Africa

EU Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef urges protection of the European sporting model as the NBA explores a new pan-European league

Currently, nine EU countries have some form of conscription

La Haute Autorité de la communication gabonaise justifie la décision par la diffusion sur les plateformes numériques de « contenus inappropriés, diffamatoires, haineux ». Le président, Brice Oligui Nguema, a fait face, en janvier et février, à sa première vague de contestation sociale.

"This is the only hustle we know," miners tell the BBC as they try their luck at the site in Springs.

Laurent Jacobelli, député du Rassemblement national de Moselle et porte-parole du parti, réagit au lynchage de Quentin Deranque à Lyon, jeune homme de 23 ans, militant nationaliste, qui a succombé à ses blessures. Pour le député du RN, "la mort de Quentin marque un tournant" et "LFI a du sang sur les mains". Laurent Jacobelli reviendra aussi sur la visite en Algérie du ministre de l'Intérieur, Laurent Nunez, une visite pour tenter de renouer le dialogue et sur la présidentielle de 2027.

Neuf personnes, dont un assistant parlementaire du député LFI Raphaël Arnault, ont été interpellées mardi dans le cadre de l'enquête sur la mort du jeune militant nationaliste Quentin Deranque, a indiqué à l'AFP le procureur de Lyon Thierry Dran.

Credit: UNICEF/Eyad El Baba
 
What is international humanitarian law? Families flee their shattered homes in Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza city. While aid workers serving conflict-affected civilian populations depend on a set of laws to protect them, some warring parties violate these global agreements, from targeting hospitals and schools to blocking aid workers from reaching civilians with lifesaving goods and services. Source: UN News

By Stuart Casey-Maslen
GENEVA, Feb 17 2026 (IPS)

International humanitarian law is at a breaking point, as rampant impunity for serious violations is enabling even greater abuses against civilians and detainees.

Across today’s wars, violations are no longer concealed or exceptional. They are increasingly open, systematic, and unpunished, with catastrophic consequences for those whom the law is supposed to protect.

New analysis of 23 situations of armed conflict between July 2024 and the end of 2025 reveals a consistent pattern: civilians are being killed, abused and starved at scale, while accountability mechanisms either falter or are actively undermined. Genocidal violence in Gaza, a renewed risk of genocide in Sudan, and mass atrocities elsewhere are not isolated horrors. Taken together, they point to a deeper failure – the collapse of meaningful restraint in the conduct of hostilities.

Conflict-related sexual violence has reached epidemic levels. Rape, sexual slavery, and sexual violence used as punishment or as a tool of territorial control have been documented across multiple conflicts, including in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Sudan. Particularly alarming is the growing number of cases involving attacks children, including victims as young as one.

These are not by-products of war, but violations long prohibited under international humanitarian law, now committed with near-total impunity. This occurs with the complicity of many other States, which have a duty to respect and ensure respect international humanitarian law.

This erosion of civilian protection is not primarily the result of gaps in legal knowledge. The rules exist. The problem is political choice – and a persistent failure to enforce, clarify and update the law where it no longer offers meaningful restraint.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the global arms trade. The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty has been widely ratified, including by major exporters such as China, France, and the United Kingdom. In theory, it requires its member States to deny arms transfers where there is a clear risk that weapons will be used to commit serious violations of international law. In practice, legal risk assessments are all too often overridden by strategic and political considerations.

Continued arms exports to Israel, Russia, and others, despite overwhelming evidence of civilian harm, have had devastating consequences on the ground.

Closing this gap does not require a raft of new rules in the short term. It requires the consistent application of existing ones: enforceable, evidence-based export controls; independent scrutiny of licensing decisions; and real accountability where transfers are authorised despite a clear risk that the law will be breached by the recipient.

Certain categories of weapons are though incompatible with the protection of civilians, but do not necessarily violate the already permissive standards. Repeated firing into populated areas of gravity ordnance from the air and inaccurate long-range artillery from the ground has been a major driver of civilian casualties across multiple conflicts.

There is a fundamental lack of clarity on two key rules: first, how close an attack may be launched to a military target while still complying with the law; and second, how much incidental civilian harm is permissible when targeting a military objective.

On both issues, the law urgently requires clarification. Restricting air-delivered weapons to precision-guided munitions alone would already make a measurable difference to civilian survival. Achieving this, however, requires States to clarify and update the rules of international humanitarian law that were drafted in the 1970s.

In State-on-State conflicts such as in Kherson province in Ukraine, drones have been used by Russian forces – and others – to target civilians, sometimes with real-time video footage disseminated online by the perpetrators.

At the same time, armed drones are no longer the preserve of States. Their use by non-State armed groups is increasing rapidly, including by JNIM in the Sahel, Islamic State in Somalia, and the Arakan Army in Myanmar. There is an urgent need for stronger mechanisms to attribute, investigate, and prosecute unlawful drone and autonomous weapon attacks.

Impunity on this scale is not inevitable. It is the product of sustained political and financial neglect. Institutions designed to promote compliance with international humanitarian law – including domestic courts and international tribunals – are under severe strain, with some facing paralysis or closure due to lack of resources.

Judges at bodies such as the International Criminal Court have even been sanctioned simply for carrying out their mandates. If States are serious about protecting civilians, political and financial support for these institutions must be treated as a core obligation and a policy priority, not an optional gesture.

The current moment represents a critical test for international humanitarian law itself. The international lawyer Hersch Lauterpacht once warned that the law existed at the “vanishing point” of international law. That warning is no longer theoretical.

Whether humanitarian law continues to function as a real constraint on warfare, or recedes into symbolic rhetoric, will depend on the political choices states make now – and on whether civilian protection is treated as a legal duty rather than a discretionary one.

Stuart Casey-Maslen is an international lawyer and lead author of War Watch: International Humanitarian Law in Focus at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

IPS UN Bureau

 

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It is the latest twist over the fate of Lungu's body, which remains in a South African morgue since his death.

Les récentes contre-offensives ukrainiennes ont permis la reprise de plusieurs localités dans l’est du pays, offrant à Kyiv un succès à forte portée symbolique alors qu’un nouveau cycle de négociations s’ouvre avec la Russie et les États-Unis.

The post L’Ukraine réalise des avancées symboliques sur le front alors que de nouveaux pourparlers de paix s’engagent appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Women perform a disproportionate amount of unpaid labor, hindering their ability to build assets or advance careers. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

By Joseph Chamie
PORTLAND, USA, Feb 17 2026 (IPS)

The global struggle for equality for women and girls has been ongoing for centuries, with no single country having achieved full equality. In many countries, women and girls continue to face discrimination, harassment, unequal treatment, injustice, domestic violence, and a lack of security and safety.

One of the primary goals of this struggle is to dismantle systemic discrimination and secure basic human rights for women and girls. These rights include economic freedom, social independence, voting power, and bodily autonomy.

Discrimination, harassment, lack of rights, limited healthcare, unequal access to resources, education and political power, high rates of violence, forced marriages, and cultural preferences for male children all contribute to the unequal treatment of girls and women

While some progress has been made, the current global situation regarding women’s equality remains concerning. Many women and girls still struggle for their lives, their rights and their dignity.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that countries began passing legislation to ensure women the right to vote and stand for election. The first country to permit women to vote was New Zealand in 1893. Approximately a decade later, Australia, Finland, Denmark and Iceland followed suit.

By the middle of the 20th century, more than half of all countries had granted women the right to vote and today, none of the world’s nearly 200 countries bar women from voting. However, some countries effectively or practically deny women this right through the absence of elections or restrictive regimes.

National surveys across different regions of the world find large majorities of the public supporting women’s equality and saying it is very important for women in their country to have the same rights as men. The majority of the public supporting women’s equality varies from highs of 90 percent or more in countries such as Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom to lows of approximately 55 percent in Kenya, Russia and South Korea.

In contrast, a minority of misogynists consider women inferior to men. This minority often treats women as their personal property, denying them control over their lives and bodies. They restrict women’s political, social and economic rights, and frequently ridicule, intimidate and physically abuse them.

Various indexes and metrics have been used to measure the extent and progress of women’s equality among countries. For example, the Women, Peace and Security Index, based on thirteen indicators of women’s status in 181 countries, focuses on inclusion, justice, rights, security, and safety.

The top five countries that rank high on the Women, Peace and Security Index are Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Together, these five countries account for approximately 0.3% of the world’s female population. European countries hold nine of the top ten rankings on the index, with the Nordic countries consistently ranking in the top ten for many years.

In contrast, the five bottom countries that rank low on this index are Afghanistan, Yemen, Central African Republic, Syria, and Sudan. Among the ten lowest ranked countries on the index, only one country, Haiti, is not in Africa or Asia (Table 1).

Source: Women, Peace and Security Index.

It is noteworthy that the ten countries with the largest economies are not among the top ranked countries on the index. Among these ten countries, Canada and Germany have the highest rankings of 16 and 21, respectively. In contrast, China and India, which each have about 17% of the world’s female population, are ranked significantly lower on this index, with scores of 89 and 131, respectively.

Another metric used to assess countries’ progress in achieving women’s equality is the United Nations Gender Inequality Index (GII). The GII is a composite metric that measures maternal mortality, teen births, secondary education attainment, share of parliamentary seats, and labor market participation.

No single country has achieved full equality, with women still facing the threat of discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence. In many developing countries, women and girls continue to experience serious injustices, including forced marriage, and high levels of domestic and sexual violence.

According to the GII, the five countries with the highest ranking in terms of women’s equality are Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Conversely, the five countries with the lowest ranking on the GII are Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, Chad and Afghanistan. Other rankings, such as the Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum and the Best Countries of U.S. News, also produced similar rankings of countries with the highest and lowest levels of women’s equality.

Various factors contribute to the lack of women’s equality and discrimination against women and girls. Notable among these factors are restrictive laws, discriminatory norms, cultural stereotypes, violence risks, and unequal education that value men and boys over women and girls. These misogynistic barriers are reinforced by unconscious bias, weak policy enforcement, economic disparities, and structural disadvantages (Table 2).

Source: Amnesty International.

Men and boys are often given more education, power, resources and opportunities than women and girls. Additionally, traditional or religious norms typically depict males as dominant and females as subordinate. While these norms generally affirm the spiritual equality of men and women, they often perpetuate social and institutional inequality on Earth due to traditional interpretations of sacred religious texts.

Discrimination, harassment, lack of rights, limited healthcare, unequal access to resources, education and political power, high rates of violence, forced marriages, and cultural preferences for male children all contribute to the unequal treatment of girls and women.

Moreover, women also perform a disproportionate amount of unpaid labor, hindering their ability to build assets or advance careers. They face lower pay for equal work and are often concentrated in lower-paying occupations. In many countries, women also have restricted access to land ownership, credit, financial services, and unequal legal protection.

Humanitarian crises, climate change, and pandemics have a tendency to disproportionately affect women, exacerbating existing inequalities. Fragile states and those experiencing conflict also tend to rank poorly in terms of women’s equality.

Women’s inequality also varies within countries. For example, while women make up 50% of the U.S. population, women ‘s inequality persists across social, economic, and political sectors. According to 17 various key indicators of women’s equality in the U.S., one study found that the top five states are Hawaii, Nevada, Maryland, Maine, and Oregon, while the bottom five states are Utah, Texas, Idaho, Arkansas, and Louisiana (Table 3).

Source: WalletHub.

There are only about five years left for the world to fulfill the promises made to girls and women for gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Realizing gender equality is not only the right thing to do, but it is vital for sustainable development.

Women’s equality is a fundamental human right and a foundation for a peaceful and sustainable world. Progress has been achieved over the last several decades. However, the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

During the remaining years, eleven of the biggest challenges have been identified and need to be addressed in order to advance women’s equality. These challenges include discrimination, inequalities, inadequate access to education and healthcare, lack of women in political leadership, violence against women and girls, poverty, and lack of economic opportunities (Table 4).

 

Source: UN Women.

Women and girls face discrimination that hinders their access to education, employment, healthcare, and legal protections. Treating women unfairly and depriving them of their basic human rights leads to the creation of unjust societies.

Approximately 1 in 3 women – estimated at 840 million globally – have experienced partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women –which is 11% of those aged 15 or older – were subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner.

Major factors contributing to the lack of women’s equality include restrictive laws, discriminatory norms, cultural stereotypes, violence and safety risks, weak enforcement policies, unequal education, economic disparities, inadequate healthcare, lack of political representation, employment segregation, pay gap, unpaid care burden, and unequal household responsibilities.

Achieving women’s equality requires a multi-faceted approach. This includes ensuring their basic human rights, enforcing legal protections against discrimination and violence, ensuring equal pay, education access, economic empowerment, and opportunities, promoting women in leadership roles, dismantling misogynistic stereotypes, advancing inclusive policies, supporting women-led institutions, and encouraging shared domestic responsibility.

Additionally, this multi-faceted approach involves promoting proactive efforts by governments, non-governmental institutions, businesses, schools, community organizations, families, and individuals to ensure equal opportunities, freedom from violence, and fundamental human rights for women and girls.

Joseph Chamie is an independent consulting demographer and former director of the United Nations Population Division.

 

L’UE pourrait instaurer une interdiction complète des services maritimes aux pétroliers russes sans l’appui du G7, a affirmé le commissaire européen à l’Économie, Valdis Dombrovskis. Une déclaration qui semble contredire des indications antérieures selon lesquelles cette mesure serait adoptée uniquement en coordination avec les partenaires occidentaux.

The post L’UE prête à interdire les services maritimes aux pétroliers russes, même sans le G7, affirme le commissaire à l’Économie appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Au deuxième jour de son procès, Naps a succinctement donné sa version des faits mardi, devant la cour criminelle de Paris, avant son interrogatoire prévu mercredi. Le rappeur marseillais, notammment connu pour sa musique "La Kiffance", est accusé d'avoir violé une jeune femme endormie dans une chambre d'hôtel en octobre 2021. "Tous les signaux me disaient que c'était cool", a-t-il partagé à la barre.

Les États membres de l’UE peineront à faire face à l’augmentation rapide des températures sur le continent et à la multiplication des catastrophes naturelles qui en découle — incendies, inondations, tempêtes — faute de plans d’adaptation coordonnés à l’échelle européenne, ont averti des experts de l’UE.

The post L’Europe n’est « pas préparée » à un réchauffement de quatre degrés appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Pénteken jelent meg az Átlátszó Erdély portálon egy tényfeltáró írás arról, hogy a nagybányai Németh László Elméleti Líceum egyik tanára feltehetően több diákját is zaklatta érzelmileg, fizikailag és szexuálisan, gyakran egy hagyományőrző egyesület eseményeinek keretében. A cikk megjelenése előtt néhány órával, péntek reggel közölte a nagybányai rendőrség, hogy házkutatásokat végeznek három illető, egy tanár és […]

Articolul Nagybányai zaklatásgyanú: tények és tanulságok apare prima dată în Kolozsvári Rádió Románia.

En présentant un nombre record de 650 listes, le Rassemblement national espère remporter "plusieurs dizaines de communes" lors des élections municipales (15 et 22 mars). Le parti d’extrême droite entend ainsi poursuivre sur sa dynamique actuelle pour ensuite filer tout droit vers la présidentielle 2027.

"Et la joie de vivre". Tel est le titre du livre d’une femme dont le nom et le visage ont fait le tour de la planète : Gisèle Pelicot. Le procès des viols dont elle a été victime a suscité à la fois une indignation mondiale et une admiration devant cette femme qui a refusé le huis clos pour que l’on sache ce qui lui était arrivé et avec elle ce qui arrive à tant de femmes. La sortie de son récit, publié ce mardi, écrit à la première personne, est l’occasion de nous demander ce que l’on a retenu et ce que l’on a appris de cette affaire, tant sur les questions de domination que de violence de traitement des victimes.

Nigeria fans are still hoping Fifa may rule in their favour over allegations that DR Congo fielded ineligible players during Africa's 2026 World Cup play-offs.

Zimbabwe qualify for the Super 8s at the T20 World Cup as rain washes out their Group B game against Ireland.

Tavasszal új pályázati lehetőség nyílik az erdőgazdálkodók és fafeldolgozó üzemek számára,  a támogatás keretében fejlesztésenként akár 400 millió forint is igényelhető, amelynek célja a hazai erdőgazdálkodás versenyképességének és fenntarthatóságának növelése korszerű eszközök és technológiák segítségével. 

A TINTA Könyvkiadó idén tavasszal meghirdeti a Lőrincze Lajos könyvpályázatot, amely célja, hogy a magyar közoktatásban széles körben elérhetőek legyenek a magyar nyelv mai állapotát leíró új szótárak, és a Könyvkiadó 50% kedvezménnyel támogatja a pályázókat.