“The war in Gaza must stop,” Macron wrote on X. “This must be clear to everyone.”

An end of hostilities was “crucial for the people of Gaza, for the hostages, and for the stability of the region, which is at stake today”, he wrote.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel had agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on 15 August  at the request of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

The three countries have endeavoured to secure a second truce in the war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented 7 October attack on Israel.

In a joint statement on Thursday, they invited the warring parties to resume talks on 15 August in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay”.

A framework agreement was “now on the table, with only the details of implementation” left to conclude, and the mediators were “prepared to present a final bridging proposal” to resolve remaining issues, they said.

French support

Macron said the American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators had “full support from France”.

Netanyahu’s office said later Thursday Israel would send a negotiating team on 15 August “to the agreed place to conclude the details of implementing a deal”.

A prospective cessation of hostilities also involving the release of hostages held in Gaza and scaled-up aid deliveries has centred around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce.

UN Security Council approves US proposal for ‘immediate and total ceasefire’ in Gaza

Recent discussions have focused on a framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in late May which he said had been proposed by Israel.

“It’s not like the agreement’s going to be ready to sign on Thursday. There’s still a significant amount of work to do,” a senior Biden administration official said of the talks that come after calls between Biden and the Egyptian and Qatari leaders this week.

Israel had been “very receptive” to the idea of the talks, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, rejecting suggestions that Netanyahu was stalling on a deal.

New Hamas leader

The announcement of the talks came after Hamas named Yahya Sinwar – the alleged mastermind of the 7 October attack – as its new leader, sparking fears the torturous negotiations have become even more difficult.

The naming of Sinwar to lead the Palestinian militant group came as Israel braced for potential Iranian retaliation over the killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.

Hezbollah, Iran condemn Israeli killing of Hamas leader in Tehran strike

Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, the Hamas-controlled civil defence agency said Israeli strikes hit Al-Zahra and Abdel Fattah Hamoud schools in Gaza City, killing more than 18 people.

Senior agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said 60 people were wounded and more than 40 still missing.

“This is a clear targeting of schools and safe civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

The Israeli military said the schools housed Hamas command centres.

 At least 13 people were killed elsewhere in Gaza, rescuers and medics reported, as the Israeli military issued its latest evacuation order, for parts of the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

(with AFP)

Infectious laughter and songs by Thiago, Fael, Manu, Lula and Gaby can be heard from afar. They brought the legendary Brazilian party spirit to the streets of Paris.

The five friends travelled from Rio de Janeiro to support the 277 Brazilian athletes competing in the 2024 Olympic Games. They are part of the Movimento Verde Amarelo, the official fan club of the Brazilian Olympic and Paralympic Committee. 

They are also musicians, performing for the thousands of supporters gathering everyday at the Brazil fan zone. After entertaining fans, the tireless artists usually hit Parisian jazz clubs where they will be jamming. 

Jesus is a young Colombian from Cartegena who is studying in France. His role model is artistic gymnast Angel Barajas, who at 17 won Colombia’s first gymnastic medal.

Filled with pride, Jesus tells the story of Barajas, who grew up in a single parent household with scarce resources.

Barajas’s coach, Jesus added, even sold his car to buy training equipment for his protege. His mother and brother worked very hard to support the gymnast.

At the next table, four other Colombians from Cali are on tenterhooks while watching the men’s finals for weightlifting. Miguel and Laura yell in despair as Colombian athlete Luis Mosquera failed to carry more weight.

Israel, Hilda and Ernesto spent six “wonderful” days in Paris going to Olympic sports events. Residents of Mexico city, they spent the last 10 months preparing their first Olympics.

Hilda and her boyfriend Israel, both judokas, partcularly enjoyed the judo competitions as well as the female rugby sevens. Back in Mexico, all three miss Paris, “an amazing city”, the “awesome” Eiffel Tower, long walks and croissants for breakfast.

What will stay with them is the “incredible” sense of brotherhood among strangers, the celebratory atmosphere of the Paris Games.

Kevin, Yu and Hao travelled from Taipei to support the 60 Chinese Taipei athletes competing at the Paris Olympics. 

Tai Tzu Ying, female badminton player, inspires many Taiwanese with her indomitabe spirit. The three young men said that she is the incarnation of Chinese Taipei’s combative character. The athlete gave her best despite both knees being injured.

She told her fans she was unable to walk until she reached the court and will retire at the end of the year.

South African fan, Nobuntu, finds the Paris Games “pretty amazing”. She met Ryan Murphy and Torri Huske, American swimmers, while working at a hotel where the athletes are staying.

The young student, who is working to pay for her studies, made a card for Murphy to congratulate him upon becoming a first time dad. This would be her fondest souvenir of Paris 2024.

At South Africa’s Ekhlaya House for fans, she danced and sung non-stop during singer Bucie‘s live performance.

“She reminds me of my childhood in Soweto,” she said. “I enjoyed her songs then and can still enjoy them now. Superman is my staple song.”

India House appears to be the rendezvous of homesick Indians and Bangladeshis living in Paris. Music roars every evening, accompanying exuberant dancers swiveling their hips to the beat of live Indian music.

Fevin, Disha, and Sally simply love the venue as it reminds them of home. “The smell of the food, the electric ambiance, the music, we missed all that so much,” the three students said.

Outside India House, some Bangladeshi workers who cannot afford the five euros entry fees are enjoying the loud music while timidly dancing to the rythm of Raghu Dixit‘s songs.

French super fans Axelle and Pauline have been to the last two Olympic Games in London, 2012 and Rio, 2016. They had to cancel Tokyo, in 2020, because of Covid.

Axelle’s love story with boyfriend Vincent was born during the London Olympics. “We were young, we had no money, but we crossed the Channel anyway,” she laughed.

The two physiotherapists said the “exceptionally happy mood” of Paris 2024 makes them proud to be French.

“I was worried because we just came out of tensed elections and France has a habit of shooting itself in the foot,” said Axelle. “But it is a resounding success.”

Both women are impressed by the mental strength of the French Judo team. “They held on till they won.”

Exuberant brothers Marc and Thomas are also celebrating team France. Marc, student and amateur triathlete, said the best moment of these Olympics was when he sang La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, with cyclist, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, after she clinched the gold medal.

American rapper Snoop Dogg is one among the millions of fans attending Paris 2024. The internationally reknowned singer and producer, who also carried the Olympic torch in France, is everywhere on social media. 

From swimming with Michael Phelps, dancing with Simone Biles or commenting the Paris Games for the American NBC network, Snoop has been firmly in the spotlight – and is tipped to be performing at the closing ceremony on Sunday.

Two weeks after the unprecedented complexity of the opening ceremony along the River Seine, there are big expectations for the show to wrap up the Games.

The closing ceremony will be a much shorter affair and will take place, in more traditional fashion, at France’s national stadium.

Artistic director Thomas Jolly has revealed it will combine “wonder” with “dystopia”, suggesting some darker elements than the joyful and impertinent tone of the opening ceremony that drew a record audience of more than a billion worldwide.

Offering a sneak peak to journalists recently, Jolly said he saw the Games as a “fragile monument” and wanted to imagine what would happen if they “disappeared and someone was rebuilding them in a distant future”.

One sequence features “travellers from another space-time who arrive on Earth and discover vestiges from the history of the Olympics”, with acrobats restoring the famous five rings of the Games.

It will reportedly feature more than 100 dancers, circus artists and other performers, with the promise of aerial displays, giant sets and spectacular lighting.

Destination Hollywood

The opening ceremony featured some huge stars including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Aya Nakamura, and some big celebrities are also expected Sunday.

Cruise has been at several Olympic events and the most daredevil of Hollywood stars would be a natural connection between Paris and the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

US media have reported that Cruise has been preparing a spectacular stunt to pick up the Olympic flag and transfer it to LA, with video sequences already filmed on both sides of the Atlantic.

‘We did it!’: France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony

There have been no shortage of Hollywood stars in attendance for the Games who might also play a role, including Snoop Dogg, Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling and Sharon Stone.

There are unconfirmed rumours that Beyonce, a fervent supporter of the US team on social media, may perform.

French touch

Two of France’s biggest musical exports, Phoenix and Air, are already lined up to play, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

Despite insistent rumours, the electro group Daft Punk will not perform, according to the musical director of the Olympic ceremonies, Victor Le Masne.

But he said the closing ceremony would be as equally ambitious as the opening.

“It’s the same team. We worked on the four ceremonies at the same time. They won’t be the same emotions, it’s the end of the Olympic Games. It’s also the athletes’ party. They’re not the same emotional springs,” he said.

Paris Olympic opening creator rebuffs anti-Christian criticism

Organisers will be anxious to avoid a repeat of the controversy sparked by the opening ceremony, which featured drag queens in a sequence that some Christians and conservatives thought mocked the Biblical story of the Last Supper.

The artistic director insisted it was a reference to Greek gods. But Jolly and other members of the team have since been victims of social media harassment, triggering police investigations and condemnation from French President Emmanuel Macron.

(with newswires)

The amendment to the law – proposed by the country’s pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party – passed by a large majority, with 159 votes in favour, 22 against and 12 abstentions on Wednesday.

The law now bans the “propaganda, promotion or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one”.

Lawmakers also voted on a separate text that defines “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and established notions in the Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes”.

Demonstrators took to the streets of the capital Sofia late Thursday afternoon to protest against the amendment’s adoption, chanting “Shame on you” and “Stop chasing people out of Bulgaria”.

Exploiting ‘disinformation’

Among them was Sanya Kovacheva, a 35-year-old architect who accused the country’s politicians of “exploiting disinformation and surfing the wave of hatred against the LGBTQ community” ahead of elections in October.

LevFem, the left-wing feminist group which organised the rally, said the amendment would make it impossible “to combat the harassment in school of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people”.

LGBTQ+ gains thwarted by enduring discrimination and violence

The rights NGO Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) had urged lawmakers not to pass the changes, saying they “breach basic human rights”, including those enshrined in the country’s constitution as well as EU laws and international conventions.

The law “bans the dissemination of ideas and concepts including scientific information”, BHC’s vice-chair Radoslav Stoyanov told French news agency AFP.

It “implicitly foreshadows a witch hunt and sanctions any educational efforts related to LGBTQ people in school education”, lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova from Deystvie LGBTQ rights group wrote in a statement, calling the bill “discriminatory”.

Political instability

Homophobic ideas often feature in Bulgaria‘s political debate and in the media, as the country faces its seventh parliamentary elections in three and a half years amid serious political instability.

The Balkan country does not recognise same-sex marriage.

EU member Bulgaria also refuses to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, which many in the country see as a vehicle for recognition of “a third gender”.

According to a recent report by the Institute for Market Economics (IME) in Sofia, “rejection and discrimination are key factors in the emigration of LGBTQ people”.

Similar anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been passed in other countries in the region, including Hungary, Moldova and Turkey. 

(with newswires)

The East African nation, usually one of the most stable in the region, has been rocked by weeks of sometimes deadly protests against Ruto’s two-year-old administration, mostly led by young Kenyans.

As Ruto was overseeing the swearing-in of a revamped cabinet, riot police were out in force in the central business district where many shops were shut, while roadblocks were set up on major arteries.

Just a few dozen demonstrators turned out in the centre of Nairobi, chanting “we are peaceful”.

But police fired tear gas multiple times, wounding several journalists including two staff members from French news agency AFP, who said officers had fired tear gas canisters directly at them.

Unacceptable targets

The International Press Association of East Africa said at least three journalists had been shot “at close range” with tear gas canisters.

The Nairobi-based group said it “condemns this violent targeting of journalists simply for doing their jobs. It is unacceptable and contrary to fundamental principles of democracy”.

Agence France-Presse’s global news director Phil Chetwynd said: “It is totally unacceptable to target journalists doing their jobs. In the case of the AFP staff members, both were clearly recognisable as journalists.”

Police said they had arrested 174 suspects in Nairobi, Kitengela-Rift Valley and Emali-Makueni county on Thursday.

Global media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders issued a report Thursday saying it had documented police violence and intimidation against journalists covering the seven weeks of protests, using rubber bullets, tear gas and arbitrary arrests.

“The authorities must immediately put an end to these outrageous violent practices and the subsequent impunity,” said the group, known by its French acronym RSF.

After cabinet sackings, Kenya’s youth protesters call for President Ruto to go

At least 60 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-June. Police have been accused of using excessive force, sometimes firing live bullets, while dozens of people have gone missing, say rights groups.

Wanjiku Stephens, a 29-year-old fashion stylist, said she had taken to the streets since the rallies began to demand “good governance and accountability”.

“I have been beaten,” Stephens, sporting a bright blue robe, ski goggles and multiple masks, told AFP in Nairobi. Police brutality should be a “thing of the past, we should not be seeing it in 2024”, she added.

Kenya’s acting police chief Gilbert Masengeli had warned on Wednesday that “criminals” intended to infiltrate the demonstrations, which have descended into violence and chaos a number of times.

Broad-based cabinet

What started out as peaceful youth-led rallies against controversial proposed tax hikes have ballooned into wider action against Ruto and what many see as profligate government spending and corruption.

Organisers have in the past accused “goons” of hijacking their plans for peaceful action and of stoking trouble.

In a bid to tackle the worst crisis of his presidency, Ruto has taken a series of measures to address public anger including scrapping the tax hikes, rejigging his cabinet and making deep budget cuts.

New blow to Kenya’s President Ruto as court annuls 2023 finance bill

He said Thursday’s installation of a new “broad-based” cabinet – which includes four opposition stalwarts but also a number of previously sacked ministers – represented the start of a “new chapter” for Kenya’s governance and development.

Ruto took office in September 2022 after winning a closely fought and divisive election against veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, pledging to work for Kenya‘s poor and downtrodden.

But he has found himself caught between the demands of international lenders to shore up government finances to enable it to service its massive $78-billion (€71 billion) debt, and ordinary Kenyans who are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

While economic growth has remained relatively strong, estimated by the central bank at 5.4 percent this year, a third of the country’s 52 million people live in poverty.

(with AFP)

Tebogo where no African has gone before

Sure, it’s a riff on Captain Kirk’s spiel at the start of the sci-fi classic Star Trek. But the review’s never not been enterprising. Amid all the Sturm and Drang of other sprinters, a star has been born. The men’s 200m made its debut at the second Olympic Games in 1900. And at Olympics 33, rocket forward Letsile Tebogo, the first champion from Africa. He etched his legend in 19.46 seconds, the fifth fastest time in history. The women were allowed to participate in the 200m fun in 1948 in London. And only Christine Mboma from Namibia has got the closest to gold. She won silver in Tokyo in 2021.

Really?

Noah Lyles, the man with the third fastest time in the 200m – 19.31 – finished the 200m final in third place. Lyles, who claimed the 100m in Paris, had been vying to become the first American in 40 years to win the 100m and 200m in the same Olympics. But Letsile Tebogo stopped that idea. Lyles was off the pace in his semi-final and well behind in the final. Reasons? Lots of room for speculation but one fact is Lyles had Covid.

Happening

The British swimmer Adam Peaty was diagnosed with Covid soon after coming second in the men’s breaststroke. The Australian swimmer Lani Pallister couldn’t even take part in the women’s 1500m because of the illness that has killed more than 7 million people since it was first reported in 2020.

Show

Well we mustn’t let a plague or potential problems stop a good visual moment or two. After a 10km swim up and down an officially clean river, Sharon van Rowendaal, Moesha Johnson and Ginevra Taddeucci stood on the podium with gold, silver and bronze respectively – all joyous with their achievement. What more could the Olympic chiefs do for the product. Paris picture postcard backdrop. Seine, sewage, sun, smiles. 

Haunting

Most hospitable these Paris Olympic organisers. In the final of the men’s hockey between Germany and the Netherlands at the Yves du Manoir Stadium out west in Colombes, a brass band belted out a rendition of 99 Luftballons by the German band Nena. The review wasn’t expecting that one from our sadly dim and dull youth. Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline kept the crowds happy during the half-time pause. To witness a sea of orange-shirted Netherlands fans swaying in unison with the flag-waving German supporters … what resplendent Euro harmony, truly a league of nations. Shame about the players having a punch-up at the end.

In the day’s first Olympic event, 31 men plunged into the waters of the Seine for the 10km marathon swim.

Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky timed 1hr 50min 52.7sec to finish 2.1sec ahead of Germany’s Oliver Klemet, while Hungary’s David Betlehem claimed bronze.

Rasovszky, the reigning world champion and silver medallist from Tokyo, took the initiative early, grabbing the lead on the second lap.

The 27-year-old exchanged the lead with German Florian Wellbrock, the defending champion, but then emerged on top from that duel, grabbing the lead decisively at the 6.6km mark.

While Wellbrock faded, finishing eighth, another German Klemet took up the challenge and pulled away from the pack to chase down Rasovszky.

‘The Balaton Shark’

But the Hungarian, nicknamed the “Balaton Shark”, after his club, had the energy and the tactical nous to hold on to his advantage towards the finish at the Pont Alexandre III bridge.

Compatriot Betlehem delivered a late burst to pip Italy’s Domenico Acerenza to third place.

Hungary has clocked up 10 medals at the Paris Olympics: four gold, three silver and three bronze.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo takes plunge in Seine, signalling river is ready for Olympic events

The women’s event on Thursday saw Sharon van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands grab gold with a time of 2hr 03min 34.2sec, Australian Moesha Johnson taking silver 5.5 seconds behind and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci claiming bronze.

The races took place after Paris organisers said water pollution levels in the Seine were sufficiently safe for competition.

The triathlon was badly disrupted by poor bacterial readings last week, with all swim training sessions cancelled and the men’s individual race postponed by 24 hours until Wednesday.

Training for the 10km race had been cancelled due to the water pollution levels.

(with AFP)

The 21-year-old scorched home in 19.46 seconds. He beat the American duo of Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles into second and third place respectively.

The men’s 200m has been a feature of the Olympic Games since the second edition in 1900.

Since then, 17 of the winners have come from the United States. Jamaica, courtesy of Don Quarrie and Usain Bolt’s hat trick, boasts four.

“I’m the Olympic champion,” said Tebogo, who hails from Botswana. “It’s something I have never seen in my life or dreamt of – it is an amazing moment.

“I just came here with the little that I had in me to push throughh and when I made it to the final my coach told me: ‘Now it’s your race.'”

Tebogo said his tactic was to keep Bednarek in his sights.

“I knew that when the gun went Kenny was going to run away so I needed to  make sure just to close him down.

“I have that top end speed that will allow me to finish the race without getting tired, so that’s what I did, and when I saw Kenny fade I knew Noah was far, far away behind us so that means I’m the Olympic champion.”

Covid

Tebogo finished in the fifth fastest time over the distance.

The joy comes as he mourns his mother who died in May.

“It means a lot for everybody, the country, the continent and my family,” Tebogo added.

Lyles, who was attempting to become the first man since Bolt in 2016 to complete the 100m and 200m double was wheeled off the track after the race.

• Follow RFI’s coverage of the Paris Olympics

The US medical staff later revealed he was suffering from Covid which could jeopardise his chances of participating in the 4x100m relay.

The United States claimed track glory in the final events of the night. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record to win the women’s 400m hurdles. The 25-year-old American won in 50.37 seconds to better her mark of 50.65 seconds that she set in June during the US Olympic trials.

Her compatriot, Anna Cockrell, was second and Femke Bol from the Netherlands took the bronze. 

It was also an American gold and silver in the men’s 110m hurdles. World champion Grant Holloway claimed his first Olympic gold with a sprint of 12.99 seconds. Daniel Roberts was second and Rasheed Broadbell from Jamaica won the bronze.

Plagued by armed violence for 30 years, the eastern Congo – particularly the province of North Kivu – has been experiencing a crisis since November 2021, with the resurgence of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Lucy Tamlyn, US ambassador to the DRC, and Jeffrey Prescott, US representative to the UN food and agriculture agencies, while on a visit to the DRC.

According to the press release from the US Embassy, $414 million of this package will be allocated to “humanitarian assistance”. 

USAID posted on X: “This additional assistance will enable @usaidsaveslives partners to to provide urgent food assistance, healthcare, nutritional support, shelter materials and water, sanitation and hygiene services to communities affected by the crisis in the DRC”.

Over 7 million displaced by violence

In the space of two and a half years, the M23 has seized vast swathes of territory, going so far as to almost completely encircle Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, to which hundreds of thousands of displaced people have flocked. 

There are at least 7.3 million displaced persons in the DRC, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

• Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seize key town in east DRC
• WHO urges swift response as DRC hit by mutated mpox strain

The remaining $10 million is earmarked for “health assistance” to respond to the current outbreak of the mpox virus in the DRC and other affected countries in the region, according to the statement. 

The US Agency for International Development is also donating 50,000 mpox vaccines to the DRC, the country most affected by the epidemic, it added. 

As of 3 August, the African Union’s health agency counted 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases and 455 deaths in the country, representing a case-fatality rate of around 3 percent.

Youssou N’Dour said it was a privilege to play at the Africa Station in Paris, “the current capital of the world for sports and fun”.

“I told my manager that I wanted to get out of the studio where I’m currently recording the next album. I really needed a break from the creative process. I had a window of 15 days to perform live concerts in August and, it coincided beautifully with Paris 2024,” he told RFI’s Zeenat Hansrod.

The venue, situated on the small island of L’île Saint-Denis five minutes north of Paris, attracted over 3,000 of his fans on 4 August.

Although hundreds more couldn’t get tickets to the sold out concert, they stayed on anyway, at the dimly-lit gates, to listen to the songs of the Mbalakh King, as he is affectionately known.

Success for a continent

Mohamed Gnabaly, the mayor of L’île Saint-Denis, hailed the evening as “a formidable moment of communion for African people”.

He has already begun working towards Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics Games which will take place in Senegal, the first country on the African continent to host an Olympic sports event.

“We are part of the Dioko Alliance, coordinated by Paris 2024, to provide expertise and resources to Senegal. I also met the mayor of Cotonou last week and we’re already working on youth projects,” Gnabaly told RFI’s Kayz Loum.

Youssou N’Dour agreed that Dakar 2026 is an event “for all Africans” and, its “success a win for the continent”.

The musician told RFI’s Claudy Siar that winning athletes of African descent at Paris 2024 are also a tribute to multi-cultural countries.

“France should be really proud of its ethnic diversity, when you look at all the French champions harvesting medals, it’s not only white people, is it?,” he said.

“This is the France we dream of and defend, this is what France is today and it’s winning!”

Who are the African athletes to watch out for at Paris Olympics?

Overcome hurdles

Mayor Gnabaly spent the last two years setting up the Africa Station.

“When I tabled the idea of an Africa Station regrouping the African nations whose athletes are competing in the 2024 Olympics, I was told Africa is complicated.

“That comment only made me more determined to overcome hurdles and show what we are capable of,” said the 38-year-old Franco-Senegalese mayor.

• The Africa Station, an Olympic haven for athletes, fans and journalists

He even received a request from the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, whose city will host the 2028 Olympics, to visit this “unique model of one Olympic village regrouping African countries, some of which would never have had the means to set up a meeting place for their supporters”.

Sports in Africa

Youssou N’Dour, who started singing at the early age of 13, but his dream was to become a professional footballer and the best centre forward in the world. At every opportunity he still plays football with friends; he told RFI he discovered fencing during the Paris Olympics and is fascinated by it.

A brief stint as Culture and Tourism minister of his country (2012 – 2013) helped him better understand the workings of politics.

“Sports and culture are contributing factors to economic development but not all African nations have the same budget and priorities. Sometimes the choice is between building between schools for children or sending athletes overseas.

“That’s why we definitely need more solidarity among nations,” he told RFI’s Kaïgé-Jean Bale Simoës de Fonseca.

After France, N’Dour and his Super Etoile de Dakar band will tour northern Europe, Scotland, Tunisia and ending with Italy on 17 August. 

Europe has restricted oil imports from Russia, but natural gas is still allowed. And while companies in France are importing the most, one analysis found that EU countries overall imported 7 percent more Russian LNG in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago.

The natural gas is chilled and liquified for easier ocean transport.

Oleh Savytskyi, a founder of nonprofit Razom We Stand, which campaigns for tougher sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, said the EU’s goal of phasing out all Russian fossil fuels by 2027 was “appallingly off track.”

He said countries buying Russian LNG are sabotaging the continent’s energy transition and contributing billions to Russia’s war effort.

European governments have said banning Russian gas imports entirely would send energy and heating bills skyrocketing and industrial users of gas would suffer, too.

The analysis first came from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US nonprofit with a goal of speeding the world’s transition to more sustainable energy.

IEEFA examined data from Kpler, a shipping tracker, and ICIS, a commodity data provider, both of which also provided their own analysis.

Imports doubled

The institute said French companies imported almost 4.4 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG in the first half of this year, compared to more than 2 billion cubic meters in the same period a year ago.

The next biggest importers, Spain and Belgium, saw a 1 percent rise and a 16 percent decline respectively, IEEFA said.

The French energy giant TotalEnergies accounted for a largest share of the imports in the first half of 2022, but on its website there are no indications of any contracts signed after 2019, before Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

EU launches naval mission to protect shipping in Red Sea

Andrea Kuoman, a researcher with the University of Navarra, writes that on major shipping route for LNG from Qatar is now under attack by Houthi rebels.

According to the study, France, Italy, and the Netherlands had all signed long-term LNG contracts with Qatar in October last year to reduce dependency on Russia, but the increasing attacks by the rebels force these countries to look for other sources – including Russia.

France’s Finance and Economy Ministry said that Houthi rebel attacks on ships moving through the Suez Canal have forced a reshaping of LNG imports. Gas from the Middle East can no longer get easily to Europe, while Russia’s route from the Arctic has been unaffected.

The ministry noted that France is one of Europe’s main entry points for LNG. France and Spain, with seven each, have the most LNG terminals in Europe.

At the same time France was importing more Russian LNG, it was importing less from other suppliers including the United States, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt and Nigeria, an amount approaching the jump in Russian LNG, according to the analysis.

None of those other countries’ LNG exports were affected by the Red Sea attacks.

Pricing data for Russian LNG isn’t public. But it typically sells for a small discount because some buyers don’t want it, said Jason Feer, global head of business intelligence at energy consultants Poten and Partners.

The extra gas isn’t being used by French homes or industry. Demand in France fell 9 percent in the first half of this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, France’s export of gas by pipeline to Belgium rose almost 10 percent in the first six months, according to Kpler.

Joint venture

It’s not possible to tell how much of that export was Russian LNG.

“What that tells you is people are making money off this trade,” said Feer.

Russia’s biggest LNG project is in the Arctic Circle’s Yamal Peninsula, a joint venture with TotalEnergies, which owns 20 percent.

Under a contract signed in 2018, TotalEnergies is committed to buying 4 million tons of gas from there annually. Russia’s Novatek is with 51.1 percent the majority shareholder.

Other partners in the project are China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, 20 percent) and the Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent.)

TotalEnergies said by email that it was legally bound to honor its contracts and will do so “as long as Europeans governments deem Russian gas necessary for the European Union’s security of supply”.

Only if new sanctions were imposed could the purchases be suspended, it said. TotalEnergies said its imports of Russian LNG into Europe had actually fallen over the period studied.

An EU Commission spokesman said imports of Russian gas fell considerably between 2021 and 2023.

A temporary volume increase “does not put into question the EU achievements over the past two years,” spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said.

“We have diversified our imports and the bulk of the necessary gas is supplied by reliable partners, such as Norway and the US.”

But Razom We Stand’s Savytskyi called for the EU to implement a full embargo on the commodity.

TotalEnergies “should not have a free pass to keep Europe hooked on Russian gas”, he said.

Fanta, Sprite and Coke are flowing unabated at Olympic venues, where staff have been seen emptying plastic bottles into reusable cups – a practice some say runs counter to the Games’ pledge to be the greenest in history.

In May, the Coca-Cola Company said nearly 10 out of 18 million refreshments – “more than half” of all those served to spectators – would be “without single-use plastic”. 

But the Atlanta-based giant said it has had to use plastics due to “technical and logistical constraints” despite Paris banning spectators from bringing single-use containers to Olympics sites.

At the site for the swimming events for example, glass bottles were being emptied into red-and-white cups.

‘Logistics constraints’

While 700 soda fountains have been deployed across the competition, plastic bottles are being used where glass alternatives aren’t an option, said Georgina Grenon, head of sustainability for the Paris Games.

In a press release last week, Coca-Cola said it needed to adapt to each location and find the “best conditions for safety and food quality”, given technical and logistical constraints including water, electricity supplies and storage space.

But this year’s Paris Games should still slash plastics use compared to the 2012 London Games, according to the organising committee.

“In our estimations of what will be served … we believe we will attain this 50 percent plastic single-use plastic reduction,” said Grenon.

The bottles poured into cups would not count towards this target, she added.

• New Olympics venue in Paris puts emphasis on sustainability
• Man behind recycled plastic seats in Olympic venues plots ways to stop the trash

‘Gold medal for greenwashing’

Environmental protection charity France Nature Environment slammed the firm for “unjustified plastic pollution”, adding that the US company deserved the “gold medal for greenwashing” during the Olympics.

In 2022, the most recent data available, Coca-Cola, which is one of the world’s top plastics producers, manufactured 134 billion plastic bottles. 

The beverage giant has set a target for all its bottles to be made from fully recycled plastic by 2030.

Of those currently filling rubbish bins at the Paris Games, Coca-Cola said around 6.2 million would be from this form, known as PET plastic.

The International Olympic Committee, the outfit which oversees the Olympic Games, took note of the outrage and men’s field hockey was reinserted into the roster at the next Olympic extravaganza in 1928 in Amsterdam.

Nearly 100 years on, the Dutch men’s team were in the final against Germany in the city that had snubbed the sport.

And the two sides served up a gripping encounter in front of a capacity crowd of 15,000 at the Yves du Manoir Stadium just to the west of Paris.

It ended 1-1, with fourth-quarter goals in quick succession from the Dutch captain Thierry Brinkman and Germany’s Thies Prinz.

Shoot-out

The stalemate took it straight into a penalty shoot-out in which five players from each team are alloted eight seconds to start from the 23-metre line and score a goal.

The first two efforts for each side were saved by the goalkeepers before Brinkman put the Dutch 1-0 up with the third penalty.

The Netherlands keeper, Pirmin Blaak, then saved Germany’s third strike from Prinz.

 Thijs van Dam made it 2-0 to the Netherlands with their fourth penalty meaning Justus Weigand had to score for Gemany to maintain their interest. He fulfilled his task.

That success left Duco Telgenkamp with the chance to seal the glory. The 22-year-old advanced, checked, feinted and flicked the ball in the top right hand corner of Jean-Paul Danneberg’s goal.

The Dutch, who had not won Olympic gold since 2000, rejoiced. The Germans were ashen-faced.

“We have a great group of guys,” said the Dutch head coach Jeroen Delmee, “For me, the most beautiful thing in life is just hard work, trying to get better every day pushing the guys day in, day out to become better hockey players.

“And then if you see where we end up and winning the Olympic final, it’s as a coach. It’s the most beautiful moment in my life.”

Strength

The Germans, the reigning world champions, entered the final with the psychological edge after beating the Netherlands 1-0 during the group stages.

They had the better of the first half and dominated possession as the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, watched in the stands.

Following the exchange of goals, Johannes Grosse came close to a winner two minutes from time for the Germans but Blaak made a smart stop.

“We played an impressive tournament,” said the Germany head coach André Henning.

“We were in the World Cup final 18 months ago, won it and we’ve just narrowly lost in the Olympic final in the shoot-out.

“We brought an incredible amount of quality to the table on so many levels, in terms of play, athleticism, but also mentally.

“Of course we wanted gold but a silver medal is also a fantastic reward for a great performance.”

On Friday, the Netherlands can claim double gold in the hockey when the women’s team, who won the title in Tokyo in 2021, take on China.

Yunus, 84, arrived in Dhaka at 2pm local time on a flight from Paris and could be sworn in as the country’s new leader on Thursday evening.

“I’m looking forward to going back home to see what’s happening and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in,” Yunus said before leaving Paris where he had been overseeing sustainability projects for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Last weekend, military leaders turned on Hasina after several weeks of unrest which began as protests against her plan for privileged access for certain families to civil service jobs but morphed into an anti-government movement.

Hasina, who was accused of rigging last January’s elections as well as widespread human rights abuses, resigned on Monday after deploying security forces to quash the demonstrations.

At least 455 people were killed in the unrest, according to statistics compiled by the French news agency AFP which were based on police, government officials and hospital doctors.

Change

On Tuesday, President Mohammed Shahbuddin dissolved parliament amid calls for social change.

Parvez Alam, a writer and activist, said there was a chance for a new Bangladesh to emerge.

“The young people in Bangladesh have been calling for repairing the state for the last 10 years or so, based on core values like equality, human dignity, and social justice,” he said.

“The July uprising provides us an opportunity to rebuild our state from the ruins.”

Adnan Aziz Chowdhury, a recent graduate and activist at the Bangladesh Student Union, called for the government to create more job opportunities and training for young people.

“The longstanding practices of nepotism and discrimination in recruitment in public and private sector jobs should be eliminated,” he said.

Yunus, accompanied by his daughter and grandson, arrived in France on 23 July to promote the schemes involving artisans and small companies in Olympic projects.

As the Paris organisers’ go-to guru, he would have been among the guests of honour during the lavish festivities preceding Sunday night’s closing ceremony at the Stade de France.

Home

But even on his arrival, the veteran social justice campaigner was preoccupied with events back home which he said overshadowed the inauguration of a square in northern Paris bearing his name.

“It’s not just for me and my family,” said Yunus. “It’s for all of the people in Bangladesh to see that something like this can happen in Paris. “It’s a shame that such a celebration happens with all that is going on at home,” he added.

But just over two weeks after leaving Bangladesh fearing further bloodshed, Yunus, who won the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinancing work, goes back with an opportunity to be the architect of sustained peace.

“I am certain that Yunus will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process,” said army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman.

Political vacuum

During the political vacuum, the military agreed to student demands that Yunus lead an interim government.   

Revered for his socially dynamic financing theories, Yunus has continually asserted his unwillingness to hold political office.

One of his immediate roles will be to harmonise the disparate factions and produce a viable plan to maintain his reputation and ensure the country of 170 million million people moves towards a more inclusive stability.

 “The country really had been at risk of becoming a one party state,” said International Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean.

“The protests are a seismic moment in Bangladesh history and through a peaceful street-based movement led by Gen Z students in their 20s, they’ve managed to force Hasina from power.”

Before Yunus arrived, the head of the police force, which protesters have blamed for leading Hasina’s crackdown, was sacked.

The new chief, Mainul Islam, offered an apology for the conduct of officers and vowed a fair and impartial investigation into the killings of protesters.

Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and chairman of the Bangladesh National party was also released from years of house arrest along with dozens of other poltical prisoners.

Nargeolet’s estate filed the wrongful death suit against OceanGate in the western US state of Washington this week, accusing the US-based company of gross negligence.

Nargeolet – known as “Mr Titanic” – as well as OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman died when the submersible, the Titan, failed during an expedition to the Titanic on 18 June 2023.

Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys bringing the case, said the lawsuit – which was filed on Tuesday with a court in Seattle – “alleges serious issues with the Titan submersible“.

“We are hopeful that through this lawsuit we can get answers for the family as to exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen,” Buzbee said.

Safety concerns

Matt Shaffer, another attorney for the Nargeolet family, said Rush, the OceanGate CEO and founder, “wasn’t forthcoming with the crew and passengers about the dangers he and others knew about but the passengers and crew did not.”

OceanGate suspended operations two weeks after the tragedy.

The company charged $250,000 for a seat on its submersible, but previous concerns over its safety policies came to light after the implosion.

The victims were presumed to have died instantly when the Titan – about the size of an SUV automobile – imploded under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic at a depth of almost four kilometres.

• Who is ‘Mr Titanic’, the French explorer aboard missing sub?
• French robot offers ‘main hope’ of finding missing Titanic sub

A debris field was found 500 metres from the bow of the Titanic, which sits over 600 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland.

The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank during its maiden voyage from England to New York in 1912, with 2,224 passengers and crew on board.

More than 1,500 people died.

It was found in 1985 and has since become a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists.

A US Coast Guard investigation into the implosion of the submersible is ongoing.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said last month was the second warmest on record books that go back to 1940. It was only slightly cooler than July 2023.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, each month eclipsed its own temperature record for the time of year.

“The streak of record-breaking months has come to an end, but only by a whisker,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

Last month the global average temperature was 16.91 degrees Celsius, only 0.04C below July 2023, according to C3S‘s monthly bulletin.

“The overall context hasn’t changed, our climate continues to warm,” Burgess added.

“The devastating effects of climate change started well before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net zero.”

Heatwave and storms during Paris Games a sobering reminder of climate crisis

From January to July global temperatures were 0.70C above the 1991-2020 average.

This anomaly would need to drop significantly over the rest of this year for 2024 not to be hotter than 2023 – making it increasingly likely that 2024 is going to be the warmest year on record, said C3S.

July 2024 was 1.48C warmer than the estimated average temperatures for the month during the period 1850-1900, before the world started to rapidly burn fossil fuels.

This has translated into punishing heat for hundreds of millions of people.

The Earth experienced its two hottest days on record with global average temperatures at a virtual tie on 22 and 23 July reaching 17.6C, C3S said.

The Mediterranean was gripped by a heatwave scientists said would have been “virtually impossible” without global warming as China and Japan sweated through their hottest July on record.

Heat-related deaths rise by 30 percent in Europe due to extreme weather

Record-breaking rainfall pummelled Pakistan, wildfires ravaged western US states and Hurricane Beryl left a trail of destruction as it swept from the Caribbean to the southeast of the United States.

Temperatures for the oceans, which absorb 90 percent of the excess heat caused by human activities, were also the second warmest on record for the month of July.

Average sea surface temperatures were 20.88C last month, only 0.01C below July 2023.

This marked the end of a 15-month period of tumbling heat records for the oceans.

However, scientists at C3S noted that “air temperatures over the ocean remained unusually high over many regions” despite a swing from the El Nino weather pattern that helped fuel a spike in global temperatures to its opposite La Nina, which has a cooling effect.

On Wednesday, World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General Celeste Saulo reflected on a year of “widespread, intense and extended heatwaves”.

“This is becoming too hot to handle,” she said.

(with AFP)

The 39-year-old was arrested on Monday while selling counterfeit Olympic medals on the street in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, according to FranceInfo.

Nearly 850 fake medals were found in the man’s Paris accommodation, along with Paris 2024 lanyards and more than €1,000 in cash.

The Paris public prosecutor’s office confirms that the Brazilian – who arrived in France on 14 July – appeared on prior admission of guilt (guilty plea procedure) “for the offenses of possession of counterfeit goods and unauthorised street selling”.

The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Cojo) had been informed and was able to take legal action.

The Games and the sudden influx of foreign tourists in the capital has prompted French authorities to warn visitors over possible scams and provide extra services in the interest of public safety.

Paris Olympics medals to include metal from Eiffel Tower

Helping international tourists

Paris City Hall has put in place a support system for victims of theft or assault during the Olympic period, with interactive maps, in the form of a QR code, displayed in police stations and public fan zones.

Reception points have also been set up throughout Paris, with interpreters in more than 90 languages.

Regional public transport company Île-de-France Mobilités also stepped up its campaign to combat scams concerning train and bus tickets. 

Its vice-president, Grégoire de Lasteyrie, said users should be vigilant in the face of the increase in email and SMS scams in particular.

History of Olympic gold, silver and bronze glitters in Paris museum

Just after the opening of the Games on 26 July, he said offers to reimburse the Navigo Pass travel passes linked to the Olympic Games had flourished and promised swift legal action when necessary.

“All this is of course false,” he told France Inter radio.

“These promises of reimbursement do not exist. These are fraudulent websites which do it solely with the aim of recovering bank details.”

Banks have also joined authorities in warning customers to be wary of websites proposing sales or resales of tickets to see Olympic sporting events.

These can only be sold through the official website tickets.paris2024.org and there are strict conditions for resale.

(with newswires)

Events in the French capital have been lined with advertising for the ubiquitous fizzy drinks of Coca-Cola, which has been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928.

But these sugary drinks “offer little or no nutritional value” and promoting such unhealthy products has no place in sport, according to Trish Cotter and Sandra Mullin of global health group Vital Strategies.

Sugary drinks are a “key driver” of a range of serious health problems affecting people across the world, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, the pair wrote in a commentary in the journal BMJ Global Health.

Coca-Cola’s products also contribute to global plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and use up a huge amount of water, they added.

“By continuing its association with Coca-Cola, the Olympic movement risks being complicit in intensifying a global epidemic of poor nutrition, environmental degradation and climate change,” the authors wrote.

Paris’s eco-friendly Olympic Village gets mixed reviews from athletes

“It’s time for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cut ties with Coca-Cola in the interest of athletes, spectators and the planet.”

A ‘responsible approach’

The IOC defended its partnership with the soft drink company, saying that it was “incredibly proud” of its partnership with Coca-Cola while the company said it also offers sugar-free drinks.

“We’re incredibly proud of almost 100 years of partnership with the Coca-Cola company,” Anne-Sophie Voumard, the IOC’s television and marketing services managing director, said at a daily press conference.

“From an IOC perspective, Coke is taking a responsible approach to supporting athletes’ families, fans and is taking an integral part in the delivery of the Games,” she said.

In a statement, Coca-Cola noted that it also offers water, tea, coffee and juice at the Paris Games.

(With newswires)

Van Rouwendaal won with a time of 2hr 03min 34.2sec, with Australian Moesha Johnson taking silver 5.5 seconds behind and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci claiming bronze.

The race took place on the River Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background after water pollution levels were deemed sufficiently safe for competition.

Van Rouwendaal, the gold medallist in Rio in 2016 and silver medallist in Tokyo, made her move past Johnson around a pilon coming under the Pont des Invalides bridge.

The 30-year-old Dutchwoman, who was also world champion in Budapest in 2022, never looked back as she powered her way to the finish.

Crushing blow

It was a crushing blow for Johnson who had led from the half-way mark onwards and was out front with the top three having broken well clear of the field going into the final lap.

The decision to hold the race on the river produced a glorious spectacle but had caused headaches for Paris Olympics organisers.

Olympic marathon swimmers finally allowed in Seine for training

The triathlon was badly disrupted by poor bacterial readings last week, with all swim training sessions cancelled and the men’s individual race postponed by 24 hours until Wednesday.

Training for the 10km race had been cancelled due to the water pollution levels.

The men’s 10km race is scheduled for Friday morning.

(with AFP)

On Wednesday, the Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement stating that Ankara had decided to “in the Application Filed by the Republic of South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ.)”

South Africa’s December 2023 case alleges that Israel’s Gaza offensive, launched in retaliation for Hamas’ bloody 7 October 7 attack on Israel, breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. Israel has strongly denied the accusation.

A Turkish parliamentary delegation accompanied by the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands filed a “declaration of intervention” at the ICJ’s headquarters in The Hague, according to state television TRT which covered it live.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in a post on X that the “case brought before the ICJ is extremely important to guarantee that the crimes committed by Israel do not remain unpunished.”

The case has since been joined by Colombia, Libya, Spain and Mexico.

In a ruling on 26 January, the ICJ told Israel to do everything possible to prevent acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, which have left nearly 40,000 dead.

In June, the court ordered Israel to allow access to investigators mandated by the United Nations to examine the genocide allegations.

While ICJ rulings are legally binding, the court has no concrete means to enforce them.

(with newswires)

Lucie Castets, the New Popular Front’s candidate for Prime Minister, announced that she was married to a woman and mother of a young child in an interview with Paris Match magazine, published Tuesday.

“I want to say who I am,” she told the magazine, anticipating attacks on her sexuality for which she said she has already received “messages from far-right haters”, even before the publication of the article.

“I want to find a balance between protecting my family, my wife and our child, and saying who I am,” she explained.

If appointed by Prime Minister, the economist who works for Paris City Hall who was unknown to the general public until recently, would become the second openly gay person to hold the post, after Gabriel Attal.

Macron, who as President appoints the Prime Minister, has dismissed the NFP’s demands to form a government, saying that it lacks the parliamentary majority needed to govern.

Macron dismisses left-wing demand for new PM, urges post-Olympics unity

Parliamentary deadlock

The NFP, which won the most seats in June’s snap parliamentary elections, has maintained it should be given the chance.

Castets said that she was ready to work with other lawmakers and “find compromises and work, text by text, with the parliamentarians of the Assembly and the Senate”.

France has been in a state of parliamentary deadlock since the election and Macron said he would keep his outgoing government in place until mid-August, after the Olympic Games.

Less female, older, split: What will France’s new parliament look like?

This has not stopped speculation about who would be appointed. Xavier Bertrand, of the conservative Republicans party and president of the Hauts-de-France department is one such name, which Castets dismissed.

“How can you appoint a Prime Minister who does not have a majority and who only represents himself?” she said in an interview with the daily Sud Ouest, pointing out that Bertrand’s party only won 47 of 577 seats in parliament.

“This Bertrand hypothesis is, from a democratic point of view, an aberration,” she said.

In this episode we hear from the artist and from Hoor Al-Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and the president of the Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, who helped organise the London retrospective.

Jantjes’s formative years in Cape Town coincided with the early years of South African apartheid, an his journey has since embodied a quest for artistic emancipation, with a freedom not bound by the Eurocentric gaze or expectations of black creativity.

For Jantjes, this quest has meant a life of itinerant exile manifesting in multiple careers.

Structured into chapters, To Be Free! explores his engagement with anti-apartheid activism from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, his transformative role at art institutions in Europe, his compelling figurative portrayals of the global black struggle for freedom, and his recent transition to non-figurative painting.

This retrospective also provides insights into Jantjes’ curatorial initiatives, written contributions, and wider advocacy, which had a significant impact on both African and African diaspora art on the global contemporary art scene.

It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa.

The exhibition is at the Whitechapel Gallery, London (12 June – 1 September 2024), after opening at the Sharjah Art Foundation from 18 November 2023 to 10 March 2024, and was organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome. 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. 

July saw major military drills in Armenia between Armenian and United States forces.

“Politically, it is exceptionally relevant; they are four or five times larger than last year,” explains Eric Hacopian, a political analyst in Armenia, who notes the range of US divisions mobilised for the drills. “It’s not about peacekeeping.”

The military exercise, dubbed “Eagle Partner“, is part of Yerevan’s wider efforts to escape its Russian neighbour’s sphere of influence, Hacopian believes.

“These are serious exercises, and they were followed up with the news that there is going to be US permanent representation in the Ministry of Defence of Armenia as advisors to join the French who are already there,” he noted.

“Essentially, there is no other play but to join the West.”

France, Russia stand on opposite sides of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

Armenia is also seeking to reduce its economic dependence on Russia, pressing Turkey to open its border and providing a new gateway to Western markets for the landlocked country.

Ankara closed the frontier in 1993 after ethnic Armenian forces seized the contested Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, with Azerbaijani forces recapturing the enclave last year, analysts say the opening of the border could now align with Turkey’s goals to expand its regional influence.

“The normalisation of the relationship with Armenia would allow Turkish policy in the Cacasus to acquire a more comprehensive dimension today. That’s the missing element,” said Sinan Ulgen, an analyst with the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a think tank in Istanbul.

“Turkey obviously has very strong links to Azerbaijan and very good relations with Georgia, but not with Armenia,” he explained. “And that’s a predicament, as we look at Turkey’s overall policy in the Caucasus.”

Leverage

Washington is working hard to broker a permanent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “A deal is close,” declared US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of July’s NATO summit in Washington.

Last week, Turkish and Armenian envoys held their fifth meeting aimed at normalising relations. However, with critical issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan unresolved, Baku sees Turkey’s reopening of the Armenian border as important leverage.

In principle, both Azerbaijan and Turkey are in favour, claims Farid Shafiyev, an Azeri former diplomat and now chair of the Centre of Analysis of International Relations in Baku.

“However, we believe at this stage, as we have not signed a peace agreement, it might send a wrong signal to Yerevan and Armenia that we don’t need to come to an agreement about the core issues – the mutual recognition of territorial integrity,” he said.

Can Turkey tip the balance of power in the Caucasus conflict?

Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has developed close ties with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, and is ruling out opening the border until Baku’s demands are met.

Turkish arms were key to Azerbaijan’s recent military successes against Armenian-backed forces. “Azerbaijan is where it is, in good part because of Turkey’s military assistance, intelligence assistance and all that,” argues Soli Ozel, who teaches international relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

But Ozel says Baku is dictating Ankara’s Caucasus policy. “It is befuddling to me that Turkey cannot open the borders with Armenia, which Armenia both needs and wants, because of Azerbaijan’s veto,” he said. “Especially if indeed Azerbaijan, for one reason or another, believes that its interests are once more in turning toward Russia.”

With Azerbaijan’s Socar energy company Turkey’s biggest foreign investor, Baku retains powerful economic leverage over Ankara – meaning any hope of reopening the Turkish-Armenian border appears dependent on the wishes of Azerbaijan’s leadership.

Hello everyone!

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear a “My Hero” essay by listener Bidhan Chandra Sanyal from West Bengal, India.  I hope you’ll be inspired to write an essay for us, too!

If your essay goes on the air, you’ll find a package in the mail from The Sound Kitchen. Write in about your “ordinary” heroes – the people in your community who are doing extraordinarily good work, quietly working to make the world a better place, in whatever way they can. As listener Pramod Maheshwari said: “Just as small drops of water can fill a pitcher, small drops of kindness can change the world.”

I am still looking for your “This I Believe” essays, too. Tell us about the principles that guide your life … what you have found to be true from your very own personal experience. Or write about a book that changed your perspective on life, a person who you admire, festivals in your community, your most memorable moment, and/or your proudest achievement. If your essay is chosen to go on-the-air – read by you– you’ll win a special prize!

Send your essays to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Or by postal mail, to:

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Here’s Bidhan Chandra Sanyal’s essay: 

Hello, I am Bidhan Chandra Sanyal from West Bengal, India. Today I would like to share with you the story of a man whom I greatly admire, Kailash Sharma.

Kailash Sharma was born on January 11, 1954, in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India.  He is an electrical engineer by profession, but he did not work as an engineer – instead, he engaged in social service work.

Appalled by the plight of child slavery across South Asia, in 1980 Sharma founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan – the Save Childhood Movement – to fight against the evil of child labor and slavery which has been socially accepted and widely practised in the region for generations.

As the saying goes: “The farmer’s child or the king’s potter all have work in this world.”  But a child’s work should be tailored to children, in the home.

Far too often, harsh reality takes them on another path. Disrespect, neglect or severe rule towards children are not right. When a child is forced to take the lead in financial hardship, to meet the family’s food needs, he frequently endures inhuman torture through child labor. They become the victims of malnutrition, illiteracy, and poor education. They cannot enjoy what should be a normal childhood – instead, childhood is a burden.

The goal of Kailash Sharma’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan movement is to create a child-friendly society, where all children are free from exploitation and receive a free and quality education. It aims to identify, liberate, rehabilitate and educate children in servitude through direct intervention, child and community participation, coalition building, consumer action, promoting ethical trade practices and mass mobilisation.

It has so far freed close to 100,000 children from servitude, including bonded labourers, and helped in their re-integration, rehabilitation and education.

Due to Sharma’s hard work, the Child Protection Act came into effect in India in 2012.  India’s Supreme Court ordered that any complaint of torture against child laborers be registered immediately.  Kailash Sharma has received many awards in recognition of his work: the Achina National Peace Prize, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Prize, the Alfonso Comin National Prize and a medal from the Italian Senate.

And then, in 2014, he received the world’s highest award: The Nobel Peace Prize.

There is hope: Light can come from darkness. A total of 365 villages in our 11 states in India are now child labor free.  Kailash Sharma’s work has inspired and created change not just in India, but all across the globe. 

Kailash Sharma is my true hero.

Thank you for listening.

The music chosen by Bidhan is “Brishtir Gaan”, written and performed by Aditi Chakraborty.

Be sure and tune in next week for a special “Music in the Kitchen”, featuring your musical requests. Talk to you then!

Under controversial legislation currently passing through parliament, local authorities would be responsible for rounding up stray dogs, which would be killed after 30 days if an owner can not be found for them.

Opponents claim as many as eight million street dogs could be at risk.

“They are planning to round them up into shelters, which we call death camps,” said Zulal Kalkandelen, one of the animals rights activists taking part in a recent protest against the plan in Istanbul.

“For some time, there has been a campaign to fuel stray animal hatred,” she declared.

“Our people, who have been living with street dogs for many years, in fact for centuries, are now being brought to the point where all these animals will be erased.”

Street dogs have been a part of Istanbul life for centuries. The proposed legislation evokes memories of a dark chapter in the city’s past when, in 1910, street dogs were rounded up and left on a nearby island to starve.

It has provoked emotive arguments in parliament, with MPs jostling one another and exchanging insults – opening another deep divide in an already fractured political landscape.

But President Erdogan insists something must be done to control stray animals that, he argues, have become a menace to society, causing traffic accidents and spreading disease.

Humane alternatives

Addressing parliament, Erdogan claimed he was answering the call of the “silent majority”.

“The truth is that a very large part of society wants this issue to be resolved as soon as possible and our streets to become safe for everyone, especially our children,” he declared.

“It is unthinkable for us to remain indifferent to this demand, this call, even this cry. Our proposals are no different from those of other countries in Europe.”

Mixed reactions as France prepares to simplify wolf culling rules

Lawyer Elcin Cemre Sencan, who has helped organise protests against the proposed legislation, argues there are more humane ways to address people’s concerns.

“There is a group of people who are disturbed by these stray animals or who are afraid even to touch them,” she acknowledges. “But even if there are these concerns, the solution is not to put the dogs to sleep.

“Scientific studies have shown that sterilising animals, especially dogs, reduces not only their numbers but also attacks on people.”

Veterinary organisations have also pointed out that the cost of euthanising a dog is many times higher than sterilisation and vaccination.

Diversion tactic?

Some critics suggest politics could be behind the move.

With Erdogan’s conservative AK Party suffering heavy defeats in local elections this spring and Turkey grappling with near 100 percent inflation, opponents claim the Turkish president could be calculating that objections to his street dog legislation comes mainly from the secular opposition and hoping the issue will consolidate his religious base.

“We know our problems in this country; the world knows our problems. There is an economic crisis, and we have human rights problems everywhere. But they want to change the main topics to these animals,” said Eyup Cicerali, a professor at Istanbul’s Nisantasi University, at a recent protest against the legislation.  

“They want to kill them all,” he claimed. “We are here to protect our values, values of respect and dignity for human and animal rights. Life is an issue for all groups.”

According to one recent opinion poll, less than 3 percent of the Turkish public support the culling of street dogs.

Some of Erdogan’s MPs have even started speaking out against the law in the media, albeit anonymously. “This law makes us dog killers,” one unnamed deputy was quoted as saying.

Despite such misgivings, the legislation is expected to pass parliament later this month.

But with the protests drawing together secular and religious animal lovers, and opposition-controlled local authorities declaring they won’t impose the law, the stray dog legislation could prove a risky move for Erdogan.

Where will Gaza stray dogs find shelter?

In total, more than 200 delegations and 10,000 athletes are participating in 36 sports at the Paris Games. 

RFI’s sport editor Paul Myers discusses how African athletes from all over the continent are likely to perform.

Who are the African athletes to watch out for at Paris Olympics?

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome. 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. 

Hello everyone!

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear an essay by listener Ashik Eqbal Tokon from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. I hope you’ll be inspired to write an essay for us, too!

If your essay goes on the air, you’ll find a package in the mail from The Sound Kitchen. Write in about your “ordinary” heroes – the people in your community who are doing extraordinarily good work, quietly working to make the world a better place, in whatever way they can. As listener Pramod Maheshwari said: “Just as small drops of water can fill a pitcher, small drops of kindness can change the world.”

I am still looking for your “This I Believe” essays, too. Tell us about the principles that guide your life … what you have found to be true from your very own personal experience. Or write about a book that changed your perspective on life, a person who you admire, festivals in your community, your most memorable moment, and/or your proudest achievement. If your essay is chosen to go on the air – read by you – you’ll win a special prize!

Send your essays to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Or by postal mail, to:

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Here’s Ashik Eqbal Tokon’s essay:

The Transformative Journey, Inspired by Pather Panchali 

As a child growing up in the bustling megacity of the 1980s, I was accustomed to the constant hum of trains, the clanging of trams, the honking of buses, and the rhythmic peddling of rickshaws. My world was a mosaic of concrete, electricity, radio broadcasts, and black-and-white television screens. It was a life saturated with modern conveniences and rapid movement, where nature seemed distant, relegated to small parks and occasional glimpses of the sky between towering buildings. However, this perception shifted dramatically when I encountered a short story extracted from the novel Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. The tale of Apu and Durga’s discovery of the train in their remote Bengali village captured my imagination with its vivid descriptions and emotional depth. The scene where they run through lush fields, their eyes widening in awe at the sight of the train, resonated deeply within me. This moment became etched in my mind, igniting a spark of curiosity and longing for a world beyond the urban sprawl.

My First Journey to the Village

Shortly after reading the story, I had the opportunity to visit my ancestral village, a place starkly different from my city life. The journey began with a train ride that mirrored Apu’s wonder and excitement. As the train chugged through the countryside, I gazed out of the window, mesmerised by the passing landscapes. Rivers snaked through the green fields, and orchards of mangoes, lychees, and jackfruits painted the scenery with vibrant colours. It was as if I had stepped into Apu’s world, experiencing the same unmeasurable happiness he felt. The bus journey that followed took me deeper into the heart of nature. The scent of fresh earth and blooming flowers filled the air. The sight of villagers working in the fields, children playing under the shade of trees, and the serene flow of rivers created a permanent visual in my mind. This experience was a revelation, a tactile encounter with the natural world that Apu had introduced me to.

Discovering Pather Panchali in My Teenage Years

As a teenager, I read the full novel Pather Panchali and felt an even stronger connection to Apu’s journey. The book opened my eyes to the beauty of nature, the simplicity of rural life, and the profound emotions tied to family and survival. It made me realise that true happiness and fulfilment could be found in the simplest of experiences and the purest of surroundings. This realisation shaped my life’s journey and passions. I developed a deep love for travel, seeking out places where I could immerse myself in nature’s embrace. The novel’s influence led me to explore diverse landscapes, from the golden deserts of Rajasthan, India, to the lush hills of Bhutan. I found joy in the contrasting environments—the tranquil charm of Thailand’s beaches, the cultural richness of Bali, the waves of the Bay of Bengal, and the expansive horizons of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Thailand, and Java Sea.

Embracing My Home Country, Bangladesh

One of the most profound impacts of Pather Panchali was how it deepened my appreciation for my own beautiful country, Bangladesh. After my teenage years, I have had the privilege to explore all 64 districts of Bangladesh, each with its unique natural beauty and cultural heritage. From the verdant hills of Sylhet to the serene beaches of Cox’s Bazar, the majestic Sundarbans mangrove forest to the vibrant cultural tapestry of Dhaka, every corner of Bangladesh offered a new discovery and a deeper connection to my roots. The green landscapes, the winding rivers, and the warmth of the people in Bangladesh constantly reminded me of Apu’s world. This profound connection to my homeland enriched my life and reinforced my love for travel and exploration. Bangladesh, with its rich history and diverse natural beauty, continues to be a source of inspiration and joy.

Embracing Nature and the Love of Travel

Pather Panchali taught me to appreciate the feather-light touch of nature, to find beauty and peace in its presence, even in the most unexpected places. Whether it was the arid sands of Rajasthan, where the desert winds whispered ancient tales, or the verdant hills of Jalpaiguri, where the air was thick with the scent of tea leaves, nature became my sanctuary. The novel instilled in me a sense of wonder and a desire to explore, to experience the world through the lens of its natural splendour. In Thailand and Bali, I found a different kind of charm, where the azure waters and golden sunsets painted the skies with hues of tranquility and adventure. Swimming in the waves of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, I felt a connection to the vastness of the world, a reminder of Apu’s endless curiosity and love for discovery. The icy expanse of Mongolia, though harsh, revealed the serene and stark beauty of a world wrapped in snow and silence, expanding my understanding of nature’s extremes.

Final Word

The transformative power of Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay lies in its ability to transport readers into a world where nature and simplicity hold profound meaning. For me, the novel was not just a story but a catalyst for a lifelong passion for travel and an enduring love for the natural world. It taught me to seek out the beauty in every corner of the earth, to cherish the moments of awe and wonder, and to find joy in the journey itself. This timeless tale of Apu’s adventures has forever changed my perspective, making every travel experience a homage to the spirit of discovery and the beauty of nature, from the warm beaches of Bali to the freezing steppes of Mongolia, and the verdant beauty of Bangladesh, my beloved homeland.

The music chosen by Ashik is “Janmo Amar Dhonno Holo Mago” by Azad Rahman, sung by Sabina Yeasmin.

Be sure and tune in next week for an essay written by Bidhan Chandar Sanyal. Talk to you then!

Madhya Pradesh is often referred to as the Heart of India. Located right in the middle of the country, the Indian region shows everything India has to offer through its abundant diversity. The IFTM trade show, which took place in Paris at the end of September, presented the perfect opportunity for travel enthusiasts to discover the region.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board, sat down to explain his approach to sustainable tourism.

“Post-covid the whole world has known a shift in their approach when it comes to tourism. And all those discerning travelers want to have different kinds of experiences: something offbeat, something new, something which has not been explored before.”

Through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shukla wants to showcase the deep history Madhya Pradesh has to offer.

“UNESCO is very actively supporting us and three of our sites are already World Heritage Sites. Sanchi is a very famous buddhist spiritual destination, Bhimbetka is a place where prehistoric rock shelters are still preserved, and Khajuraho is home to thousand year old temples with magnificent architecture.”

All in all, Shukla believes that there’s only one way forward for the industry: “Travelers must take sustainable tourism as a paradigm in order to take tourism to the next level.”

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

Also known as the Land of the Beautiful Islands, Malaysia’s landscape and cultural diversity is almost unmatched on the planet. Those qualities were all put on display at the Malaysian stand during the IFTM trade show.

Libra Hanif, director of Tourism Malaysia, explained the appeal of the country as well as the importance of promoting sustainable tourism today: “Sustainable travel is a major trend now, with the changes that are happening post-covid. People want to get close to nature, to get close to people. So Malaysia being a multicultural and diverse [country] with a lot of natural environments, we felt that it’s a good thing for us to promote Malaysia.”

Malaysia has also gained fame in recent years, through its numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Kinabalu Park and the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley.

Green mobility has also become an integral part of tourism in Malaysia, with an increasing number of people using bikes to discover the country: “If you are a little more adventurous, we have the mountain back trails where you can cut across gazetted trails to see the natural attractions and the wildlife that we have in Malaysia,” says Hanif. “If you are not that adventurous, you’ll be looking for relaxing cycling. We also have countryside spots, where you can see all the scenery in a relaxing session.”

With more than 25,000 visitors at this IFTM trade show this year, Malaysia’s tourism board got to showcase the best the country and its people have to offer.

In partnership with Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. For more information about Malaysia, click here.