Russian journalist flees from Moscow to Paris amid crackdown on dissent
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LeMonde
15 hours ago
- LeMonde
Sudan's RSF names PM, presidential council in rival government
A coalition led by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday named a civilian prime minister and unveiled a presidential council to lead a rival government, challenging the military-backed administration and risking a further push toward the war-torn country's division. The announcement, made during a press conference broadcast from the RSF-controlled city of Nyala in South Darfur, comes more than two years into the war between the RSF and the army. The RSF appointed Mohamed Hassan al-Ta'ayshi – a former member of Sudan's transitional sovereign council from 2019 until the 2021 military coup – as prime minister of what it calls the "government of peace and unity." Sudan is split, with the army controlling the north, east and centre, having recently retaken the capital Khartoum, while the RSF holds most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, where recent attacks have killed hundreds, according to local rights groups. The internationally recognized army-aligned government, formed in May and headed by former UN official Kamil Idris, remains incomplete, with three cabinet positions still unfilled. United Nations officials have warned the RSF's formation of a parallel government – now with both a prime minister and a presidential council – could deepen Sudan's fragmentation and complicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that began in April 2023. 'Crimes and violations' On Saturday, the RSF-led coalition also unveiled a 15-member presidential council, with RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as president and rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu – who controls parts of southern Sudan – as vice president. The council also includes political figures, ex-officials and newly appointed regional governors. Among the appointees is El-Hadi Idris, named governor of Darfur – a region that now has two rival governors, one appointed by the RSF and the other, Minni Arko Minawi, aligned with the army. Minawi dismissed the RSF's move, saying it "appears to be sharing responsibility for the crimes and violations they committed equally with their allies." Saturday's appointments follow a political charter signed in February between the RSF and its allied armed and civilian groups during talks in Nairobi. There was no immediate response from the army on the RSF's announcement. The war began after a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Dagalo – once allies who ousted Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Two years later, the pair led a coup that derailed Sudan's transition to civilian rule. The United Nations repeatedly said that Sudan now faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. In addition to the tens of thousands killed, millions have fled their homes and basic services – from healthcare to water – have collapsed across much of the country.
LeMonde
21 hours ago
- LeMonde
'In Eastern Europe, it is often mainstream media that spreads false information and promotes illiberal ideas'
In light of growing evidence of democratic backsliding and rising authoritarianism worldwide, digital media are increasingly seen as central drivers of these trends – both for their well-documented role in amplifying illiberal and radical right-wing politics, and for their known susceptibility to foreign manipulation. This perception is arguably reinforced by media coverage of some of the recent elections, from France to the United States to Romania, highlighting the importance of video platforms, influencers and podcasters for electoral mobilization, as well as raising alarms about Russian interference. However, if we step back from the narrow focus on electoral campaigns in countries with relatively pluralistic news markets, and take a look at the broader political information environment shaping citizens' opinions, we can often see that it is the mainstream media and domestic actors – rather than social media and hostile foreign powers – who assume the central role in the dissemination of false information, and in the promotion of illiberal attitudes. Our own research on the rise of illiberalism in Eastern Europe highlights many such examples, while at the same time showing that under certain conditions – namely, wherever the majority of the mainstream media market has been captured by illiberal political actors or their business allies – social media can act as channels of resistance against the forces of illiberalism. Major channels of propaganda In Eastern Europe, some of the most potent manifestations of the crucial role of mainstream media in the illiberal public sphere are currently observed in Hungary and Serbia. In Hungary, Viktor Orban's Fidesz party has effectively colonized the vast majority of the media market, and turned major media brands into channels of government propaganda, starting with the public service broadcaster MTVA. In Serbia, the key outlets upholding the illiberal regime of Aleksandar Vucic have been commercial TV stations such as Pink TV, TV Happy, TV Prva and TV92, as well as the main national tabloids such as Informer, Alo, Kurir and Srpski telegraf, all owned by Serbian companies with close ties with the ruling elites.
Local France
a day ago
- Local France
France's top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria's Assad
The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, "new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him" and as such the investigation into the case could continue. Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law towards holding accused war criminals to account. They said that, in this regard, it was a missed opportunity. "This ruling represents a setback for the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law," said Mazen Darwish, the head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a civil party to the case. French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus. Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case. Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels. Universal jurisdiction The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries. An investigation -- based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage -- led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals. Advertisement Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state. The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed. But in December, Assad's circumstances changed. He and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after Islamist-led fighters seized power from him. In January, French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian. 'Great victory' The Court of Cassation said Assad's so called "personal immunity", granted because of his office, meant he could not be targeted by arrest warrants until his ouster. But it ruled that "functional immunity", which is granted to people who perform certain functions of state, could be lifted in the case of accusations of severe crimes. Thus it upheld the French judiciary's indictment in another case against ex-governor of the Central Bank of Syria and former finance minister, Adib Mayaleh. Advertisement He has been accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged funding of the Assad government during Syria's civil war. Mayaleh obtained French nationality in 1993, and goes by the name Andre Mayard on his French passport. Darwish, the Syrian lawyer, said that part of the court's ruling was however a "great victory". "It establishes the principle that no agent of a foreign state, regardless of the position they hold, can invoke their immunity when international crimes are at stake," he said. Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes since its eruption in 2011 with the then-government's brutal crackdown on anti-Assad protests. Assad's fall on December 8, 2024 ended his family's five-decade rule.
