Macron ends Africa trip in Ethiopia with focus on UN reform and inclusive governance

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday concluded his Africa visit with talks in Ethiopia that covered, among other issues, the longstanding question of Africa’s representation on the U.N. Security Council.

Macron held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and later met with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, and together they discussed inclusive international governance.

The leaders “recognized the need for African representation,” according to a readout shared from the meeting.

Macron, who visited Egypt, Kenya and Ethiopia during his Africa trip, had called for better representation of Africa in international institutions such as the U.N. Security Council.

During his opening remarks at the Africa Forward Summit, co-hosted by France and Kenya and held for the first time in an English-speaking country, Macron recognized the need for permanent seats for Africa on the council.

A peace and security declaration made at the end of the summit also called for “the urgent need for a comprehensive reform of the U.N. Security Council to make it more effective and representative.”

Africa’s quest for permanent seats has always been based on the need to reflect contemporary global realities, with continental bodies criticizing the exclusion of a continent of more than 1.4 billion people from permanent decision making power.

Guterres on Wednesday said that the world would benefit from an inclusive U.N. Security Council.

“A Security Council that today does not represent geographically the realities of the world. We have three European permanent members, one North American and one Asian. No Latin American, no African is obviously a Security Council that has a problem of legitimacy, and that brings with it a problem of effectiveness,” he said.

After the meeting between Macron and Abiy, a new loan funding agreement worth $63.9 million for Ethiopia’s green energy investment and digitalization program was announced.

During the Africa Forward Summit, Macron said that the French government and private sector would mobilize investments worth $27 billion to spur inclusive growth across the continent.

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press conference with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, not pictured, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanuel Sileshi)

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks with delegates at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanuel Sileshi)

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, right, and France's President Emmanuel Macron speak during a joint press conference at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanuel Sileshi)

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and France's President Emmanuel Macron, right, interact at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanuel Sileshi)

CHICAGO (AP) — Two bald eagles hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors' first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century.

Chicago Park District officials announced last week that bird-watchers observed nesting activity starting in February in Park 597 along the Calumet River on the city's Southeast Side. The first eaglet was spotted in the nest on April 28 and a second was confirmed May 7.

Irene Tostado, a park district spokesperson, said the eaglets appear to be two to three weeks old.

Pat Pearson and her husband, Steve, discovered the first eaglet.

“We started looking around, and lo and behold, this little fuzzy head sticks up with a big beak and we were just ecstatic. Patty actually broke into tears. I started crying," Steve Pearson said. "It was really very touching, because we had this kind of instinct, I think, just the wonder and the awe of seeing these eagles right here in Chicago with a baby. It was really overwhelming.”

Habitat degradation and insecticide contamination of food sources decimated the bald eagle population in the second half of the 20th century, but the bird has made a dramatic comeback over the last 40 years. The bald eagle — the official national bird of the United States — was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007.

They're not an uncommon sight in the Chicago area. The park district said it counted a dozen bald eagles in the restored wetlands of Big Marsh Park in one day in 2018. But Stephen Bell, who oversees Park 597, said his staff hasn't found any record of a successful eaglet hatching in Chicago for more than 100 years.

Park 597 was home to a city water treatment plant until the park district took over the property in 2019 and started restoring the natural habitat. Bell said soil improvements, upgraded vegetation and enhanced habitat for amphibians and reptiles have attracted muskrats, mice and deer, as well as eagles.

“Give Mother Nature a chance and you'd be surprised what she can do with just a little bit of help from like the park district and the city of Chicago," Pat Pearson said. “Neither one of the organizations could have done it themselves, but between the two of them, it's shocking what can happen to land in areas that you think are just absolutely unredeemable.”

Richmond reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press photographer Erin Hooley contributed.

A great egret is seen in Park No. 597 on the south side of Chicago, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Supervisor Stephen Bell stands in Park No. 597, where a pair of bald eagles are raising two eaglets, on the south side of Chicago, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A trail closed sign is posted near the site where a pair of bald eagles are raising two eaglets on the south side of Chicago, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Birders Pat and Steve Pearson visit Park No. 597, where a pair of bald eagles are raising two eaglets, on the south side of Chicago, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A bald eaglet raises its head from a nest in Park No. 597 on the south side of Chicago, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)