News
Talks between Kyiv and Moscow. On the 34th day of war, Ukrainians and Russians are to meet again this Tuesday in Istanbul. For this fifth round of negotiations, the positions of the two protagonists hardly change: kyiv still insists on its “sovereignty” and his “security” who cannot “to be questioned”. Moscow, for its part, clings to its objectives of “demilitarization” and of “denazification”. On the ground, the continued siege of Mariupol has raised fears of a “catastrophic” situation for the Ukrainian authorities, while fighting has resumed in the Kyiv region. Our live on the war in Ukraine.
French growth will slightly reduce the debt and the deficit in 2021. After soaring in 2020 due to the health crisis, the public debt ratio began to decline slightly last year, reaching 112.9% of GDP, while the public deficit narrowed slightly to 6.5 %, indicates this Tuesday morning the INSEE. If the public accounts are looking a little better, this is mainly due to the strong rebound of 7% in the French economy after the historic 8% recession caused the previous year by Covid.
In Syria, Bashar al-Assad promulgates a law to censor his opponents. On the model of the Russian leaden screed, any Syrian who wears “undermining the prestige of the State” now faces a sentence of at least six months in prison. Ditto for the publicationinformation likely to improve the reputation of an enemy State”, while a person “who, in writing or verbally, has called for the cession of Syrian territory” faces one year in prison. Read here.
Attacks by the Islamic State in Mali: “It’s a real massacre, deliberate”. Several hundred civilians, including women and children, were reportedly killed in raids on villages in northern Mali by ISIS troops in the Greater Sahara. “They spare no one, neither women nor children. It is a real massacre, deliberate.said a good Malian connoisseur of the region to Release. When the French troops are packing up, the attack signs a new deadly spiral. Our article.
Oscars: Will Smith apologizes for slapping Chris Rock, the Academy opens an investigation. The American actor presented a public apology on Monday evening to the comedian, whom he had slapped the day before on the stage of the Oscars after a joke about his wife. “What I did was inappropriate and I was wrong.” wrote Will Smith on Instagram. These apologies come shortly after the Academy of Oscars announced the opening of an internal investigation, to examine the follow-up to be given to the case with regard to its “California regulations and law”. Read here.
The sixth wave of Covid is gaining momentum. While Emmanuel Macron chairs a new Health Defense Council this Tuesday morning, the executive is keeping a close eye on the epidemic figures. This Monday, 29,455 new cases have been recorded for the past 24 hours, about 5,000 more than last Monday. The rolling seven-day average stands at 128,241 new daily cases, compared to 127,488 the day before and 89,763 the previous Monday. The situation is deteriorating slightly in hospitals with regard to critical care admissions (174 against 124 a week ago).
To be continued today
Second day of the Catherine Burgod murder trial. The trial of Mamadou Diallo, 32, tried for killing the postwoman of Montreal-la-Cluse continues this Tuesday before the Assize Court of Ain. On the first day of trial on Monday, the accused, portrayed glowingly by those close to him, denied the crime. : “I was scared that day, I didn’t kill that poor woman”, he said in particular behind the glass of the box. Our account of the first day of the trial here.
The presidential campaign in the home stretch. Thirteen days before the first round, the contenders for the Elysée are increasing their trips. Ecologist Yannick Jadot goes to Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor) to talk about green algae. Tested negative for COVID-19, Republican candidate Valérie Pécresse goes to Marcq-en-Barœul, in the suburbs of Lille, to talk about purchasing power in particular. Socialist Anne Hidalgo will be in Nancy to meet traders and citizens. On the majority side, the Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne and the President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand are holding public meetings in Paris.
The report
In Dijon, President Macron plays the normal candidate. He finally entered the arena. Accused of fleeing contradiction since the start of the campaign, the head of state allowed himself to be challenged by the inhabitants of a popular district of Dijon, Monday, in Burgundy. And did not fail, during this trip, to send spades to Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen. Read our report.
The portrait
Nastia Laiko, life behind you. This Ukrainian medical student fled Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, abandoning her recklessness and her taste for role-playing games, to take refuge in Estonia via Poland. Our profile.