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L’Institut français d’Algérie lève le voile sur un nouveau programme de résidence dédié pour les artistes algériens désireux de renforcer et de perfectionner leurs cursus. […]

L’article 3 mois de résidence offerts en France : les Algériens peuvent candidater jusqu’au 23 février est apparu en premier sur .

Az EU hajlandó lazítani a költségvetési szigoron, hogy a tagállamok többet költhessenek honvédelemre. E téren a következő évtizedben mintegy 500 milliárd eurós beruházásra van szüksége. Erről is szó volt az európai vezetők hétfői (2. 3.) informális találkozóján Brüsszelben.

There is currently no approved vaccine for the highly contagious and deadly Sudan strain of Ebola.

Foodwatch, la Ligue contre le cancer et Yuka ont diffusé la pétition contre ce substitut au sucre dans onze pays européens, dont la Suisse.

The United Nations Security Council met on December 12, 2024 to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2025 (IPS)

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has deteriorated significantly since the 2021 Taliban Offensive, an insurgency that resulted in the Taliban’s reclamation of power and the fall of the nation’s republic. In 2024, the Taliban issued further restrictions on human rights in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls. These restrictions caused the country to enter a state of economic emergency. This, compounded with heightened insecurity and limited access to basic services, has left over 23 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Since 2021, the military group began coordinating a series of restrictive measures that significantly limited physical autonomy, access to education and freedom of expression, especially for women and girls. It is believed that women are currently unable to enter public spaces or hold jobs across multiple sectors.

On January 23, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking Taliban leaders, Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, citing crimes of gender-based persecution. “These applications recognise that Afghan women and girls as well as the LGBTQI+ community are facing an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban,” said ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan. He added that violations of international humanitarian law subjected to dissenters have been documented.

According to the arrest warrant, opposition to the Taliban’s statutes have been “brutally repressed” through murder, torture, imprisonment, sexual violence, and enforced disappearance. The ICC has indicated that it remains dedicated to analyzing future impunities perpetrated by the Taliban.

On January 16, Human Rights Watch (HRW) provided examples of the multifaceted humanitarian crisis that arose from the Taliban’s restrictions against women. According to the report, the Taliban’s edicts on women’s employment and freedom of movement have severely impeded their ability to receive access to healthcare. Additionally, Afghanistan’s healthcare system has been significantly damaged from an absence of female workers.

“The loss of foreign development aid and Taliban rights violations have caused a catastrophic health crisis in Afghanistan that is disproportionately harming women and girls,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher of Afghanistan at HRW. “The Taliban have severely obstructed women from providing or accessing health care, while the cost of treatment and medicine has put care out of reach for many Afghans.”

According to a study conducted by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) titled Violation of Human and Women’s Rights by the Taliban in Afghanistan: The Taliban’s Takeover and its Consequences, the extensive restrictions on the autonomy of women and girls will yield severe economic and social consequences for Afghanistan.

Currently, approximately 3 million girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of education beyond sixth grade since 2021. It is estimated that the bans on women’s education and employment will cost the Afghan economy approximately 5.4 billion dollars. Furthermore, average wages increase by roughly 3.9 percent for each year that girls are in school. Afghanistan is projected to suffer intensified financial losses in the coming years.

The United Nations (UN) states that the exclusion of women and girls from the workforce and education greatly amplifies protection risks. Poverty has also been reported as a consequence of these edicts. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, restricting the role of women in public affairs “exacerbates poverty and hampers efforts to build a stable and resilient society”.

HRW states Afghanistan’s worsening economic crisis has facilitated extreme living conditions for approximately 23.7 million people, including 9.2 million children. It is estimated that roughly 14.7 million people are facing food insecurity, with 2.9 million at emergency levels of hunger. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that 3.9 million children between the ages of 6 to 59 months are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition and desperately require humanitarian intervention.

Additionally, 48 percent of the population live below the poverty line. Basic services such as access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), are critically underfunded, with 8.4 million people lacking access to safe drinking water and 4.3 million without latrines.

Sufficient aid responses have not been implemented due to the vast scale of unexploded ordnance which has restricted mobility. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), explosive remnants of war are the leading cause of death among Afghan children. From October to December 2024, there were 47 child casualties as a result of unexploded ordnance. Ongoing violence and the presence of explosive munitions near schools also negatively impact access to basic services.

Despite the persistence of these compounding crises in Afghanistan, humanitarian organizations remain dedicated to providing life-saving assistance wherever they can. Last year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan, requesting 2.4 billion USD to support these efforts. In 2025, aid groups aim to target approximately 16.8 million people, assisting them with access to food, shelter, healthcare, education, WASH services, and all other forms of multisectoral support.

However, the efficacy of aid services going forward is in a state of uncertainty due to President Trump’s new measures to freeze foreign aid. Over the past 24 years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided Afghanistan with over 109 billion USD in aid, with 746 million being allotted to Afghanistan in 2024 alone. Funding cuts like this are projected to have disastrous effects on humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan going forward.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Michal Šimečka, a Progresszív Szlovákia (PS) elnöke felszólította Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) belügyminisztert, haladéktalanul intézkedjen, hogy rövid időn belül, és átlátható módon vizsgálják ki a hajléktalan férfi halálának körülményeit – tájékoztatta a TASR-t Tereza Mikáčová, a PS sajtóosztályának munkatársa.

Keren
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
International protection: EU law does not preclude, under certain conditions, beneficiaries of international protection from having to pass a civic integration examination

Keren
A szabadságon, a biztonságon és a jog érvényesülésén alapuló térség
Nemzetközi védelem: az uniós joggal - bizonyos feltételek mellett - nem ellentétes, hogy a nemzetközi védelemben részesülő személyeknek állampolgársági beilleszkedési vizsgát kell tenniük

Keren
Espace de liberté, sécurité et justice
Protection internationale : le droit de l’Union ne s’oppose pas, sous certaines conditions, à ce que les bénéficiaires d’une protection internationale doivent réussir un examen d’intégration civique

Ein ungewöhnliches geologisches Phänomen hat für über 500 Erdbeben in der Ägäis gesorgt. Während Wissenschaftler über die Ursache rätseln, sorgen sich Politiker um die wirtschaftlichen Folgen für beliebte Touristenziele.

Il y a de fortes chances que votre appareil contienne du métal déterré dans une mine contrôlée par les rebelles. Le sous sol de la RDC est réputé pour sa richesse en minerais rares, indispensables dans la fabrication des produits technologiques.

Il y a de fortes chances que votre appareil contienne du métal déterré dans une mine contrôlée par les rebelles. Le sous sol de la RDC est réputé pour sa richesse en minerais rares, indispensables dans la fabrication des produits technologiques.

Vg.hu: Kissé erősödött a forint árfolyama kedd (2. 4.) reggelre a nemzetközi devizapiacon. Az eurót reggel hét óra után 408,52 forinton jegyezték az előző esti 408,64 forinttal szemben, a dollár jegyzése 396,83 forintra csökkent 397,51 forintról, a svájci franké pedig 434,82 forinton állt 434,95 forint után. (MTI)

Eine neue EU-Gesetzgebung verpflichtet zur getrennten Sammlung von Textilien. In Polen führen die neuen Regeln zu Verwirrung - und Unzufriedenheit mit den Behörden. 

In Greenland, the melting of ice sheets is accelerating. Credit: WMO/Karolin Eichier / UN News

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2025 (IPS)

US President Donald Trump’s ominous threat to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland sets the stage for a new political battle with the United Nations.

But judging by UN’s track record of failures—including the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine — the world body may lose again while battling a veto-wielding superpower.

Kul Gautam, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the UN children’s fund UNICEF, told IPS Donald Trump’s threat to buy or take over Greenland, the autonomous territory of Denmark, and to take back the Panama Canal “by military force, if necessary”, harks back to the bygone era of the 18th and 19th-century world of lawless, imperial, and colonial expansion.

“It should be seen in the context of Trump’s grandiose announcement to pursue America’s “Manifest Destiny” that was once invoked as the divinely ordained right of the United States to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean and beyond.”

Such imperial ambition appeals to Trump’s “America First” MAGA supporters but is clearly illegal and in defiance of the UN Charter and a complete violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of UN member states, he pointed out.

“Given Trump’s hubris, erratic nature, and disregard for both domestic and international law, his threat must be taken seriously.”

If Trump dares to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal forcefully, he said, the UN, EU, OAS, and other groups will all denounce such aggression but will be unable to counter him effectively in the short run.

“But in the long run, Trump’s policies and actions will alienate America’s closest allies. The US will be isolated globally to the advantage of its adversaries like China and Russia,” Gautam declared.

Any takeover will be in defiance of the UN charter and in complete violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of UN member states.

According to the United Nations Charter, described as one of the world’s most viewed founding documents of the UN, “all member states must respect the sovereignty of other states”. It also prohibits the use of force against the political independence or territorial integrity of other states.

But where will the UN stand against a military superpower– while the world body does not have the means to enforce its own resolutions?

And it harks back to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003– despite opposition at the UN– in search of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that did not exist?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino in Panama last week. Credit: US Embassy, Panama

Dr Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), told IPS it is not only Democrats but also many of Trump’s supporters are baffled by his arbitrary decision to take another country’s territory by force if he “has to,” such as Greenland and the Panama Canal, which is outrageous to even think about.

“Is there one single sane Trump advisor who can tell him that what he is thinking is a gross violation of international law, to unilaterally decide to take over any land that belongs to other countries?”

In addition, said Dr Ben-Meir, it is terrifying other countries, creating a dreadful feeling about what the United States represents and the harm it can inflict at this point on other states.

“To suggest that the US can unilaterally take land from a UN member state, or worse yet, in the case of Greenland, a NATO member state is nothing short of folly—to take by force land from one’s allies.”

The US, he pointed out, is committed to upholding territorial integrity, and to think that Trump can just take over the Panama Canal and invade Denmark’s territory is the highest of absurdity.

“Sadly, with the new Trump administration entering a second term, not only does the UN face an exceptionally hostile White House, but even many of the US’ friends and allies are bewildered and greatly concerned about what he might do next. They fear that nothing good will come out of this Trump administration and are bracing for the worst.”

Trump must remember that America First is best served when America is respected, not feared, he declared.

Asked about the proposed take-over of the Panama Canal and Greenland, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said last week: ”When it comes to any of these questions involving actual Member States’ territory, obviously, we are governed, as you know, by the UN Charter.”

“And you know that the UN Charter stands for the respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States. And all Member States and their sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected,” he said.

Elaborating further, Gautam said throughout human history, dominant imperial powers often felt that their military and economic might justify the equivalent of their “manifest destiny” and unchecked power.

“But we have now entered an era of interdependence and the need to follow a rules-based international order that the US helped craft after World War II. However, the imperial hangover still persists among certain segments of the political class in the US, as well as in Putin’s Russia, Erdogan’s Türkiye, and a few other old empires,” he pointed out.

As the Trump mania is not going to last forever, said Gautam, “I hope and expect that saner voices in favour of a mutually beneficial, rule-based international order will prevail again in the US and elsewhere”.

If human civilization is to survive and thrive, there is no choice but to follow the path of peaceful coexistence and interdependence where healthy competition is cherished but bullying by the powerful is frowned upon, he declared.

Meanwhile, in a Q&A in Panama City last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the Panama Canal take-over by arguing that it is “completely unacceptable” that Hong Kong-based companies are having control over the entry and exit points of the canal. That cannot continue, he said

“And if there’s a conflict and China tells them, do everything you can to obstruct the canal so that the U.S. can’t engage in trade and commerce, so that the U.S. military and naval fleet cannot get to the Indo-Pacific fast enough, they would have to do it. They would have to do it, and they would do it. And now we’d have a major problem on our hands. That’s number one.”

Number two, “we have to talk about the fact that we built this thing. We paid for it. Thousands of people died doing this – Americans. And somehow our naval vessels who go through there, and American shipping that goes through there, pays rates some cases higher than other countries are paying – for example, a vessel from China. That’s also not acceptable”.

It was a terrible deal when it was made, it should never have been allowed.

“They’re going to tell you that it’s set by an independent administrative entity and not the government; that’s their internal problem. They’ll have to figure that out. But we should not be in a position of having to pay more than other countries. In fact, we should be getting a discount or maybe for free, because we paid for the thing,” declared Rubio.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Aujourd'hui dans l'Expresso : demandes d'asile : l'Italie esquive ses engagements, face aux perspectives économiques en berne, les industriels slovaques tirent la sonnette d'alarme, le Portugal met en garde contre l'inflation si Donald Trump exécute ses menaces.

Selon le Premier ministre portugais Luís Montenegro, il n’est pas nécessaire de détenir un « prix Nobel d’économie » pour comprendre que l’imposition de droits de douane sur les produits importés entraînera une hausse des prix.

Alors que la législation de l’Union européenne (UE) imposant la collecte sélective des textiles entre en vigueur, les Polonais contournent les règles en se débarrassant légalement des textiles dans les poubelles mixtes.

Ukrajna szlovákiai nagykövetsége hétfőn (2. 3.) közölte, megdöbbentették annak a halálesetnek a körülményei, amelynek áldozata egy ukrán férfi, akinek agyonverésében a sajtó tájékoztatása szerint valószínűleg egy magán biztonsági cég és a rendőrség tagjai is érintettek.