Syria is entering its fourth year of conflict after experiencing its bloodiest year so far in 2014. This statistic was part of a report from the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, dating from 1st January 2015. With an estimated total of 76,000 deaths in 2014, 3,000 more than 2013, the total number of victims has been raised to more than 200,000 since 2011. While it is difficult to accurately classify the victims’ profiles, it appears that the entire population is affected. Especially affected are...

The Chinese government has announced the end of organ donations for from prisoners beginning in January 2015. However organ donation is not a widespread practice in China. Public authori-ties will thus have to find new donors. According to official estimates, two thirds of transplanted organs come from a person who is sentenced to death. If it does not come from someone condemned to death, in 9 out of 10 cases it will come from a prisoner. Organ removal from executed criminals has officially...

December 31 2014, after 13 years of clashes, NATO put an end to its involvement in Afghanistan, and handed over the reins to the Afghan army. Less publicized than the conflicts in Iraq, but also part of the “War on Terror” of the Bush Administration, the Afghanistan war caused around 90,000 deaths, of which 2,356 were American soldiers. Originally, it was a response to the September 11 attacks. While we often hear from opponents or victims bearing witness to the war, soldiers rarely express...

It seems that for a couple of years, Azerbaijan has been getting out of the darkness of its remote Caucasia. Rich on natural resources, the little Republic which has been ruled with an iron fist for decades by the Aliyev family seizes every opportunity to get international exposure and to show its best side to the rest of the world. In 2011, everyone was looking towards the capital Baku as it was hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. For this occasion, the entire city centre had been refreshed....

December 31 2014, after 13 years of clashes, NATO put an end to its involvement in Afghanistan, and handed over the reins to the Afghan army. Less publicized than the conflicts in Iraq, but also part of the “War on Terror” of the Bush Administration, the Afghanistan war caused around 90,000 deaths, of which 2,356 were American soldiers. Originally, it was a response to the September 11 attacks. While we often hear from opponents or victims bearing witness to the war, soldiers rarely express...

For many decades, cadavers drifting along the Magdalena River have been recovered by strangers who make an effort to give them a proper burial. Numerous victims, killed and thrown into the river, thus find a second family after having been abandoned and forgotten: an explanation for an unusual practice. Every day, Colombia’s main river, the 1,500-kilometer-long Magdalena, transports lifeless bodies. Every day, these bodies are collected along the banks of the river by fishermen. And every day...

The Ministry of Justice has launched the construction of a prison reserved to the LGBT next to Izmir, the 3rd biggest city of the country on the west side of Turkey. This somewhat surprising decision is supposed to resolve problems of discrimination directed to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals in Turkish prisons. All the LGBT arrested and sentenced to prison will be sent to this new establishment. Today, the life of the arrested LGBT in Turkish prisons is an ordeal. These groups...

The new but restructuring Somali Government team will have to face the challenge of bringing peace back to a country divided by 20 years of uninterrupted civil war. In other words, they have to win the war against al-Shabaab, the main Islamist group opposing the regime. It is an excessive challenge, one of which the chances of success seem limited against rampant corruption and a weak legitimacy that worsens the decline of the fight against terrorism. Mogadishu, Saturday 10 January, 2 p.m. The...

Self-made man in the software and comic industries, Olivier Cadic is a French businessman who chose to emigrate to Great Britain. UDI (Union of Democrats and Independents) Senator of French people living outside of France, he received Le Journal International in the Luxembourg Palace, to share his French point of view on the country he now lives in. “I did not leave for England by choice, but out of pragmatism.” Indeed, Oliver Cadic left France for his business, his unique objective to provide...

The loss of a relative, an incurable illness, a traumatic experience… these are all unfortunate events that can happen in life and that seem to be standing in the way between you and your pursuit of happiness. Happiness, this supreme state often considered the ultimate purpose of human life… Is it a sweet utopia or an actual accessible state? Many philosophies tend to agree with the second option. Though Buddhism is gaining worldwide popularity, it is not the only model presenting the peace of...