France

Un second assistant parlementaire de Raphaël Arnault figure parmi les onze personnes interpellées dans  le cadre de l'enquête sur la mort de Quentin Deranque, tué la semaine dernière par plusieurs personnes cagoulées, en marge d'une conférence de Rima Hassan à Sciences Po Lyon.

DOCUMENT. Cinq jours avant le vote du Conseil de Paris attribuant le réseau de chaleur urbain au groupement Dalkia-Eiffage, RATP Solutions Ville, le gazier s’est fendu d’un courrier à l’ensemble des élus.

Annoncée dans la soirée de ce mardi 17 février, la suspension des réseaux sociaux au Gabon est devenue effective ce mercredi 18 février au matin. Dans l’ensemble du pays, l’accès aux plateformes les plus utilisées comme Facebook et TikTok est devenu impossible.

Incapable de se penser hors de la sphère d’influence états-unienne, l’Union européenne participe, ce jeudi, à la première réunion de l’instance trumpienne malgré le scepticisme de certains de ses membres.

Malgré les quelques polémiques des puristes, la discipline est dorénavant aux JO d’hiver sous une forme raccourcie. Une aubaine pour la France, laquelle compte dans ses rangs deux des meilleurs spécialistes de la discipline qui entrent en lice ce jeudi à Bormio.

200 ans après les premières casseroles sorties de ses ateliers, l’usine Cristel située à Fesches-le-Châtel, dans le Doubs, tourne aujourd’hui à plein régime. Portée par l’engouement post-Covid pour une cuisine plus durable, la PME familiale investit 12,5 millions d’euros dans une nouvelle unité de production.

Centrale au gaz à géante, diamants synthétiques, terminal pétrolier… Le président américain a annoncé mardi soir les premiers projets dans le cadre de l’accord douanier entre Washington et Tokyo. Mais certaines questions demeurent quant à leur concrétisation.

INFOGRAPHIE. Une étude de la Drees, sortie ce mercredi, révèle le coût qu’auraient à supporter les ménages en cas de déremboursement partiel de certains soins par l’Assurance maladie. Les plus modestes, les seniors et les malades seraient les plus impactés.

Porté par la société EMME, le projet de transformation de nickel et de cobalt prévu près de Bordeaux a obtenu un avis favorable de l’enquête publique malgré 85 % de contributions opposées. Chiffrée à 530 millions d'euros, cette usine classée Seveso en zone inondable fait l’objet d'un nouveau recours devant le tribunal administratif.

Le 25 février prochain s'ouvrira le procès en appel du commissaire Souchi, condamné en première instance, responsable de la charge illégale ayant causé de multiples fractures à Geneviève Legay.

Une note de la Commission des finances du Sénat a révélé mercredi 18 février que plus de 13 000 foyers fiscaux éligibles à l'impôt sur la fortune immobilière ne paient aucun impôt sur le revenu. Ces chiffres obtenus via le ministère de l'Économie et des Finances confirment les déclarations en janvier dernier de l'ancien ministre Éric Lombard, alors démenties par la ministre des Comptes publics, Amélie de Montchalin.

L'ancienne ministre Geneviève Darrieussecq tente de ravir la mairie à Charles Dayot, en poste depuis 2017 et qui est visé par trois procédures judiciaires.

Plus de 13 000 contribuables fortunés ne paient pas ou très peu d’impôts sur le revenu, selon une note de Bercy réclamée par des parlementaires. Des risques d’optimisation et de fraudes sont pointés par la DGFIP.

Une analyse du Wall Street Journal souligne la vulnérabilité du modèle américain face à la concentration extrême des richesses. Le mécanisme fiscal du « Buy, Borrow, Die » permet aux plus fortunés d'échapper à l'impôt sur les plus-values grâce à l'endettement. En Californie, un projet de taxe de 5 % sur les 200 plus riches tente de répondre à l'érosion des services publics comme Medicaid.

Leïla Shahid, ancienne déléguée générale de la Palestine en France et auprès de l’Union européenne, est morte mercredi 18 février 2026. Elle avait 76 ans.

 

Prominent South Azerbaijani dissident journalist Ahmad Obali discussed the pivotal importance of International Mother Language Day for the South Azerbaijani people.

International Mother Language Day, observed annually on February 21, promotes linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as multilingualism, to foster inclusive societies and preserve endangered languages. Initiated by Bangladesh and proclaimed by UNESCO in November 1999, the day emphasizes the importance of mother tongue preservation and education. Every nation and ethnic group that is suppressed culturally wants to celebrate International Mother Language Day on February 21st.  For South Azerbaijanis and other repressed ethnic groups in Iran, International Mother Language Day has great meaning and significance.

South Azerbaijani dissident journalist Ahmad Obali proclaimed, “Each ethnic group in Iran has their own language: Baloch, Turkmen, South Azerbaijanis, Ahwazi Arabs and Kurds. The fact that these languages are banned in schools and official communications in Iran, and none of these ethnic groups can even have a private school funded by themselves that teaches their language is a travesty. We celebrate Mother Language Day every year in South Azerbaijan, asking for the right to study in our mother tongue as it is written in Article 15 of the Iranian Constitution.”

However, Obali noted that it is a crime in Iran to demand to have the right to study and work in one’s mother tongue: “Iran is also the only known nation in the world that if people ask for the implementation of the constitution in regards to language, people can be arrested, tortured and jailed. I do not know of any other country where you can get arrested, tortured and given a long-prison sentence because one asked for the implementation of the country’s constitution. Although South Azerbaijanis make up one third of the population in Iran, there have been numerous protests asking for the implementation of the 15th article of the constitution. Most of the leaders have been arrested, such as Abbas Lesani, and been given years of jail time. Dr. Ali Reza Farshi, which is currently serving a long-term prison sentence in the South Azerbaijani city of Marand in the Islamic Republic of Iran, was arrested only for distributing children’s books in the Azerbaijani language.”

“Iran considers the right for non-Persians to learn their language in school as a national security threat and they claimed that the oppression of the non-Persian ethnic cultural rights is a service to national unity,” Obali noted, stressing that the oppression of ethnic languages has a long history in Iran. “When the old Reza Pahlavi was brought to power in 1925 due to British intervention, he declared Iran as a one-nation, one language and banned all non-Persian languages in official communications, schools, newspapers and so forth. When he was overthrown due to his sympathy for Hitler during World War II, his son Muhammed Reza Pahalivi was brought to power a little after and he continued the same oppressive policy until 1979. When he was deposed by Ayatollah Khomeini, there was a nation-wide belief that since Khomeini’s regime is Islamist, they would not be repressive on cultural and ethnic issues, but interestingly enough, not only did the Islamic Republic of Iran continue the same policy, but they have enforced it harder than Pahlavi.”

“Just a couple of years ago, the Iranian government passed a law that stated that the kindergarteners in non-Persian areas must pass a Farsi language exam before they start in any school,” Obali noted. “If they fail the exam, they would be sent to a special school that is set up for children with mental issues. This forced families in South Azerbaijan and other parts of the country to teach their children Farsi before they could learn their own mother tongue.”

Linguistic oppression also affects South Azerbaijanis in their dealings with the Iranian judiciary. According to Iran Human Rights, “Ethnic regions such as South Azerbaijan are overrepresented in the women’s death penalty cases.” Human Rights Watch also reported that ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted for the death penalty in Iran, generally speaking.

The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtaini is a case in point. Because of her lack of understanding of Farsi, she was sentenced to death for something that would not even be punishable in any court of law in any democratic society. If there was not an international uproar, she could have been executed. As Obali noted, “She could not understand the language of the court in Tabriz, which is 100 percent Azerbaijani populated city. She was charged with adultery, but she did not commit any crime. She just signed a paper not knowing that she was signing off on her own death sentence.”

According to Obali, “Most South Azerbaijanis today because of Iranian policy do not know how to write in their own language or officially communicate. When I was going to school before the 1979 Islamic takeover, I was beaten by the teacher and fined monetarily because I spoke with my classmates in my own language in the class. I was literally punished in a humiliating manner in front of the whole class, just for speaking in my mother tongue. They were forcing us not to speak our mother tongue in class, even though all of the students and the teacher himself were South Azerbaijani.  This was an official government made to all of the schools in Iran. Additionally, official instructions were given to mix Persian words with Azerbaijani language as much as possible, so even if it is spoken, it is almost like a different language for it is mixed so much.”

“100 years of essentially cultural suppression, persecution and oppression of the Azerbaijani language in Iran has resulted in many South Azerbaijanis to be assimilated into Persian culture and language,” Obali emphasized. “In other words, there is a cultural genocide going on against non-Persians in Iran, otherwise known as linguicide. This crime against humanity is overlooked, unfortunately, by most democratic nations in the West,” even though minority rights is highly respected in these countries domestically.

Obali noted that while the mullahs in Iran refer to Israel as the “little Satan” and have been calling for the destruction of Israel for 47 years, “Arabs in Israel can study in their own language and work in their own mother tongue. Arabic is one of the official languages of the State of Israel. All children in Israel, including Jewish children, study Arabic in school, as it is mandatory for all Israelis to have a basic understanding of such a significant minority language. On the Israeli trains and buses, signs are written in Hebrew, Arabic and English. The same for street signs.” Obali noted that South Azerbaijanis can only dream of their language getting the same respect from the Iranian authorities that Arabic receives in the State of Israel.

As a South Azerbaijani immigrant to the United States, Obali stated that he found American society to be more accepting of the Azerbaijani language than Iranian society: “Immigrants from South Azerbaijan to the United States can set up a special school to teach Azerbaijani language to their children.  There are Azerbaijani language courses in many colleges in America. We can set up radio, television and newspapers in Azerbaijani language as well, while all of this is forbidden in Iran. The only radio and television station in Azerbaijani language in Iran must use 60 percent non-Azerbaijani words, known among South Azerbaijanis as Farzari. We ask the free nations of the world to help ethnic minorities to save their mother language and culture.”

ENTRETIEN EXCLUSIF - La présidente de l’Assemblée, qui élargit le barrage anti-RN à un front anti-extrême, publie un rapport sur le contrôle de l’action gouvernementale et la non-application des lois.

Cette année, la date retenue pour commencer le mois du jeûne musulman du ramadan divise en France. La Grande Mosquée de Paris et le Conseil français du culte musulman ne sont pas parvenus aux mêmes conclusions malgré les calculs astronomiques. Une imbroglio incompréhensible voire intolérable pour les fidèles.

Alors que la maîtrise de l’écrit demeure une condition centrale d’accès aux savoirs, à l’emploi et à l’information, la dyslexie reste trop souvent appréhendée comme une difficulté individuelle isolée. Pourtant, entre 9 et 12 % de la population française seraient concernés par des troubles spécifiques du langage et des apprentissages. L’Institut Choiseul publie une nouvelle […]