Crues dans l’Ouest de la France: l’Ille-et-Vilaine passe en vigilance rouge

L’Ille-et-Vilaine est passée lundi en vigilance rouge pour crues après les importantes précipitations de la dépression Herminia qui ont provoqué des inondations sans précédent depuis 40 ans à Rennes, tandis que huit autres départements sont en alerte orange pour crues, vagues-submersion ou avalanches.La vigilance rouge en Ille-et-Vilaine concerne “la Vilaine médiane et la Seiche”, a précisé Météo-France dans son dernier bulletin publié à 06H00.Le département breton et notamment son chef-lieu, Rennes, traversé par deux rivières, l’Ille et la Vilaine, subit des crues inédites depuis plus de 40 ans. Et la situation risque encore de s’aggraver dans la journée de lundi.”Malheureusement le pic de crue n’est pas encore atteint”, a déclaré dimanche en fin de journée la maire de Rennes Nathalie Appéré dans un communiqué. “La décrue sera lente et ne commencera probablement pas avant mercredi”, a fait savoir l’élue.Selon le site Vigicrues, la Seiche et la Vilaine médiane vont continuer à monter lundi et mardi et pourraient atteindre des niveaux exceptionnels proches de la crue de 2001.Les départements maintenus en vigilance orange crues sont le Calvados, l’Eure, l’Orne, la Mayenne et le Maine-et-Loire. Le Finistère passe en alerte orange vague-submersion, une mise en garde qui s’étendra mardi à l’ensemble de la côte ouest, tandis que les Hautes-Alpes se maintiennent en vigilance orange avalanches.”L’indice de risque d’avalanche est +fort-4+ pour ce lundi sur les massifs des Hautes-Alpes sauf le Dévoluy”, a prévenu Météo-France.- “Solidarité citoyenne” -Cette aggravation de la situation en Ille-et-Vilaine fait suite au passage dimanche de la dépression Herminia, qui a elle-même succédé à la tempête Eowyn, d’une violence exceptionnelle outre-Manche. Elle a entraîné des pluies et des coups de vent sur le nord-ouest de la France, dans des zones où les sols sont déjà saturés d’eau.A Rennes, la mairie a pris dès samedi soir un arrêté d’évacuation pour quatre rues proches du canal Saint-Martin, où les péniches sont désormais au même niveau que les voitures. Elle a également ouvert plusieurs gymnases pour accueillir les personnes sans solution.Dimanche en fin d’après-midi, environ 400 personnes avaient ainsi été évacuées à titre préventif, selon les pompiers.La mairie de Rennes a invité “les personnes souhaitant aider au nettoyage des habitations touchées à s’inscrire en ligne sur le site de la Fabrique Citoyenne”, dans une démarche de “solidarité citoyenne”.La préfecture d’Ille-et-Vilaine a prévenu que la circulation routière serait difficile lundi en raison de nombreuses routes coupées et déviées.Dimanche, Herminia a également provoqué des perturbations dans la circulation des trains en Bretagne et en Normandie. Plus au sud, elle a également perturbé l’arrivée de deux skippers participant au Vendée Globe, Benjamin Dutreux puis Clarisse Crémer. Après leur arrivée aux Sables d’Olonne, ils ont dû prendre la direction de la Rochelle (Charente-maritime) pour aller s’abriter en raison de rafales de près de 130 km/h au large de la cité vendéenne.

India boosts domestic arms industry and looks West to pare back Russia reliance

India’s efforts to pare back a longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware is bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts say.At a time when Moscow’s military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.That urgency has risen in tandem with tensions between the world’s most populous nation and its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. “India’s perception of its security environment vis-a-vis China has been dramatically altered,” Harsh V Pant, of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, told AFP.Relations between the two neighbours went into freefall after the clash on their shared frontier, which killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers. “It has sort of shaken the system and there’s a realisation that we have to do whatever is best now, and very fast,” Pant said of the incident. India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.More is in the pipeline, with orders worth tens of billions of dollars from the United States, France, Israel and Germany in coming years.Modi will be in France next month where he is expected to sign deals worth about $10 billion for Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines, Indian media reports say.- ‘Not easy to switch’ -Defence minister Rajnath Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. “India has been traditionally an importer for decades and only switched to emphasising on indigenous manufacturing… in the last decade,” strategic affairs analyst Nitin Gokhale told AFP.”It is not easy to switch, not everything can be manufactured or produced here,” he said, saying the country lacked the ability to manufacture “high-end technology” weapons systems.But its efforts have still seen numerous impressive milestones.  This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.That in turn has fostered a growing arms export market which saw sales last year worth $2.63 billion — still a tiny amount compared to established players, but a 30-fold increase in a decade.India is expected in the coming weeks to announce a landmark deal to supply Indonesia’s military with supersonic cruise missiles in a deal worth nearly $450 million. The government aims to triple this figure by 2029, with a significant chunk of the $75 billion it spent on defence last year aimed at boosting local production. – ‘Spread risks’ -India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the much-feted Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.This reorientation has helped India sign various deals to import and locally co-produce military drones, naval ships, fighter jets and other hardware with suppliers from Western countries.It has also led to a precipitous drop in India’s share of arms from longstanding ally Russia, which supplied 76 percent of its military imports in 2009-13 but only 36 percent in 2019-23, according to SIPRI data. New Delhi has nonetheless sought to maintain the delicate balance between India’s historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer partnerships with Western nations.Modi’s government has resisted pressure from Washington and elsewhere to explicitly condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to the negotiating table.Gokhale said that India was not in the position to abandon its relationship with Russia, which still plays an important role as a supplier of advanced weaponry including cruise missiles and nuclear submarine technology.”India has certainly spread its risks by sourcing from other countries,” he said. “But Russia remains a very important and dependable partner.”

India boosts domestic arms industry and looks West to pare back Russia reliance

India’s efforts to pare back a longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware is bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts say.At a time when Moscow’s military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.That urgency has risen in tandem with tensions between the world’s most populous nation and its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. “India’s perception of its security environment vis-a-vis China has been dramatically altered,” Harsh V Pant, of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, told AFP.Relations between the two neighbours went into freefall after the clash on their shared frontier, which killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers. “It has sort of shaken the system and there’s a realisation that we have to do whatever is best now, and very fast,” Pant said of the incident. India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.More is in the pipeline, with orders worth tens of billions of dollars from the United States, France, Israel and Germany in coming years.Modi will be in France next month where he is expected to sign deals worth about $10 billion for Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines, Indian media reports say.- ‘Not easy to switch’ -Defence minister Rajnath Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. “India has been traditionally an importer for decades and only switched to emphasising on indigenous manufacturing… in the last decade,” strategic affairs analyst Nitin Gokhale told AFP.”It is not easy to switch, not everything can be manufactured or produced here,” he said, saying the country lacked the ability to manufacture “high-end technology” weapons systems.But its efforts have still seen numerous impressive milestones.  This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.That in turn has fostered a growing arms export market which saw sales last year worth $2.63 billion — still a tiny amount compared to established players, but a 30-fold increase in a decade.India is expected in the coming weeks to announce a landmark deal to supply Indonesia’s military with supersonic cruise missiles in a deal worth nearly $450 million. The government aims to triple this figure by 2029, with a significant chunk of the $75 billion it spent on defence last year aimed at boosting local production. – ‘Spread risks’ -India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the much-feted Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.This reorientation has helped India sign various deals to import and locally co-produce military drones, naval ships, fighter jets and other hardware with suppliers from Western countries.It has also led to a precipitous drop in India’s share of arms from longstanding ally Russia, which supplied 76 percent of its military imports in 2009-13 but only 36 percent in 2019-23, according to SIPRI data. New Delhi has nonetheless sought to maintain the delicate balance between India’s historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer partnerships with Western nations.Modi’s government has resisted pressure from Washington and elsewhere to explicitly condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to the negotiating table.Gokhale said that India was not in the position to abandon its relationship with Russia, which still plays an important role as a supplier of advanced weaponry including cruise missiles and nuclear submarine technology.”India has certainly spread its risks by sourcing from other countries,” he said. “But Russia remains a very important and dependable partner.”

Les routes du narcotrafic en mutation constante, selon l’Observatoire des drogues

Par la mer, la route mais aussi par les airs ou le digital, les routes et méthodes d’approvisionnement en stupéfiants en France sont en constante évolution, note l’Observatoire français des drogues et des tendances addictives (OFDT) dans un bilan publié lundi.Pour ce qui est de la cocaïne, dont la demande n’a jamais été aussi forte en France avec plus d’un million de consommateurs, le transport maritime a représenté 75,4% des saisies de cette drogue en 2022, contre 17,1% pour le vecteur aérien passager, note l’OFDT dans son bilan de l’offre de stupéfiants en France en 2023. Le port du Havre, fort de ses liaisons maritimes avec des pays sud-américains parmi les plus gros producteurs mondiaux, constitue “l’une des principales portes d’entrée de la cocaïne en Europe”. Le renforcement des mesures de sécurité dans le site normand ont “permis de réduire son utilisation” par les narcotrafiquants, mais ces restrictions ont été contournées.Les autorités ont en effet constaté une augmentation des largages de marchandise en mer ainsi que de l’utilisation de ports secondaires. Les premières données de 2024 suggèrent “une réutilisation accrue” du Havre, note l’OFDT.Les ports des Antilles françaises jouent également un “rôle stratégique” dans le transport de la cocaïne, notamment celui de Fort-de-France en Martinique et le complexe de Jarry en Guadeloupe. – Le postal a le vent en poupe -Concernant l’approvisionnement par voie aérienne, l’axe Cayenne-Paris reste dans les radars des autorités françaises.Ces dernières traquent les mules qui acheminent la drogue in corpore (dans leur corps) ou dans leurs bagages, conduisant à ce que plus de 680 d’entre elles aient été interceptées au 31 janvier 2024.Mais s’il y a eu un “effet dissuasif”, il semble que là encore les trafiquants aient élaboré des “voies de contournement” et privilégié “des avions à destination des Antilles, puis des Antilles vers l’Hexagone, faisant l’objet de contrôles moins systématiques”, écrit l’OFDT.Le fret express et postal “s’affirme comme une alternative majeure” aux mules, souligne encore l’observatoire. Il a représenté en 2022 36% des saisies de cocaïne effectuées par les douanes de Roissy Fret en provenance de Guyane.Initialement privilégiée pour des drogues en quantités modestes et spécifiques (concentrés de cannabis, kétamine ou GBL), la voie postale est désormais aussi choisie pour livrer résine de cannabis ou cocaïne.Les consommateurs passent “non plus via des sites dédiés, mais plutôt à travers des comptes de trafiquants sur des applications et réseaux sociaux”, explique l’OFDT, selon qui “ce mode d’achat est de plus en plus répandu, offrant aux consommateurs un confort notable car il n’implique aucun contact direct avec un revendeur” et assure une livraison rapide (en 24 ou 48 heures).Les trafiquants disposent quant à eux généralement d’un appartement où se fait aussi le conditionnement des commandes, équipé de “machines à mise sous vide pour dissimuler les odeurs et d’imprimantes pour l’étiquetage des colis”. Mi-janvier, Bruno Retailleau a admis que les autorités avaient “toujours, malheureusement, un temps de retard” sur les narcotrafiquants. Le ministre de l’Intérieur a évoqué une “submersion” et reconnu que si le prix de la drogue ne bouge pas malgré les saisies record, cela “signifie qu’il y a toujours plus de marchandises qui débarquent sur le sol français”.L’OFDT note que “la France sert de point de transit pour la cocaïne à destination de l’Océanie et de l’Asie du Sud-Est, principalement via le fret postal et les vols commerciaux”.Au sujet de l’acheminement du cannabis, drogue n°1 en France avec près de 5 millions d’usagers en 2023, la résine de cannabis est, une fois arrivée sur le sol européen, acheminée par voie terrestre vers le reste du continent. Du côté des drogues de synthèse, telles que la MDMA/ecstasy et les amphétamines, qui pour celles consommées en France arrivent majoritairement des Pays-Bas, elles sont là aussi transportées par voie terrestre. Sur ces produits, relève l’OFDT, la France sert de pays de transit pour les trafiquants, notamment vers le Royaume-Uni et l’Espagne, et “une partie de ces drogues est réexpédiée par fret express ou postal vers l’Amérique, l’Océanie et, de manière plus marginale, vers La Réunion”.Le chiffre d’affaires du trafic de drogue est estimé entre 3,5 et 6 milliards d’euros par an en France. 

W.African bloc’s future uncertain as three key members quitMon, 27 Jan 2025 06:34:19 GMT

The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States takes effect on Wednesday after a year of political tensions, fracturing the region and leaving the bloc with an uncertain future.On January 29, 2024, the three countries led by military regimes formally notified ECOWAS of their desire for “immediate” …

W.African bloc’s future uncertain as three key members quitMon, 27 Jan 2025 06:34:19 GMT Read More »

Palestinians return to north Gaza after breakthrough in hostage diplomacy

Palestinians began returning to the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.The breakthrough preserves a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and displaced nearly all its residents, paving the way for more hostage-prisoner swaps under an agreement aimed at ending the more than 15-month conflict.Israel had been preventing vast crowds of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the truce by failing to release civilian women hostages.Throngs of Palestinians began making their way north on Monday morning, an official at the Hamas-run Interior Ministry told AFP. “The passage of displaced Palestinians has begun”, the official said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said earlier that a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday and another three on Saturday. Hamas confirmed the agreement in its own statement Monday. Palestinian leaders meanwhile slammed a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to “clean out” Gaza, vowing to resist any effort to forcibly displace residents of the war-battered territory.Trump said Gaza had become a “demolition site”, adding he had spoken to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out.”I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump told reporters.Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, “expressed strong rejection and condemnation of any projects” aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his office said.Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP that Palestinians would “foil such projects”, as they have done to similar plans “for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades”.Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, called Trump’s idea “deplorable”. For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.”We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens,” said displaced Gaza resident Rashad al-Naji.- Jordan, Egypt reject displacement -Trump floated the idea to reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One: “You’re talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”Moving Gaza’s roughly 2.4 million inhabitants could be done “temporarily or could be long term”, he said.Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who opposed the truce deal and has voiced support for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza — called Trump’s suggestion of “a great idea”. The Arab League rejected the idea, warning against “attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land”.”The forced displacement and eviction of people from their land can only be called ethnic cleansing”, the league said in a statement.Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.”Egypt’s foreign ministry said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians’ “inalienable rights”.Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage. She is among those slated for return on Thursday, according to Netanyahu’s office.Hamas said that blocking returns to the north also amounted to a truce violation, adding it had provided “all the necessary guarantees” for Yehud’s release.Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said Monday that residents would be allowed to return on foot starting at 07:00 am (0500 GMT) and by car at 9:00 am.- ‘Dire’ humanitarian situation -During the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages are supposed to be freed in staggered releases over six weeks in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.The most recent swap saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, and 200 prisoners, nearly all Palestinian, released Saturday — the second such exchange during the fragile truce entering its second week.Dani Miran, whose hostage son Omri is not slated for release during the first phase, demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem on Sunday.”We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible — and all at once,” he said.The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medicines and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but the UN says “the humanitarian situation remains dire”.Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,306 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.burs-tym/rsc

Jennifer Lopez brings 1950s Hollywood ‘diva’ to Sundance indie fest

Jennifer Lopez brought a heady blend of 1950s Hollywood musical and gritty prison drama to Sundance with her new film “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which earned a standing ovation from the indie movie festival on Sunday.The musical film, about two mismatched cellmates who form an unlikely intimate bond during Argentina’s 1970s military dictatorship, was the hottest ticket at this year’s Sundance gathering, which typically focuses on smaller arthouse and documentary fare.”It’s about how love can cure any divide. These two people who couldn’t be more different in this cell together — doesn’t matter their sexuality, their political beliefs. None of it,” Lopez told AFP, on the red carpet.”It’s exactly the kind of story that we need to see right now,” she said.Based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig’s novel, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is directed by Bill Condon.Condon is best-known for blockbusters like “Dreamgirls,” “Chicago” and the final “Twilight” films, but earned his big break at Sundance with 1998’s Oscar-winning “Gods and Monsters.”He told AFP that Lopez’s involvement undoubtedly helped the film procure financing, but that he also “knew she was the only person who could play this part.””Because it’s a diva. We don’t have that many divas in our lives. I don’t know whether it’s gone out of fashion,” he said.Diego Luna plays Valentin, a tough and idealistic political prisoner who is experiencing horrific torture by the regime, but refuses to give up his revolutionary secrets.He finds himself forced to bunk up with Molina (Tonatiuh), an LGBTQ convict who has secretly been sent to coax information from him.Molina starts regaling Valentin with the plot of his favorite Hollywood musical — shown in extensive flashbacks, starring Lopez as the glamorous diva Ingrid Luna, which begin to interweave with the prison narrative.”When I read it, I thought to myself, ‘This role was made for me, this is the role I was born to, this is the one.’ And I had to wait, but it was worth it,” said Lopez.”It was challenging in the way that indie films are challenging… limited time, limited money.”Like most films at Sundance, the movie is up for sale, with producers hoping to spark a bidding war between Hollywood studios and streamers.- Wildfires -Elsewhere at Sundance, Josh O’Connor attended the premiere of “Rebuilding,” a drama about wildfire victims that has become tragically timely in the wake of the Los Angeles blazes.The British star of “The Crown” and “Challengers” plays a quiet, forlorn cowboy who loses his Colorado ranch and all his possessions in a wildfire.His character finds himself living in a trailer at a federal emergency camp, where he must discover a new purpose and build connections with his unfamiliar community.O’Connor told AFP that the recent Los Angeles, which killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes, made the film more poignant — but that there were positive parallels to draw.”One of the things that I’ve heard a lot coming out of LA is this feeling of unity in the city,” he said.”I think that’s what this movie is about — community coming together to support each other, that we can’t do it alone, and that isolation isn’t good for us.”That’s what I think the relevance is.”Earlier at the Utah-based festival, Benedict Cumberbatch had unveiled “The Thing With Feathers,” a surreal meditation on grief and bereavement.The “Sherlock” and “Doctor Strange” actor stars as a widower struggling to raise his two young sons alone, in a movie based on Max Porter’s experimental and poetic novel.As hinted at by the title, Cumberbatch’s character is visited an eight-foot-tall crow — an unexpectedly literal manifestation of his unprocessed grief.Sundance runs until next Sunday.