January 31 2015 Guy-Bertrand Mapangou, Minister of the Interior, announced the restoration of the National Union. This statement was confirmed a few hours later by the President, Ali Bongo. Less than two years before the next elections, the President of the Gabonese Republic has enabled his largest opponent to make a comeback. Back to the winding road of the party and His Excellency's intentions. Ali Bongo, leader of the Gabonese Democratic Party, won the elections in 2009. Son of Omar Bongo,...

The Carioca Circuit of Rhythm and Poetry is a cultural collective in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 2010, it allowed the citywide expansion of previously unofficial musical encounters. Today, these “rodas culturais” are a weekly event and take place in 8 districts. While hip-hip is the DNA of this project, the latter has spread into urban culture in general. The Carioca Circuit of Rhythm and Poetry, or CCRP, is a completely independent movement, born of civilian initiative: A youth which, through...

For 50 years, security certificates have been part of Canadian law, allowing the deportation of those who are assessed to be a threat to national security. Amar Wala is the director of Secret Trial 5, a movie aiming to raise awareness around this unjust practice, justified by security concerns. This documentary depicts the stories of 5 men, submitted to these certificates, half-way between justice and politics. The Canadian Public Safety Minister depicts the security certificates procedure as...

On January 12th 2010, an earthquake registering 7.3 on the Richter scale hit western Haiti and its capital, Port-au-Prince. The cost of this catastrophe rose to more than 300,000 deaths, 300,000 injured and one million left homeless. In October 2010, a cholera epidemic hit in obscure circumstances. This is the state of affairs in a country in crisis for the last decade. Studies, notably those carried out by the CDC, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that the epidemic would...

Today the Estonians went to the polling stations in order to elect their Prime Minister and the composition of the Riigikogu. The Reform Party which has been in power since 2005 could abandon the majority for the benefit of a pro-Russian party. The Centrist Party led by the mayor of Tallinn is on the lookout and remains in the lead in opinion polls but a coalition seems impossible. Will these new elections lead to changes? Estonia is a small and discreet country in North-Eastern Europe, located...

It has been many years that the “wizards” of Tanzania have been attacking albino people, considering they have psychic virtues. The Tanzanian government has forbidden sorcery in order to slow down those murders and the trafficking of this community. The UNO brought out overwhelming figures. More than 70 albinos have been killed since 2000 in Tanzania. A number even stronger when we know that community is a minority within the country. Albinism is a genetic particularity which depigments the...

The 83rd Ottawa Security and Defence Conference was held on the 19h and 20th of February at the Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel, in the heart of the Canadian capital city. Organized by the Conference of Defence Associations (CAD), this event is amongst the essential ones in this sector every year. In the turmoil after the controversy on Canada’s role in Iraq, this conference forms part of a rich actuality in the Canadian defence. The titles of the two days set the tone: “A Complex and Dangerous...

On the morning of June 2nd 2014, Juan Carlos publicly announced his abdication to the throne, and his intention to his son Felipe, after 39 years of reign since Franco’s death in 1975, which gave great joy to Spaniards. That same night, the streets of Madrid, especially the Puerta del Sol, the spring of the Indignants and the youth-conducted movements in the capital these last few years, were flooded by republican flags and by citizens asking for a referendum on the future of the Spanish...

For more than 50 years, the foreign policy of South Korea has been largely dominated by its diplomacy with the United States and with North Korea. Inter-Korean relations are marked by considerable tensions: a single land border 238 kilometres in length, lined by permanent military structures that separate the two countries. The United States is the important actor in the relations of the Korean peninsula: they are at the heart of diverse military operations and of information that influences...

In the Dhading District, one hour from Kathmandu, the Khanikhola school is accessible to the poorest children. Last October, it organised a distribution of feminine hygiene kits. Handy and ecological, they open a path towards independence to the Nepalese females. “We take a bag. In it, we put soap, underwear, a small towel to dry oneself. To finish, we had four reusable towels and two sanitary pads.” Carol and I are seated, right in the middle of a pile of bags, soaps, small squares of...