US

Lebanon, Israel agree to direct negotiations after Washington talks

pope

Pope walks in Augustine's footsteps as Algeria trip draws to an end

BY CLéMENT MELKI

  • The city was once the home of Augustine, whose autobiographical "Confessions" is a seminal work within the Christian tradition.
  • Pope Leo XIV travelled on Tuesday to the Algerian city of Annaba, the one-time home of Christian theologian Saint Augustine, in the first trip ever by a pontiff to the north African country.
  • The city was once the home of Augustine, whose autobiographical "Confessions" is a seminal work within the Christian tradition.
Pope Leo XIV travelled on Tuesday to the Algerian city of Annaba, the one-time home of Christian theologian Saint Augustine, in the first trip ever by a pontiff to the north African country.
Leo's visit, which marked the start of an African tour, was marred on Monday by two suicide attacks in Blida, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) southwest of the capital Algiers, and by sharp criticism by US President Donald Trump.
Still, the pope said on Tuesday that the trip "is for me a special gift from God's providence", thanking authorities for "ensuring (its) success".
Leo was travelling back to Algiers on Tuesday evening and is set to leave the country for Cameroon on Wednesday.
While the authorities have yet to comment on the suicide attacks, an informed source on Tuesday confirmed the bombings to AFP, and widely circulated videos of the bodies of two suicide bombers were verified by AFP. 
No other deaths were confirmed, and no link has so far been established between the attacks and the pope's visit.
The American pope's trip was already at risk of being overshadowed by a spat with President Trump, who said he was "not a big fan" of Leo after the pontiff called for peace in the Middle East.
Aboard the papal plane en route to Algiers on Monday, Leo told reporters that "the Gospel says... blessed are the peacemakers", and that he had nothing to fear from Trump.
The US president later doubled down on his criticism, refusing to apologise and calling Leo "wrong" and "weak".
Italian and American bishops expressed their support for the pope, as did Trump's ally Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called the US leader's remarks "unacceptable".
Overnight, US Vice President JD Vance urged the Vatican to "stick to matters of morality", and let Trump "stick to dictating American public policy".

'Son' of Augustine

The controversy aside, in northeast Algeria in Annaba -- formerly the ancient Roman city of Hippo -- Leo visited vestiges of the city's past, and a reception centre run by Catholic nuns for impoverished elderly people, mostly Muslims.
The city was once the home of Augustine, whose autobiographical "Confessions" is a seminal work within the Christian tradition.
The pontiff has previously referred to himself as a "son" of the saint, and belongs to the Augustinian order.
Leo also celebrated Mass at the hilltop Basilica of Saint Augustine in the presence of clergy from across Africa. The Arab-Byzantine-style church draws some 18,000 pilgrims each year, including Muslims and Jews.
Among those in attendance was Sister Rose-Marie de Tauzia, who has lived in Algiers for two decades. She said she was happy with the pope's visit, adding he had come to "proclaim peace" at a time "when everything is difficult" and "the world is in tension".
Delivering his homily in French, the pontiff told Algeria's Christians they were "a humble and faithful sign of Christ's love in this land".
"Bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships and a dialogue lived out day by day," he said.
Algerian media outlets praised the pontiff's visit, with Le Quotidien d'Oran saying it showed that "Algeria is a land committed to peace".
Sunni Islam is the state religion in Algeria, and Catholics represent less than 0.01 percent of the 47 million inhabitants.
In his first speech in Algiers on Monday, Leo paid tribute to victims of the country's 1954-1962 war of independence from France and called for "forgiveness" at a time of heightened tensions between Algeria and its former colonial ruler.
The pope also urged Algeria's leaders "not to fear" greater public participation in political life, calling for a "vibrant, dynamic and free civil society".
Since the pro-democracy Hirak protests in 2019, which called for sweeping reforms and greater transparency, human rights groups have reported shrinking freedoms and greater controls over public space.
After Cameroon, the pope will be travelling on to Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
bur-cmk/bou/smw

US

Lebanon, Israel agree to direct negotiations after Washington talks

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT AND DUBAI

  • Tuesday's meeting in Washington -- the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 -- was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
  • Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a "historic opportunity" for peace.
  • Tuesday's meeting in Washington -- the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 -- was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a "historic opportunity" for peace.
The two countries have technically been at war for decades, and Tuesday's talks have been vehemently opposed by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which announced that it had fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the meeting was getting underway.
The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing it could derail the two-week ceasefire in Washington's war with Iran after talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Lebanon was pulled into the broader conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its backer Iran, sparking an Israeli ground invasion and strikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over a million.
Tuesday's meeting in Washington -- the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 -- was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
"This is a historic opportunity," Rubio said as he welcomed the ambassadors, acknowledging the "decades of history" complicating the process.
"The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed."
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun had said he hoped the talks "will mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people."
A State Department spokesperson said afterward that discussions were "productive," adding: "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue."
Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two sides "had a wonderful exchange."
"We discovered today that we're on the same side," he told reporters, saying both countries were "united in liberating Lebanon" from Hezbollah.
In a statement of her own, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called the meeting "constructive," but said she had also called for a ceasefire and insisted on "the full sovereignty of the state over all Lebanese land," among other issues.
Israeli forces are currently occupying parts of Lebanon's south, and its government has resisted considering any ceasefire until Hezbollah is dismantled.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country was seeking "peace and normalisation" with the Lebanese state, but said Hezbollah was the key problem and "needs to be addressed."
Before the meeting, Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem had called for the negotiations to be scrapped and vowed to fight on.
Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Britain and France, urged both countries to seize the chance to bring lasting security to the region.

US blockades Iran

While attention shifted to the meeting in Washington, Trump sought to squeeze Iran with a naval blockade.
US Central Command had said the measures covered "vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas."
On Tuesday it maintained no vessels had passed through the strait and six had complied with instructions to turn back, although maritime tracking data from Kpler suggested several ships that had visited Iranian ports had managed to cross since the start of the blockade.
Iran's military command branded the blockade an act of piracy and warned that if the security of its harbors was "threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe."
With his blockade of Iranian ports, Trump was trying to starve Iran of funds but also pressure Beijing, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to lean on Tehran to reopen Hormuz, analysts said.
China said the blockade was "dangerous and irresponsible," after Trump threatened to sink any boats that sought to leave or dock at Iranian ports.
Crucially, despite the blockade, the fragile two-week truce agreed last Wednesday between Washington and Tehran remained in place.
Trump on Tuesday told the New York Post that a new round of talks could happen in Pakistan "over the next two days," having told reporters the day before that unnamed Iranian officials had called him wanting to make a deal.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said there was "no military solution" to the conflict and that peace required "persistent engagement and political will."
"Serious negotiations must resume," he told journalists in New York.
On Tuesday, senior Pakistani sources told AFP that Islamabad was working to bring Iran and the United States together for a second round of talks.

Nuclear enrichment pause?

Trump has insisted that an agreement must include stopping Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon, having launched the war after accusing Tehran of seeking to develop an atomic bomb -- an allegation it denies.
During weekend talks, the United States reportedly sought a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program, according to media reports on Monday.
Iran in turn proposed to suspend its nuclear activity for five years, which US officials rejected, The New York Times reported.
Diplomatic efforts also picked up elsewhere, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing, hours after speaking to his Iranian counterpart.
Moscow has offered to hold Iran's enriched uranium safely as part of any deal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also vowed Tuesday that Beijing would play a "constructive role" in promoting peace talks in the Middle East.
bur-dcp/smw/des

Maradona

'Bunch of amateurs': Maradona's medical team back on trial in Argentina

BY MARTíN RASCHINSKY

  • Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari rounded on the accused at the start of the new trial on Tuesday.
  • The medical team of late football legend Diego Maradona were a "bunch of amateurs" who missed a chance to save his life, Argentine prosecutors said Tuesday at the start of the second trial over his death.
  • Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari rounded on the accused at the start of the new trial on Tuesday.
The medical team of late football legend Diego Maradona were a "bunch of amateurs" who missed a chance to save his life, Argentine prosecutors said Tuesday at the start of the second trial over his death.
Maradona, considered one of the world's greatest players, died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from surgery for a brain clot.
His seven-strong medical team is accused of gross negligence causing his death during his home convalescence.
The first trial was sensationally annulled last year after two-and-a-half months of hearings following revelations that one of the judges took part in a clandestine documentary about the case.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari rounded on the accused at the start of the new trial on Tuesday.
He said Maradona was cared for by a "bunch of amateurs" who committed "all kinds of omissions," resulting in conditions he described as "cruel."
"Diego Maradona began to die 12 hours before his actual death. Anyone who thought to transfer him to a clinic in a car or ambulance during his last week would have saved his life," Ferrari added.
Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema -- a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs -- two weeks after going under the knife.
The larger-than-life former Boca Juniors and Napoli striker, who captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, had a history of cocaine and alcohol abuse.
Maradona's daughters, Dalma, Gianinna, and Jana, as well as his former partner Veronica Ojeda, were present in the packed courtroom in the northern Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro for the start of the proceedings.
Ojeda told reporters that she trusted in the judiciary to see that justice was served.
"That's what we all need: justice for Diego. We want to live in peace and for Diego to rest in peace," she said.

Justice for 'God'

Outside the courthouse, about fifty people carrying Argentine flags and signs demanded justice for "D10s" -- a play on Maradona's number 10 jersey and "dios," the Spanish word for God.
The new trial, which will run until July at the earliest, will hear from some 120 witnesses.
The defendants -- doctors, psychologists and nurses -- are accused of homicide with possible intent by pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death, over decisions they made regarding Maradona's care.
That includes the decision to allow him to convalesce at home instead of in a hospital.
They risk prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted.
Dalma and Gianinna Maradona's lawyer Fernando Burlando displayed a stethoscope as a symbol of what he described as the medics' negligence.
"This small instrument, so important to medicine, was never placed on Maradona's chest between November 11 and 25 (the two weeks before his death)," he said.
The accused argue that the hard-living Maradona died of natural causes. 
"The defense will prove that, unfortunately, Mr Maradona's death is due to a progressive decline in his health that at a certain point reached its limit," Vadim Mischanchuk, representing psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, stated.
The passing of the man, who was revered for his preternatural talent and charisma, plunged Argentina into mourning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of people queued to bid farewell to him as his body lay in state at the presidential palace.
mry-pbl/cb/ksb

US

Israeli envoy says 'on the same side' with Lebanon after talks in US

  • On the Lebanese side, President Joseph Aoun said Monday he hoped the Washington talks will yield "an agreement...on a ceasefire in Lebanon, with the aim of starting direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel."
  • Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon concluded in Washington on Tuesday, with Israel's envoy hailing a "wonderful exchange" and saying the two countries are "on the same side" in opposing Iran-backed Hezbollah.
  • On the Lebanese side, President Joseph Aoun said Monday he hoped the Washington talks will yield "an agreement...on a ceasefire in Lebanon, with the aim of starting direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel."
Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon concluded in Washington on Tuesday, with Israel's envoy hailing a "wonderful exchange" and saying the two countries are "on the same side" in opposing Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"We enjoyed it together. We had a wonderful exchange of over two hours," Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told reporters following the talks.
"We discovered today that we're on the same side," he said, adding: "We are both united in liberating Lebanon from (an) occupation power dominated by Iran called Hezbollah."
There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese side.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- who mediated the talks -- had earlier urged the two countries to seize a "historic opportunity" for peace.
"We understand we're working against decades of history and the complexities that have led us to this unique moment and the opportunity here," Rubio said at the State Department as he welcomed the ambassadors of the two countries.
"The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed," he added.
But the prospect of an easy agreement appear slim, especially as Hezbollah -- which is battling Israeli forces in southern Lebanon -- opposed the talks and called for them to be scrapped before they even began.
Hezbollah said it had launched "simultaneous rocket salvos" at 13 northern Israeli towns shortly after the start of the discussions, following an Israeli warning of a rise in attacks during the talks.
Lebanon was pulled into the region-wide Iran war on March 2 after Hezbollah attacked Israel.
Since then Israeli strikes -- including an extremely heavy attack on Beirut on April 8 -- have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million, despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that "we want the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations."
On the Lebanese side, President Joseph Aoun said Monday he hoped the Washington talks will yield "an agreement...on a ceasefire in Lebanon, with the aim of starting direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel."
President Donald Trump's administration insists on the disarmament of Hezbollah, but also respect for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty, while simultaneously upholding Israel's rights -- positions that appear difficult to reconcile.
A former Israeli defense official told journalists on condition of anonymity Monday that it would take "a lot of imagination and optimism to think" that the issues between Israel and Lebanon can be solved in Washington Tuesday, adding that "expectations are low."
lb/wd/des

conflict

Ukraine says Russian attacks kill seven, including child

  • Later in the evening, another drone killed an eight-year-old boy and wounded nine in the central Cherkasy region, said its military administration. 
  • Russian strikes killed seven people, including a child, and wounded dozens across Ukraine on Tuesday, regional authorities said.
  • Later in the evening, another drone killed an eight-year-old boy and wounded nine in the central Cherkasy region, said its military administration. 
Russian strikes killed seven people, including a child, and wounded dozens across Ukraine on Tuesday, regional authorities said.
Moscow has pummelled its neighbour with hundreds of drones almost nightly since the beginning of the four-year war, but recently had expanded daytime strikes. 
A morning attack on the central Dnipropetrovsk region claimed the lives of five and wounded 27, said local governor Oleksandr Ganzha. 
"The enemy attacked four districts of the region more than 30 times with missiles, drones, and artillery," Ganzha said. 
In the afternoon, a Russian drone killed an elderly woman in the frontline city of Kherson in the south, said regional prosecutors. 
Later in the evening, another drone killed an eight-year-old boy and wounded nine in the central Cherkasy region, said its military administration. 
Separately, authorities in the port city of Odesa said Russian drones hit two civilian vessels and the harbour infrastructure. 
The industrial hub of Dnipropetrovsk lies more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the front line, which snakes through eastern and southern Ukraine.
Russian troops have captured a sliver of territory in the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, which is not one of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed after its invasion.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022.
US-brokered talks on the conflict have failed to push the sides closer to a deal, with negotiations frozen for weeks.
bur/rmb

US

Italy shifts away from Israel, US over Mideast war

BY DARIO THUBURN

  • "In view of the current situation, the government has for example decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said.
  • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump and suspended a defence agreement with Israel on Tuesday, signalling a shift in her foreign relations.
  • "In view of the current situation, the government has for example decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump and suspended a defence agreement with Israel on Tuesday, signalling a shift in her foreign relations.
The far-right prime minister was the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration in 2025 and has sought to position herself as a bridge between Europe and his administration.
While ties with Israel were already becoming strained over the Gaza war, the relationship with Washington has been increasingly tense since US-Israeli strikes on Iran set off the Middle East war.
Energy import-dependent Italy has been hit economically and has refused to get involved in the war, siding with European allies.
Trump's extraordinary criticism on Sunday of Pope Leo XIV's growing anti-war rhetoric also proved particularly contentious.
After an initial mild statement of support for Pope Leo against Trump's broadside on Monday, Meloni issued clearer criticism the same day, saying the US leader's words were "unacceptable".
Speaking on the sidelines of a wine fair in northern Italy on Tuesday, Meloni returned to the subject of ties with Israel and the United States, saying that allies should be frank with each other.
"When we don't agree, and I often don't agree, we have to say it" and "act accordingly," she told reporters.
"In view of the current situation, the government has for example decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said.
Israel responded saying the suspension of the deal, which involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research, "will not affect Israel's security".
"We have no security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that has never contained any substantive content," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein told AFP.
Tensions between the two countries have risen over the past week after the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Italy summoned Israel's ambassador in protest over the incident, which damaged at least one vehicle but caused no injuries. 
On Monday, Israel summoned Italy's ambassador following comments by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemning "unacceptable attacks" on Lebanese civilians by Israeli forces.

Meloni 're-positioning'

Meloni is in a vulnerable position at home after losing a justice reform referendum last month -- her first political defeat and one that analysts put down in part to her closeness with Trump.
"She is re-positioning herself," Lorenzo Castellani, politics professor at LUISS University in Rome, told AFP.
Close ties with the US and Israel were creating "political problems" so she is "adapting to circumstances", he said.
Castellani said he believed that Italy would have "a more critical voice, while staying within existing alliances".
Her growing criticism of Trump got a strong response on Tuesday.
"I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," Trump told Corriere della Sera in an interview.
Echoing her criticism of his attack on the pope, Trump told Corriere that it was she who was "unacceptable".
"She’s unacceptable because she doesn't mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance."
Referring to her refusal to get involved in the Middle East, he said: "She thinks America should do the job for her, she should not be involved."
Meloni's allies and political opponents were swift to offer support.
"We are and remain staunch supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but this unity is built on mutual loyalty, respect, and honesty," Foreign Minister Tajani said on X.
He said that until now, Trump considered Meloni a courageous person, and "he was not mistaken, but she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks".
"And on Pope Leo XIV she said exactly what all of us Italians think. The prime minister and the government defend and will always defend only and solely the interests of Italy," he said.
bur-dt/ar/rmb

economy

Trump admin wants new Fed chair in place 'as soon as possible'

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • But he maintained: "I am confident that (Warsh) will be the Fed chair."
  • The Trump administration wants Kevin Warsh in place as the new US central bank chair "as soon as possible," with the existing Fed chief's term coming soon to an end, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
  • But he maintained: "I am confident that (Warsh) will be the Fed chair."
The Trump administration wants Kevin Warsh in place as the new US central bank chair "as soon as possible," with the existing Fed chief's term coming soon to an end, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
Warsh, a former Federal Reserve official, is President Donald Trump's choice to succeed Jerome Powell.
But his confirmation in the Senate faces challenges as a key lawmaker pushes back against Trump's attempt to control the independent institution.
Powell's term as chairman expires in May, and Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott told Fox Business earlier Tuesday that Warsh's hearing is expected next week, with a vote due later on.
"We want Kevin Warsh in as soon as possible," Bessent told reporters on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance event in Washington.
The Fed and Powell are facing a Justice Department probe over renovation costs at its headquarters in Washington, sparking criticism of political pressure on the bank.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis -- who sits on the Banking Committee -- has vowed to block Warsh's confirmation until the legal issue is resolved.
"I think we're going to let this play out," Bessent said Tuesday. "There's agreement for the hearings."
Bessent added that he believes Tillis is ultimately "a reasonable man."
Asked if he has been in talks to drop the Justice Department investigation, Bessent said: "I don't control the DOJ probe."
But he maintained: "I am confident that (Warsh) will be the Fed chair."
Previously, a federal judge quashed subpoenas issued to the Fed as part of the Justice Department probe, with the court saying there was "a mountain of evidence" to suggest the investigation was a pressure tactic.

Waiting for clarity

Asked about the Fed's path of interest rates as war in the Middle East plays out, Bessent added: "They could observe before they cut rates."
"I believe rates should be cut," he maintained.
But he added: "If they want to wait for some clarity, I understand that."
He added that Fed policymakers should also wait for Warsh to be in place "and let him lead the next cycle" of rate adjustments.
Trump has been pushing for the Fed to lower the benchmark lending rate since he returned to the White House in January 2025, and repeatedly lashed out at Powell for not slashing more aggressively.
But US-Israeli strikes targeting Iran on February 28, which sparked Tehran's retaliation and plunged the region into war, have triggered a surge in energy and fertilizer prices.
Tehran has mostly blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for such shipments.
The move has caused gasoline and other price hikes in the United States, fanning fears of more persistent inflation.
The Fed typically raises interest rates to rein in inflation, and lowers them to spur economic activity.
bys/sms

migration

Musk's father seeking Russian refuge for S.African farmers

BY CLéMENT VARANGES

  • Contacted by AFP by telephone on Tuesday, Errol Musk told AFP from Moscow: "It's about providing refugee status to South African farmers." – 50 families – Musk, who regularly visits Russia and attended an April 12 Orthodox Easter mass in Moscow in the presence of President Vladimir Putin, did not give details of the project.
  • The father of tech billionaire Elon Musk is working on a project to provide refugee status in Russia for South African farmers, he told AFP on Tuesday, in a project similar to one by the US government.
  • Contacted by AFP by telephone on Tuesday, Errol Musk told AFP from Moscow: "It's about providing refugee status to South African farmers." – 50 families – Musk, who regularly visits Russia and attended an April 12 Orthodox Easter mass in Moscow in the presence of President Vladimir Putin, did not give details of the project.
The father of tech billionaire Elon Musk is working on a project to provide refugee status in Russia for South African farmers, he told AFP on Tuesday, in a project similar to one by the US government.
The initiative would resettle 50 families from the white Afrikaans minority, descendants of the first Dutch settlers, according to a Russian official.
The same group of South Africans have been offered refugee status by the government of US President Donald Trump, which has falsely claimed they face persecution under the post-apartheid government.
Nearly 5,000 white Afrikaners have entered the United States as refugees since Trump took office in January last year and all but halted refugee programmes for every other group.
The US programme has angered the South African government which denies any discrimination.
Contacted by AFP by telephone on Tuesday, Errol Musk told AFP from Moscow: "It's about providing refugee status to South African farmers."
– 50 families –
Musk, who regularly visits Russia and attended an April 12 Orthodox Easter mass in Moscow in the presence of President Vladimir Putin, did not give details of the project.
In an interview with Russian media Gubernia 33, he justified the project by claiming white Afrikaner farmers were being targeted for murder, allegations strongly denied in South Africa.
Washington made similar claims in its justification for encouraging Afrikaners to resettle in the United States.
The governor of the Vladimir region which borders the Moscow region, Aleksandr Avdeyev, said last week that he had discussed the project with Musk.
"We discussed the development of agriculture and the prospects for settling 50 Dutch-origin families from South Africa," he said on Telegram.
While Afrikaners have been emigrating to Russia since at least 2018, according to reports, Musk's involvement appears to be new information.
Now in his late 70s, he is a polarising figure. 
In an interview with CNN late last year, he rejected there had been racial oppression under apartheid, a harsh system of segregation which denied the black majority basic rights.
Elon Musk, who left South Africa in his late teens, regularly accuses the government of racism, particularly over its failure to grant his Starlink internet provider a licence.
In a new outburst on social media this weekend, he said: "South Africa won't allow Starlink to be licensed, even though I was BORN THERE, simply because I am not Black!"
South African laws designed to rebalance apartheid-era discrimination require large companies to be at least 30-percent owned by people from previously disadvantaged communities.
Elon Musk was peddling "lies and disinformation", President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesman responded on X.

Puzzling

Errol Musk's Russia project was "puzzling", said Friedrich von Treskow, a former researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, who has worked on Russian influence in southern Africa. 
Pretoria and Moscow have close ties that date back to the struggle against apartheid, when the Soviet Union provided support to the African National Congress and its military wing.
"It could create tensions with Pretoria," von Treskow told AFP of Musk senior's scheme.
"Pretoria has been very reluctant to criticise Russia on any issue whatsoever."
Ramaphosa in February expressed "heartfelt gratitude" to Putin for agreeing to facilitate the return of more than a dozen men lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Fifteen of them have since returned.
Last month, the Forbidden Stories investigative media outlet reported that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had in December 2024 thanked Russian influence agents for their "assistance" before the general election earlier that year. 
He also "requested" at a secret meeting $300,000 to fund an ANC party congress. 
Mbalula, among the men tipped to replace Ramaphosa as head of the party, which could put him in the running for president, rejected the claims as "unfounded" and "part of a disinformation campaign."
clv/br/gil

Global Edition

Stocks rise, oil prices retreat on hopes for Mideast peace deal

  • "Stocks saw an upswing while oil prices took a dip following President Donald Trump's suggestion to reopen talks with Iran, sparking optimism for a potential agreement that might alleviate tensions in the Middle East," said Patrick Munnelly, a market strategist at Tickmill Group.
  • Stock markets climbed and oil prices tumbled Tuesday on rekindled hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the key Strait of Hormuz to end disruptions that have sent energy prices soaring.
  • "Stocks saw an upswing while oil prices took a dip following President Donald Trump's suggestion to reopen talks with Iran, sparking optimism for a potential agreement that might alleviate tensions in the Middle East," said Patrick Munnelly, a market strategist at Tickmill Group.
Stock markets climbed and oil prices tumbled Tuesday on rekindled hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the key Strait of Hormuz to end disruptions that have sent energy prices soaring.
Wall Street's main indices climbed, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq now back at levels from before the US and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28.
European equity markets also rose, although London rose only 0.3 percent as the retreat in oil prices from $100 a barrel weighed on the shares of energy majors BP and Shell.
Asia's leading stock markets closed with sizeable gains, while the dollar, seen as a haven in times of market turmoil, dropped against its main rivals.
The United States said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the Mideast conflict as diplomats accelerated efforts for a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal.
"Stocks saw an upswing while oil prices took a dip following President Donald Trump's suggestion to reopen talks with Iran, sparking optimism for a potential agreement that might alleviate tensions in the Middle East," said Patrick Munnelly, a market strategist at Tickmill Group.
Trump said Iranian representatives had called Washington since a US delegation returned empty-handed from negotiations in Islamabad.
"They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," Trump told reporters.
At the same time, the US has implemented a naval blockade of Iranian ports at the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil passes.
Investors are "pricing in victory", said analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
He said many believe the end of the conflict is a question of days, weeks or months rather than years.
"Nobody wants to be under-exposed to risk assets, let alone be short, should the war suddenly conclude, or even if the Strait of Hormuz was unblocked," Morrison said.
The International Energy Agency warned Tuesday that demand for crude would likely see in the second quarter this year the biggest slump since the Covid pandemic slammed the global economy in 2020.
Surging prices will force many countries and industries to curb oil use, and "demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist", the agency said in its monthly report.
Crude futures have peaked at almost $120 a barrel during the war from around $72 on the conflict's eve.
The benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell more than five percent during morning trading in New York to under $94 per barrel.
"Oil prices started to decline as rumors about renewed diplomatic efforts between US and Iran emerged," said analysts at DNB Carnegie.
Investors are also keeping an eye on the flood of first-quarter earnings being released this week and next for signs of how the Mideast war is impacting corporate bottom lines. 
French luxury conglomerate LVMH reported Monday that sales fell six percent in the first three months of the year, saying the war in the Middle East depressed business in the region.
Its shares spent most of the day in the red, but finished the day with a small gain.
Large banks JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all reported higher quarterly profits, pointing to continued resilience among US consumers despite increased geopolitical uncertainty.
Shares in JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo fell however. 

Key figures at 1530 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.1 percent at $96.23 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.5 percent at $93.67 a barrel
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.7 percent at 48,531.83 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 6,948.17
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 23,509.13
London - FTSE 100: 0.3 percent at 10,609.06 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 8,327.86 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 24,044.22 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.4 percent at 57,877.39 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,872.32 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 4,026.63 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1802 from $1.1761 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3571 from $1.3507
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.80 yen from 159.41 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.97 pence from 87.08 pence
burs-rl/yad

diplomacy

Lavrov blasts efforts to 'contain' Russia, China on Beijing visit

  • Lavrov and Wang also "communicated and synced up preparations for a meeting between the two heads of state within the year", according to the Chinese readout.
  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised efforts he said were aimed at "containing" Russia and China on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing, where he also discussed with his Chinese counterpart plans for a meeting "within the year" between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
  • Lavrov and Wang also "communicated and synced up preparations for a meeting between the two heads of state within the year", according to the Chinese readout.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised efforts he said were aimed at "containing" Russia and China on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing, where he also discussed with his Chinese counterpart plans for a meeting "within the year" between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
Lavrov was given a red-carpet welcome after he arrived in the Chinese capital, photographs released by the Russian foreign ministry showed.
He later met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who he was seen shaking hands with in a picture posted on social media by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and the relationship has deepened further since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lavrov warned of "some very, very dangerous games going on" in East Asian geopolitical hotspots that included Taiwan, the disputed South China Sea and the nuclear-armed Korean peninsula, according to quotes from the meeting with Wang published by state-run RIA Novosti.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and is sharply critical of US military assistance the self-ruled island receives.
In comments apparently referring to the United States and its allies, Lavrov said "they are trying to dismantle (regional cooperation) by creating small-format, bloc-based structures aimed at containing both the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation".
"Our vast continent as a whole demands constant attention," he said.
Wang and Lavrov "conducted in-depth exchanges on the US-Iran conflict, the Asia-Pacific situation, the Ukraine crisis" and other issues during their meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement without providing details.
"The two sides coordinate and support one another on the international stage, demonstrating to the whole world that amid adversity, a righteous path remains, and that under changes, there lies greater responsibility," Wang said.
Lavrov and Wang also "communicated and synced up preparations for a meeting between the two heads of state within the year", according to the Chinese readout.
China is hosting this week a string of leaders of countries that have been affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran and its economic fallout, including Vietnam's To Lam and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Wang and Lavrov agreed during a call on April 5 that Beijing and Moscow would work together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
China's Premier Li Qiang told the United Arab Emirates leader that Beijing is "ready to further play a constructive role and contribute to the restoration of peace and tranquility in the Gulf region".
bur-pfc-mya/pbt

US

Iran nuclear programme 'set back' but not wiped out

BY DELPHINE TOUITOU WITH ANOUK RIONDET IN JERUSALEM AND W.G. DUNLOP IN WASHINGTON

  • But they have not succeeded in seizing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, key to any future negotiations between Washington and Tehran, experts and diplomatic sources told AFP. One of US President Donald Trump's justifications for the war he launched was an accusation -- denied by Tehran -- that Iran was developing an atomic bomb.
  • The United States and Israel may have obstructed the path towards a future Iran-built nuclear bomb by severely damaging the Islamic republic's nuclear and ballistic capabilities in recent attacks.
  • But they have not succeeded in seizing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, key to any future negotiations between Washington and Tehran, experts and diplomatic sources told AFP. One of US President Donald Trump's justifications for the war he launched was an accusation -- denied by Tehran -- that Iran was developing an atomic bomb.
The United States and Israel may have obstructed the path towards a future Iran-built nuclear bomb by severely damaging the Islamic republic's nuclear and ballistic capabilities in recent attacks.
But they have not succeeded in seizing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, key to any future negotiations between Washington and Tehran, experts and diplomatic sources told AFP.
One of US President Donald Trump's justifications for the war he launched was an accusation -- denied by Tehran -- that Iran was developing an atomic bomb. Trump has repeatedly vowed to never allow the country to possess a nuclear weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, has stated that the previous war waged against Iran, a 12-day conflict in June 2025, as well as the current one "wiped out" Iran's nuclear programme.
But two European diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed caution about the future of Iran's atomic ambitions. 
Immediately following the June 2025 strikes, "we were told the programme had been set back by several years, before the figure was revised to just several months", one source noted. 
"Iran is no longer a threshold power as it once was," an Israeli diplomatic source, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
A "threshold" state has the expertise, resources and facilities needed to develop a nuclear weapon on short notice should it choose to.
The source argued that, in addition to the infrastructure damage suffered, Iran's know-how "has been seriously undermined by the elimination of the scientists and officials" and the targeting of universities "where the data centres containing Iran's expertise were located".
- 'Substantial setback' - 
"Overall, this conflict has set back Iran's nuclear programme substantially," said Spencer Faragasso of the Institute for Science and International Security, a US think tank that monitors Iran's nuclear programme.
"It will take a significant amount of time, investment, and resources to reconstitute all of those lost capabilities," he said. 
However, "the gains from the conflict are not permanent by any means". 
Tehran still possesses a significant quantity of uranium enriched both to 60 percent, close to the 90-percent level required to make an atomic bomb, as well as a stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent, another critical threshold. 
Prior to the US strikes in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calculated that Iran possessed approximately 440 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, well above the 3.67-percent limit set by a 2015 agreement from which the United States subsequently withdrew.
Since June 2025, the fate of this stockpile has remained uncertain, with Tehran refusing access to IAEA inspectors at the sites ravaged by US and Israeli strikes. 
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has repeatedly called for the return of international experts.

Removing enriched uranium

Part of the stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is believed to remain buried in the tunnels at the Isfahan site in central Iran.
"At least 220 kilogrammes – roughly half of Iran's declared stockpile of 60 percent HEU – is believed to be stored in the underground tunnel complex at Isfahan," said Faragasso.
"The status of the other half is unclear, but we believe it is buried under the rubble at Fordow as large significant quantities of 60 percent HEU were produced prior to the June 2025 war," he said.
Only an independent inspection would be able to dispel these doubts.
The issue is how this uranium could be removed from Iranian territory under any eventual accord. 
Russia reiterated on Monday that it remained ready to accept Iranian enriched uranium on its soil as part of any potential peace agreement between Washington and Tehran.
"This proposal was put forward by President (Vladimir) Putin during contacts with the United States and with countries in the region," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in response to a question from AFP.
But that scenario is a red line for the Europeans in view of the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years.
Moscow and Tehran are cooperating on nuclear matters through Iran's Bushehr power plant, built and operated with Russian assistance for civilian purposes.
The Iranians "don't have an ability to enrich uranium anymore... So it means they cannot build a nuclear bomb at the moment," said Danny Orbach of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 
"But they still have the enriched material, which is the hardest thing to obtain," he said.
dt-bur/dab/spm/as/rmb

earnings

US bank profits jump as execs see consumers surviving oil spike so far

BY JOHN BIERS

  • "While markets have been volatile, we still see continued resiliency in the underlying economy and the financial health of the consumers and businesses we serve remains strong, though the impact of higher oil prices will likely take some time to materialize," Scharf said. 
  • Large banks reported higher profits Tuesday, pointing to resilience among US businesses and customers despite higher oil prices from the Middle East war.
  • "While markets have been volatile, we still see continued resiliency in the underlying economy and the financial health of the consumers and businesses we serve remains strong, though the impact of higher oil prices will likely take some time to materialize," Scharf said. 
Large banks reported higher profits Tuesday, pointing to resilience among US businesses and customers despite higher oil prices from the Middle East war.
JPMorgan Chase notched gains across leading consumer and investment bank categories.
CEO Jamie Dimon described the US economy as still healthy but facing an "increasingly complex set of risks," including volatile energy prices, trade uncertainty and large deficits.
Profits at the largest US lender by assets came in at $16.5 billion, up 13 percent from the year-ago level, while revenues jumped 10 percent to $49.8 billion.
The spike in oil prices has translated into national gasoline prices above $4 a gallon for the first time since August 2022, a political headwind for US President Donald Trump.
While higher gasoline prices pose a greater strain on lower income households, Dimon said a solid US employment market remained a supporting factor.
"Always the most important thing is jobs," Dimon said. "And there's plenty of jobs. Unemployment is relatively low."
Some of the drivers of JPMorgan's higher profit were increased consumer deposits and credit card balances that more than not offset the impact of lower interest rates. 
At Citigroup, profits climbed 42 percent to $5.8 billion, while revenues rose 14 percent to $24.6 billion.
The lender enjoyed broad-based growth across its businesses, led by its markets and services divisions. But the bank raised its provision for credit losses by about $600 million, citing increased uncertainty in the macroeconomic outlook.
Chief Financial Officer Gonzalo Luchetti described the US consumer as resilient, noting a stable level of delinquent payments over time.
The increased reserves are "really out of prudence that we want to make sure that we are always well reserved for a range of environments," Luchetti said on a conference call with reporters.
Wells Fargo reported first-quarter profits of $5.2 billion, up seven percent from the year-ago level. Revenues rose six percent to $21.4 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf attributed the higher profits to increased loans and deposits, also describing client credit as solid.
"While markets have been volatile, we still see continued resiliency in the underlying economy and the financial health of the consumers and businesses we serve remains strong, though the impact of higher oil prices will likely take some time to materialize," Scharf said. 
"We will continue to monitor trends and respond accordingly."

Private credit

A looming question around this earnings cycle has been anxiety in financial circles over private credit after a wave of redemption requests to investment giants in recent weeks.
In October, Dimon issued a colorful warning on the topic after the bankruptcy of Tricolor, a subprime auto lender, saying, "when you see one cockroach, there are probably more."
Dimon expressed measured concern Tuesday, saying that in general, private credit quality has not deteriorated significantly, although "there are pockets where it has," he told an analyst conference call.
"So we'll be watching it closely," Dimon said. "The big point to me is...that I don't think it's systemic," he said.
Dimon's comments were consistent with those Monday by Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon, who expects greater losses with the turn in the credit cycle when there is a recession or another triggering event.
In mid-morning trading, JPMorgan shares dipped 0.9 percent, while Citi climbed 1.0 percent. Wells Fargo, which missed analyst estimates on revenues and some other benchmarks, dropped 6.3 percent.
jmb/sms

US

IMF cuts 2026 global growth forecast on Mideast war

BY BEIYI SEOW AND PAUL BLAKE

  • Growth projections this year for the Middle East and central Asia were cut by around half to 1.9 percent.
  • The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.
  • Growth projections this year for the Middle East and central Asia were cut by around half to 1.9 percent.
The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.
The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, said the International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook report, released during its spring meetings in Washington.
This is down from 3.3 percent forecast in January before hostilities erupted February 28 with US-Israeli strikes against Iran that prompted Tehran's retaliation and sparked a broader conflict in the region.
"We were planning to upgrade growth for 2026 to 3.4 percent" if not for the war, IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told AFP.
Prices of oil, gas and fertilizers have surged, as Iran virtually blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping waterway. US President Donald Trump has also ordered a naval blockade around Iran's ports.
The IMF expects higher inflation this year at 4.4 percent, 0.6 percentage points above its January forecast.
Still the impact of oil shortages could be worse. 
Compared to the oil shocks of the 1970s, "the global economy is much less oil dependent now than it was back then," Gourinchas said at a Tuesday press conference.
"There are many other sources of energy, renewables, nuclear and other things, and also the global economy has become much more efficient in terms of how much it needs oil to produce GDP," he said. "That's a source of resilience."
After this the "disinflation path" of recent years should reassert itself, Gourinchas said.
But these projections assume a relatively short-lived conflict with temporary energy market disruptions.
In more adverse scenarios where energy prices remain steep, global growth could slow to 2.5 percent or even around 2.0 percent.
"This latest shock comes less than a year since the shift in US trade policies, and the transition to a new international trade system is still ongoing," the IMF said.
A year ago, Trump unleashed sweeping tariffs on US trading partners, rocking financial markets and snarling supply chains.
Some of the tariffs have been struck down by the Supreme Court, but uncertainty lingers as Trump moves to reimpose duties via other means.

Uneven impact

Although overall revisions to global growth and inflation appear modest, the IMF cautioned that the war has taken a bigger toll on the Middle East and "vulnerable economies" elsewhere.
"The impact on emerging market and developing economies would be almost twice that on advanced economies," the fund said.
Higher energy and fertilizer costs could bring steeper food prices, mainly hitting low-income energy importers, Gourinchas said.
Growth projections this year for the Middle East and central Asia were cut by around half to 1.9 percent.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy, is set to see 3.1 percent growth this year, down 1.4 percentage points from January's expectation.
Among the world's two biggest economies, US growth is still set to accelerate to 2.3 percent this year, although the pace of growth was revised slightly lower.
"The US at the margin is benefiting from higher energy prices," Gourinchas said. But gasoline prices have also jumped for consumers.
China's growth is anticipated to cool to 4.4 percent, a touch below the January forecast, too.
The IMF flagged an underlying "unevenness" in both economies.
Domestic activity lags behind exports in China, while a strong showing in the United States has been accompanied by low employment growth.
Euro area growth was revised 0.2 points down to 1.1 percent for 2026.
While the IMF does not expect inflation expectations to go off-track, there is concern they may not be as well-anchored as before.
Past inflation episodes remain fresh in the public's minds, and firms might act to restore margins more quickly than before.
"If that happens, then you can get much more persistent inflation going on, that would be reflected in higher inflation expectations," Gourinchas said.
Central banks might then need to step in and raise interest rates to cool the economy, despite ongoing negative supply shocks.
bys/dw/pnb/mlm

school

Turkey school shooting wounds 16, attacker dead

BY FULYA OZERKAN

  • In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled. 
  • An ex-student opened fire at his former high school Tuesday in Turkey, wounding 16 people including students before killing himself in a showdown with police, officials said.
  • In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled. 
An ex-student opened fire at his former high school Tuesday in Turkey, wounding 16 people including students before killing himself in a showdown with police, officials said.
Special security forces were deployed to the school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, where students were evacuated, the local governor, Hasan Sildak, told reporters.
Television footage showed ambulances outside the school in the Siverek district as students fled in panic.
Sildak identified the attacker as a former student at the school, born in 2007.
"He took his own life when cornered by police," the governor said.
"We have evacuated the school and will carry out a thorough investigation into this tragic incident," he added.
"Despite taking all necessary precautions regarding the safety of our schools, such isolated incidents can still occur. The required investigation will be carried out". 
The governor, who inspected the school, said the attacker "randomly opened fire in the corridor with a pump-action shotgun". 
According to initial findings, 10 students, four teachers, one police officer, and one cafeteria operator were injured in the attack, the interior ministry said on X. 
"The individual who carried out the attack with a shotgun committed suicide with the same weapon following the incident," the ministry said. 

School safety

School shootings in Turkey are rare. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled. 
The assailant -- reportedly of Iraqi origin -- fled after the shooting and was arrested later. 
The killing of the 74-year-old school principal triggered nationwide debate while thousands of teachers demonstrated in Istanbul calling for increased school safety measures. 
Turkey has strict gun laws that require licensing, registration, mental and criminal background checks, and severe penalties for illegal possession.
fo-rba/tw

US

France, UK to host Hormuz talks Friday: French presidency

  • "Several dozen countries have already taken part in preparatory work led in particular by the chiefs of staff to define the framework for such a mission," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday.
  • France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of countries ready to contribute to a "purely defensive mission" to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the French president's office said.
  • "Several dozen countries have already taken part in preparatory work led in particular by the chiefs of staff to define the framework for such a mission," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday.
France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of countries ready to contribute to a "purely defensive mission" to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the French president's office said.
President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the meeting to discuss a plan to "restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow", the Elysee said on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the British prime minister's office said: "The summit will advance work towards a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends."
UK Prime Minister Starmer said Monday that Britain had convened more than 40 nations.
Macron said in early March that France and its allies were preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the strategically vital waterway. He has however ruled out vessel escorts under "bombings."
"Several dozen countries have already taken part in preparatory work led in particular by the chiefs of staff to define the framework for such a mission," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday.
"It is a matter of coordinating with the coastal states," he added.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February sparked a region-wide war and brought traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill, blocking a key route for global oil and gas shipments.
Iran and the United States last week agreed to a two-week cessation of hostilities, but ceasefire talks between the warring sides in Pakistan over the weekend ended in failure.
US President Donald Trump responded by ordering his navy to carry out a blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday.
fff-fz-ah-as/spm/gv

Wadagni

Romuald Wadagni, from economic reformer to presidential palace

BY PIERRE DONADIEU

  • - 'Continuity' - With growth on track, averaging more than six percent over the decade, Wadagni and Benin won the backing of international investors.
  • For a decade, Benin's new president Romuald Wadagni has been the behind-the-scenes architect of sweeping economic reforms that have led to one of the strongest growth rates in west Africa.
  • - 'Continuity' - With growth on track, averaging more than six percent over the decade, Wadagni and Benin won the backing of international investors.
For a decade, Benin's new president Romuald Wadagni has been the behind-the-scenes architect of sweeping economic reforms that have led to one of the strongest growth rates in west Africa.
But the 49-year-old technocrat, who had rarely appeared in the media, was catapulted to the forefront of an election campaign as the anointed successor of President Patrice Talon.
From the airport lounge to roundabouts dotting Benin's economic capital Cotonou, images of his smiling face framed by his round glasses have been prominent for weeks.
At times holding up to six rallies a day, Wadagni has campaigned across the country, talking and mingling with voters, in the first election in which he has ever stood.
Adopting a more casual style, ditching a tie and suit, he has delivered speech after speech without notes, sweeping through topics as if trying to break free of the image of a dyed‑in‑the‑wool economist.
"During this campaign, he showed his true colours; he has a personality that's close to the people, that’s his true nature," one of his allies said.
Wadagni comes from a family of intellectuals. His father was an economist and his mother an entrepreneur.
Nicknamed "RoW" by supporters, he was born on June 20, 1976 in Lokossa in southwestern Benin, near the border with Togo.
He stresses that he has stayed close to his roots and likes to point out that he owns a farm. However, his formative years were spent far from Benin.
He studied finance in Grenoble, France and then moved to the United States to study at Harvard, before joining consulting firm Deloitte where he became a partner and handled African operations.
In April 2016, just before he turned 40, newly elected president Patrice Talon made him economic and finance minister, tasked with implementing ambitious reforms.
Under his tenure, Benin's public finances have been cleaned up, with the deficit cut by a third and brought down to three percent of GDP. Big infrastucture projects have been launched amid a drive to modernise the economy.
In 2021, when Talon won his second and last term permitted under the constitution, he kept Wadagni at the finance ministry, promoting him to minister of state.

'Continuity'

With growth on track, averaging more than six percent over the decade, Wadagni and Benin won the backing of international investors.
As president "he will follow in the continuity of what has been done," political analyst Franck Kinninvo said.
But he faces much more than just ensuring economic development, as Benin battles jihadist violence in the north which has hit the army hard.
Allies say Wadagni has been involved in all Talon's security decisions in recent years and chose to hand over the baton to him.
For his campaign, he won the support of the two majority parties and even some opposition figures.
"He's someone who brings people together," an ally said.
Activist and supporter Lucien Fayomi said some people criticised Wadagni for being "relatively discreet politically".
"But that can also be a strength in a context where restraint and efficiency are valued," he said.
"For us, Wadagni represents a new generation of leadership, less about rhetoric and more about impact," Fayomi added.
On the diplomatic front, the new president -- who is elected for seven years, renewable once -- is also expected to maintain a policy of continuity.
He does not hide his close ties with France, the former colonial power that has become  unpopular in west Africa.
But he plans to try to reopen dialogue with neighbouring Niger where the sovereignist military junta has been openly hostile to Benin.
Unclearer is whether Wadagni will maintain controls on public freedoms that under Talon has seen several opposition figures imprisoned and others flee into exile.
pid-jfm/bam/kjm/tw

US

Lebanon, Israel to hold direct talks as Trump blockades Iran

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT AND DUBAI

  • The Washington meeting -- the first such talks since 1993 -- will be mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
  • Lebanese and Israeli representatives were set to meet Tuesday in Washington for their first direct talks in decades, but Hezbollah's opposition to the US-mediated negotiations signalled little prospect of an agreement to stop fighting.
  • The Washington meeting -- the first such talks since 1993 -- will be mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
Lebanese and Israeli representatives were set to meet Tuesday in Washington for their first direct talks in decades, but Hezbollah's opposition to the US-mediated negotiations signalled little prospect of an agreement to stop fighting.
The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing that it could derail a two-week ceasefire, despite talks with Tehran in Pakistan failing to achieve a breakthrough.
Washington said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the region-wide war, after a US naval blockade on Iranian ports began in the Strait of Hormuz, which has already been effectively closed by Tehran.
Lebanon was pulled into the broader conflict after Hezbollah attacked Israel, sparking an Israeli ground invasion and strikes -- including an extremely heavy attack on Beirut on April 8 -- that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over one million.
The Washington meeting -- the first such talks since 1993 -- will be mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
But expectations of any major advances were low, with Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem calling for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as "futile".
Israel's government ruled out discussing any ceasefire with Hezbollah, insisting instead on the disarmament of the group which it accuses of keeping up rocket fire against civilians in the north of the country.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said he hopes a truce deal can be agreed and full-blown negotiations launched between the two countries, which have technically been at war for decades.
On the ground, war-weary residents of Beirut said they hoped the talks would pave the way for an end to the violence that has upended their lives.
"We are extremely tired," said Kamal Ayad, 49. "We have lived through many wars and we want rest."

US blockades Iran

While attention switched to the meeting on the war between Hezbollah and Israel, Trump sought to squeeze Iran with a naval blockade as diplomatic efforts accelerated towards a new round of peace talks with Tehran.
US Central Command said the move included "vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman".
Iran's military command branded the blockade an act of piracy, and warned that if the security of its harbours "is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe".
With his blockade of Iranian ports, Trump was trying to starve Iran of funds but also pressure Beijing, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to lean on Tehran to reopen Hormuz, analysts said.
China said the blockade around Iranian ports was "dangerous and irresponsible", after Trump threatened to sink any boats that sought to leave or dock there.
The standoff at the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil transits, failed to dampen optimism on global markets, with Asian equities rallying while oil continued a downward slide.
Crucially, the fragile two-week truce agreed last Wednesday remained in place.
Trump insisted that Iranian representatives had called Washington since a US delegation returned empty-handed from negotiations in Islamabad.
"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," he told reporters outside the Oval Office.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that "full efforts are underway" to reach an agreement to stop the fighting and that US-Iran ceasefire was "holding".
On Tuesday, senior Pakistani sources told AFP Islamabad was working to bring Iran and the United States together for a second round of talks.
Iranian state TV reported Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran "will continue to talk only within the framework of international law" in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Nuclear enrichment pause?

Trump has insisted that an agreement must include stopping Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon, having launched the war after accusing Tehran of developing an atomic bomb -- an allegation it denies.
During weekend talks, the United States reportedly sought a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment programme, according to media reports on Monday.
Iran in turn proposed to suspend its nuclear activity for five years, which US officials rejected, The New York Times reported.
Diplomatic efforts were also picking up elsewhere, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov landing in Beijing on Tuesday, hours after Iran's state news agency reported that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Abbas Araghchi.
Moscow has offered to hold Iran's enriched uranium safely as part of any deal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed Tuesday that Beijing would play a "constructive role" in promoting peace talks in the Middle East as he urged respect for sovereignty of nations in the war-torn region, state media reported.
bur-del/srm

Israel

Mideast war revs up electric car demand in Asia

BY JULIEN GIRAULT IN TOKYO AND AFP TEAMS IN BANGKOK, MANILA AND JAKARTA

  • Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
  • Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war.
  • Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war.
Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.
Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers. 
Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.
"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said. 
She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.  
Dao Thi Hue, also at the showroom, was looking to go electric too.
"Driving an EV is so much better than driving a petroleum vehicle, in terms of costs and also in terms of saving fuel, queuing to fill up," the school teacher said.
Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
Vinfast, listed on the Nasdaq, saw a 127 percent surge in annual sales in Vietnam in March, reaching 27,600 cars.
About 40 percent of cars sold in Vietnam in 2025 were electric, but the trend has been accelerating.
"At this point in time, clients consider fuel costs a lot when making a decision on which cars to buy," said Pham Minh Hai, deputy head of sales at a Vinfast showroom.
"In March we sold 300-400 cars," he said, noting that the showroom normally sells between 200 and 250 cars a month. 
Hai said more than 50 percent of his clients changed from petroleum to electric cars last month, while the number of customers at the showroom was up by around 30 percent.
He added that opening hours had been extended to deal with the rush.
Outside Vietnam, Chinese manufacturers specialising in electric vehicles, particularly Tesla's main rival BYD, are booming.

'Punished by gas prices'

At the Bangkok Auto Show earlier this month, BYD secured the most orders of any manufacturer, surpassing Japan's Toyota for the first time.
"I drive a lot, nearly 100 kilometres (60 miles) a day... with the current fuel situation and no idea how long it will last, it's become a major factor pushing me to make the switch," said Pleng Nawintham, a 36-year-old pharmacist from Thailand.
BYD was also seeing increased sales in the Philippines.
Mae Anne Clarisse Bacquiano, manager of a BYD showroom in the suburbs of Manila, said foot traffic at the dealership was "at another level". 
"It was all because of the rise in fuel prices," she said. "Earlier today, I had a customer, a doctor who was ranting to me about how he is being punished by gas prices... He was in a hurry to go full electric. There'd be a huge difference in expenses."
She added that all of her stock for the month had already been reserved by buyers. 
"I don't expect the gas (prices) to go back down over the next couple of months," said Arlone Abello, an entrepreneur who was browsing BYD models at the showroom.
As BYD sales decline in China due to fierce local competition, the manufacturer hopes to gain international momentum.
The company told analysts that it now expects to exceed 1.5 million exported vehicles in 2026, well above the 1.3 million target announced in January.

Structural change

Exports of Chinese electric vehicles -- for which Southeast Asia is a major market -- doubled in March, compared to the same month last year across all manufacturers, according to the industry association CPCA.
Economic factors are at the forefront of the increased demand for greener vehicles. 
"You have the individual consumer response to what they are seeing in terms of the price of petrol or diesel suddenly surge," said Euan Graham, an electricity and data analyst at energy think tank Ember.
The installation of charging stations in the region is also growing rapidly. 
Jakarta promised last week to take "more serious steps to accelerate the development of a national electric vehicle ecosystem" to combat its "high level of energy consumption".
Electric vehicles are gaining momentum beyond Southeast Asia.
"There are signs that global demand has already picked up substantially," Capital Economics said, adding that registrations of electric vehicles in Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand more than doubled in March, and rose by over 50 percent in India, Australia.
burs-tmh-jug/lkd/jm

real-estate

Founder of China's Evergrande pleads guilty to fraud

  • "Xu Jiayin pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court," the statement from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province said, without elaborating further.
  • The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said on Tuesday, the latest blow for what was once the country's leading developer.
  • "Xu Jiayin pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court," the statement from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province said, without elaborating further.
The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said on Tuesday, the latest blow for what was once the country's leading developer.
Evergrande's rise was propelled by decades of rapid urbanisation and rising living standards, but in 2020, its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation.  
The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors.
Founder Xu Jiayin, known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was reportedly held by police in 2023, with Evergrande saying he had been subjected to measures "due to suspicion of illegal crimes".
A public hearing was held Monday and Tuesday on a case against Xu for "illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally issuing loans, illegally using funds, fraudulently issuing securities, disclosing important information in violation of regulations, embezzlement and (corporate) bribery", a court statement said.
"Xu Jiayin pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court," the statement from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province said, without elaborating further.
Evergrande Group and its real estate arm also stood trial this week.
Evergrande is accused of a list of crimes including fraud, bribery and illegally issuing loans. Its real estate arm faces a charge of fraudulently issuing securities.
The court said it would announce a verdict at a later date.

Giant's fall

Listed in Hong Kong in 2009, Evergrande surged to a peak market value of more than $50 billion under the stewardship of founder Xu.
But fortunes reversed in 2020 under the new borrowing regulations from Beijing.
Subsequent years saw a drawn-out struggle across the industry to complete construction projects as shares plunged and cash flows choked.
A Hong Kong court issued a winding-up order in January 2024, ruling that the company had failed to come up with a suitable debt repayment plan.
Last August, it delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange. 
Xu, 67, was once one of China's richest billionaires and a member of China's top political advisory body.
His wealth and status have since plummeted, as Beijing has moved to crack down on corruption in the financial sector.
Evergrande's saga -- and similar issues faced by other property giants including Country Garden and Vanke -- have been closely followed by observers assessing the health of the world's second-largest economy.
The crisis has also dampened consumer sentiment at a time when Chinese officials are pushing for a new growth model driven more by domestic spending rather than investment.
New home prices in China have been contracting for nearly three years.
mya/reb/jm