Trump dit espérer ne pas avoir à frapper l’Iran, qui promet de riposter

Donald Trump a déclaré jeudi espérer ne pas avoir à frapper l’Iran, Téhéran menaçant pour sa part de s’en prendre “instantanément” aux bases et porte-avions américains en cas d’attaque.”Nous sommes forts. Nous sommes puissants financièrement. Nous sommes puissants militairement. (…) Et désormais nous avons un groupe (aéronaval) qui se dirige vers un pays appelé Iran. …

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Feux de forêt en Patagonie argentine: le gouvernement déclare l'”urgence incendies”

Le gouvernement argentin a annoncé jeudi vouloir décréter l’”urgence incendie” dans quatre provinces de Patagonie, où plusieurs feux ont ravagé des dizaines de milliers d’hectares depuis le début de l’été austral.Depuis décembre, environ 45.000 hectares de forêts ont été brûlés par divers foyers dans la province de Chubut (sud). Le plus important, dans le parc …

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Heavy metal: soaring gold price a crushing weight in Vietnam

From his newly built three-storey home outside Hanoi, Trinh Tat Thang has watched the surging global gold price with mounting dread.The Vietnamese have a long tradition of holding their wealth in gold, and a parallel practice of borrowing the asset from relatives to build homes, rather than cash from a bank.But the debt must be repaid in gold.Family members loaned Thang four glittering one-luong bars — a standard Vietnamese unit equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces — to break ground on his house in 2022.At the time, they were worth around $10,000 on the local market. Prices have nearly tripled since then and he now owes the equivalent of more than $29,000.”I truly don’t know when and how I can settle the debts,” said the 44-year-old, who earns less than $700 a month from his job in pharmaceutical marketing.”This crazy high cost for gold worries me sick,” Thang said.The extraordinary run-up in gold prices — which topped $5,000 an ounce for the first time on Sunday — has brought unexpected windfalls to millions of Vietnamese holding hallmarked bars and rings seen as symbols of luck.But it has also touched off a wave of speculation, made traditional wedding gifts unaffordable for many, and all but ended the informal gold mortgage system.”There probably aren’t many people left in this country who would borrow gold these days,” said Thang.”I have a good house, but also a huge debt on my shoulders. It wasn’t worth it.”- ‘Suddenly rich’ -Despite a recent boom in real estate and cryptocurrency investment, many Vietnamese families still see physical gold as the safest place to park their savings.Gold bars, rings and necklaces can be handed down to the next generation as wedding gifts or inheritance bequests. They also offer a hedge against inflation.Vietnamese savers have socked away around 400 tonnes of the precious metal at home, according to government auditors.Among them is 74-year-old Tran Thi Lan, who has amassed a treasure trove of gold rings, bracelets and bars over decades.She has given much of it away to her children and grandchildren, but keeps the rest hidden away in her wardrobes “for future needs”.”I have suddenly become very rich. I am a billionaire now,” said the retired shop owner, counting in Vietnamese dong.”My kids always made fun of me for my obsession with gold. But now they admit that my traditional saving style was efficient.”- ‘Queuing for gold’ –Vietnam does not have a national gold exchange, and domestic banks do not offer individuals access to online trading platforms for precious metals.Bars and rings trade at a premium to the world price at gold and jewellery shops across the country, where bullion emblazoned with dragons is sold alongside ornate goldware inlaid with pearls and rubies.Demand has soared along with the market price, and eager buyers queue up every day for the chance to buy what they hope will be an appreciating asset.Many jewellers in the Vietnamese capital say they regularly run out of stock, and some buyers are willing to pay cash now for gold that will not be delivered for weeks.For the last year, office worker Huong has taken half a day off every month to stand in line to buy gold on Hanoi’s Tran Nhan Tong street.”My efforts have paid off,” she said, adding she would “earn quite an amount” if she sold her holdings now.Still, she wishes she had heeded earlier the advice of her mother and grandmother who “always reminded me that gold is the safest haven”.But for the many not looking to cash in on the gold rally, the run-up has turned traditional rites such as weddings into financial hardships.When her best friend got married seven years ago, Tran Tu Linh gave her a gold ring weighing just over 0.1 ounces.But the 29-year-old would not expect her friend to return the favour if she were to marry now, saying the cost would be a “burden”.She added: “Life will be easier without being obsessed with the gold price.”

Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga face off at Grammys

Superstars Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga are primed to make history on Sunday in Los Angeles at the 68th Grammy Awards, honoring the best in music.All three are angling to add to their trophy cabinets by taking home the gala’s most coveted award, Album of the Year, for the first time.Lamar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper who won five gramophones last year, has nine nominations this time around — the most of any artist — including for Record and Song of the year.Pop chameleon Lady Gaga and Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny also are competing in all three categories.Also nominated for the top album prize are: pop princess Sabrina Carpenter; R&B singer-songwriter Leon Thomas; Tyler, the Creator; hip-hop duo Clipse (Pusha T and Malice); and pop superstar Justin Bieber — with his first studio effort in four years.Lamar is nominated this year for his album “GNX,” which includes the single “Luther” featuring R&B artist SZA. The 38-year-old has won 22 Grammys during his career.Lady Gaga, Bieber and Carpenter are set to perform, with more acts expected to be confirmed before Sunday.- Bad Bunny’s hot streak -Standing in Lamar’s way for Album of the Year is Bad Bunny, who is currently on a world tour in support of his album “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” (I Should Have Taken More Photos).”It was a very exciting album,” musicologist Lauron Kehrer told AFP.”It touched on so much in terms of thematic material and musical material,” Kehrer said, pointing to the allusions to decolonization and use of traditional Puerto Rican rhythms.The 31-year-old Latin megastar, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, will headline the Super Bowl halftime show a week after the Grammys, where he is up for six awards.Last year, he completed a three-month residency in his native Puerto Rico and hosted the season opener of “Saturday Night Live.”His “Un verano sin ti” (2022) was the first Spanish-language album nominated for Album of the Year honors. A win on Sunday would give Bad Bunny another mention in the history books.Lady Gaga, 39, made a splashy comeback to touring with “Mayhem,” her collection of pop bangers with a dark edge that embraces her dramatic side. She has seven nominations.She has 14 Grammys to her name, but a win for Album of the Year would complete her hat trick of top awards. She took Record and Song of the Year honors seven years ago for the soundtrack hit “Shallow,” from “A Star is Born” — which also earned her an Oscar.This time around, Song of the Year — which honors songwriting — is a crowded category that includes Carpenter’s “Manchild” and “Golden” from the Netflix animated smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters.”Many pundits believe the energetic K-pop hit will triumph.Up for best new artist are Alex Warren, girl group Katseye, Britain’s Olivia Dean, TikTok dancer-turned-singer Addison Rae, The Marias, sombr, Lola Young and Thomas — who was already a Grammy winner two years ago for producing a song by SZA.- ‘Reactionary’ -For musicologist Kehrer, the infusion of rap, reggaeton and K-pop in the top Grammy categories reflects changes in the composition of the Recording Academy’s voting group.More than 3,800 new members have been admitted. Half of those new members are age 39 or younger, and 58 percent of them are people of color, the academy says.Invitations were also offered to all members of the Latin Recording Academy.”The Grammys are more reactionary than anything else,” said Kehrer.”These artists winning those major awards is more of an indication of climate, rather than trying to move or change the climate.”The Grammy Awards will once again be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. The main broadcast begins at 5:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday), but many of the 95 awards will be handed out at a pre-gala event.

Trump says ‘hopefully’ no need for military action against Iran

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, which has threatened to strike American bases and aircraft carriers in response to any attack.Trump said he is speaking with Iran and left open the possibility of avoiding a military operation after earlier warning time was “running out” for Tehran as the United States sends a large naval fleet to the region.When asked if he would have talks with Iran, Trump told reporters: “I have had and I am planning on it.””We have a group headed out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won’t have to use it,” the US president added, while speaking to media at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania. As Brussels and Washington dialled up their rhetoric and Iran issued stark threats this week, UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for nuclear negotiations to “avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region”.  An Iranian military spokesman warned Tehran’s response to any US action would not be limited — as it was in June last year when American planes and missiles briefly joined Israel’s short air war against Iran — but would be a decisive response “delivered instantly”.  Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia told state television US aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities” and that numerous American bases in the Gulf region are “within the range of our medium-range missiles”.”If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way Trump imagines — carrying out a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweeting that the operation is over,” he said.An official in the Gulf, where states host US military sites, told AFP that fears of a US strike on Iran are “very clear”. “It would bring the region into chaos, it would hurt the economy not just in the region but in the US and cause oil and gas prices to skyrocket,” the official added. – ‘Protests crushed in blood’ -Qatar’s leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian held a call to discuss “efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and establish stability,” the Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.The European Union, meanwhile, piled on the pressure by designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a “terrorist organisation” over a deadly crackdown on recent mass protests.”‘Terrorist’ is indeed how you call a regime that crushes its own people’s protests in blood,” said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, welcoming the “overdue” decision. Though largely symbolic, the EU decision has already drawn a warning from Tehran.Iran’s military slammed “the illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action of the European Union”, alleging the bloc was acting out of “obedience” to Tehran’s arch-foes the United States and Israel. Iranian officials have blamed the recent protest wave on the two countries, claiming their agents spurred “riots” and a “terrorist operation” that hijacked peaceful rallies sparked over economic grievances. Rights groups have said thousands of people were killed during the protests by security forces, including the IRGC — the ideological arm of Tehran’s military. In Tehran on Thursday, citizens expressed grim resignation.”I think the war is inevitable and a change must happen. It can be for worse, or better. I am not sure,” said a 29-year-old waitress, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “I am not in favour of war. I just want something to happen that would result in something better.”Another 29-year-old woman, an unemployed resident of an upscale neighbourhood in northern Tehran, told AFP: “I believe that life has highs and lows and we are now at the lowest point.”Trump had threatened military action if protesters were killed in the anti-government demonstrations that erupted in late December and peaked on January 8 and 9. But his more recent statements have turned to Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.On Wednesday, he said “time is running out” for Tehran to make a deal, warning the US naval strike group that arrived in Middle East waters on Monday was “ready, willing and able” to hit Iran. – Conflicting tolls -The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed 6,479people were killed in the protests, as internet restrictions imposed on January 8 continue to slow verification. But rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher, with estimates in the tens of thousands. Iranian authorities acknowledge that thousands were killed during the protests, giving a toll of more than 3,000 deaths, but say the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by “rioters”. Billboards and banners have gone up in the capital Tehran to bolster the authorities’ messages. One massive poster appears to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.burs-sw-sjw/ceg/lb

What’s behind Trump’s risky cheap dollar dalliance?

The US dollar sank to a four-and-a-half-year low against the euro this week after President Donald Trump said the weakened currency was doing “great.”While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed a strong dollar the very next day, market watchers viewed Trump’s remark as the latest sign the president sees a lower greenback as connected to goals of lowering the trade deficit and boosting US manufacturing.A lower dollar brings mixed effects, boosting the competitiveness of US exporters but inflicting higher prices on cash-strapped consumers for imported goods.- How weak is the US dollar? -The US currency has fallen about 12 percent since Trump took office in January 2025 based on the dollar index, which measures the greenback against the euro, the yen and four other currencies.But that pullback came after the US currency had rallied almost six percent between Trump’s Election Day win in November 2024 and his inauguration.Moreover, the US currency is not especially weak on an historic basis. The euro on Tuesday night breached $1.20 for the first time since 2021. But that is still well below the all-time of more than $1.60 in July 2008. – Why has the dollar declined under Trump? -The greenback moved sharply lower Tuesday after Trump was asked if he thought it had dropped too much.”No, I think it’s great,” Trump said in Iowa. “Look at the business we’re doing.”While the remark was somewhat impactful, it came after “the biggest move in the dollar had already happened,” said Francesco Pesole, a foreign exchange strategist at ING.Pesole ties the dollar’s recent bout of weakness to a renewal of the “sell America” trade following Trump’s threats of new tariffs on Europe over Greenland. Much as with the aggressive “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in April, Trump eventually backed off the Greenland-related levies.But the episode highlighted the unpredictability of US policy under the 79-year-old president.Another factor is the impending appointment of a new head of the Federal Reserve to replace Jerome Powell, whom Trump has lambasted for not cutting interest rates sufficiently.Powell’s replacement by a Fed chair who favors significantly lower interest rates would lend further downward pressure on the dollar.- How does a weaker dollar affect the US economy? -A cheaper dollar means US exports become more competitive in overseas markets. That dynamic can help boost US manufacturing production while reducing the country’s trade deficit — two Trump administration priorities.Other benefits include lifting the financial results for US companies that report profits overseas and incentivizing foreign tourism to the United States.While presidents from both parties say they want a strong dollar, “under the surface -– sometimes they say it outright, sometimes they don’t say it outright –- they’ll be looking for a weaker currency to help them achieve their economic agenda,” said Oren Klachkin, an economist at Nationwide.In a November 2024 paper, Stephan Miran, Trump’s Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and a Federal Reserve board member, argued that addressing the “persistent dollar overvaluation” was essential to revamping global trade.But a downside of a cheap dollar is to increase the prices US consumers face on imported goods, said ForexLive’s Adam Button, who argues the US is “playing with fire.””The risk of a falling dollar is that that inflation re-accelerates,” said Button, who sees a risk that investors will view a declining dollar as a sign other US assets should be avoided.”If you have the rest of the world investing trillions in the US bond market, that’s keeping borrowing rates in the US low,” said Button.”The rest of the world is subsidizing American deficits, and that is a tremendous benefit to everything in the US. But that is not a guarantee forever.”