Business news, politics, tensions in the Middle East, war in Ukraine… Find the news of the day in the Info feed.
» The news feed for Friday April 19
8:27 a.m. – S&P downgrades Israel’s debt rating
The rating agency S&P Global lowered Israel’s debt rating by one notch, from AA- to A+, which still indicates a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments, in the face of “increased geopolitical risks.” .
“The recent expansion of the confrontation with Iran amplifies the geopolitical risks which were already high for Israel,” specifies the agency, adding a negative outlook to its rating, meaning that a further lowering of the rating is possible.
8:20 a.m. – Japan: doctors facing negative reviews sue Google Maps
Around sixty Japanese doctors have launched a class action lawsuit against Google Maps for having ignored the negative and virulent opinions to which they sometimes receive. The doctors are demanding 1.4 million yen (8,500 euros) in damages from the American internet giant, which they consider responsible for not having acted to combat these criticisms.
They sued him Thursday, saying they are unable to respond to or refute reputation-damaging reviews because of their obligation to respect patient confidentiality. According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, the case before the Tokyo District Court would be the first class action in the country targeting a platform over negative online reviews.
8:14 a.m. – Explosions in Iran: nuclear sites suffered “no damage”, according to the IAEA
A little earlier, the Iranian press agencies had also wanted to be reassuring. The official Irna agency, based on information reported by its journalists, explained that “major installations, in particular nuclear installations, are completely safe and no accidents have been reported there”
IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to #Iran‘s nuclear sites. DG @rafaelmgrossi continue to call for extreme restraint from everyone and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts. IAEA is monitoring the situation very closely. pic.twitter.com/4F7pAlNjWM
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) April 19, 2024
Central Iran is home to several of Iran’s known nuclear sites.
8:11 a.m. – The Tokyo Stock Exchange ends in the red
The Nikkei index lost 2.66% to 37,068.35 points and the broader Topix lost 1.91% to 2,626.32 points.
8:03 a.m. – Asean “deeply concerned” about the escalation of the conflict in Burma
“We, the ASEAN member states, are deeply concerned by the recent escalation of conflicts, particularly in the Myawaddy region,” wrote the foreign ministers of the ten-nation bloc in a joint statement dated Thursday . “We urgently call on all parties to immediately cease violence and exercise maximum restraint, respect international humanitarian law and take all necessary measures to defuse tensions and ensure the protection and security of all civilians,” they insisted.
7:50 a.m. – Israeli strikes on a military position in southern Syria
Israeli strikes targeted a Syrian army position in southern Syria at dawn on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said. These strikes came as Israel launched an attack on Iran. Syrian state media did not initially confirm the strikes.
7:42 a.m. – Sony and Apollo discuss partnership to bid for Paramount Global
US private equity group Apollo Global is in talks with Sony Pictures Entertainment to launch a joint takeover bid for Paramount Global. These discussions are only at their beginnings, according to three sources close to the matter.
Earlier this month, Paramount entered into exclusive negotiations with Skydance. The latter proposed buying National Amusements from Redstone (which controls 77 percent of Paramount’s voting stock) and then merging with the two companies.
7:30 a.m. – South Korea will lift the last anti-Covid restrictions
Health authorities are announcing in particular that from next month, wearing a mask inside hospitals will no longer be compulsory. Most government medical aid will also end: costs related to Covid-19 tests and hospitalizations for seriously ill patients will no longer be covered. In addition, Paxlovid, an antiviral drug against Covid-19, will no longer be completely free. The level of the health crisis will be lowered to its lowest level for a complete return to pre-pandemic times, approximately four years after the outbreak of the epidemic.
7:01 a.m. – Sodexo: net profit up 15% in the first half
The collective catering and services group Sodexo reported on Friday an increase of 4.5% in its turnover and 15.4% in its net profit in the first half of its staggered financial year, its first results after spin-off of the meal voucher activity. “This organic growth was driven approximately half by pricing and the other half by net new business and some volume growth,” the company said in a statement.
Underlying operating profit rose 16.9% at constant exchange rates to €612 million in the six months to February, beating consensus forecasts of €600 million. . For 2024, it forecasts organic revenue growth at the high end of its range of 6% to 8%, driven by the Paris Olympics and higher prices.
6:38 a.m. – War in Ukraine: one dead, nine injured in Russian strikes
At least one person was killed and nine others injured in Russian strikes overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region in southern Ukraine. “A five-story building is on fire in Dnipro. It is partially destroyed. There could be people under the rubble,” wrote regional governor Serguii Lysak, who also reported damage in the Kryvyi Rig district, southwest of Dnipro.
In Russia, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced that 25 projectiles had been shot down as they headed towards this town near the Ukrainian border. No injuries were reported, but several buildings suffered damage such as fires or broken windows.
6:37 a.m. – India: the first polling stations opened for the legislative elections
Some 166 million voters will cast their votes over seven weeks in 102 constituencies spread across 21 states and territories. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the lead, but the main opposition Congress believes the election will be closer than polls suggest. Nearly a billion voters are expected to vote.
6:36 a.m. – Oil jumps more than 3% with new tensions in the Middle East
A barrel of WTI gained 3.66% to 85.76 dollars while the price of Brent rose 3.44% to 90.11 dollars shortly after official Iranian television reported “strong explosions” near the city of Isfahan.
6:35 a.m. – Strong explosions in central Iran, possible Israeli attack
Heavy explosions were reported early this morning in central Iran. According to American officials cited by several American television stations including the ABC News channel, this is an Israeli attack carried out against Iran in retaliation for Iranian strikes against Israel last weekend.
Tehran reported three explosions near a military base in the center of the country, the official Fars agency reported. Iran has activated its air defense in several provinces after reports of explosions in the center of the country, the official IRNA agency said.
6:34 a.m. – The United States blocks full Palestinian membership in the UN
The United States yesterday put an end to the Palestinians’ dream of full membership in the UN, unsurprisingly vetoing in the Security Council a demand hated by their Israeli ally, in the midst of the war in Gaza. A decision immediately denounced by the Palestinian Authority, which saw a “blatant aggression” pushing the Middle East “to the brink of the abyss”.
This rejection “will not break our will, will not stop our determination. We will not stop our efforts. The State of Palestine is inevitable, it is real,” said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, in tears.
6:33 – For the CIA, without new aid, Ukraine may lose the war this year
“With both the practical and psychological boost that military aid would provide, I think the Ukrainians are fully capable of holding on in 2024,” Bill Burns said in a speech yesterday at the George W. Bush Center. “Without additional help, the situation is much more dire,” he said. “The risk is very real that the Ukrainians will lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be in a position to dictate the terms of a political settlement,” he said. he added, without detailing what he meant by “losing” the war.
To illustrate the Ukrainian army’s lack of ammunition, he also claimed that two brigades – units of more than 2,000 soldiers – had only “15 artillery shells per day” and a total of “42 shells per day”. of mortar”. The warning from the head of the American intelligence services comes two days before the vote, scheduled for Saturday, in the House of Representatives on an envelope of 61 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, mainly military, after months of political deadlock .
6:32 a.m. – Venezuela: Maduro mocks American sanctions
“I believe, Mr. President Biden, that you made a serious mistake, you shot yourself in both feet,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said at an event in Caracas with workers from the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). “By trying to harm us, you are doubly harming yourself, because Venezuela will continue on its path and no one will stop us. »
Nicolas Maduro also announced the signing of contracts, with “20 new investors, all international”, within the framework of the anti-blockade law adopted in 2020 to escape American sanctions. They “will start producing oil and gas in Venezuela, we do not need colonialist licenses from the gringos”, underlined the Venezuelan head of state.
6:31 a.m. – North Korea and Belarus want to strengthen their ties
The two countries agreed to accelerate high-level exchanges during a meeting between North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Im Chon-il and Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Shestakov, the Agency reported. North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
This agreement should therefore lead to the sending of senior North Korean officials to Belarus for more in-depth exchanges. North Korean workers could also head to Minsk. The Eastern European country is among nations that have hosted North Korean workers in the past, a move prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions that condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
6:30 a.m. – The 12 jurors for Donald Trump’s trial in New York have been selected
“We have our jury. Let’s choose our substitutes,” declared late yesterday afternoon Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the proceedings. He said he was “optimistic” that the jury would be definitively seated today, when five more alternate jurors, out of the six needed, will have been selected.
When the new jurors took an oath to judge the case in a “fair and impartial” manner, Donald Trump did not take his eyes off them. The first former president of the United States to appear on criminal charges, Donald Trump, 77, who hopes to return to the White House in 2025, has been obliged to attend this crucial and sometimes laborious stage of jury selection since Monday.