Trump says no reason ‘right now’ for Insurrection Act in Minnesota
US President Donald Trump said Friday there was no immediate need to invoke the Insurrection Act over protests against immigration raids in Minnesota, a day after threatening to use the law.Trump had threatened the drastic measure that would have allowed him to deploy the military to the northern state for law enforcement purposes in response to protests against broad-reaching immigration raids spearheaded by his administration.”If I needed it, I would use it. I don’t think there is any reason right now to use it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the law that allows the deployment of soldiers on US soil.Crowds of protesters have clashed with immigration officers across the city of Minneapolis, opposing their efforts to target undocumented migrants with some officers responding with violence.Federal agents fired their weapons in two separate incidents, wounding a man from Venezuela Wednesday and killing an American woman last week.A woman was roughly pulled from her car by officers Tuesday, an AFP correspondent saw, amid the escalating deployment of federal officers to the state.Proponents of immigration enforcement have also begun to face off with those who oppose it in the state, leading to tense encounters.Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accused federal agents of waging “a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota,” in a video posted to X Wednesday night. The Insurrection Act allows a president to sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act to suppress “armed rebellion” or “domestic violence” and use the armed forces “as he considers necessary” to enforce the 19th-century law.
Shah’s son confident Iran rulers to fall as Trump holds off
The son of Iran’s late shah said Friday he was confident that mass protests would topple the Islamic republic and urged international action, as President Donald Trump holds off on intervening in the unrest.Reza Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the Washington area, has presented himself as leader of the opposition as the cleric-run state ruthlessly represses mass protests.”The Islamic republic will fall — not if, but when,” Pahlavi told a news conference in Washington.Since the demonstrations erupted in the waning days of 2025 with a rallying cry of solving Iran’s severe economic woes, Pahlavi has pleaded for intervention by the United States.Trump had repeatedly warned Iran that if it kills protesters, the United States would intervene militarily. He also encouraged Iranians to take over state institutions, saying “help is on the way.”But two weeks after he first suggested help, he has not acted. Security forces in the meantime have killed at least 3,428 protesters, according to Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, with other estimates putting the toll at more than 5,000 or possibly as high as 20,000.Trump instead has highlighted what he said was an end to the killing of protesters, as the size of demonstrations diminished in recent days.Trump wrote Friday on his Truth Social platform that Iran had called off executions of hundreds of protesters and said to the clerical state, “Thank you!”Pahlavi, seeking to touch a nerve with Trump, called on him not to be like Democratic predecessor Barack Obama who negotiated with Tehran.”I believe that President Trump is a man of his word and ultimately he will stand with the Iranian people as he has said,” Pahlavi said when asked if Trump had given false hope.”Iranian people are taking decisive actions on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully.”Gulf Arab monarchies, despite frequent friction with Iran, have urged Trump to show caution due to uncertainties about the future.- ‘Surgical’ strikes -Pahlavi called for the targeting of the command structure of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite unit of the Islamic republic, as it is key to “instituting terror at home or terrorism abroad.””I’m calling for a surgical strike,” said Pahlavi, who controversially backed Israel’s military campaign on Iran in June.He also called on all countries to expel diplomats from Iran and to help restore internet access, which has been severely hampered.Many protesters have chanted the name of Pahlavi, whose pro-Western father fled in 1979 in the Islamic revolution.Pahlavi said he wants to be a figurehead to lead a transition to a secular democracy, with a popular referendum to choose the next system of government.Pahlavi, 65, also has plenty of detractors who suspect a desire by his supporters to restore the monarchy and say changes should come from the opposition within Iran.”I reaffirm my lifelong pledge to lead the movement that will take back our country from the anti-Iranian hostile force that occupies it and kills its children,” Pahlavi said.”I will return to Iran.”Pahlavi promised that a new Iran would have better relations with the Islamic republic’s sworn enemies — the United States and Israel — and integrate into the global economy.He said Iran would quickly normalize relations with Israel in a “Cyrus Accord,” a reference to Cyrus the Great, the celebrated Persian emperor who freed Jews from Babylonian captivity.”Iran today should have been the next South Korea of the Middle East,” he said. “Today we have become North Korea.”
Shah’s son confident Iran rulers to fall as Trump holds off
The son of Iran’s late shah said Friday he was confident that mass protests would topple the Islamic republic and urged international action, as President Donald Trump holds off on intervening in the unrest.Reza Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the Washington area, has presented himself as leader of the opposition as the cleric-run state ruthlessly represses mass protests.”The Islamic republic will fall — not if, but when,” Pahlavi told a news conference in Washington.Since the demonstrations erupted in the waning days of 2025 with a rallying cry of solving Iran’s severe economic woes, Pahlavi has pleaded for intervention by the United States.Trump had repeatedly warned Iran that if it kills protesters, the United States would intervene militarily. He also encouraged Iranians to take over state institutions, saying “help is on the way.”But two weeks after he first suggested help, he has not acted. Security forces in the meantime have killed at least 3,428 protesters, according to Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, with other estimates putting the toll at more than 5,000 or possibly as high as 20,000.Trump instead has highlighted what he said was an end to the killing of protesters, as the size of demonstrations diminished in recent days.Trump wrote Friday on his Truth Social platform that Iran had called off executions of hundreds of protesters and said to the clerical state, “Thank you!”Pahlavi, seeking to touch a nerve with Trump, called on him not to be like Democratic predecessor Barack Obama who negotiated with Tehran.”I believe that President Trump is a man of his word and ultimately he will stand with the Iranian people as he has said,” Pahlavi said when asked if Trump had given false hope.”Iranian people are taking decisive actions on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully.”Gulf Arab monarchies, despite frequent friction with Iran, have urged Trump to show caution due to uncertainties about the future.- ‘Surgical’ strikes -Pahlavi called for the targeting of the command structure of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite unit of the Islamic republic, as it is key to “instituting terror at home or terrorism abroad.””I’m calling for a surgical strike,” said Pahlavi, who controversially backed Israel’s military campaign on Iran in June.He also called on all countries to expel diplomats from Iran and to help restore internet access, which has been severely hampered.Many protesters have chanted the name of Pahlavi, whose pro-Western father fled in 1979 in the Islamic revolution.Pahlavi said he wants to be a figurehead to lead a transition to a secular democracy, with a popular referendum to choose the next system of government.Pahlavi, 65, also has plenty of detractors who suspect a desire by his supporters to restore the monarchy and say changes should come from the opposition within Iran.”I reaffirm my lifelong pledge to lead the movement that will take back our country from the anti-Iranian hostile force that occupies it and kills its children,” Pahlavi said.”I will return to Iran.”Pahlavi promised that a new Iran would have better relations with the Islamic republic’s sworn enemies — the United States and Israel — and integrate into the global economy.He said Iran would quickly normalize relations with Israel in a “Cyrus Accord,” a reference to Cyrus the Great, the celebrated Persian emperor who freed Jews from Babylonian captivity.”Iran today should have been the next South Korea of the Middle East,” he said. “Today we have become North Korea.”
Ukraine: Zelensky espère un accord avec les Américains, rencontre samedi à Miami entre négociateurs
Le président Volodymyr Zelensky a exprimé vendredi son espoir de voir l’Ukraine conclure la semaine prochaine des accords avec Washington pour mettre fin à la guerre contre la Russie, alors que les négociateurs ukrainiens doivent rencontrer la partie américaine samedi à Miami.Les émissaires américains négocient séparément avec Kiev et Moscou depuis des mois un accord destiné à faire cesser quatre ans de combats, mais plusieurs questions restent non résolues, dont celles des territoires occupés et des garanties de sécurité pour l’Ukraine.Ces nouvelles discussions interviennent alors qu’une série de bombardements russes massifs contre les infrastructures de l’Ukraine ont provoqué des coupures de courant et de chauffage massives en plein hiver. Une situation que M. Zelensky a imputée vendredi à une pénurie de missiles antiaériens occidentaux.”Des négociations auront lieu demain (samedi) à Miami en Floride” entre les négociateurs ukrainiens et la partie américaine, a indiqué vendredi l’ambassadrice d’Ukraine aux Etats-Unis Olga Stefanishyna, sans préciser qui représentera Washington.Plus tôt, Volodymyr Zelensky avait annoncé le déplacement et dit espérer obtenir “plus de clarté” sur les documents préparés avec les Américains et la position de la Russie à leur sujet.”Si tout est finalisé et si la partie américaine donne son accord (…), alors une signature pendant le Forum économique mondial de Davos sera possible” la semaine prochaine, a-t-il ajouté.Le président américain Donald Trump avait assuré mercredi à l’agence Reuters que Vladimir Poutine était “prêt à conclure un accord”, mais que “l’Ukraine était moins disposée à le faire”. Il avait imputé le blocage dans les négociations à Volodymyr Zelensky.M. Zelensky a quant à lui assuré vendredi que l’Ukraine avait “l’initiative dans les négociations” et “avance plus vite que la Russie sur ce point”. “Nous avons très bien collaboré avec les États-Unis. Nous ne sommes simplement pas d’accord sur certaines questions”, a-t-il estimé.- “Systèmes sans missiles” -Selon Kiev, plus de 15.000 employés du secteur énergétique s’efforcent, par des températures négatives, de remettre en service les centrales et les sous-stations électriques endommagées par des frappes russes massives qui ont laissé la moitié de la capitale ukrainienne sans chauffage.Le dirigeant ukrainien a reconnu des lacunes dans les systèmes de protection antiaérienne.”Jusqu’à ce matin, nous avions plusieurs systèmes sans missiles. Aujourd’hui, je peux le dire ouvertement, parce qu’aujourd’hui j’ai reçu ces missiles”, a-t-il déclaré, semblant blâmer les alliés de l’Ukraine pour ces pénuries.Vendredi, 67 immeubles de la capitale étaient encore privés de chauffage, selon le maire de Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, qui a également annoncé que les écoles de la capitale ukrainienne seraient fermées jusqu’au 1er février.L’administration municipale a également annoncé qu’elle instaurerait à partir de vendredi des mesures pour économiser l’électricité, notamment en réduisant l’éclairage public des rues à 20% de ses capacités.Des journalistes de l’AFP à Kiev ont constaté des coupures de courant fréquentes et une baisse des capacités de chauffage dans les habitations. Certains feux de circulation étaient éteints, des magasins et des restaurants fermés.Face à cette situation, M. Zelensky a décrété un “état d’urgence” dans le secteur énergétique, qui implique notamment d’augmenter les importations d’électricité du pays.Le ministre ukrainien de l’Énergie Denys Chmygal a ainsi ordonné aux entreprises publiques, et en particulier à la compagnie ferroviaire Ukrzaliznytsia et à l’opérateur gazier Naftogaz, de “veiller d’urgence à l’achat d’électricité importée (…) pour au moins 50 % de la consommation totale”.Kiev a aussi annoncé son intention de demander l’aide financière de ses partenaires occidentaux.- Dialoguer avec la Russie -“La Russie parie qu’elle peut nous briser”, a déclaré M. Chmygal vendredi devant le Parlement, tandis que la Première ministre Ioulia Svyrydenko a annoncé que le gouvernement ne disposait de réserves de carburant que pour 20 jours.Sur le front, la Russie a poursuivi ses avancées vendredi en revendiquant la capture des localités de Zakitné dans la région de Donetsk (est) et de Jovtnevé dans celle de Zaporijjia (sud).Des bombardements russes ont tué deux personnes dans la ville de Nikopol, dans le centre de l’Ukraine, selon les autorités locales.Le Kremlin a lui jugé vendredi “positive” la volonté affichée de certains pays européens, dont l’Italie et la France, de restaurer le dialogue avec la Russie, rompu depuis 2022.”Si cela reflète réellement la vision stratégique des Européens, il s’agit d’une évolution positive de leur position”, a déclaré le porte-parole de la présidence russe, Dmitri Peskov.burs-mda/dth
One year on, it’s all about Trump. But for how long?
On a sunny January morning in Florida, Donald Trump went shopping for marble and onyx for his new White House ballroom. A few hours later, he was bombing Venezuela.It was just one day in an extraordinary year since his return to office, but it summed up how Trump has reshaped the US presidency through the sheer force of his own personality.And as he enters his second year back in the White House, Trump is increasingly acting as if there are no checks on his power — either at home or abroad.”He has really personalized the presidency,” Noah Rosenblum, professor of law at New York University, told AFP.If the former reality TV star’s first term dominated news cycles because of its chaos, Trump’s second has done so because of a single-minded determination to stamp his mark on the world’s most powerful job.He began with a freewheeling Oval Office appearance on January 20, 2025, during which he pardoned hundreds of pro-Trump rioters who attacked the US Capitol four years earlier.The Republican leader has kept up the pace ever since. An unprecedented blitz of executive orders, outrageous pronouncements and directives for the persecution of his political opponents came in the following days and months.Trump has shaken the foundations of American democracy as the country prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, caused global turmoil with his tariffs and upended the global order.”There is one thing. My own morality,” Trump, who is the first convicted felon to be elected president, told The New York Times when asked if there were limits on his power.At times Trump has also cultivated what looks like a cult of personality, revamping the White House and building a $400 million ballroom, and adding his name to the famed Kennedy Center for the performing arts.And 2026 dawned with an unapologetic Trump Unbound: ordering the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, threatening Greenland and sending immigration agents on a deadly operation into Minnesota.Rosenblum said the past year had “revealed that the old system had less legitimacy and was more fragile than I had understood, than was widely understood.” – ‘Expect trouble’ -Trump has begun 2026 with a bang. Yet it could also finally show the limits of a presidency that revolves around the whims of one man who will turn 80 years old in June.The biggest inflection point could come in November’s midterm elections. While these votes for the control of Congress are always effectively a referendum on sitting presidents, this year’s will more than ever be a verdict on Trump himself.His approval numbers remain low, with the White House battling to show that his economic plans are working despite voter anger over affordability.If Republicans take a hammering, there are questions about whether Trump could seek to overturn the results, like he tried when Democrat Joe Biden beat him to the presidency in 2020.”I expect trouble,” William Galston of the Brookings Institution told AFP.”He is more actively involved in the management of the midterms than any president I’ve seen.”Galston said however that Trump was unlikely to be able to mount any meaningful challenge if Republicans lose control of the House, which would leave him a lame duck president for the remaining two years of his term.Trump faces challenges on other fronts too. The Supreme Court could clip Trump’s wings on tariffs, while his bypassing of Congress by the use of executive orders could also backfire, said Galston. “The problem with governing by fiat is that what you weave by day, your successor can unravel by night, which leads to far fewer permanent achievements,” Galston said.With Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, Ukraine and Gaza on Trump’s agenda in 2026, the self-professed “America First” president also appears preoccupied by foreign policy.”That’s a problem politically because a lot of the people who voted for him didn’t vote for that, they voted for them to focus on the economy. He’s paid a significant price for that,” added Galston.
Un “hypnothérapeute” condamné à 20 ans de réclusion pour les viols de quatorze femmes qu’il avait droguées
L'”hypnothérapeute” Cyril Zattara a été condamné vendredi pour les viols de quatorze femmes qu’il avait droguées à vingt ans de réclusion criminelle assortie d’une mesure de sûreté aux deux-tiers de la peine, et d’un suivi socio-judiciaire pendant dix ans à compter de sa libération.Cyril Zatarra était jugé depuis le 5 janvier à huis clos par la cour criminelle des Bouches-du-Rhône pour avoir violé, pendant plus de dix ans, des femmes qu’il droguait, pour la plupart chez lui, avec un somnifère.Les juges ont aussi reconnu le caractère sériel des crimes du quadragénaire, à la satisfaction des avocates des parties civiles. “L’accusé est condamné au maximum légal avec la reconnaissance du caractère sériel des viols sans que cela ne soit reconnu et pris en compte par la loi”, a indiqué à l’AFP Me Marylou Diamantara, avocate de six victimes. En cas de violation des obligations fixées pendant son suivi socio-judiciaire – une injonction de soins, l’interdiction de toute activité thérapeutique et le constat de l’inscription au fichier des auteurs d’infractions sexuelles et violentes-, il exécuterait une peine de cinq ans de prison. Cyril Zattara a été reconnu coupable pour tous les faits criminels – des viols aggravés commis sur quatorze victimes – et de l’ensemble des faits délictuels pour lesquels il était jugé, notamment avoir drogué d’autres victimes, les avoir filmées à leur insu. Dans le cas d’une victime qu’il contestait avoir violée mais reconnaissait avoir droguée, la cour a requalifié en tentative de viol.La cour n’a pas retenu la rétention de sûreté requise par l’avocat général Serge Bocoviz. Il avait demandé que l’accusé, aujourd’hui âgé de 47 ans, fasse l’objet à l’issue de sa peine d’un réexamen de sa situation en vue d’une éventuelle mesure exceptionnelle de rétention de sûreté dans le but d’évaluer un possible risque de récidive.Cet empilement de mesures et de précautions pour l’avenir semble répondre aux incroyables et nombreux ratés: le classement sans suite de trois plaintes pour des faits commis en 2001 et 2003, puis d’une nouvelle plainte en 2012. Il faudra attendre de nouvelles plaintes en 2019 et 2020 pour que Cyril Zatarra soit finalement mis en examen en mars 2021.- Une quinzaine de nouveaux noms -L’accusé qui a affirmé être dans une démarche de repentir, a confirmé ses aveux faits durant l’instruction pour onze des quatorze parties civiles pour lesquelles il était jugé pour viol sous soumission chimique. Il a également reconnu avoir drogué d’autres femmes par l’administration de Zolpidem, un puissant hypnotique, ainsi que la captation et la diffusion d’images à l’insu des victimes, notamment via l’installation d’une caméra dans un radio-réveil placé dans sa salle de bains.Il est même allé plus loin en livrant à la cour criminelle une quinzaine de nouveaux noms de victimes droguées, filmées dont quatre violées. Le président de la cour Roger Arata a fait noter ces nouveaux aveux et une nouvelle instruction devrait être ouverte par le parquet d’Aix-en-Provence très prochainement. Dans le périmètre de cette nouvelle instruction devrait entrer le cas d’une des plaignantes pour laquelle il a reconnu la soumission chimique, alors qu’il avait bénéficié d’un non-lieu.Il aurait aussi fait un pas vers la reconnaissance des faits concernant sa cousine, la première à avoir déposé plainte en 2001 et pour laquelle il aurait, là encore, reconnu l’avoir droguée.Son avocate, Me Dorine Sekly-Livrati, a demandé à la cour de prendre en compte l’évolution de son client en écartant notamment la mesure de sûreté des deux tiers requise par l’accusation. Elle a expliqué sa personnalité complexe, plongeant dans une enfance carencée, “sujet d’un dressage plus que d’une éducation”.Nourri à la pornographie et aux mangas hentai qui glorifient la culture du viol, “le passage à l’acte lui permettait de dominer, de retrouver une toute-puissance, de passer du soumis au dominant”, a-t-elle expliqué.Le huis-clos avait été prononcé à l’ouverture de débats à la demande d’une seule des dix-neuf parties civiles. Bon nombre des victimes étaient des femmes se trouvant dans l’entourage de Cyril Zattara, amies, compagnes et élèves d’une salle de danse de salon d’Aix-en-Provence où il était un professeur estimé.
Trump says ‘thank you’ to Iran for not hanging protesters
US President Donald Trump thanked Iran’s leadership on Friday after saying Tehran had called off the executions of hundreds of protesters arrested in a brutal crackdown.”I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over the past two weeks to help protesters, where rights groups say Iranian forces have killed thousands of people.But he is now holding off on intervening after saying on Wednesday that he had been told the killings had stopped.Trump also dismissed comments by Gulf officials on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk him out of an attack, and said that it was Iran’s actions that swayed him.”Nobody convinced me — I convinced myself,” Trump told reporters later Friday as he left the White House to head to Florida for the weekend.”They didn’t hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact.”