered the company and others to wind up operations in Venezuela.Then in July, Maduro announced the US had agreed to allow Chevron to continue operating for an unspecified period. This came within weeks of a diplomatic agreement involving a US-Venezuela prisoner exchange.Chevron produces between a quarter and a third of Venezuelan oil and was long the country’s main source of foreign currency, though since July, it is only allowed to pay Venezuela in crude — which Caracas then sells on.Venezuelan oil production has inched back up over the past year, and today stands at about a million bpd — just over one percent of the global total.Vice President and hydrocarbons minister Delcy Rodriguez has hailed growth of 16 percent in Venezuelan oil sector activity this year.- Bargain price – Since Trump threatened an export tariff of 25 percent on any country buying Venezuelan oil, the country has had to slash its black market prices: by as much as 20 percent, according to Tamara Herrera of the Sintesis Financiera consulting firm.After teething problems in the beginning, she said Caracas soon found willing black market buyers and oil is now “moving quickly.” “It’s sold at unfavorable prices, but just one month of Chevron’s activity being suspended, China quickly filled the gap,” said Herrera.Analysts are unsure what the future holds. Will Trump invade Venezuela and oust its president? Will an under-pressure Maduro appease Trump by breaking ties with US rival China and agree to take more undocumented migrants from the United States? Will Maduro be convinced to step down quietly?Whatever happens, Ferrer said it was “entirely feasible” Washington would continue to give sanctions exemptions to US oil companies operating in Venezuela. And turning a blind eye to oil ships.

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Le puissant ouragan Melissa se dirige vers Cuba après avoir frappé la Jamaïque

Le très puissant ouragan Melissa se dirige vers Cuba après avoir durement frappé mardi la Jamaïque qualifiée de “zone sinistrée” par les autorités, où plusieurs infrastructures ont été détruites et des secteurs inondés.Avec des vents soutenus se rapprochant des 300 kilomètres par heure, l’ouragan alors de catégorie 5, soit la plus élevée sur l’échelle de Saffir-Simpson, a frappé de plein fouet l’ouest de la Jamaïque à la mi-journée.Il s’agit du pire ouragan ayant touché la Jamaïque depuis le début des relevés météorologiques.Le Premier ministre, Andrew Holmes, a déclaré que l’île était une “zone sinistrée”.Saint Elizabeth, paroisse située dans le sud-ouest de l’île peuplée par 150.000 personnes et “grenier à blé” de la Jamaïque a été submergée, selon Desmond McKenzie, élu local, lors d’une conférence de presse.”Les dégâts à Saint Elizabeth sont considérables (…) toute la Jamaïque a subi les effets dévastateurs de Melissa”, a-t-il ajouté, précisant que plusieurs hôpitaux avaient été endommagés. “Une partie de notre toit a été emportée par le vent, une autre partie s’est effondrée, toute la maison est inondée. Les constructions extérieures comme les enclos pour les animaux ou la cuisine ont également été détruits”, témoigne auprès de l’AFP Lisa Sangster, une habitante de la zone.Après avoir perdu un peu en puissance et été rétrogradé en catégorie 4, Melissa a commencé à quitter la Jamaïque en direction de Cuba vers 21H00 GMT, selon le Centre national américain des ouragans (NHC), prévenant qu’il restait toutefois “extrêmement dangereux”. A Cuba, les habitants fuient les côtes à l’approche de Melissa. Les autorités locales ont déclaré “l’état d’alerte” dans six provinces de l’est du pays et les habitants tentent de stocker vivres, bougies et piles depuis lundi.”Nous avons acheté du pain, des spaghettis, de la viande hachée. Ce cyclone est sérieux, mais nous allons nous en sortir”, estime Graciela Lamaison, rencontrée par l’AFP à Santiago de Cuba, province du sud-est de l’île. – Crocodiles -A Saint Catherine, au centre de la Jamaïque, la rivière Rio Cobre est sortie de son lit et les vents puissants ont arraché des clôtures et toits, a constaté un photographe de l’AFP.Kingston, la capitale, a été relativement épargnée, selon Mathue Tapper, un habitant de 31 ans. “J’ai l’impression que le pire est passé”, a-t-il confié à l’AFP, disant toutefois être très inquiet pour les zones rurales.Des bourrasques extrêmement violentes ainsi que des inondations côtières sévères et des pluies diluviennes pouvant provoquer des glissements de terrain catastrophiques étaient attendues à travers le pays.Les autorités avaient appelé la population à faire preuve de vigilance vis-à-vis des crocodiles, qui du fait des inondations pourraient être une menace.Dans ce type de catastrophe, “l’eau tue beaucoup plus de personnes que le vent”, avait rappelé en amont le météorologue Kerry Emanuel, insistant sur le rôle joué par le changement climatique.En réchauffant les mers, ce dernier entraîne l’intensification rapide d’un plus grand nombre de tempêtes, comme ce fut le cas pour l’ouragan Melissa.- Refus d’évacuer -L’ouragan, avant même de toucher terre, a fait trois morts en Jamaïque qui se préparait à son arrivée, ainsi que trois autres en Haïti et un en République dominicaine.En Haïti, les autorités ont ordonné la fermeture des écoles, des commerces et des administrations mercredi. L’ONU a annoncé mardi son intention d’acheminer dès que possible par avion quelque 2.000 kits de secours vers la Jamaïque depuis la Barbade.Le dernier ouragan majeur à avoir frappé la Jamaïque est Gilbert, en septembre 1988. Moins puissant que Melissa, il avait fait 40 morts et causé d’énormes dégâts.Le pays, dont l’économie dépend beaucoup du tourisme, avait fermé son aéroport international ainsi que ses ports en amont. Si des touristes ont pu quitter le territoire, 25.000 autres y sont restés, a détaillé mardi le gouvernement. Tout comme les habitants, ils ont reçu pour consigne de s’abriter dans des chambres d’hôtel ou dans des abris anti-ouragans, et d’attendre pour sortir que l’ouragan finisse de traverser le territoire mardi.L’ouragan Melissa devrait toucher Cuba tôt mercredi, avant de se rapprocher du sud des Bahamas et de l’archipel des îles Turques-et-Caïques, un territoire britannique.burs-cha-vla/may

Trump heads to South Korea with all eyes on Xi meeting

US President Donald Trump headed Wednesday for South Korea, where a key meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping could produce a truce in the blistering trade war between the world’s two largest economies.Trump’s two-day visit to key US ally South Korea is the third leg of a trip to Asia that has seen him lauded at a regional summit in Malaysia and flattered as a “peacemaker” by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.But the eyes of the world — and of global markets — will be on a meeting set for Thursday, the first time in six years Trump sits down with Xi.It could determine whether the United States and China can halt a trade war that has sent international supply chains into panic.Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed.It is now up to Trump and Xi, who will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the city of Gyeongju, to nail it down.William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said however that there appeared to be a “mismatch” in expectations.The United States “is eager to reach any trade deal that Trump could declare as a victory”, while China is focused on “building more mutual trust, managing longstanding differences, and steadying the bilateral trade relationship”, he added.- ‘Complicated’ -Trump’s trip to South Korea follows two days in Japan, where new conservative premier Takaichi hailed a “golden age” in bilateral ties.Takaichi lavished Trump with praise, saying she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and giving him a golf club owned by assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, a close friend of Trump. In Korea, Trump was expected to receive a replica of a gold crown from the ancient Silla era.Just hours before Trump’s arrival, North Korea announced it had test launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast in a show of strength against Pyongyang’s “enemies”.Trump has extended an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet while he is on the peninsula.Kim was not reported to have attended Tuesday’s launch.The US president will head to Gyeongju for a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung — their second in-person talks just two months after a meeting in Washington.Discussion will likely be focused on trade, with the two sides still deadlocked over a deal between the major economic partners.In July, Trump said Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350 billion investment pledge by Seoul.Steep auto tariffs, however, remain in place, and the two governments remain divided over the structure of the investment pledge.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted Monday there was still “a lot of details to work out” in what he said was a “complicated” deal, while Trump has denied that there was a “snag” in the talks.Activists plan to welcome the US leader, whose sweeping tariffs triggered the trade war, with anti-Trump demonstrations in Gyeongju condemning his “predatory investment demands”.- DMZ meeting? -Adding to the diplomatic high drama, Trump has said that he would “love to meet” the North Korean leader during his visit and even suggested sanctions could be a topic for conversation.They last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades.But North Korea is yet to respond publicly to the invitation. Officials in Seoul appear divided as to whether it will go ahead.Kim said last month he had “fond memories” of his meetings with Trump.He also expressed openness to talks if the United States dropped its “delusional” demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.”Trump’s made it clear he wants to meet,” Chad O’Carroll, founder of the specialist website NK News, told AFP.”The ball is in Kim Jong Un’s court.”But the US leader now faces a different Kim than in 2019 — one emboldened with crucial backing from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.”North Korea has time on its side and isn’t as isolated as before,” said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.burs-oho/stu/tc