Au Yémen, le camp gouvernemental anti-houthi affaibli par une poussée séparatiste

Un mouvement séparatiste du sud du Yémen, pourtant membre du gouvernement internationalement reconnu, s’est emparé la semaine dernière de vastes territoires dans l’est du pays, bouleversant l’équilibre du camp gouvernemental face aux rebelles houthis. L’avancée territoriale éclair des forces du Conseil de transition du Sud (STC), soutenues par les Emirats arabes unis, dans une région pétrolifère …

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Neutralité: “débat légitime” et “exigence absolue” pour France Télé, selon sa présidente

Le débat sur la neutralité de l’audiovisuel public est “légitime” et ce principe constitue une “exigence absolue” pour France Télévisions, a affirmé mercredi sa patronne Delphine Ernotte Cunci, en ouverture de son audition par la commission d’enquête parlementaire sur le sujet.”Les polémiques de ces dernières semaines ont pu alimenter un débat qui est légitime”, a …

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US judge orders unsealing of more grand jury records in Epstein case

A US federal judge on Wednesday ordered the unsealing of grand jury records on Jeffrey Epstein, in the latest move by a court to release documents related to the convicted sex offender.The decision by New York Judge Richard Berman concerns proceedings launched against the disgraced financier in July 2019, the most serious case against him for the sexual exploitation of minors.Those proceedings were cut short after Epstein’s suicide in prison in August that year during pre-trial detention.Such records are generally kept secret, but the judge cited a bill that President Donald Trump signed last month requiring that the Justice Department release by December 19 all unclassified records regarding Epstein, whose transgressions remain politically explosive in the United States.On Tuesday, another federal judge agreed to unseal grand jury records from the probe of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for offenses including sex trafficking of a minor.And on Friday, a judge in Florida ordered the release of grand jury transcripts from the investigation of Epstein in that state. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution.There is no guarantee that the new documents will contain new revelations, and it remains unclear exactly when, and how, the Justice Department will release all the documents to the public.Trump, once a close friend of Epstein, fought for months to prevent the release of files about him held by the Justice Department.Trump and his allies spent years pushing theories about powerful Democrats being protected over involvement with Epstein, framing the case as a potent symbol of how rich men can hide behind lawyers, money and connections.The FBI and Justice Department triggered a political furor in July with the release of a memo stating that after an “exhaustive review” of the Epstein files, no evidence had emerged that would warrant further investigation.Last month, Trump caved to pressure from Congress, including from fellow Republicans, and signed the law compelling release of the materials.

What’s at stake as Yemeni separatists gain ground?

UAE-backed south Yemeni separatists have taken control of vast new areas, rattling the anti-Houthi government and threatening to further divide a country fractured by more than a decade of civil war.Yemen is already split between the Iran-backed Houthis who control much of the north and a fractious patchwork of anti-rebel groups in the internationally recognised government. The separatists of the Southern Transitional Council are part of that anti-Houthi government, but their advances have raised fears that the group might secede in an effort to revive the once independent South Yemen.- What is the STC? -Headed by Aidaros Alzubidi, the STC is a coalition of groups that want to bring back South Yemen, which existed from 1967 until its unification in 1990 with North Yemen.They now control almost all of South Yemen’s former territory.The STC has gained influence during Yemen’s civil war, which has pitted the Houthis against forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition that includes the United Arab Emirates.Close to Abu Dhabi, the separatists are part of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the eight-member body that heads the internationally recognised government.Alzubidi is the PLC’s vice-president while Saudi-backed Rashad al-Alimi, who has heavily criticised the separatists’ advance, is its president.The STC already controlled swathes of Yemen’s south coast, including al-Mukalla, the capital of the country’s largest province Hadramawt.Last week, its forces swept inland, seizing the key city of Seiyun as well as oil fields in the mostly desert area bordering Saudi Arabia.In recent days, some local leaders in neighbouring Mahra province, which borders Oman and is a key smuggling route, also joined their alliance, the STC told AFP.- Will the STC secede? -The advance and the lack of resistance “suggests a level of coordination with at least some of the government forces,” according to Elisabeth Kendall of Cambridge University.Its speed and success are “symptomatic of PLC failures” she said.”The PLC has proven weak and divided, riddled by infighting and unable to govern effectively,” she said, warning that its future was now unclear, with fears rising that the STC might secede.A senior government official dismissed the possibility of such a move succeeding.”The declaration of a new state isn’t feasible nor viable nor possible,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.”Secession isn’t possible as it requires national, regional and international consensus which doesn’t exist now,” the Yemeni official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The STC is likely seeking to renegotiate the current power-sharing agreement within the PLC amid reports of a potential resumption of talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.The larger civil war has been effectively frozen since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, though talks to bring it to a formal end are yet to succeed.- What do the UAE and Saudi Arabia want? -Riyadh has called for STC forces to withdraw from the newly seized territory while an Emirati official said Abu Dhabi’s position on Yemen was “in line with Saudi Arabia”.The two Gulf monarchies have one shared objective, to counter the Houthi rebels, but they have diverging long-term interests.Secession would offer the UAE “control over lucrative energy resources, ports, trade routes and strategic security locations,” Kendall said, leaving “Saudi with a bellicose Houthi-dominated state on its border”.Their territorial gains are “undoubtedly unsettling for Oman,” she added, which sees the province of Mahra as its “backyard”.strs-saa-sar/aya/dcp

Mort de Philippe Soulas, ancien dessinateur de Hara-Kiri et Libé

Dessinateur satirique dans les journaux Hara-Kiri et Libération, libertaire convaincu et ami de Cabu ou Siné, Philippe Soulas est mort dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi à l’âge de 93 ans, a annoncé sa famille à l’AFP.Avec son trait incisif, Soulas a passé vingt ans à Libé, de 1974 à 1994. Comme nombre de dessinateurs de l’époque engagés très à gauche, ses thèmes de prédilection étaient l’anticléricalisme ou les inégalités sociales.Né en 1932 près de Toulouse et décédé dans le Loiret, Soulas était venu tardivement au dessin de presse, après mai 1968. C’est à ce moment-là qu’il rejoint la joyeuse bande libertaire de Hara-Kiri, l’ancêtre de Charlie Hebdo, menée par Cavanna et le professeur Choron.”Je le lisais depuis 1961. La vulgarité qu’on y trouvait m’enchantait, parce que ça faisait chier les bourgeois, les curés et les militaires! Bref, tout ce que je détestais!”, avait-il raconté en 2021 au Journal du Kremlin-Bicêtre, ville de banlieue parisienne où il habitait.Il avait ajouté qu’il était devenu athée enfant, durant une promenade nocturne dans son pensionnat catholique: “Devant l’autel, j’ai baissé mon froc en disant à Dieu: +Si tu existes, foudroie-moi!+ Et comme il ne s’est rien passé, j’ai cessé de croire!”En 1974, Soulas arrive à Libération, fondé l’année d’avant par Serge July et le philosophe Jean-Paul Sartre. A son départ en 1994, il poursuit le journal aux prud’hommes avec succès, pour contester son renvoi.”Les premières années, ça a vraiment été une aventure formidable. Et puis, à partir de 1981, l’état d’esprit libre et indépendant a muté. On a accepté la publicité, la hiérarchie des salaires, les postes fixes, les licenciements… J’étais contre”, avait-il assuré au Journal du Kremlin-Bicêtre.Dans un reportage télévisé de 1984 sur Libération, en ligne sur le site de l’INA, il était toutefois moins catégorique, en jugeant l’évolution du journal “logique”.”On pouvait toujours rester un quotidien à 15.000 exemplaires (…) pur et dur et mal vivre. Si on était resté à 15.000 exemplaires, on n’aurait pas eu d’argent (…) il n’y aurait plus Libé”, déclare-t-il dans ce reportage, interrogé par Cabu, alors dessinateur au Canard enchaîné.Membre du collectif “Les humoristes associés” dans les années 80, Soulas a également dessiné dans Marianne ou Siné Hebdo, et publié plusieurs livres. Ces dernières années, il se consacrait à la peinture.

Stocks mark time ahead of Fed decision

Global stock markets marked time and the dollar steadied Wednesday with investors’ eyes on a highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy announcement later in the day.On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was off 0.2 percent two hours into the session. The Dow rose 0.5 percent but the S&P 500 index was flat.Europe was little changed as London closed 0.1 percent in the green but Frankfurt and Paris were just off, while Asia saw a lacklustre session.With US central bankers expected to cut interest rates for the third straight session on Wednesday, the main focus is on their post-meeting statement, Fed boss Jerome Powell’s news conference and the “dot plot” forecast for 2026 policy.”While there is a 90-percent chance of a rate cut at this meeting, the outlook is less clear,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.”In the lead up to this meeting, bond traders are scaling back their expectations for future rate cuts, with only two further reductions expected throughout 2026,” she added.Traders were generally expecting a “hawkish” 25-basis-point trim.After November’s tech-led swoon, stock markets have enjoyed a healthy run in recent weeks as weak jobs figures reinforced expectations for another step lower in borrowing costs.But that has cooled heading into the Fed gathering following the release of US inflation data that was slightly higher than expected.US data on Tuesday showing an uptick in job openings — against estimates for a drop — further tempered expectations for a string of cuts next year.Still, there is some hope that the Fed will turn more dovish next year, with US President Donald Trump’s top economic aide Kevin Hassett — the frontrunner to succeed Powell in May — saying he sees plenty of room to substantially lower rates.After a weak showing Tuesday in New York, where the S&P 500 and Dow dropped, Asia fared no better Wednesday with Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Mumbai, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila all down, though Hong Kong and Taipei edged up.The price of silver hit a record high at $61.6145 an ounce owing to high demand for the metal used by industry as well as for making jewellery.It topped $60 for the first time Tuesday also thanks to supply constraints.Investors are also keenly awaiting earnings from software giant Oracle and chipmaker Broadcom, which will be used to judge the outlook for the tech sector in the wake of huge investments in artificial intelligence.Markets have been pumped higher for the past two years by the surge into all things AI, though there has been some concern of late that the hundreds of billions splashed out might not see returns as early as hoped.- Key figures at around 1650 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 47,790.81 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,845.34New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,519.10London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,655.02 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,022.69 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,130.14 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 50,602.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 25,540.78 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,900.50 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.52 yen from 156.90 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1636 from $1.1630Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3317 from $1.3300Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.33 pence from 87.43 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $61.49 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $57.80 per barrel

Hollywood meets the world in Sundance line-up

Hollywood A-listers Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde and Russell Crowe will rub shoulders with some of cinema’s best and brightest new talent at the Sundance film festival next month, organizers said Wednesday.The first edition of the festival since the death in September of founder Robert Redford will see a firmament of stars descend on Park City, Utah for one of the most important gatherings in the global movie calendar.”I think that this is going to be such a celebratory year and a very special one,” Sundance director of programming Kim Yutani told AFP.”Any time you can bring together such an eclectic group of artists and storytellers… I think about Charli XCX and Billie Jean King, Salman Rushdie, Rinko Kikuchi together… it’s such a special (group) of people that we can have on the mountain.”A rich vein of comedy runs through this year’s program, said Yutani.”There are films that are looking at things in a kind of more quirky and unique way, like ‘The History of Concrete’ by John Wilson, which is going to have its own enthusiastic audience,” she said.The documentary traces Wilson’s efforts to sell a film about building materials after attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie.The laughs continue with Seth Rogen and Edward Norton in “The Invite,” opposite Olivia Wilde, who also directs.The script, co-written by Rashida James (“Parks and Recreation”), deals with a couple whose mysterious neighbors come over for dinner.Meanwhile, “Mad Men” stars Hamm and John Slattery reunite in “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” where a Midwestern bride-to-be rampages through Hollywood in an effort to even the score after her fiance uses the couple’s “free celebrity pass” on his famous crush.In “The Gallerist” — starring Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, along with Jenna Ortega and Sterling K. Brown — a desperate curator tries to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami.- International -With the movie industry still struggling to find its feet after successive blows from the streaming revolution, the Covid pandemic and Hollywood strikes that crippled Tinseltown in 2023, the involvement of such famous faces is a vote of confidence in independent filmmaking, said festival programmer John Nein.”When you see Chris Pine and Jenny Slate in ‘Carousel,’ or when you see Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan in ‘Josephine’… that’s one of the signs of optimism at a time when we are looking at some real challenges in the sector, that notable actors continue to want to be involved in these projects,” he told AFP.Sundance received more than 16,000 submissions, whittling them down to 90 feature-length films, with 40 percent of them from first-time feature directors.All but a handful of the titles that will be screened in the festival’s snow-capped Rocky Mountain base will be world premieres, selected from 164 countries and territories around the globe.The strong international line-up includes films from traditional cinematic powerhouses like Britain, in the form of the debut feature “Extra Geography” from director Molly Manners, and queer genre film “Leviticus” from Australia.But it also includes offerings from places the audience might be less familiar with, like “Hanging by a Wire,” a nail-biting race to save schoolboys dangling from a stranded cable car in the Himalayan foothills.”Hold On to Me” from Cyprus tells the story of an 11-year-old tracking down her estranged father, while documentary “Kikuyu Land” from Kenya examines how powerful outside forces use local corruption to dispossess a people.Sundance, which runs from January 22 to February 1, is being held in Utah for the final time before a move to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.Festival and public programming director Eugene Hernandez said the final Park City edition, along with Redford’s death, makes this a significant year.”We reach this pinnacle of our experience in Utah this year,” he said. “It’s going to be a special edition.” 

Collapse of two buildings in Morocco’s Fes kills 22

The collapse of two buildings killed 22 people in the northern Moroccan city of Fes, authorities said Wednesday, in the deadliest accident of its kind in the kingdom in recent years.The Fes prosecutor’s office said in a statement the collapse occurred after 11:00 pm (2200 GMT), with women and children among the dead and sixteen people injured.Locals told AFP the buildings did not meet standards as authorities only allow two-storey buildings in that area, but the two buildings had four floors each.”I heard a loud noise around midnight, then screams,” 17-year-old Bilal El Bachir said. “It was shocking. Everyone went outside and I saw what looked like a cloud of dust, and that’s when I realised both buildings had collapsed.””I don’t know why it happened… but I’m sure the upper floors were illegal,” he added. “And these aren’t the only buildings here with illegal floors. I’m afraid this kind of incident will happen again.”The prosecutor’s office said in a statement there had been a family celebration in one of the buildings at the time of the collapse while the other was unoccupied.An investigation had been opened to “determine the real causes” of the incident, the prosecutor’s office added.By Wednesday mid-afternoon, rescue teams had completed searches for survivors, Abdelaziz Makhmakh, regional civil protection commander, told AFP.- Deadliest in a decade -“Construction in the area is almost anarchic, completely out of control,” said 20-year-old Bilal Ben Daoued. “This is supposed to be a modern neighbourhood where plots of land were offered to rehouse families who were living in slums.””It is very clear that the safety conditions are not being respected,” he added. “The investigation needs to explain this to us, and the authorities need to take responsibility.”Local authorities said preliminary reports suggested the buildings were constructed in 2006.Images from the pre-dawn scene showed first responders carrying a corpse in a grey body bag to waiting emergency vehicles, as residents gathered to watch the rescue efforts.Other workers with jackhammers and pickaxes tried to dig through the rubble, at times with the help of mechanical excavators.The official news agency MAP reported the injured were taken to Fes’s University Hospital Centre.The accident was the deadliest of its kind in a decade. In 2014, three buildings in the western city of Casablanca collapsed, killing 23 people.In 2016, there were two deadly building collapses within the span of a week.One was a home in the western city of Marrakech where two children were killed, while the other was a four-storey building that killed four people and injured two dozen more.In February of last year, five people died in the collapse of a house in Fes’s old city.Last May in Fes, nine people died when a residential building collapsed.The structure had been listed as at risk of collapse and its occupants had been ordered to evacuate, a local authority source told AFP at the time.

Machado appelle à être prêt à se “battre pour la liberté” en recevant son Nobel de la paix par procuration

L’opposante vénézuélienne Maria Corina Machado, qui n’a pu recevoir en personne son Nobel de la paix mercredi faute d’être arrivée à temps à Oslo, a appelé à se préparer à se “battre pour la liberté”.En l’absence de la lauréate qui vit cachée dans son pays et est en route pour la Norvège, c’est sa fille qui a reçu sa récompense et lu son discours de remerciement.”Pour avoir la démocratie, nous devons être prêts à nous battre pour la liberté”, a dit Ana Corina Sosa Machado dans un Hôtel de ville d’Oslo où avaient pris place le président argentin Javier Milei et d’autres chefs d’État latino-américains ayant en commun – comme Mme Machado – des affinités idéologiques avec Donald Trump.Évoquant les enlèvements de personnes, les tortures et la chasse aux opposants, elle a aussi fustigé “des crimes contre l’humanité, documentés par les Nations unies” et “un terrorisme d’État déployé pour étouffer la volonté du peuple”.L’opposante de 58 ans est entrée dans la clandestinité au Venezuela en août 2024, quelques jours jours après une élection présidentielle à laquelle elle avait été empêchée de se présenter.Les États-Unis, l’Europe et de nombreux pays d’Amérique latine ne reconnaissent pas les résultats du scrutin qui a permis à Nicolas Maduro d’enchaîner un troisième mandat de six ans.L’opposition accuse le pouvoir de fraude et a revendiqué la victoire de son candidat, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, aujourd’hui en exil et présent à la cérémonie Nobel mercredi.Le Nobel de la paix a été attribué à Mme Machado le 10 octobre pour ses efforts en faveur d’une transition démocratique au Venezuela.- Voyage périlleux -Mercredi, le comité Nobel a exhorté le président vénézuélien – de gauche et critiqué pour sa dérive autoritaire – à partir.”M. Maduro, acceptez les résultats de l’élection et retirez-vous”, a lancé son président, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, sous des applaudissements nourris.Dans un appel à M. Frydnes publié juste avant la cérémonie, Mme Machado s’est dite “très triste et très désolée” de ne pas pouvoir arriver à temps, assurant toutefois être en chemin.”Tant de personnes ont risqué leur vie pour que je puisse arriver à Oslo”, a-t-elle souligné.Sa dernière apparition publique remonte au 9 janvier lors d’une manifestation à Caracas contre l’investiture de Nicolas Maduro.On ignore à ce stade comment elle a pu quitter le Venezuela.Le mois dernier, le procureur général a dit à l’AFP que Mme Machado serait considérée comme une “fugitive” si elle quittait son pays, où elle est accusée selon lui d'”actes de conspiration, d’incitation à la haine et de terrorisme”.Son arrivée annoncée à Oslo soulève l’épineuse question de son éventuel retour au Venezuela ou de sa capacité à diriger l’opposition vénézuélienne à partir d’un hypothétique exil.- Comment rentrer? -“Elle risque d’être arrêtée si elle rentre, même si les autorités ont fait preuve de plus de retenue avec elle qu’avec beaucoup d’autres parce qu’une arrestation aurait une portée symbolique très forte”, expliquait mardi Benedicte Bull, professeure spécialiste de l’Amérique latine à l’Université d’Oslo. D’un autre côté, “elle est la dirigeante incontestée de l’opposition, mais si elle reste longtemps en exil, je pense que cela changera et qu’elle perdra progressivement de l’influence politique”, a-t-elle ajouté auprès de l’AFP.Elle rentrera “très bientôt” au Venezuela, a assuré sa fille. “Elle veut vivre dans un Venezuela libre, et elle n’abandonnera jamais cet objectif”, a-t-elle affirmé.La cérémonie de remise du prix “a été un moment très émouvant. Ce fut une grande fierté, de la sentir proche, de sentir aussi le Venezuela représenté”, a réagi auprès de l’AFP la plus jeune fille de la lauréate, Clara Machado.Comme en écho, certains Vénézuéliens présents à l’intérieur de l’Hôtel de ville ont lancé des “Vive le Venezuela libre”.Des manifestations pour et contre Mme Machado se sont tenues ou sont prévues dans la capitale norvégienne, placée sous très haute sécurité.Si elle est saluée par beaucoup pour ses efforts en faveur d’une démocratisation au Venezuela, Mme Machado est aussi critiquée par d’autres pour la proximité de ses idées avec Donald Trump, auquel elle a dédié son Nobel.La remise du prix coïncide avec la mise en place par les États-Unis d’un important dispositif militaire dans les Caraïbes et des frappes américaines mortelles sur des bateaux présentés comme se livrant au trafic de drogue, des opérations que l’opposante a défendues.Nicolas Maduro assure, lui, que leur véritable objectif est de le renverser son pouvoir et de s’emparer des réserves pétrolières du Venezuela.Les Nobel dans les autres disciplines (littérature, chimie, médecine, physique, économie) seront également remis dans la journée à Stockholm, en Suède, en présence du roi Carl XVI Gustaf.