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Saving the ocean: 'We have to be optimistic because it's our only planet'

Saving the ocean: 'We have to be optimistic because it's our only planet'

France 24a day ago

13:13
09/06/2025
Don't let deep sea become 'wild west', Guterres tells world leaders in Nice
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Global push to ratify high seas treaty, that is two-thirds of oceans
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World leaders urged to step up and cooperate for overexploited oceans
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Macron opens UN ocean summit with call for multilateral mobilisation
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Global Ocean Summit opens in Nice with calls to boost marine protections
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"Racism in France has always been a question of anti-migrant and anti-Muslim bias"
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Treasury chief returns to US as China trade talks ongoing
Treasury chief returns to US as China trade talks ongoing

LeMonde

timean hour ago

  • LeMonde

Treasury chief returns to US as China trade talks ongoing

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday, June 10, described closely watched trade talks with Chinese officials as productive, as scheduling conflicts prompted his departure from London with negotiations ongoing. Top officials from the world's two biggest economies held a second day of trade talks Tuesday at the UK's historic Lancaster House, with meetings stretching into the night. All eyes are on the outcomes as both sides try to overcome an impasse over export restrictions, with US officials earlier accusing Beijing of slow-walking approvals for shipments of rare earths. Bessent left the meetings early to return to Washington for testimony before Congress, a US official told AFP. But US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade envoy Jamieson Greer, who were also part of the delegation, would further talks as needed with Chinese counterparts, the offical said. Earlier Tuesday, Lutnick told Bloomberg Television that the negotiations were "going well." Global stock markets were on edge, although Wall Street's major indexes climbed on hopes for progress. With meetings dragging on, "the lack of positive headlines weighed on stocks," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading platform. US President Donald Trump told reporters Monday: "We are doing well with China. China's not easy." The London negotiations follow talks in Geneva last month, which saw a temporary agreement to lower tariffs. This time, China's exports of rare earth minerals – used in a range of things including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology – are expected to dominate the agenda. "In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy," Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. Even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, "it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal," he added. "Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume." 'Mirror arsenal' Both countries "have developed almost a mirror arsenal of trade and investment weapons that they can aim at each other," said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. As they tap economic tools to try and shift global power structures, she told AFP, it may not be reasonable to expect a typical trade and investment deal from talks. Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. But both sides could find ways to level off a downward spiral. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have heightened since Trump took office in January, with the countries engaging in a tariffs war. The Geneva pact temporarily brought new US tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 percent to 30 % and Chinese countermeasures from 125% to 10%. But Trump later said China had "totally violated" the deal. A dialing down of temperatures could involve Chinese efforts to shore up some export control licenses caught in their system, Benson said. She noted Beijing appeared understaffed given the volume of requests. On the US side, this could look like a relaxation of certain export curbs in the high-tech domain, she added. But observers remain cautious. Since returning to office, Trump has slapped a 10% levy on friends and foes, threatening steeper rates on dozens of economies. His tariffs have dented trade, with Beijing data showing Chinese exports to the United States plunged in May. The World Bank on Tuesday joined other international organizations to slash its 2025 global growth forecast amid trade uncertainty. Meanwhile, China is in talks with partners including Japan and South Korea to try to build a united front countering Trump's tariffs. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading the team in London, which includes Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. Bessent, Lutnick and Greer are leading the American delegation.

Old robbery footage misrepresented amid LA anti-deportation protests
Old robbery footage misrepresented amid LA anti-deportation protests

AFP

time2 hours ago

  • AFP

Old robbery footage misrepresented amid LA anti-deportation protests

"Horrifying. LA shop owner attacked and tased by lawless rioters who destroy his store during LA's anti-American sovereignty riots," says a June 8, 2025 post on X. Image Screenshot from X taken June 10, 2025 The post comes from Brandon Straka, one of more than 1,500 people who was convicted in relation to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and later pardoned by President Donald Trump. Similar posts spread across X amid s of protests that Los Angeles officials said were initially peaceful but punctuated by scattered violence, with demonstrators torching cars and security forces firing tear gas. The tensions in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, were triggered by raids and dozens of arrests of what authorities say are migrants and gang members. They continued to escalate over several days, with Trump clashing with California leaders as he went over their heads to deploy the state's National Guard and active-duty US Marines to the city. The upheaval has seen some stores ransacked, according to local media reports and the Los Angeles Police Department, which urged downtown businesses and residents in a June 9 post on X to report any vandalism, damage or looting they observed (archived here and here). But the video shared by Straka and others online is several months old and unrelated to the anti-deportation protests. A surfaced the same video in local news articles and posts dated to October 2024 (archived here, here and here). Those reports, and others covering the incident, described a street takeover during the early morning hours of October 6 in which a mob of people violently pushed their way inside a 7-Eleven in Anaheim and pillaged it, assaulting the clerk who tried to keep them out in the process (archived here). Image Screenshot from taken June 10, 2025 The video was credited to an Instagram user, "@carlos_kickback_3" (archived here). AFP reached out to the account for a comment, but no response was forthcoming. According to reports, the incident took place at a 7-Eleven on Knott Avenue in Anaheim (archived here). Geolocation of the footage confirms the location (archived here). Image Screenshot from X taken June 10, 2025, with elements outlined by AFP Image Screenshot from Google Maps taken June 10, 2025, with elements outlined by AFP The location is several miles away from the complex of federal and municipal buildings near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where the protests have centered -- and also from other protest sites in Paramount and Compton. AFP has debunked other misinformation about the tumult in Los Angeles here.

Macron says France will ban social media for under-15s if EU does not
Macron says France will ban social media for under-15s if EU does not

Euronews

time4 hours ago

  • Euronews

Macron says France will ban social media for under-15s if EU does not

President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France will ban access to social media for children under the age of 15 within "a few months" if this is not done at a European level. "We must ban social media for those under 15," Macron told the public television channel France 2 after a school staff member was stabbed by a 14-year-old student at the entrance to a secondary school in Nogent. "I'm giving us a few months to get the European mobilisation going. start doing it in France. We can't wait," he said. A pupil fatally stabbed a school staff member during a routine bag check at the middle school in eastern France, officials said. The teenager was arrested at the scene. A police officer assisting with the bag checks sustained minor injuries while apprehending the suspect, who used the same knife in both attacks, according to the National Gendarmerie. It's not immediately clear whether the attack was linked to anything the student had seen on social media, or why local media had made the link. This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates. The EU is planning to borrow €150 billion on the financial markets for its new lending instrument Security Action for Europe (SAFE). It is one of the pillars of the Readiness 2030 plan, which aims to mobilise €800 billion for defence investment by the end of the decade. "Russia's war in Ukraine and the EU's attempt to support Kyiv really highlighted the dependencies and shortcomings of the EU's defence industrial base and how ill-prepared we were in the event of being forced into a conventional war," said Alice Tidey, a Euronews reporter who covered the announcement. "SAFE is about firing up European weapons manufacturing lines by getting member states to buy strategically and together so that the industry becomes less fragmented and quicker to produce, and our armies, more crucially, become more interoperable. And of course, also, it's about putting prices down," she added. The investments should boost production and procurement of air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, as well as other crucial military equipment to deal with security threats, including critical infrastructure protection and cyber, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare. "It gives countries the possibility to find money to buy military equipment. It's a beginning and I think it's very good sign," said German MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the Renew group. The parliamentarian who chairs the European Parliament's Security and Defense Committee also highlighted that some of the technology could have dual use and be useful for civilian purposes. Euronews spoke to residents in Rome and opinions were divided. 'We need to defend ourselves and the threat is at our doorstep,' said one . 'They shouldn't increase spending for a war that won't happen. This is not our war,' said another resident in the Italian capital, referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Berlin, the same divisions were evident: 'If the aim is to start another arms race, then I'm not in favour,' said one resident of the German city. 'I'm all for a joint European defence effort, but without going into debt,' said another. Governments will have to repay over 45 years and they can also activate the Stability and Growth Pact's National Escape Clause, which stipulates that budget deficits cannot exceed 3% of GDP. Under SAFE, governments can exceed this figure by 1.5% per year, provided that the amount is spent solely on defence. More than half of member states have requested activation from the European Commission. To receive loans, governments must meet certain conditions: 65% of the value of each piece of military equipment must be produced in one of the 27 EU member states, Ukraine and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The remaining 35% can also come from any third country in the world. The common procurement can include EU candidate countries, such as the Western Balkans, and third countries with bilateral security and defence partnerships, such as Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom. However, the EU remains highly dependent on weapons purchased from the US and the increased investment could be a clear indication of the bloc's commitment to becoming more autonomous, something that President Donald Trump has demanded in the framework of NATO. "I'm optimistic that the President of the US will realise what we are now starting to do," said Strack-Zimmermann. The EU is planning to raise more funds, with the European Commission proposing to use part of the Cohesion Funds, which are intended for regional development. The European Investment Bank will also try to mobilise private funds for this area for the first time. Watch the video here! Journalist: Isabel Marques da Silva Content production: Pilar Montero López Video production: Zacharia Vigneron Graphism: Loredana Dumitru Editorial coordination: Ana Lázaro Bosch and Jeremy Fleming-Jones

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