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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will loom large as the UN Human Rights Council meets on Monday, with calls for unity in condemning Moscow and extending a probe into war crimes committed over 12 months of conflict. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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8:05am: Russian influence looms over Macron’s Africa trip
French President Emmanuel Macron flies to Africa later today in a bid to counter Russian efforts to dislodge France from the continent, after Paris suffered a series of military and political setbacks in its former sphere of influence.
Macron will visit three African nations around the Congo basin as well as Angola, with the focus of the trip being ostensibly away from France’s troubled former colonies in the Sahel, where anti-French sentiment is on the rise.
Ahead of the trip, Macron is expected to spell out his new African policy in a speech and press conference at the Élysee palace, which FRANCE 24 will broadcast live at 5pm Paris time (GMT+1).
The tour comes just over a week after Burkina Faso booted out French troops and ended a military accord that allowed France to fight insurgents in the West African nation. France also withdrew its forces from Mali last year after the junta there started working with Russian military contractors.
Russia’s Wagner Group has also deployed in the Central African Republic, prompting fears of a domino effect in Paris at a time Western countries are trying to lobby the global south against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
5:30am: Belarusian partisans say Russian military aircraft damaged near Minsk
A Russian A-50 surveillance military aircraft was damaged in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday, Belarus partisans and members of the exiled opposition said.
“Those were drones. The…
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