European Union

Un détenu a été jugé ce mercredi 15 avril 2026, par le tribunal de première instance d'Abomey-Calavi pour une affaire d'escroquerie. Incarcéré à la prison civile de Missérété, il a fait usage d'un téléphone portable pour escroquer ses victimes.

Depuis sa cellule à la prison civile de Missérété, un prisonnier parvient à escroquer les gens. Son dossier a été examiné ce mercredi 15 avril 2026, par le tribunal d'Abomey-Calavi.

Le prévenu selon les déclarations à la barre, a réussi à établir un lien avec l'amie d'une détenue sortie fraichement de la prison. Il sollicite l'aide de celle-ci pour l'acquisition d'une carte sim, et lui promet un voyage aux Etats-Unis. Après avoir réalisé ce premier coup, il s'est mis à usurper des titres de hautes personnalités du pays pour atteindre ses cibles.

Les ressources issues de ses manœuvres selon les déclarations à la barre, sont mises à la disposition de sa belle-mère et la femme l'ayant aidé à acquérir la carte sim. L'enquête ouverte dans le cadre de ce dossier a révélé qu'il aurait effectué jusqu'à 300 000 francs CFA de dépôt Mobile-Money (MoMo).

Devant le juge, il a nié l'usage de téléphone portable dans sa cellule.
Le ministère public requiert contre lui, une peine de 60 mois de prison, et une amende de 500 000 francs CFA.
Le délibéré est renvoyé au 27 mai prochain.

F. A. A.

Photos

jQuery(document).ready(function($){$("#isloaderfor-kenwgx").fadeOut(300, function () { $(".pagwrap-kenwgx").fadeIn(300);});});

IPI and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, in partnership with the UN Department of Peace Operations, cohosted a high-level, closed-door roundtable on “Looking to the Future of Action for Peacekeeping Plus,” on April 16th.

Since it was established in 2021, Action for Peacekeeping Plus (A4P+) has helped mobilize action on critical issues affecting UN peacekeeping operations, including peacekeeper capabilities and mindsets, strategic and operational integration, and cooperation with host countries. To ensure the framework is aligned to the current context, builds on achievements and challenges implementing A4P thus far, and in response to a request from the General Assembly’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34), DPO has developed an updated A4P implementation framework. It establishes a strategic, focused, and streamlined set of priorities to improve the impact, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of UN peacekeeping. This renewed framework will continue to mobilize action across critical priorities in UN peacekeeping operations, taking into account changing political, security, and resource imperatives. This includes recent reform efforts to ensure the UN remains “effective, cost-efficient and responsive,” as part of the UN80 initiative.

Member states participating in this ambassadorial roundtable heard from Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, on the new A4P implementation strategy. Following a briefing by the USG, member states engaged in an interactive dialogue on the future of A4P and A4P+.

The post Looking to the Future of Action for Peacekeeping Plus: A discussion with Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix appeared first on International Peace Institute.

Written by Laurence.Amand-Eeckhout.

CONTEXT

Health biotechnologies are increasingly important for public health, innovation, and the European Union’s competitiveness in global research and healthcare markets. They encompass, for example, gene therapies for rare diseases, cell therapies to treat cancer, immunotherapies, bio-artificial skin for burn treatment, and mRNA vaccines. Biotechnology is among the fastest-growing economic sectors in the EU, yet the EU continues to lag behind the United States and China in translating biotech innovation into commercially viable products and large-scale manufacturing. Structural challenges remain, particularly in clinical development, regulatory processes, and manufacturing capacity.
On 16 December 2025, the European Commission proposed a package of measures intended to improve the health of EU citizens, and ensure the long-term resilience and competitiveness of the EU health sector. The package includes a proposal for a ‘European biotech act’ setting out an EU-level framework to strengthen the competitiveness of the health biotechnology and biomanufacturing sector in the EU, by simplifying regulatory processes, promoting innovation, boosting EU-based biomanufacturing with new incentives and support tools, and facilitating access to finance, while maintaining high safety, ethics and sustainability standards.
Following this health-focused initiative, the Commission is expected to propose a second European Biotech Act later in 2026, centred on industrial biotechnologies and biomanufacturing, to ensure a competitive internal market for all biotechnology areas.

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL

2025/0406(COD) – Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Union’s biotechnology and biomanufacturing sectors particularly in the area of health and amending Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 1394/2007, (EU) No 536/2014, (EU) 2019/6, (EU) 2024/795 and (EU) 2024/1938 (European Biotech Act) – COM(2025) 1022, 16 December 2025.

NEXT STEPS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

For the latest developments in this legislative procedure, see the Legislative Train Schedule:2025/0406(COD)

Read the complete briefing on ‘European biotech act‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

At an international conference in Berlin on Wednesday, aid commitments to the tune of 1.5 billion euros were agreed for Sudan, which for the past three years has been ravaged by a brutal civil war. According to UN estimates, 34 million people, or two-thirds of the population in the northeast African country, are dependent on humanitarian aid. The media debate the causes, consequences and possible solutions to the famine.

A direct exchange between envoys of Israel and Lebanon has taken place in Washington for the first time in decades. The Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, described the talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, as very positive. They agreed that Hezbollah must relinquish its power. Commentators, however, are sceptical about the prospects of success.

The Gaza war has triggered a wave of antisemitism across Europe. French MP Caroline Yadan has introduced a bill aimed at countering this trend, which is due to be debated in the French National Assembly today. Critics warn that the new legislation could restrict freedom of expression and criminalise criticism of Israel's policies.

The human rights organisation Memorial has been labelled as "extremist" by Russia's Supreme Court, effectively criminalising its activities inside Russia. Memorial was founded in 1989 to document repression in the Soviet era. The organisation was liquidated in 2021 but continued to work abroad and, to some extent, in Russia as well. The Nobel Committee, which awarded Memorial the Peace Prize in 2022, has condemned the decision.