Saudi PIF to pay ‘up to 12 months maternity leave’ for tennis players

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is to finance a joint initiative with the WTA for paid maternity leave of “up to 12 months” for players on the women’s tennis circuit, it was announced on Thursday.The PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program “will offer benefits to more than 320 eligible WTA players”, the Women’s Tennis Association said in a statement.”WTA players will for the first time receive paid maternity leave up to 12 months, and have access to grants for fertility treatments to build families, as well as other benefits,” it read.Players will have to compete “in a certain number of WTA tournaments in a window of time” to benefit from the payments.Belinda Bencic, who won Olympic gold for Switzerland in Tokyo and has returned to the WTA tour after having daughter Bella last April, welcomed the development.”Absolutely it’s the best news really,” Bencic said after cruising past Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the first round at Indian Wells in California.”I think we are very proud as players for the WTA (to be) the first sport in female sports to make this.”It’s great for everyone who is considering to have a family and come back, especially also the lower-ranked players that have to survive somehow when they are not playing for a year and a half and then trying to come back,”Bencic, who earned her first title since returning from her leave in Abu Dhabi in February, noted that her Thursday opponent Maria was a mother of two.”I’m really feeling like there are so many moms now on the tour, so we’re trying to show everyone it’s possible to have a baby and play professional tennis,” she said.- Support and flexibility -Two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka, a WTA players’ council representative, welcomed “the beginning of a meaningful shift in how we support women in tennis, making it easier for athletes to pursue both their careers and their aspirations of starting a family.””Ensuring that programs like this exist has been a personal mission of mine,” the Belarusian former world number one, who gave birth to a son in 2016, was quoted in the statement as saying. For WTA CEO Portia Archer “this initiative will provide the current and next generation of players the support and flexibility to explore family life, in whatever form they choose.”Several top players have taken a break from their careers to give birth, with varying degrees of impact on their subsequent careers. The WTA says 25 active players are mothers.Belgian Kim Clijsters won three majors — the US Open in 2009 and 2010 and the Australian Open in 2011 — after giving birth to her daughter in 2008, following in the footsteps of Australians Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, who triumphed at Grand Slams as mothers.However, 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams did not win any after the birth of her first child in September 2017, even though the American reached four finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.Four-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan returned to the courts in early 2024 after giving birth to a daughter. Since then, the 27-year-old’s best result has been a final at the modest Auckland tournament in January. Criticised by some tennis figures for its record on women’s rights, Saudi Arabia has boosted its tennis investments in recent years, organising the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time in Riyadh last November.That came months after the WTA entered into a multi-year partnership with the PIF sovereign wealth fund, with the kingdom again set to host the WTA Finals in 2025 and 2026. 

L’Assemblée adopte un nouveau texte pour tenter d’enrayer le démarchage téléphonique intempestif

A la recherche de solutions contre le démarchage téléphonique intempestif, les députés ont adopté à l’unanimité jeudi un texte pour instaurer un consentement préalable du consommateur.Déjà adopté au Sénat, le texte était défendu à l’Assemblée nationale par le MoDem dans le cadre de sa niche parlementaire, la journée annuelle réservée aux textes de son groupe.”Ce démarchage téléphonique use nos concitoyens (…) Plus de 90% des Français sont exaspérés par cette pratique à l’heure où nous recevons en moyenne six appels non désirés par semaine”, a déclaré Véronique Louwagie, ministre déléguée chargée du Commerce, en soutien au texte.”C’est une sorte de mini-agression”, a soutenu Pascal Lecamp (MoDem), rapporteur de la proposition de loi. Celle-ci entend interdire, à partir du 1er janvier 2026, “de démarcher téléphoniquement, directement ou par l’intermédiaire d’un tiers” un “consommateur qui n’a pas exprimé préalablement son consentement”.Une mesure consensuelle, qui a conduit à l’adoption de la proposition de loi à l’unanimité des 176 votants. Elle devra désormais poursuivre sa navette parlementaire, pour aboutir à une version commune entre Assemblée et Sénat.Le texte renforce aussi les sanctions encourues en cas de condamnation pour abus de faiblesse, alourdissant la durée d’emprisonnement à cinq ans, et faisant monter l’amende à 500.000 euros pour une personne physique et jusqu’à “20% du chiffre d’affaires moyen annuel” pour une entreprise.Il propose également d’empêcher l’inscription automatique sur des annuaires publics de numéros de téléphones fixes, et à autoriser le partage d’informations entre la direction de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), la Cnil, et l’Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (Arcep).Les débats ont en revanche été très vifs autour d’une exemption au principe de consentement préalable prévue par le texte dans le cas de démarchage téléphonique pour la fourniture de “denrées alimentaires”, dans “le cadre d’une vente ou livraison à domicile”.- Soutien aux pompiers, sus aux frelons -L’exemption est présentée comme un moyen de soutenir le modèle de fonctionnement de certains acteurs du secteur, mais a divisé les parlementaires, y compris au sein de la gauche, entre les socialistes favorables et leurs alliés écologistes et insoumis. Mélanie Thomin (PS) a défendu “l’importance de ces secteurs” pour “les populations les plus âgées et les plus vulnérables en zones rurales”, estimant qu’il leur serait “impossible” de “transformer ou d’adapter le modèle économique de leur entreprise” rapidement.”Ce n’est pas une solution”, a insisté l’écologiste Delphine Batho estimant que la rédaction de l’article risquerait d’entraîner une exemption pour l’ensemble du secteur agroalimentaire voire des acteurs comme Amazon.Le groupe MoDem a enchaîné sa journée avec l’adoption unanime d’un texte instaurant un statut propre pour les médecins et autres personnels de santé engagés dans le corps des sapeurs-pompiers.Intervenant autant auprès des victimes prises en charge qu’auprès des sapeurs-pompiers eux-mêmes, ces personnels de santé ne bénéficient pas jusqu’ici d’une reconnaissance spécifique dans la loi.Les législateurs espèrent ainsi mieux valoriser ces professions en manque d’attractivité.En fin de journée un vote unanime des députés est venu valider définitivement l’instauration d’un plan national de lutte contre la prolifération du frelon asiatique, qui sera ensuite décliné à l’échelon départemental.L’objectif affiché est de lutter plus efficacement contre l’insecte dévastateur pour les ruches, mais les députés d’opposition ont déploré un manque d’ambition. La gauche s’inquiète en particulier de l’absence de garde-fous suffisants dans le texte contre l’utilisation de produits dangereux pour l’environnement, et le RN appelle à clarifier le fait que la charge de la destruction des nids doit incomber à l’Etat.Toujours à l’unanimité, les députés ont  voté un texte visant à mieux protéger les vignes contre la flavescence dorée, une maladie à l’origine de pertes de récoltes importantes. Et ce, en adaptant l’arsenal juridique pour contraindre plus efficacement les propriétaires de friches infestées à les arracher.En fin de soirée, l’Assemblée a voté pour la création d’une base de données recensant les biens abandonnés à l’occasion du vote d’un texte visant à “simplifier la sortie de l’indivision successorale”. D’autres mesures visant à régler les situations autour de ces biens souvent bloqués durant des années en raison de conflits entre héritiers ont ainsi été adoptées.L’examen de ce texte s’est déroulé au pas de course, car les débats se terminaient à minuit pile. 

Trump again casts doubt on his commitment to NATO

President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed doubts over his commitment to the NATO alliance, saying countries that are not spending adequately on their militaries do not deserve defense.”If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.Trump has frequently questioned whether the United States — by far the biggest military in the transatlantic alliance and ultimate guarantor of Europe’s security since World War II — should continue its central role in NATO.The Republican, who began his second term in January, doubled down on his criticism that some NATO members do not spend enough on their defense budgets and overly rely on the United States.”They should be paying more,” he said.Trump was responding to reporters after NBC News reported earlier Thursday that he is considering a plan to calibrate US military support in a way that favors member countries which spend a higher proportion of more of their GDP on defense.The president has previously called for allies to lift annual defense spending to five percent of GDP from the current two-percent target, which NATO expected only 23 of 32 members to meet last year.Countries deemed to be underspending might not be defended if attacked, according to the reported plan.The move would weaken NATO’s core Article 5 which stipulates that any member attacked will be defended by all the others.Trump also questioned whether allies, including France, would defend the United States.”If the United States was in trouble and we called them. We said, ‘We got a problem, France. We got a problem. A couple of others, I won’t mention. Do you think they’re gonna come and protect us? Hmm. They’re supposed to. I’m not so sure,” Trump said.French President Emmanuel Macron, however, said France was a “loyal and steadfast ally.””We have always been there for each other,” Macron told reporters in Brussels after a meeting of EU leaders, where they agreed to strengthen Europe’s defense.Macron said France had shown “respect and friendship” to the United States, and “we are entitled to ask for the same thing.”burs-sms/dc/raz/ub/des

Deja vu on the Moon: Private US spaceship again lands awkwardly

Second time unlucky: A US company’s lunar lander appears to have touched down at a wonky angle on Thursday, an embarrassing repeat of its previous mission’s less-than-perfect landing last year.Houston-based Intuitive Machines made history in February 2024 as the first private firm to place a spaceship on Earth’s nearest neighbor, though the moment was marred by Odysseus toppling over upon touchdown.For its second attempt, the company sent the hexagonal Athena lander to the Mons Mouton plateau, closer to the lunar south pole than any mission before it.The team targeted a 12:32 pm ET (1732 GMT) touchdown, but as time passed with confirmation, mission control grew visibly tense.Twenty minutes after the scheduled landing, company spokesman Josh Marshall announced on a webcast: “Athena is on the surface of the Moon.” However, teams were still analyzing data to determine the lander’s exact status, he said.Later, CEO Steve Altemus acknowledged to reporters: “We don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude,” an aeronautical term for orientation. He added that the lander’s position could limit power generation and communication, impacting the mission’s success.Intuitive Machines’ share price tumbled 20 percent in afternoon trading. The company suggested that, as in its previous mission, issues with Athena’s laser altimeters, which provide altitude and velocity readings, may have played a role in the suboptimal landing.Athena, like its predecessor Odysseus, has a tall, slender build. At 15.6 feet (4.8 meters) — the height of a giraffe — it had raised stability concerns. However, Altemus emphasized that the lander’s weight distribution kept the center of gravity low, and Intuitive Machines remains confident in its design.Expectations were high after Texas rival Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander on the Moon on Sunday on its first attempt.- Cutting-edge technologies at stake -Both missions are part of NASA’s $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which seeks to leverage private industry to reduce costs and support Artemis, NASA’s effort to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually to reach Mars.Athena carries an ice-drilling experiment, a 4G cellular network test, three rovers, and a unique hopping drone named Grace, designed to descend into a permanently shadowed crater—where sunlight has never reached—a first for humanity.However, whether any of these objectives can be met depends on Athena’s final resting angle, which is yet to be determined.”Any time humanity puts a lander on the moon, it’s a good day,” said Tim Crain, the Intuitive Machines chief technology officer, striking a positive tone.The team hopes to use imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine Athena’s exact location and orientation, though this could take a day or two, Crain added.Despite the non-optimal orientation, NASA’s Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the science mission directorate, said the agency remains “excited” and will prioritize gathering as much scientific and technology data as possible before the mission ends.  – Sticking the landing -Lunar landings are notoriously difficult. The Moon’s lack of atmosphere rules out parachutes, forcing spacecraft to rely on precise thrusts and navigation over hazardous terrain.Until Intuitive Machines’ first mission, only national space agencies had achieved the feat, with NASA’s last landing dating back to Apollo 17 in 1972.The company’s first lander, Odysseus, came in too fast, caught a foot on the surface and toppled over, cutting the mission short when its solar panels could not generate enough power.Athena launched last Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which also carried NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer probe, a spacecraft designed to map the Moon’s water distribution.However, ground controllers have been struggling to re-establish contact with Trailblazer, adding to NASA’s challenges.These missions come at a delicate time for NASA, amid speculation that the agency may scale back or even cancel the crewed Moon missions in favor of prioritizing Mars, a goal championed by President Donald Trump and his billionaire advisor and SpaceX owner Elon Musk.

48 killed in ‘most violent’ Syria unrest since Assad ouster: monitor

Fierce fighting between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad killed 48 people on Thursday, a war monitor said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages were “the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled” in December.Pro-Assad fighters killed 16 security personnel while 28 fighters “loyal” to ousted President Bashar al-Assad and four civilians were also killed, it said.The fighting struck in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of the ousted president’s Alawite minority who were considered bastions of support during his rule.Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said that in “a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of Assad militia remnants attacked our positions and checkpoints, targeting many of our patrols in the Jableh area.”He added that the attacks resulted in “numerous martyrs and injured among our forces” but did not give a figure.Kneifati said security forces would “work to eliminate their presence”. “We will restore stability to the region and protect the property of our people,” he declared.- Top officer arrested -The UK-based observatory said most of the security personnel killed were from the former rebel bastion of Idlib in the northwest.During the operation, security forces captured and arrested a former head of air force intelligence, one of the Assad family’s most trusted security agencies, state news agency SANA reported.”Our forces in the city of Jableh managed to arrest the criminal General Ibrahim Huweija,” SANA said.”He is accused of hundreds of assassinations during the era of the criminal Hafez al-Assad,” Bashar al-Assad’s father and predecessor.Huweija, who headed air force intelligence from 1987 to 2002, has long been a suspect in the 1977 murder of Lebanese Druze leader Kamal Bek Jumblatt.His son and successor Walid Jumblatt retweeted the news of his arrest with the comment: “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest).”The provincial security director said security forces clashed with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in another village in Latakia, after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.”The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan,” the security director told SANA.Nicknamed “The Tiger”, Hassan led the country’s special forces and was frequently described as Assad’s “favourite soldier”. He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad government in 2015.- Helicopter strikes -The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported “strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village”.SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on “members and equipment of the defence ministry” near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that its photographer Riad al-Hussein was wounded in the clashes but that he was doing well.A defence ministry source later told SANA that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area.Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for “peaceful protests” in response to the helicopter strikes, which they said had targeted “the homes of civilians”.The security forces imposed overnight curfews on Alawite-populated areas, including Latakia, the port city of Tartus and third city Homs, SANA reported.In other cities around the country, crowds gathered “in support of the security forces”, it added.Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Observatory said.Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in clashes with gunmen, it added.Tensions erupted after at least four civilians were killed during a security operation in Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighbourhood of the city on Tuesday after an ambush by “members of the remnants of Assad militias” killed two security personnel, state media reported.Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.The country’s new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.Residents and organisations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions and kidnappings.Syria’s new authorities have described the violations as “isolated incidents” and vowed to pursue those responsible.