Rebuilding wrecked Syria vital for regional stability: UN

After 14 years of destruction, Syria must be swiftly rebuilt to bring stability to the country and the wider region, a top UN official in the war-ravaged nation told AFP.Reconstruction is one of the most significant challenges facing Syria’s new Islamist authorities after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last December.”The international community should definitely rush into rebuilding Syria,” Rawhi Afaghani, the UN Development Programme’s deputy representative in Syria, told AFP this week during a visit to Geneva. “Being able to help the country to rebound and come out of this war and come out of this destruction is for the Syrians themselves, but also for the stability and the good of the whole region,” he said in the interview.The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad’s brutal repression of anti-government protests, killed over half a million people and devastated the country’s infrastructure.The World Bank this week estimated that Syria’s post-war reconstruction could cost up to $216 billion.Afaghani said he could not put a price tag on rebuilding Syria, but described the needs as “massive”.Across the country, he said governors had told him about the massive need for housing, schools, and health centres, as well as electricity and water.Complicating the clean-up efforts are the vast quantities of unexploded ordnance littering the entire country, including within mountains of rubble that need to be cleared, he said.- ‘Tensions’ -More than one million Syrian refugees have already returned from abroad and nearly double as many have returned to their places of origin after being displaced inside the country, UN figures show.While those returns are a good sign, Afaghani warned that they were “putting a lot of pressure on the infrastructure, on the transportation, on the education, on the bakeries”.”People are returning to destroyed houses or houses that are actually occupied by other people,” he said.Afaghani warned that the strain on infrastructure “could lead to community tensions”.At the same time, he said the lack of infrastructure, services and jobs was dissuading many Syrians who want to return home from doing so.”We thought there would be a much higher rate of return,” he acknowledged, pointing out that most of those who have returned from abroad had left often difficult conditions in neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon.From Europe, “we don’t see that massive return”, he said.Afaghani voiced hope that swift reconstruction could usher in “a stable Syria”, which in turn would draw more returns from Europe.”Those are high-skilled people — they can rebuild Syria,” he said.Those returnees, he insisted, could also “be a big, good influence in the whole region from an economic perspective, and from a peace-building perspective”.

Autistic adults push back on ‘fear-based’ Trump rhetoric

Composer William Barnett started his YouTube channel as an outlet for his music — but today he also uses it to debunk the steady stream of White House rhetoric on autism while sharing his own experience living with it.US President Donald Trump and his health secretary, anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have made autism their talking point, calling it a “horror show” and “a crisis” while making unproven claims that it’s caused by vaccines or acetaminophen. “I just wonder if he sees us all as pawns,” the 29-year-old told AFP from his apartment in Queens, New York. Barnett — in a view that mirrors the medical community at large — sees the White House language as misinformation that only serves to drum up fear among parents and stigmatize people like himself.”It’s caused a lot of autistic people to believe that there’s something wrong with them, and that they don’t really have a place in our society,” Barnett told AFP.Autism spectrum disorder is a broad neurodevelopmental diagnosis that encompasses challenges related to social skills, communication and behavior.Traits vary widely, as does the degree to which one’s life is impacted. There is no known cause. A combination of genetic and environmental factors is likely involved, according to the World Health Organization.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in 31 children were found to have autism in 2022 — an increase that’s largely attributed to improved, broadened diagnosis methods along with growing awareness.- ‘Treated as a human’ -Barnett received multiple diagnoses related to autism, beginning at age three. Growing up in Los Angeles, “I just wanted to be normal,” he said. “I just kept thinking about what my life would look like if I was neurotypical.”The composer doesn’t feel that way today: he has a Master of Fine Arts in musical theatre from New York University, and has found that by embracing his diagnosis, his life has only grown richer.Barnett said he’s found “a second home” through the organization Autistic Adults NYC, an autistic-run nonprofit.The group recently took part in New York’s annual Disability Pride Parade, a Manhattan march bringing together a diverse crowd of mentally and physically disabled people along with allies and parents.Autistic Adults NYC member Sebastian Bonvissuto, 26, said the discourse in Washington has made him feel “frustrated” and “angry.””I feel like we are treated as we’re nothing in society,” he said. But people on the spectrum “think outside the box” he said, and “can contribute in so many different ways than other people would.”Members interviewed by AFP all said if the White House wants to help, they should focus on funding services and asking autistic people what they need, rather than casting their lives as diminished.Maryum Gardner, 26, called the White House position “dangerous.””It’s hard being a neurodivergent person in this world,” she said.But “it doesn’t matter who you are,” she said. “You still deserve to be treated as a human.”- ‘Human diversity’ -Barnett acknowledges that many people with autism have it harder than he does, with far more severe symptoms. Some parents have voiced feeling seen by Kennedy’s descriptions of their struggles.But even within that context, Barnett said, the health secretary’s comments are “over-generalizing” at best.Barnett said he’s lucky he received support from his family, at school and from specialists to be able to better cope with life in a world that isn’t always accepting.”My struggle goes beyond what you see on camera or how I present myself,” he said, pointing to years of speech and occupational therapy as well as socialization training.He has worked with experts including Elizabeth Laugeson, a UCLA psychiatry professor, whose decades of experience include developing social skills programming for youth and adults.Laugeson told AFP the White House rhetoric that’s hyper-focused on cures hearkens back to an “ugly past” of “fear-based and deficit-based language.””Autism isn’t a tragedy or something to be fixed for many people,” added Laugeson. “It’s a neurodevelopmental difference.””It’s part of human diversity.”

Au Japon, des culturistes mettent leurs muscles au service du soin, face à la pénurie de personnel

Muscles saillants et sourire bienveillant, Takuya Usui installe une résidente dans son fauteuil roulant, dans une maison de soins du centre du Japon, incarnant une nouvelle génération d’auxiliaires de vie masculins recrutés pour pallier la pénurie dans un pays en plein vieillissement.Freinés par les stéréotypes de genre et des salaires peu attractifs, les jeunes hommes ont longtemps boudé le secteur du soin.Mais l’entreprise Visionary, basée à Nagoya, a trouvé une formule originale pour les attirer: embaucher des passionnés de culturisme, séduits par des avantages comme des heures de musculation rémunérées et des subventions pour les boissons protéinées.”Avant, ce métier ne m’attirait pas du tout”, avoue Takuya Usui, ancien coach sportif. “Mais quand on m’a dit que je pouvais mettre mes muscles à profit, je me suis dit: pourquoi pas?”Vêtu d’un débardeur noir qui met en valeur sa carrure, il soulève sans effort Madoka Yamaguchi, 65 ans, pour l’aider à manger, lui brosser les dents et lui mettre des gouttes dans les yeux. “Il est tellement musclé que je n’ai jamais peur qu’il me fasse tomber”, sourit cette patiente du centre de soins pour personnes handicapées géré par Visionary.Le Japon a la deuxième population la plus âgée au monde après Monaco, et fait face à une pénurie aiguë de soignants: près de quatre postes sont à pourvoir pour chaque candidat.Le ministère du Travail prévoit un manque de 570.000 auxiliaires de vie d’ici 2040, en raison de salaires trop bas pour un travail physiquement exigeant.Les hommes restent minoritaires dans le secteur, où plus de 70% des postes sont occupés par des femmes de plus de 40 ans.- “J’étais un ovni” -“Quand j’ai commencé, j’étais un ovni: jeune et homme”, se souvient Yusuke Niwa, le patron de Visionary, aujourd’hui âgé de 40 ans.Il a alors réalisé que le fait d'”être cool” était essentiel pour susciter l’intérêt des jeunes hommes. “Les culturistes sont extrêmement photogéniques et incarnent le travail acharné”, souligne-t-il.C’est en 2018, dix ans après la création de son entreprise, que Yusuke Niwa lance le concept des “soignants musclés” pour casser les clichés. Jusque-là, Visionary peinait à recruter. Mais cette campagne atypique a attiré de nombreux candidats, notamment des jeunes hommes.L’entreprise prévoit un chiffre d’affaires de 2,2 milliards de yens (presque 12,4 millions d’euros) pour l’exercice en cours, soit dix fois plus qu’avant 2018. La majorité des recrues sont des amateurs de fitness, mais une élite de bodybuilders professionnels bénéficie d’avantages supplémentaires, comme deux heures de musculation rémunérées par jour.Parmi eux, Hokuto Tatsumi vante un “environnement de travail idéal pour les passionnés de muscu”. Pour cet ancien militaire de 27 ans, la rigueur des bodybuilders –entraînements quotidiens, régime strict– est “un atout” pour un métier exigeant.Chaque année, environ 100.000 Japonais quittent leur emploi pour s’occuper d’un proche dépendant. D’ici 2030, 300.000 autres devront concilier travail et soins, ce qui pourrait coûter à l’économie japonaise près de 9.000 milliards de yens (50,7 milliards d’euros), selon les autorités.C’est “une perte énorme” de potentiel humain, alerte Yusuke Niwa, appelant le secteur à se réinventer.Depuis deux ans, Takuya Usui a noué une relation particulière avec Mme Yamaguchi, passionnée de peinture et de perles. “Madoka ne peut pas utiliser ses mains, mais elle peint avec la bouche. C’est bluffant”, dit-il, admiratif.Venu au départ pour la musculation, “j’ai découvert que le soin, c’est bien plus que ça.”

Japan inflation rises as new PM eyes economic package

Japanese inflation accelerated last month, official data showed Friday, ahead of a maiden policy speech by new Prime Minister Sakae Takaichi who has promised to ease pressure on households. Takaichi’s predecessor Shigeru Ishiba survived barely a year in office, with voters hammering the ruling party in elections partly because of rising prices.After becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday, Takaichi said the cost-of-living squeeze was a priority and told her cabinet to draw up measures to address it.The figures Friday showed the consumer price index jumped to 2.9 percent in September from 2.7 percent the previous month. But without volatile fresh fruit and energy prices, the reading eased to 3.0 percent from 3.3 percent.A particular cause of voter anger over the past year has been skyrocketing prices for rice.This was linked to a very hot summer in 2023 and panic-buying after a “megaquake” warning last year, amongst other factors.Prices for the staple in September climbed 48.6 percent year-on-year, though the rate has eased from recent months, having hit around 100 percent in June.Takaichi has long-advocated for more government spending and easy monetary policy to spur growth, and her appointment has boosted stocks to record highs.Since taking office, however, she has said monetary policy decisions would be left to the Bank of Japan (BoJ).In her policy speech, she will reportedly say that her government will have a “responsible and proactive fiscal policy”.The BoJ has been “normalising” its super-easy monetary policy and inflation has been above target for some time, increasing the prospects for hiking interest rates further.- Defence spending -“Overall, the big picture continues to be that price pressures appear to be reasonably firm,” said Abhijit Surya at Capital Economics.But the BoJ remains “concerned about the impact of US tariffs on the Japanese economy and the potential for negative spillovers to corporate profits and wage growth,” Surya said, predicting a rate hike in January.Takaichi was expected to say in her speech that the target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence will be brought forward by two years, media reports said.US President Donald Trump, who wants Tokyo — as well as other allies — to boost their military spending, is due to visit Japan next week.Tokyo’s previous target was to spend two percent of GDP on defence in the 2027-28 fiscal year but Takaichi wants this achieved in the current tax year, reports said.Takaichi is also expected to say China is “an important neighbouring country and it is necessary to build a constructive and stable relationship” with Beijing, according to local media.But she will say that “there are concerns regarding security and economic security”.She will also say Japan needs foreign workers but that “illegal acts and deviations from the rules by some foreign nationals have resulted in the sense of anxiety and unfairness is being felt”.”While drawing a clear line from xenophobia, we will take a firm stand against such acts,” she will say, according to the reports.The populist Sanseito party, which calls immigration a “silent invasion”, has been making gains in recent elections.A new poll published Thursday by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily put support for Takaichi at 71 percent, the fifth-highest for a new cabinet since 1978.

La Corée du Nord construit un mémorial pour ses soldats tués dans la guerre en Ukraine

La Corée du Nord a commencé à construire un mémorial dédié à ses soldats morts au combat pour la Russie en Ukraine, ont rapporté jeudi les médias d’Etat, le leader Kim Jong Un saluant lors de l’événement l'”apogée historique” des relations avec Moscou.Le “Musée commémoratif des exploits militaires” verra le jour dans la capitale Pyongyang, où Kim Jong Un et l’ambassadeur de Russie en Corée du Nord, Alexander Matsegora, ont assisté à une cérémonie d’inauguration, selon l’agence officielle KCNA.S’exprimant lors de l’événement tenu jeudi, M. Kim a décrit le musée comme “un sanctuaire sacré dédié à l’immortalité des vrais patriotes”.La Russie et la Corée du Nord ont accru leur coopération militaire ces dernières années, les Nord-Coréens fournissant des armes et des troupes pour soutenir l’assaut russe contre l’Ukraine en cours depuis février 2022.Selon Séoul, au moins 600 soldats nord-coréens ont été tués et des milliers d’autres blessés depuis qu’ils ont été envoyés au combat, notamment pour reprendre la région russe de Koursk conquise par l’Ukraine durant l’été 2024. Kim Jong Un a félicité ses troupes, présentes depuis un an dans la région russe de Koursk, pour avoir aidé la Russie à remporter une “victoire décisive”, a rapporté KCNA.”Nos héros ont détruit les envahisseurs néonazis diaboliques grâce à leur détermination à ne tolérer aucune agression et à anéantir les agresseurs”, a-t-il déclaré, ajoutant que les relations entre Pyongyang et Moscou “atteignaient désormais leur apogée historique”.”Pyongyang sera toujours aux côtés de Moscou. Notre amitié et notre unité dureront éternellement”, a affirmé Kim Jong Un.Le dirigeant a précisé que le mémorial comporterait des sculptures dédiées aux soldats nord-coréens qui ont combattu en Russie, ainsi que des photos et des œuvres d’art illustrant les combats.Pyongyang et Moscou sont liés par un accord de sécurité et de défense depuis 2024.Au musée des arts décoratifs de Moscou, une exposition artistique a été organisée jusqu’au 10 octobre pour célébrer les liens avec Pyongyang. Elle montrait des soldats nord-coréens et leurs alliés russes résistant à un Occident hostile.