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Luca und Christina Hänni haben in ihrer neuesten Podcast-Folge einen Zwischenstand zu ihrer Ehe gegeben. Die letzten Zeiten seien nicht ganz einfach gewesen für das Paar.

Le gouvernement espagnol a proposé vendredi 3 octobre d’inscrire le droit à l’avortement dans la constitution, dans un contexte de querelle politique à Madrid.

The post L’Espagne s’apprête à inscrire l’avortement dans sa Constitution appeared first on Euractiv FR.

The draft agreement comes as the EU executive updates ambassadors during Friday’s Coreper meeting on the state of negotiations with London and Ottawa

The EstLink 2 power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged in the December 2024 incident

Drei Schweizer haben sich mit ihren Luxusautos auf der A4 zwischen Turin und Mailand ein illegales Rennen geliefert. Die Polizei stoppte die Raser, die mit bis zu 230 km/h unterwegs waren. Die Fahrzeuge wurden beschlagnahmt.

Alors que Bruxelles et Bangkok poursuivent leurs négociations en vue d'un accord de libre-échange, les pêcheurs de l'UE redoutent que le thon thaïlandais ne menace leur industrie.

The post Les pêcheurs de l’UE mènent une nouvelle bataille commerciale, cette fois contre le thon thaïlandais appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Vor Flugreisen graust es einige von uns – sie sind aber oft nicht zu umgehen, wenn die Feriendestinationen weit weg liegen. Um die Reise so angenehm wie möglich zu gestalten, haben wir hier einige Tipps für dich zusammengetragen, was dein Outfit angeht.

«Mankeeping» ist gerade in aller Munde. Der Ausdruck beschreibt das Phänomen, dass die Partnerin für viele Männer ihre einzige emotionale Stütze ist. Sozialpädagoge Steve Stiehler erklärt, dass da tatsächlich etwas dran ist – der Gedanke aber zu kurz greift.

The EU issued a statement welcoming and supporting the principles of President Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, and urges all parties to accept and implement it.

Wir befinden uns mitten in der goldenen Phase des Herbsts, auch als «Indian Summer» bekannt – mit milden Temperaturen und leuchtenden Farben. Warst du dieses Jahr schon auf einer farbenfrohen Herbstwanderung? Schick uns gleich hier ein Foto!

Plötzlich geht alles sehr schnell beim aufstrebenden FCL-Verteidiger Adrian Bajrami. Drei Monate nach seiner Rückkehr in die Schweiz steht er im Aufgebot von Murat Yakin für die WM-Quali. Sein Handy läuft heiss.

Die Individualbesteuerung kommt an die Urne. Doch was bedeutet der Systemwechsel für dich selbst? Das Ja-Komitee lanciert dazu einen Online-Rechner.

Für den Platz an der WM 2026 greift Ex-Nati-Coach Vladimir Petkovic beim algerischen Nationalteam auf einen berühmten Namen zurück. Auf der Torhüterposition hat er den Sohn einer Fussball-Legende aufgeboten.

Az SaS pénteki (10. 3.) sajtótájékoztatója

Der Europapokal-Abend in Basel endete chaotisch für die angereisten VfB-Stuttgart-Fans. Nach der 0:2-Niederlage gegen den FC Basel sassen 500 Gästefans fest, da Car-Chauffeure Ruhezeiten nicht einhalten konnten.

A Gábor Dénes-díjasok Klubja Egyesület által szervezett szakmai konferencia célja a gyógyszeripari innováció területén való együttműködés erősítése Magyarországon és nemzetközi szinten, a gyakorlati szakemberek, kutatók és döntéshozók közötti párbeszéd elősegítése, valamint a gyógyszeripari kutatási ökoszisztéma fejlesztése.

The US president on Tuesday gave Hamas an ultimatum of "three or four days" to accept his plan to end the nearly two-year war in the Palestinian territory

Ein Monat nach dem Launch von Apertus zieht EPFL-Professor Martin Jaggi im Podcast Prompt Zero Bilanz. Die Kritik am ersten Schweizer Sprachmodell nimmt er gelassen und erklärt, warum das Schweizer LLM keine ChatGPT-Alternative ist. Wie gehts jetzt weiter?

Im Katmai-Nationalpark in Alaska wurde der dickste Bär gekürt. Chunk, ein 544 Kilogramm schwerer Braunbär, gewann die «Fat Bear Week», bei der Zuschauer über Livecams abstimmen konnten. Über 1,5 Millionen Fans beteiligten sich am Wettbewerb.

Credit: Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters

By Inés M. Pousadela
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Oct 3 2025 (IPS)

When Mali’s former Prime Minister Moussa Mara stood trial in Bamako’s cybercrime court on 29 September, charged with undermining state authority for expressing solidarity with political prisoners on social media, his prosecution represented far more than one person’s fate. It epitomised how thoroughly the military junta has dismantled Mali’s democratic foundations, five years after seizing power with promises of swift reform.

Just a week before Mara’s trial, Mali joined fellow military-run states Burkina Faso and Niger in announcing immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although the withdrawal won’t take effect for a year and the ICC retains jurisdiction over past crimes, the message was unmistakable: Mali’s military rulers intend to operate beyond international legal constraints.

This follows a pattern of escalating repression, including arrests of senior generals and civilians over alleged conspiracy in August, coming months after sweeping decrees outlawed political parties and dissolved all organised opposition. Rather than preparing for the democratic handover initially promised for 2022 and repeatedly postponed, the junta is methodically shutting down what remains of Mali’s civic space.

A transition derailed

When General Assimi Goïta first seized power in August 2020 following mass protests over corruption and insecurity, he pledged to oversee a quick return to civilian rule. But less than a year later, he staged a second coup to sideline transitional civilian leaders. In 2023, the junta organised a constitutional referendum, claiming it would pave the way to democracy. The new constitution, supposedly approved by 97 per cent of voters, provided for significantly strengthened presidential powers while conveniently granting amnesty to coup participants. Deadlines for elections kept slipping, and they’re now effectively off the table until at least 2030.

A national consultation held in April, boycotted by virtually all major political parties, recommended appointing Goïta as president for a renewable five-year term until 2030, obviously contradicting any pledges to restore multi-party democracy.

An all-out assault on political parties ensued. Presidential decrees in May suspended all parties, revoked the 2005 Charter of Political Parties that provided the legal framework for political competition and dissolved close to 300 parties, forbidding all meetings or activities under threat of prosecution. Courts predictably rejected appeals, having become beholden to the executive under the 2023 constitutional changes that gave Goïta absolute control over Supreme Court appointments. The regime announced a new law on political parties to sharply restrict their number and impose stricter formation requirements, making clear it wants a tightly managed political landscape stripped of genuine pluralism.

Crushing civic freedoms

The assault on civic space extends beyond political parties. The junta has suspended civil society groups receiving foreign funding, imposed stringent regulatory controls and introduced draft legislation aimed at taxing civil society organisations. Independent media face systematic silencing through licence suspensions and revocations, astronomic increases in licence fees and weaponised cybercrime laws targeting journalists with vague charges such as undermining state credibility and spreading false information. Religious figures, opposition leaders and civil society activists have faced arrests, enforced disappearances and show trials.

The crackdown sparked the first major public resistance to military rule since 2020, with thousands protesting in Bamako in early May against the party ban and extension of Goïta’s mandate, only to be dispersed with teargas. Planned follow-up protests were cancelled after organisers received warnings of violent retaliation. The regime has made clear it won’t tolerate peaceful dissent.

What lies ahead

Five years after seizing power, Mali keeps taking the opposite path to democracy. The initial coup enjoyed some popular support, fuelled by anger at corruption and the civilian government’s failure to address jihadist insurgencies. But no improvements have come. Jihadist groups are still killing thousands every year, while the Malian army and its new Russian mercenary allies, following the departure of French and allied forces, routinely commit atrocities against civilians. Meanwhile the freedoms that would allow people to voice grievances and demand accountability have been systematically stripped away.

Mali’s trajectory matters beyond its borders. It was the first in a series of Central and West African countries to fall under military rule in recent years and is now spearheading a regional pushback against global democracy and human rights standards. The international community has responded with condemnations from UN human rights experts and documentation from civil society groups, but these statements carry little weight. Economic Community of West African States sanctions lost their leverage when Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew to form the rival Alliance of Sahel States, creating a bloc of authoritarian military regimes that coordinate to suppress dissent across borders, backed by stronger ties to Russia.

What began as a supposed corrective to civilian misrule has hardened into outright authoritarianism dressed in the language of national security and public order. The junta has eliminated any domestic institution that might constrain its power and is now casting aside even international accountability mechanisms.

In this bleak context, Malian civil society activists, journalists and opposition figures continue speaking out at tremendous personal risk. Their courage demands more than statements of condemnation. It calls for tangible support in the form of emergency funding, secure communication channels, legal assistance, temporary refuge and sustained diplomatic pressure. The international community’s commitment to human rights and democratic values, in Mali and across Central and West Africa, must translate into meaningful solidarity with those risking everything to defend them.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Head of Research and Analysis, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

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