France: Back to school for 12 million students

Back to school for the approximately 12 million students in France. “With a teacher in front of each class”, promises the government, despite an unprecedented crisis in the recruitment of teachers, which raises concerns about this school year. After two months of vacation, schoolchildren (6.5 million), middle school students (3.4 million) and high school students (2.2 million) will meet up with friends, discover their teachers and find out their schedule.

Back to school took place in 2021 under the spell of the health crisis. This year, it will take place under the umbrella of the teacher recruitment crisis. A phenomenon that is not new but has worsened even more this year, with more than 4,000 vacancies not filled in competitions in the country, out of 27,300 open positions in the public and private sectors (and 850,000 teachers in total). To make up for this shortage, National Education has recruited contract teachers - 3,000 according to Minister Pap Ndiaye - who were trained in a few days before meeting a class.

Ukraine: IAEA expected at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

A mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine on Thursday, where it wants a “permanent” presence to avoid a possible disaster. This team of 14 people arrived Wednesday in the city of the same name, about 50 kilometers as the crow flies from this complex, which has been occupied since the beginning of March by the Russians and is the subject of serious concerns of the international community. “We will try to establish a permanent presence of the agency,” IAEA Director General Rafaelo Grossi announced from Zaporizhzhia - a scenario not mentioned before.

Uighurs in China: UN report alleges crimes against humanity

The long-awaited UN report on China's Xinjiang region, published in extremis on Wednesday, mentions possible “crimes against humanity” and reports “credible evidence” of torture and sexual violence against the Uighur minority and calls on the international community to take action. “The extent of the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim groups (...) may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the report, which is just under fifty pages in its conclusions, states.

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, whose last day at the head of the Office of the High Commissioner after a four-year term, kept her promise in extremis by allowing the document to be published shortly before midnight in Geneva. Its publication was the subject of intense pressure to be implemented - especially by the United States and major human rights NGOs - and, conversely, to prevent it from seeing the light of day by Beijing, which considers the report to be a “farce” orchestrated by Westerners, led by Washington.

IN SHORT

The police officer who was taken into custody after the shooting of a young man on Tuesday during a refusal to comply in Neuville-en-Ferrain (Nord) was indicted for “violence that caused death without intention to give it”, his lawyer has learned.

The writer Gabriel Matzneff, who is under investigation for rape against a minor following revelations in early 2020 by publisher Vanessa Springora, was questioned freely by police officers.

The investigation against the actor Richard Berry, accused of incest by his daughter Coline Berry-Rojtman, was dismissed Wednesday due to statute of limitations, the Paris prosecutor's office said, confirming information from BFMTV.

Tennis: Serena Williams qualified for the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, which could be the final tournament of her phenomenal career, by beating the No. 2 in the world, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

On the French side, Caroline Garcia, ranked 17th in the world, easily beat Russia's Anna Kalinskaya (60th) 6-3, 6-1. Benjamin Bonzi, on the other hand, lost in four sets to Australia's Nick Kyrgios.