Conflict: Visiting Kiev, the French Minister of the Armed Forces promises to meet Ukrainian military needs

During a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiï Reznikov, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, affirmed that he wanted to work to meet Ukrainian military needs “for the coming weeks.” Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron asked “to make them proposals for the month of January to redefine a common agenda” on French military support, he said.

The two ministers discussed extensively the “tactical and strategic situation” on the ground and “the needs of the Ukrainian army in the coming weeks.”

Vatican: Pope calls for prayers for Benedict XVI, who is “seriously ill”

Pope Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI is “seriously ill.” In an intervention, Pope Francis said he was praying for the man whose resignation in 2013 for health reasons took the world by surprise. Before the faithful gathered in the Vatican, Pope Francis called for a “special prayer” for his predecessor. “To preserve his memory, because he is seriously ill, to ask the Lord to console and support him to the end in this testimony of love to the Church,” he added.

Natural disaster: The United States emerges from the storm that killed at least 59 people

After causing at least 59 deaths, the storm in the United States continues to be felt in the Buffalo region and airports, with hundreds of thousands of passengers having their flights cancelled. Heavy snowfalls, icy wind, sudden drop in temperatures... Even in regions used to tough winters, bad weather wreaked havoc, to the point that rescue teams sometimes found themselves stuck.

IN SHORT

The number of prisoners in French prisons reached an all-time high of 72,836 in December. A record that further accentuates prison overcrowding and the pressure on the executive to try to remedy it.

The tax on the “superprofits” of energy giants decided by Brussels could “discourage investments”. As a preventive measure, the American group ExxonMobil referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Wednesday.

The fate is sealed for the Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala, who is accused of trying to overthrow the government in Istanbul. An Istanbul court confirmed his life sentence on appeal on Wednesday.

Kylian Mbappé spoke on Wednesday about the failure of the 2022 World Cup, where France lost in the final against Argentina (3-3, 4 times to 2) despite a hat-trick from the French striker. “I think I'm never going to digest it,” he said.