World

PARIS — France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

"We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months," Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.

"Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties," he added.

"I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do," he added.

Such recognition would allow France "to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel's right to exist -- which is the case with Iran -- and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region," he added.

France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.

But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state by June, saying it would be a "prize" for terrorism.

"A unilateral recognition of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality that we all know, will be a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas," Saar said on X late on Wednesday.

"These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer -- but the opposite: they only push them further away."

Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel's bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.

'No one will invest a cent' 

France's recognition of Palestinian statehood "would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution," Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahintold AFP.

Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel's bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7 attacks.

But France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted.

In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II and also made clear he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US President Donald Trump has suggested turning Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East" with the Palestinians moving elsewhere -- a suggestion that has sparked bitter condemnation.

Macron responded that the Gaza Strip was "not a real estate project."

"Simplistic thinking sometimes doesn't help," he added, and, in a message to Trump said: "Perhaps it would be wonderful if one day it developed in an extraordinary way, but our responsibility is to save lives, restore peace, and negotiate a political framework."

"If all this doesn't exist, no one will invest. Today, no one will invest a cent in Gaza," he said.

BERLIN — Germany's next leader, the conservative Friedrich Merz, vowed Wednesday to "move the country forward again" by boosting the economy and defence as he presented a deal to launch his coalition government by early next month.

Merz is set to take over as leader of Europe's top economy just as US President Donald Trump has sparked global trade turmoil and raised deep fears about future transatlantic security ties.

Asked at a press conference if he had a message for Trump, Merz said in English that the country would meet its defence obligations and rebuild its economic competitiveness.

"Germany is back on track," he added.

Following the February election victory of his CDU/CSU alliance, Merz quickly struck a deal to forge a 

new government with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of the now caretaker Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"The coalition agreement is a signal of a new beginning... for our country," said Merz, whose party won the elections with 28.5 per cent of the vote.

'Europe can rely on Germany' 

In their 144-page coalition contract, the two big centrist parties pledged to "significantly" boost defence spending amid growing concerns about US commitment to European security under Trump.

The parties also said Germany would continue to support Ukraine as the United States looks to encourage a deal to end the war started by Russia's invasion over three years ago.

"We will provide comprehensive support to Ukraine so that it can effectively defend itself against the Russian aggressor and assert itself in negotiations," the agreement said.

Presenting the deal, Merz pledged that Germany would "reform and invest to keep Germany stable, make it safer and make it economically stronger again", adding that "Europe can rely on Germany".

He also pledged that his government would "largely end irregular migration" and promised a "repatriation offensive" after an election campaign marked by a bitter debate on migration and a surge in support for the far-right AfD.

The swift conclusion of the talks -- a process that has in past years dragged on for months in Germany -- is the result of "extraordinary external pressure", said political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder of Kassel University.

"The pressure is coming from Trump, the pressure is coming from the AfD, the pressure is coming from (Merz's) own ranks," he told news channel NTV.

'Power vacuum' 

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second in February's election with a record 20 percent of the vote.

Support for the party has since continued to rise, with one survey by the Ipsos polling firm released Wednesday rating it as Germany's most popular party on 25 percent -- ahead of the CDU/CSU on 24 percent.

Renate Koecher, head of the Allensbach Institute, said the rise of the AfD had been fuelled by Germany's political paralysis at a time of acute global and domestic crises.

"Problems are growing but at the same time we have no government capable of acting," Koecher told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

"The economy is facing increasing difficulties and decisions are being made in the US that Europe, with Germany in a leading role, should be able to respond to quickly," she said.

"And in this situation, we have a power vacuum. This fuels the unease among the population."

Germany held general elections on February 23 after the collapse of Scholz's three-way coalition on 

November 6, the day Trump was re-elected to the White House.

'No coincidence' 

After the vote, Merz announced ambitious plans to boost spending on defence and infrastructure and pushed a vote through the previous parliament to soften Germany's strict debt rules.

But this has exposed him to internal party criticism and accusations from the AfD that he has broken campaign pledges and caved in to key demands of the SPD.

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, said Wednesday that it was "no coincidence" her party had become the "strongest political force in our country" on the same day the coalition deal was presented.

Weidel said the conservatives had "fooled and lied to the people with false election promises".

"The CDU/CSU and SPD have already lost their majority in the newly elected Bundestag before they have even been sworn in," she said.

Under the coalition deal, the conservatives are set to take over the foreign and economy ministries, while the SPD will get finance and defence, with Defence Minister Boris Pistorius widely expected to retain his position.

While the SPD plans to ask its members to sign off on the final deal, the CDU plans only to seek the approval of senior party figures.

BEIJING — China announced Wednesday massive retaliatory tariffs on US goods, sharply escalating a trade war started by President Donald Trump and fuelling fresh panic in global markets.

Trump's latest salvo of tariffs came into effect on dozens of trading partners earlier Wednesday, including punishing duties of 104 per cent on imports of Chinese products.

Beijing originally planned to respond with a 34 per cent tariff on imports of US products from 1601 GMT Wednesday, but the finance ministry said it would now raise the toll to 84 per cent after Trump dramatically hiked his own duties on imports from China.

"The tariff escalation against China by the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes (and) severely infringes on China's legitimate rights and interests," the ministry said.

Washington's moves "severely damage the multilateral rules-based trade system", it added.

In a separate statement, Beijing's commerce ministry said it would blacklist six American artificial intelligence firms, including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada Corp.

Trump did not immediately react to the Chinese counterattack but he called on companies to start relocating to the United States to avoid tariffs.

"This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America, like Apple, and so many others, in record numbers, are doing," the US president said on his Truth Social platform.

He urged: "DON'T WAIT, DO IT NOW!"

Trump believes his policy will revive America's lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.

But many business experts and economists question how quickly -- if ever -- this can take place and warn it could reignite inflation.

Recession fears 

The escalating trade war has wiped off trillions of dollars in market value since last week as investors fear that the trade war will spark a recession.

After some respite on Tuesday, stock markets were in panic mode again, with Tokyo's Nikkei index closing almost four per cent lower on Wednesday.

Paris and Frankfurt sank four per cent in afternoon trading while London was down 3.5 per cent. US equities were expected to open with more losses.

The Bank of England warned of risks to "UK financial stability" from increased geopolitical tensions, including the fallout from the US tariffs.

Italy is preparing to cut its 2025 growth forecast in half, to 0.6 per cent from 1.2, a government source said, while Spain is also set to downgrade its outlook.

Central banks in India and New Zealand cut interest rates to boost their economies in the face of tariffs.

Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel, their lowest level in four years.

Government bond yields — essentially the interest countries pay to borrow money — rose in the United States, Japan and Britain, among other countries.

 Drug makers next? 

Trump has said his government was working on "tailored deals" with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritise allies such as Japan and South Korea, which were hit with tariffs of 24 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.

His top trade official, Jamieson Greer, told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs. Vietnamese goods were hit with one of the highest tariffs, at 46 per cent.

Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were "dying" to make a deal.

"I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass," he said.

The European Union, whose goods were hit with a 20 per cent tariff, is working on response that could be presented next week.

A Chinese government white paper released on Wednesday emphasised that the Beijing and Washington could still resolve their differences "through equal-footed dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation".

Trump on Tuesday said the United States was "taking in almost $2 billion a day" from global tariffs.

He also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals "very shortly", prompting a sell-off in shares of pharmaceutical companies.

Residents in Beijing expressed fears over the escalating trade war.

"I hope that everyone can sit down and reconcile and talk, and then put things out step by step, rather than irrationally escalate them," Yu Yan, a lawyer, told AFP.

In the United States, consumers also voiced worries over rising prices.

At a supermarket in New York, mother-of-two Anastasia Nevin told AFP she was "just trying to get by. It's tough", adding that she was in "survival mode".

SANTO DOMINGO — Rescuers rushed to find survivors on Wednesday after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert by popular singer Rubby Perez, one of more than 110 people killed in the disaster.

Rescue workers were pressing on with the search effort, now limited more to recovering bodies from the rubble over a day after the roof caved in.

Renowned Dominican merengue singer Perez, who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub for hundreds of people when the roof collapsed shortly after midnight Tuesday, was one of those killed, his manager said.

Relatives of clubgoers gathered around the disaster site in the capital Santo Domingo as rescuers ferried the injured to hospital, and used a crane to remove debris.

"We have some friends here, a niece, a cousin, some friends, who are in the rubble," Rodolfo Espinal told AFP on Tuesday, as he waited for information on his loved ones.

About 300 rescue workers combed mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets for survivors, supported by personnel from Puerto Rico and Israel, Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said on Wednesday.

Also among the dead were former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.

Dotel, who was 51 years old, was rescued alive but later died of his injuries, local media reported.

A black-and-white photo of Dotel and images of the Dominican flag were projected onto the scoreboard at Citi Field in New York before Tuesday's game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins.

"Peace to his soul," the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League wrote in separate social media posts paying tribute to the two ex-players.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck at around 12:44 am (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has capacity for about 1,700 people.

Perez was on stage when there was a blackout and the roof came crashing down, according to eyewitness reports.

Perez's daughter Zulinka told reporters she had managed to escape after the roof collapsed, but he did not.

Also among the dead was the governor of the Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, according to President Luis Abinader.

He declared three days of national mourning.

The death toll had reached 113 by Wednesday morning, said Mendez of the Emergency Operations Center.

"No people have been found alive since 3:00 pm (Tuesday)," he said earlier.

'We are desperate' 

Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the show, told SIN television how she escaped with her son.

"At one point, dirt started falling like dust into the drink on the table," she said.

"A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out," Pena recounted. "The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake."

Dozens of family members flocked to hospitals for news.

"We are desperate," Regina del Rosa, whose sister was at the concert, told SIN. "They are not giving us news, they are not telling us anything."

Helicopter images revealed a large hole where the club's roof once was.

Authorities have issued a call for Dominicans to donate blood.

 'Devastated' 

Artists paid tribute to Rubby Perez on social media, with former colleague Wilfrido Vargas saying he was "devastated."

"The friend and idol of our genre has left us," Vargas wrote.

"Maestro, what a great pain he leaves us," wrote Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon.

The Instagram page of the Jet Set club said it has been in operation for more than 50 years, with shows every Monday until the early hours.

Its last post before Monday's event invited fans to come and "enjoy his (Perez's) greatest hits and dance in the country's best nightclub."

The club issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was working "fully and transparently" with authorities.

The Jet Set collapse was one of the biggest tragedies the Caribbean nation and top tourist destination has faced in recent years.

In 2023, around 40 people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion linked to a plastics company in San Cristobal, near Santo Domingo.

And in 2005, more than 130 prisoners in the east of the country died in a fire caused by a fight between inmates.

Tourism generates about 15 per cent of GDP in the country, with millions of annual visitors attracted by its music, nightlife, Caribbean beaches and the colonial architecture of the capital.

SANTO DOMINGO — Rescuers rushed to find survivors on Wednesday after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert by popular singer Rubby Perez, one of more than 110 people killed in the disaster.

Rescue workers were pressing on with the search effort, now limited more to recovering bodies from the rubble over a day after the roof caved in.

Renowned Dominican merengue singer Perez, who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub for hundreds of people when the roof collapsed shortly after midnight Tuesday, was one of those killed, his manager said.

Relatives of clubgoers gathered around the disaster site in the capital Santo Domingo as rescuers ferried the injured to hospital, and used a crane to remove debris.

"We have some friends here, a niece, a cousin, some friends, who are in the rubble," Rodolfo Espinal told AFP on Tuesday, as he waited for information on his loved ones.

About 300 rescue workers combed mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets for survivors, supported by personnel from Puerto Rico and Israel, Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said on Wednesday.

Also among the dead were former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.

Dotel, who was 51 years old, was rescued alive but later died of his injuries, local media reported.

A black-and-white photo of Dotel and images of the Dominican flag were projected onto the scoreboard at Citi Field in New York before Tuesday's game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins.

"Peace to his soul," the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League wrote in separate social media posts paying tribute to the two ex-players.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck at around 12:44 am (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has capacity for about 1,700 people.

Perez was on stage when there was a blackout and the roof came crashing down, according to eyewitness reports.

Perez's daughter Zulinka told reporters she had managed to escape after the roof collapsed, but he did not.

Also among the dead was the governor of the Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, according to President Luis Abinader.

He declared three days of national mourning.

The death toll had reached 113 by Wednesday morning, said Mendez of the Emergency Operations Center.

"No people have been found alive since 3:00 pm (Tuesday)," he said earlier.

'We are desperate' 

Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the show, told SIN television how she escaped with her son.

"At one point, dirt started falling like dust into the drink on the table," she said.

"A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out," Pena recounted. "The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake."

Dozens of family members flocked to hospitals for news.

"We are desperate," Regina del Rosa, whose sister was at the concert, told SIN. "They are not giving us news, they are not telling us anything."

Helicopter images revealed a large hole where the club's roof once was.

Authorities have issued a call for Dominicans to donate blood.

'Devastated' 

Artists paid tribute to Rubby Perez on social media, with former colleague Wilfrido Vargas saying he was "devastated."

"The friend and idol of our genre has left us," Vargas wrote.

"Maestro, what a great pain he leaves us," wrote Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon.

The Instagram page of the Jet Set club said it has been in operation for more than 50 years, with shows every Monday until the early hours.

Its last post before Monday's event invited fans to come and "enjoy his (Perez's) greatest hits and dance in the country's best nightclub."

The club issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was working "fully and transparently" with authorities.

The Jet Set collapse was one of the biggest tragedies the Caribbean nation and top tourist destination has faced in recent years.

In 2023, around 40 people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion linked to a plastics company in San Cristobal, near Santo Domingo.

And in 2005, more than 130 prisoners in the east of the country died in a fire caused by a fight between inmates.

Tourism generates about 15 per cent of GDP in the country, with millions of annual visitors attracted by its music, nightlife, Caribbean beaches and the colonial architecture of the capital.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the United States was starting direct, high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear program on Saturday, in a shock announcement during a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that Iran would be in "great danger" if the talks were not successful.

Trump's stunning announcement came a day after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, calling the idea pointless.

The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.

Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran however.

"I think if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran's going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can't have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Netanyahu meanwhile said that the United States and Israel were working on another deal to free hostages from war-torn Gaza, where a ceasefire between Israel and Iran's ally Hamas has collapsed.

"We're dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we're dealing with them directly," Trump told reporters after a meeting that was meant to focus on Israel's bid to avoid US tariffs.

Trump did not say where the talks would take place, but insisted they would not involve surrogates and would be at "almost the highest level."

Iran's top diplomat said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran's longtime foe shows sufficient goodwill in talks to begin in Oman on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.

In an interview with US network NBC late last month. Trump went further. "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," he said.

China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks.

Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018.

"We know that certain contacts -- direct and indirect -- are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow "absolutely" supported the initiative.

China called on the United States to "stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure" after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal.

"As the country that unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue and caused the current situation, the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)... mutual respect," its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

Washington should "participate in dialogue and consultation, and at the same time stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure", Lin added.

The Israeli prime minister, whose government has also threatened military action against Iran to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon, held talks with Witkoff as well as Trump on Monday.

Netanyahu was a bitter opponent of the 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States which Trump later abandoned.

That deal saw Iran receive relief from international sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities overseen by the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Trump's withdrawal from the deal was followed by an Iranian decision one year later to stop complying with its own obligations under the deal.

The result has been that Iran has built up large stocks of highly enriched uranium that leave it a short step from weapons grade.

In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms  of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent. Weapons grade is around 90 percent.

BERLIN — German politicians in talks to form a new coalition government under conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz voiced hope Tuesday that they might reach a deal as early as this week.

Since winning February elections, the CDU/CSU block of Merz has been in negotiations with the centre-left SPD of caretaker Chancellor Olaf Scholz to form a new government by late this month or early May.

The talks to hammer out a joint policy platform for the next four years have gained urgency as US President Donald Trump has shaken up security ties and now sparked global trade chaos, and as Germany's far-right AfD has surged further in the polls.

Speaking on Tuesday, CDU parliamentary leader Thorsten Frei said that in the talks, being held behind closed doors in Berlin, "we are making good overall progress, we have been able to clear many stumbling blocks".

He said the timing of a definitive agreement "depends on the dynamics of the final hours".

SPD negotiator Manuela Schwesig, state premier of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, also expressed confidence, saying she was hopeful "we can conclude this by the end of the week".

And the CDU's former health minister Jens Spahn said there was significant consensus on the need to revitalise the economy as US President Donald Trump has sparked market turmoil with the announcement of swingeing tariffs.

Given "what is happening in the global economy and what the USA is doing, there is great agreement here," Spahn told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

Lack of trust 

Scholz's three-party coalition government collapsed in early November, and Merz has vowed a strong right-ward shift, a crackdown on immigration and steps to build up Germany's long underfunded armed forces and its economy, which has shrunk for two years in a row.

Merz has secured major financial firepower for his ambitious plans after the outgoing parliament green-lit hundreds of billions of euros in extra spending and a softening of Germany's strict debt rules.

However, this has already exposed him to internal party criticism and charges by the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany [AfD] party that he has broken campaign pledges and caved in to key demands of the left-leaning SPD.

The AfD scored a record vote result of over 20 percent in the February 23 elections, making it the second-strongest party, and has gained more support since, according to polls which this week have placed it neck-and-neck with the CDU/CSU at 24.5 per cent.

Personal approval ratings for 69-year-old Merz have meanwhile suffered, heaping further pressure before he even takes power.

"There has never been a chancellor who started their term with so little trust," political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder, of Kassel University, told AFP.

While the SPD plans to ask its members to sign off on the final coalition deal, the CDU only plans to seek the approval of senior party figures.

CDU lawmaker Inge Graessle called for a grassroots survey to "pacify the CDU internally", in comments to the Tagesspiegel daily, and urged her party "to embrace democratic processes instead of fostering a presidential approach".