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Several hundred schoolgirls in Iran victims of mysterious poisoning

  The case of poisoning schoolgirls which began in late November with first cases in the holy city of Qom caused a wave of anger in the country, where voices have denounced the authorities' silence in the face of the growing number of schools affected. If the government attributes this series of attacks to opponents of girls' education, opposition figures link poisonings to the wave of protests that have shaken Iran for several months. The case of poisoning schoolgirls shaking  Iran  for several weeks has grown. On Wednesday March 1, more than a hundred young girls were intoxicated by gas in schools across the country. Students from seven girls' schools in the city of Ardabil ( north ) were unwell in the morning by gas fumes and 108 people were transported to hospital, announced the head of the hospital service at the Tasnim news agency. The general condition of the students, who suffered from respiratory difficulties and nausea, is developing favorably, he said. Les médias

In Israel, violent repression of a demonstration of opponents of judicial reform

  A new anti-government demonstration was suppressed on Wednesday by the police, who used deafening grenades and water cannons. This new demonstration comes after the Israeli Parliament adopted a new law in preliminary reading as part of the reform of justice. Clashes opposed Wednesday 1 er  March in Tel Aviv, police and protesters against government judicial reform and which they consider undemocratic, while Parliament adopted two controversial new bills in preliminary reading. During the demonstration, several streets and traffic lanes were blocked and the police used water cannons and deafening grenades, journalists from the AFP. Horse police also attempted to disperse the crowd. In a statement, the police said they arrested 39 people for disturbing public order. Eleven injured protesters were taken care of at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, said hospital spokesman at AFP. This new event comes while the Knesset ( Israeli Parliament ), meeting the same day in plenary session, adopted a

Teacher dies in class stabbed by student, investigation opened for "murder"

  A teacher from a private establishment in Saint John of Luz was fatally stabbed on Wednesday morning by a student. The prosecutor of the Republic of Bayonne announced the opening of an investigation for "assassassination". "He approached her and planted a large knife in her chest, without saying anything": a Spanish teacher from a private college-high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was killed by a student on Wednesday February 22 in a classroom, an extremely rare drama in  France . "We didn't know how to react, there is a student who opened the door and we all left. I ran away, I left the establishment and the father of a girlfriend came to pick me up, I did not feel safe in high school, "added Inès, 16 years old, who was in the second class at the time of the events. The alleged perpetrator, also 16 years old and arrested after the fact, was taken into police custody, said the prosecution. He was not known to the police or

Arrests of opponents of President Kaïs Saïed continue in Tunisia

  Tunisian police arrested on Wednesday Issam Chebbi, leader of the Republican Party, Chaima Issa, an activist who took part in the 2011 revolution, and surrounded the home of Jawher Ben Mbarek, a detractor of President Kaïs Saïed. These three opponents are close to the National Salvation Front, a coalition that the head of state has accused of being "paid" and made up of criminals. In  Tunisia , police arrested two prominent opposition figures on Wednesday February 22 and surrounded the home of a third president's detractor  Kaïs Saïed , who describes his opponents as criminals and traitors who want to harm state security. These arrests are part of a crackdown on key opponents of Kaïs Saïed in the past two weeks, with the detention of politicians, judges and media figures, in particular. Issam Chebbi, leader of the Republican Party, was arrested while in the company of his wife near a shopping center, said his lawyers and his family. His home was later searched by the po

Human rights in Mali: UN expert alerts on shrinking freedoms

  While noting "progress" in the process of democratic transition in Mali, Alioune Tine, the independent expert of the United Nations on the situation of human rights in the country, called on Tuesday the transitional government to respect fundamental freedoms, alerting to the "narrowing of civic space". "A mission in a very tense context." Back from a ten-day visit to  Mali , Alioune Tine, the independent expert of the United Nations on the situation of human rights in the country, alert, Tuesday February 21, on the shrinking of fundamental freedoms, deploring a "heavy and unhealthy climate "during his stay. "Several human rights defenders, journalists, other media professionals ( ... ) have raised taboo subjects which they no longer dare to tackle in the course of their professional activities, for fear of reprisals from the Malian transitional authorities and / or their supporters, in particular on social networks, "reports the exper

Peter Obi, the hope of Nigerian youth who wants to energize the old parties

  Dominated by two major parties since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigerian political life has been shaken up in recent months by a third man: Peter Obi, a wealthy businessman at the head of a microscopic party that appears to be a credible challenger on the eve of the February 25 presidential election. He promises "to work hard" to bring out "a new Nigeria". Peter Obi intends to play spoilsports during  February 25 presidential election , faced with two septuagenarians and heavyweights of political life from traditional parties: Atiku Abubakar, from the People's Democratic Party ( PDP ) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from the ruling party, the Congress of Progressive ( APC ). With his frank smile, his pragmatic and unifying speeches – populists, according to his detractors –, this 61-year-old businessman embodies the hope of renewal among the youth of the largest country in Africa, where 60% of the population is under 25 years of age. "The current government

Why is the Russian economy holding up to Western sanctions ?

  Despite nine European Union sanctions packages, the Russian economy experienced only a limited decline in its GDP in 2022. A "resilience" of the Russian economy greeted on Tuesday by President Vladimir Putin during his speech on the state of the nation. However, some Western observers and politicians point to blind spots in the official statistics provided by Moscow. The Russian economy  resistance . Far from ’ "collapse" predicted by the French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire after the first waves of  Western sanctions  having followed the triggering of  the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Moscow’s GDP fell only 2.1% in 2022, according to the Russian Statistics Service Rosstat. The Russian economy should even resume a few colors this year with growth of around 0.3%, according to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ). "We have ensured the stability of the economic situation, protected the citizens", trumped on Tuesday February 21 Russian President Vla