Ukraine: 100,000 people in the "icy hell" of Mariupol

About 100,000 people are still trapped under Russian bombs in besieged Mariupol, nearly a month after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, which control only one major city but are still bombarding several.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to find "compromises", including on the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbass, remained a dead letter on Tuesday, the Russians hoping for a "more energetic negotiation process , more substantial".

Pending the possible start of a ceasefire, "nearly 100,000 people in inhumane conditions" are trapped in the ruins of Mariupol, "in a state of total siege, without food, water, medicine, constant shelling," Mr. Zelensky warned.

The Ukrainian president must address the French and Japanese parliaments on Wednesday, as a prelude to a weekend of high diplomatic activity: Thursday, a month to the day after the outbreak of the invasion, Westerners will meet in Brussels for summits NATO, the G7 and the European Union. At the end of the day, "new sanctions against Russia".

France: Parliament awaits President Zelensky

The sacred union for Ukraine and its president? International news once again invites itself into the presidential campaign with the video intervention Wednesday before the Parliament of the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky, against a backdrop of differences between candidates on France's policy towards Russia.

After the Italian parliament on Tuesday, it is the turn of the National Assembly and the French Senate to meet exceptionally and simultaneously at 3 p.m., despite the end of the parliamentary session, to listen to a live message from Volodymyr Zelensky, who continues interventions in national parliaments as his country faced the Russian invasion.

No less than three candidates for the Elysée, Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, also deputies, will sit at the Palais Bourbon for the 15 minutes that the Ukrainian president's video address is supposed to last. Deliberately limited time for security reasons.

Ironically, these three candidates, to which must be added the far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour, are regularly ridiculed for their positions deemed pro-Russian.

Working time of municipal agents: Gaudin sentenced to 6 months in prison suspended

The former mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for failing to put an end to the system which, until 2018, allowed many agents not working their working hours regulatory to benefit in addition to fictitious overtime.

With his chief of staff, Claude Bertrand, two former human resources managers, a former director general of services and his deputy, he was prosecuted for "misappropriation of public funds through negligence", as part of an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office. (PNF) started in 2017.

His former collaborators were given suspended sentences ranging from three to five months in prison, and fines of between 3,000 and 5,000 euros.

Justice accuses them of not having taken measures (badgers, control service, etc.), for many years, to put an end to practices inherited within fifteen municipal services, fixed overtime without work performed, in violation of labor law. And this, while the working time was already derogatory, below the 1,607 legal annual hours.

Non-food e-commerce has destroyed 85,000 jobs in ten years

The development of non-food e-commerce is responsible for the "largest social plan in progress in France", with 85,000 jobs destroyed in ten years and threatens nature with its "warehouses larger than large shopping centers", accuse Wednesday Les Friends of the Earth.

The net balance of jobs destroyed in France between 2009 and 2019 due to the impact of non-food e-commerce stands at 85,000 jobs lost, including 3,800 in 2019, the last year for which data is available.

Afghanistan: girls back in middle and high school

Girls headed back to high school on Wednesday morning in Afghanistan's capital Kabul after the Taliban decided to reopen high school to girls in the country, more than seven months after Islamists who took power severely restricted women's rights to education and work.

IN SHORT

- Two chefs, two methods but three stars: the French Arnaud Donckele and Dimitri Droisneau were distinguished on Tuesday by the Michelin guide in a new selection which celebrates the vitality and resilience of French gastronomy, undermined by two years of health crisis .

- The socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo on Tuesday pounded the idea of a "useful vote" in favor of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the best placed on the left in the polls for the race for the Elysée, by trouncing in particular his positions on the conflict in Ukraine.

- The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange marries Wednesday with one of his former lawyers, Stella Moris, at the British maximum security prison from where he continues to fight against his extradition to the United States.

- The American city of Miami Beach has decided to impose a weekend night curfew, to stem a wave of gun violence as students flock to Florida for the spring university break.

- World number one tennis player Ashleigh Barty surprised us on Wednesday by announcing her early retirement, aged just 25, saying she had achieved her dreams and was "absolutely exhausted".