European Union

Agriculture sustains millions of people in Zimbabwe, serving as a vital source of both food and income. But climate-related pressures affecting land, crops, rainfall patterns, and increasing pest outbreaks are threatening smallholder farmers’ harvests, leaving them food insecure. Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in the capital, Harare, have teamed up […]

In the Trump era, CEOs need to define redlines.

Trump's overreach has finally forged continental unity.

UN peacekeeping transitions are increasingly unfolding under crisis conditions marked by deteriorating host-state consent, imposed timelines, and escalating insecurity. While the UN has developed more sophisticated transition frameworks over the past two decades, recent mission withdrawals have exposed significant gaps between policy guidance and operational realities.

This issue brief examines “transitions in crisis” through the cases of UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea, UNAMID in Sudan, MINUSMA in Mali, and MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It explores how operational obstruction, weakened political cooperation, inadequate successor arrangements, and abrupt withdrawals create acute risks for civilians, peacekeepers, and peace processes.

The findings highlight that crisis transitions require different analytical and operational approaches than standard mission drawdowns. Stronger contingency planning, earlier political engagement, more integrated protection mechanisms, and clearer responses to host-state obstruction are essential to mitigating the risks associated with abrupt or noncooperative mission withdrawals.

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Strategic communications are critical when a peace operation is preparing to leave a country. Effective communication can help manage expectations, counter misinformation and disinformation, preserve trust, and facilitate handover processes. Failure to communicate effectively can leave civilians feeling abandoned, fuel false narratives, and complicate mission withdrawals and transitions.

This issue brief examines lessons related to strategic communications during recent peacekeeping transitions, including in Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It explores how missions have approached external messaging with local populations and host-state governments, internal communication with mission staff, coordination with national and UN actors, and the transition or closure of UN radio stations.

The findings highlight that communications planning must be integrated into transition processes from the outset and supported at the leadership level. Maintaining communications capacity through and beyond mission drawdowns, strengthening joint messaging with UN and national actors, and developing sustainable approaches to UN radio are essential to effective transitions. At the same time, the brief underscores that even well-executed communications cannot compensate for deteriorating security conditions or political realities on the ground.

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UN peacekeeping missions have played an important role in advancing the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda, including by supporting women’s participation, strengthening gender-responsive institutions, and expanding protection mechanisms. Yet these gains often become vulnerable during mission transitions and withdrawals.

This issue brief examines how peacekeeping transitions have affected WPS gains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Mali. It explores how missions have incorporated gender-responsive analysis, gender benchmarks, technical expertise, and coordination with civil society into transition planning and implementation.

The findings highlight that sustaining WPS gains requires more systematic gender-responsive planning, stronger coordination with local actors, and continued political and financial support after mission withdrawal. Integrating gender expertise and local women-led organizations into transition processes is essential to preserving progress and reducing protection gaps.

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Un an après l'affaire de la "gifle" de Brigitte à Emmanuel Macron au Vietnam, les théories repartent de plus belle. Si le couple présidentiel parlait de "chamailleries" entre époux, un nouveau livre affirme que l'actrice franco-iranienne Golshifteh Farahani en serait la véritable raison. L'entourage de Brigitte Macron dément, mais cela n'empêche pas de fausses couvertures générées par intelligence artificielle de proliférer en ligne.

L'annonce du ministère de la défense israélien le 31 mars dernier a dû retentir comme une gifle dans les couloirs du Quai d'Orsay : Tel-Aviv « a décidé de ramener à zéro les achats de défense effectués en France ». Les gouvernements nommés par M. Emmanuel Macron avaient poursuivi ce commerce (…) / France, Diplomatie, Israël

Face à la menace de l’hantavirus, la France a choisi d’agir vite en hospitalisant 22 cas contacts, une mesure rare en Europe. Depuis la pandémie de Covid-19, chaque décision sanitaire est scrutée et contestée. Entre risque d’inaction et accusations d’alarmisme, les autorités avancent sur une ligne étroite, où la gestion d’un virus devient aussi une question de confiance politique.

13,5 cm de long pour 9 cm de large.C’est la taille du trophée le plus convoité du cinéma mondial. À Cannes, notre envoyée spéciale Nina Masson a pu voir la Palme d’or de très près… et rencontrer Caroline Scheufele, coprésidente de Chopard, qui raconte les anecdotes les plus folles derrière ce symbole mythique du Festival.Tombée sur scène, bloquée à la douane…Même la Palme d’or a ses galères de star ! ✨

Le procès en appel de l'affaire du financement libyen de la campagne présidentielle de Nicolas Sarkozy de 2007 se tient à Paris depuis le 16 mars. Condamné en première instance à 5 ans de prison, il avait été détenu 20 jours à l'automne. Résumé de la neuvième semaine d'audience, au cours de laquelle l’accusation a requis sept ans de prison contre l’ancien chef d’État.

The Cyprus Presidency activates the Council’s Integrated Political Crisis Response arrangements in information sharing mode to actively monitor the hantavirus outbreak.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/927 of 27 April 2026 amending Decision 2013/184/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Myanmar/Burma.