Feed aggregator

The first EU Parliamentary Democracy Forum will examine contemporary threats to democratic governance and explore best practices to increase resilience.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

The first EU Parliamentary Democracy Forum will examine contemporary threats to democratic governance and explore best practices to increase resilience.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Le Premier ministre polonais Donald Tusk a dénoncé, lundi 17 novembre, un « acte de sabotage sans précédent » après la découverte de rails endommagés par une explosion sur une voie ferroviaire menant vers l'Ukraine. Aucune victime n'est à déplorer, mais l'axe est crucial pour le transit de l'aire militaire et humanitaire vers l'Ukraine. Varsovie soupçonne la Russie d'être derrière ces dégradations.

Passé sous les radars médiatiques ces derniers mois, le Mali est revenu au cœur de l'actualité suite à la pression croissante des djihadistes sur Bamako et sur la junte. Quel est l'état de la menace ? Risque-t-elle de s'étendre au Sahel ? Qui peut la contenir ? Quel est le projet des djihadistes du Jnim ? Parlons-en avec Djenabou Cissé, chercheuse spécialiste du Sahel à la Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, Stéphane Ballong, chef du service Afrique de France 24, et Wassim Nasr, journaliste France 24, spécialiste des réseaux djihadistes.

601686 Communication and Media Relations Section

How gender shape people’s experiences of climate change and security risks was in focus at the “Resilient Futures: Linking Climate, Gender and Security” event organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) on 3 November 2025 in Vienna. The event featured findings of a research study on the gendered dimensions of climate-related security risks in the OSCE area conducted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and commissioned by the OSCE.

“The intersection of gender and climate action lies in the OSCE’s mandate,” said Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, during his opening remarks. “In the landmark Ministerial Council Decision from 2021, the OSCE’s 57 participating States joined consensus to intensify co-operation to strengthen climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation, emphasizing the effective involvement of women in decision-making, and the meaningful participation of women and also of girls, where appropriate.” Speaking about Finland’s priorities as OSCE Chair in 2025, Kimmo Laukkanen, Deputy Head of Mission at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE, stressed the country’s long-standing commitment to promoting gender equality and climate security.

Turning to the findings of the recent study, Bárbara Magalhães Teixeira, researcher at SIPRI, underlined the need for systematic research and policy integration. She explained how gender roles and inequalities shape people’s experiences of and responses to climate-related security risks. Recognizing these dynamics can make climate and security policies more effective and equitable, she said.

The event also featured a panel discussion with Teixeira, Ambassador Brian Flynn, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OSCE; Silvia Sartori, independent International Gender, Energy, and Climate Expert, Sofiia Shevchuk, independent Researcher; and Tanja Jakobi, Director of the Public Policy Research Center in Serbia. The discussion was moderated by Thomas Ritzer, Senior Climate Change and Security Adviser at the OCEEA.

Participants discussed how women’s leadership, inclusive decision-making, and targeted support can enhance resilience and stability in the face of climate change. They also exchanged experiences and good practices from across the OSCE region, including on integrating gender perspectives in environmental governance, energy security, and disaster risk reduction.

” Understanding the relationship between peace and security, gender, and climate change is crucial — not only to gain deeper insights into their impacts but also to ensure our responses are targeted where they are needed most,” said Ambassador Flynn “We look forward to seeing how the OSCE and participating States use the conclusions of this research to advance gender-sensitive approaches to climate, peace, and security.”

Highlighting OSCE’s activities in Central Asia, Sartori emphasized how  “the Organization enables people — and women in particular — to act as change makers and multipliers, driving the energy transition, generating new livelihoods, improving the wellbeing of families, while also strengthening self-confidence and creating new role models.”

The event was the culmination of a series of regional dialogues, workshops, and international forums on gender, climate change and security, held throughout 2025. Their outcomes will feed into the development of a toolkit for policymakers expected to be published in 2026.

These activities are part of the OSCE’s extrabudgetary project, “Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia”, which is implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities implemented in partnership with adelphi and in close collaboration with the OSCE field operations. It is funded by Andorra, Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

La première édition examinera les menaces contemporaines qui pèsent sur la gouvernance démocratique et explorera les meilleures pratiques pour renforcer la résilience.

Source : © Union européenne, 2025 - PE

In parallel with the political and military talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris [...]

Il ne reste qu'une semaine pour que le projet de loi de finances 2026 soit finalise et envoye au Senat. Si ces delais constitutionnels sont depasses, le gouvernement pourrait choisir sa mise en oeuvre par ordonnances.

Les agents du Service régional de lutte contre la fraude (SRLCF), Borgou-Alibori, ont intercepté ce dimanche 16 novembre 2025, à Boussoukali, une localité proche de Malanville, 150 kg de cannabis dissimulés dans des sacs de charbon.

Le Service régional de lutte contre la fraude Borgou-Alibori maintient la veille en ce qui concerne le trafic de stupéfiants. 165 plaquettes de chanvre indien ont été saisies, dimanche 16 novembre 2025 vers 10h, à Boussoukali, près de Malanville.
Le motocycliste transportant ces produits prohibés a pris le soin de les dissimuler dans trois sacs de charbon. Aussitôt interpellé, il a pris ses jambes au cou abandonnant sa cargaison et sa motocyclette.
La fouille effectuée dans les trois sacs suspects a permis de découvrir 165 plaquettes de chanvre indien pesant 150 Kg. La marchandise placée sous scellés sera transférée à l'OCERTID pour la suite des procédures judiciaires.

F. A. A.

La Commission européenne avertit que le projet de « prêt de réparation » de 140 milliards d’euros destiné à soutenir l’Ukraine pourrait provoquer des turbulences sur les marchés financiers si les investisseurs l’interprètent comme une confiscation d’actifs russes.

The post Le prêt de réparation pour l’Ukraine pourrait avoir des répercussions sur les marchés financiers, avertit Bruxelles appeared first on Euractiv FR.

In ihrem Bericht betont die Kommission außerdem, die Prognose sei „mit hoher Unsicherheit behaftet“, wobei die „Risikobalance“ weiterhin „klar nach unten“ zeige.

Berlin a décidé de lever l’embargo sur les exportations d’armements à destination d’Israël, a confirmé lundi 17 novembre un porte-parole du gouvernement à l’agence allemande (dpa).

The post L’Allemagne lève ses restrictions à l’exportation d’armes vers Israël appeared first on Euractiv FR.

A girl walking to collect water for her family in Sindh Province, Pakistan. Heatwave posed social impact on vulnerable groups such as women and girls. Credit: UNICEF/Saiyna Bashir
 
The Ninth Session of the ESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction is scheduled to take place from 26 to 28 November 2025 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 17 2025 (IPS)

The year 2024 was the hottest on record globally. In Asia and the Pacific, Bangladesh was the worst-hit country, with about 33 million people affected by lower crop yields that destabilized food systems, along with extensive school closures and many cases of heatstroke and related diseases. Children, the elderly and outdoor low-wage earners in poor and densely populated urban areas suffered the most, as they generally had less access to cooling systems or to water supplies and adequate healthcare. India, too, was badly affected, with around 700 heat-related deaths mostly in informal settlements.

Higher-income areas usually lie in cooler, greener neighbourhoods, so the hottest districts are often the poorest – adding to social inequality. In the city of Bandung, Indonesia, for example, a study shows that there can be temperature differences of up to 7°C between the hottest and coolest parts of town.

Future prospects for the region will depend critically on the progress of climate change. Under a high-emissions scenario, we project that extreme heat will be more frequent, intense and widespread — what were once occasional events will become seasonal or even year-round phenomena. Rising temperatures also affect other parts of the Earth’s ecosystem – notably glacial melt.

Warming in the Arctic can influence weather, precipitation and glacial behaviour across Central and South Asia. Globally, this century, glaciers have lost about 5 per cent of their volume. By 2060, under a high-emissions scenario, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mongolia, Myanmar, Türkiye and Uzbekistan could lose more than 70 per cent of their glacier mass. These phenomena also add to sea-level rise, raising existential risks for some countries in the Pacific.

To tackle these challenges, countries will meet this week at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to consider opportunities to integrate heat risk into early warning systems and development planning.

The key priority is to move from reactive heat risk management to long-term, science-informed strategies. Policy actions are needed at local, national, regional and global levels. This is the International Year of Glacial Preservation, which offers a critical opportunity for collective action.

At the local level, nature-based solutions such as trees lining streets, urban parks, green roofs and wetland conservation help lower urban temperatures. These measures can increase shade, promote evapotranspiration and act as heat sinks, reducing heat island effects. Vegetation and tree canopies can reduce peak summer temperatures by up to 5°C.

While effects vary by vegetation type and density, green roofs and walls in Singapore, for example, have been shown to reduce surface temperatures by up to 17°C and ambient air temperatures by as much as 5°C.

Countries in Asia and the Pacific can significantly reduce heat-related illness, mortality and disruptions to livelihoods by building heat-ready, multi-hazard early warning systems. Expanding heat-health warning systems in just 57 countries could save approximately 100,000 lives each year.

To support countries, ESCAP plans to scale-up climate-responsive and inclusive social protection schemes that include technical support for heat-specific social protection provisions that ensure heat readiness, along with income and non-income support, especially for the poor living in densely populated urban areas.

Additionally, recognizing the benefits of nature-based solutions, our efforts can strengthen collaboration among national governments, municipalities and local communities to create green, cooling cross-border corridors.

These passages can chill the air, reduce surface temperatures and provide buffers against desertification, land degradation, drought and sand and dust storms.

Finally, we must push the use of innovative space solutions to strengthen heat preparedness in early warning systems. Despite the proven benefits of early warning systems, coverage remains incomplete. Only 54 per cent of global meteorological services issue warnings for extreme temperatures, and even fewer provide alerts for heatwaves or thermal stress.

In Nepal, for example, a community survey revealed that about three-quarters of respondents from vulnerable groups had not received any heat alerts.

ESCAP can leverage existing cooperation to share Earth observation data and technical expertise for mapping and monitoring heat exposure and city vulnerability to urban heat island effects. This information enables greater precision in forecasting and quantifying heat risk, as well as for issuing timely heat alerts.

The Asia-Pacific region has considerable experience in managing cascading disasters. But the rising threat of extreme heat adds a new level of urgency. Every country needs to act now to meet the scale of this evolving disaster risk landscape and to turbocharge regional cooperation. ESCAP stands ready to support countries in these endeavours – as we prepare for an ever-hotter world.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Excerpt:

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP

Der polnische Vizeaußenminister Marcin Bosacki betonte am Sonntag, dass die betroffene Linie Teil einer „sehr wichtigen Route zur Versorgung der Ukraine“ sei.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 234 - Draft report Flagship European defence projects of common interest
Committee on Security and Defence
Lucia Annunziata

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 234 - Draft report Flagship European defence projects of common interest
Committee on Security and Defence
Lucia Annunziata

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Une réforme fiscale que la Première ministre Giorgia Meloni présente comme un geste en faveur de la « classe moyenne » se retrouve sous le feu des critiques : les premières analyses suggèrent que les ménages les plus aisés pourraient en être les principaux bénéficiaires — bien plus que ceux que le gouvernement affirme cibler.

The post Italie : la baisse d’impôts du gouvernement Meloni profite-t-elle vraiment à la « classe moyenne » ? appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Hasina and her home minister have been found guilty of crimes against humanity during the mass uprising last year, resulting in the death of 1,400 people.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 204 - Draft report Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning an enhanced EU-Canada cooperation in the light of the current geopolitical context, including the threats to Canada’s economic stability and sovereignty
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Tobias Cremer

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 204 - Draft report Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning an enhanced EU-Canada cooperation in the light of the current geopolitical context, including the threats to Canada’s economic stability and sovereignty
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Tobias Cremer

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP