France-Africa: Macron soon in Gabon, Angola and the two Congos

This Monday, February 27, 2023, Emmanuel Macron is giving a major speech at the Elysée Palace devoted to France's diplomatic and military strategy on Africa. According to the French Presidency, today he must specify his “vision of the partnership with African countries” and “the direction” he intends to take during his second term.

On the sidelines of this important African sequence, the French president will continue on Wednesday with a tour of four Central African countries: Gabon, Angola, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the first stage, in Libreville, he will participate in a summit on the preservation of forests in the Congo River basin.

Human Rights Council: Russia in the sights of the UN Human Rights Council

The session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) starting on Monday will focus on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iran, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Nicaragua... numerous situations of human rights violations will animate the debates over nearly six weeks in Geneva, in a context of high international tensions. At the heart of the work was the publication of an investigation into war crimes committed in Ukraine.

These meetings are, according to some, of paramount importance at a time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is celebrating its 75th anniversary, because the Human Rights Council has never sat for so long. But for other countries that are not well known for their respect for human rights and that are leading the charge to end the mandates of UN investigators, this extended schedule is the fruit of too much interference by the UN institution in the affairs of States.

Shipwreck near the Italian coast: around 60 migrants lose their lives

The European Commission has just recorded a “tragedy”. Around 60 migrants died when their boat sank in the Mediterranean near the Italian city of Crotone in Calabria (south). The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called for progress on the reform of asylum in the European Union on Sunday, after this “tragedy”. She said that there was a need to “redouble efforts with regard to the Pact on Migration and the Right of Asylum, and on the Action Plan for the Central Mediterranean.”

Expressing her “profound pain”, the head of the far-right government Giorgia Meloni said in a statement that it was “criminal to launch a boat barely 20 meters long with 200 people on board and a poor weather forecast.”

IN SHORT

A crew is due to take off Sunday night from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket to reach the International Space Station. The crew consists of two American astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an Emirati astronaut.

After a highly contested election, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, announces the publication of the presidential results on Monday. It should be noted that the delays in the counting operations have raised concerns and accusations of attempted fraud.

Paris SG coach Christophe Galtier said Sunday that defender Presnel Kimpembe has “seriously” injured an Achilles tendon and will be “unavailable until the end of the season.” The announcement was made on Prime Video after Paris won 3-0 in Marseille.