Two British Paralympians, Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan, lit the famous torch on Saturday in the stadium close to Stoke Mandeville hospital, northwest of London. 

Raynsford was the first Paralympic champion in Para rowing when the sport made its debut in Beijing in 2008. Ewan is a three-time Paralympian in wheelchair curling. 

“It’s such an honour,” Raynsford said, “it’s the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.”

The ceremony was attended by Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organising committee, and Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee.

German-British roots

The Paralympic movement dates back to 1948. After World War II ended, Ludwig Guttmann, a German neurologist at Stoke Mandeville hospital organised an archery tournament for injured veterans who were using wheelchairs.

The first Stoke Mandeville Games coincided with the 1948 London Olympics and were held on grounds next to the hospital.

They soon became an international competition and in 1960 the first ever official Paralympic Games were held in Rome, with 400 athletes competing from 23 countries. 

Last year it was decided that the Paralympic Flame should leave from its “home” in Stoke Mandeville for each edition of the Games.

Paris Paralympics to showcase best of disability sport

The journey to Paris

On Sunday, the Flame will pass through the Channel Tunnel – 24 British torchbearers taking it halfway through before handing over to French Para torchbearers, who will take it to Calais.

Once in Paris, it will be used to light the Paralympic Cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens during next Wednesday’s opening ceremony. 

Some 12 torches will also travel across France from Sunday to Wednesday with a thousand torchbearers taking turns in around 50 cities. 

It’s the first time France has hosted the Paralympic Games. Despite a slow start, organisers say nearly two million of the 2.5 million available tickets have been sold and around a dozen sports are almost sold out.

Nearly two million Paris Paralympics tickets sold as excitement builds

Around 4,400 athletes will compete in 549 events on 18 competition sites, including 16 of those used in the Olympics such as the Grand Palais, the Chateau de Versailles and the Stade de France. 

Mickael Isambert, a beekeeper in Saint-Ours-les-Roches in central France, lost 70 percent of his honey and had to feed his colonies sugar to help them survive after a cold, rainy spring.

“It has been a catastrophic year,” said Isambert, 44, who looks after 450 hives.

A beehive typically produces 15 kilos of honey a year, but this time, Isambert said his farm had only produced between five and seven kilos.

When it rains, bees “don’t fly, they don’t go out, so they eat their own honey reserves,” said his co-manager and fellow beekeeper Marie Mior.

Low temperatures and heavy rainfall have prevented bees from gathering enough pollen, and flowers from producing nectar – which the insects collect to make honey.

‘Some died of hunger’

Bad weather has affected honey producers countrywide, with spring production dropping by 80 percent in some regions — figures that summer harvests will struggle to offset, said the French national beekeeping union (Unaf).

Rainfall rose by 45 percent on the yearly average, Unaf said in a letter to its local branches.

“With weather conditions that have been catastrophic in many regions with abundant rain… and low temperatures until late, many beekeepers’ viability is under threat,” said Unaf.

Temperatures stagnated below 18 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature needed for flowers to produce nectar, said Jean-Luc Hascoet, a beekeeper in Brittany in western France who lost about 15 colonies.

“For some of my colleagues it was worse,” he said.

“In June, the bee population increases and the needs of the colonies grow but as nothing was coming in, some died of hunger,” said Hascoet.

French honey harvest halved in ‘worst year ever’ for beekeepers

‘Black year’

French beekeepers had already been reeling from dealing with several seasons of scorching heat and delayed frosts, according to Unaf president Christian Pons, making this “black year” even worse.

“Ten years ago, I made one and a half to two tons of honey per site, compared to 100 kilos today,” said Pons, a beekeeper in the southern Herault region.

Honeymakers earlier this year protested against “unfair competition” by foreign producers, which led to the government releasing five million euros ($5.6 million) in aid.

French consumers eat on average 45,000 tons of honey per year, about 20,000 tons of which is produced in France, according to the left-wing Peasants Confederation union.

Local media said two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, had been set on fire outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte, at about 8:30 a.m on Saturday.

Acting Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said France’s national anti-terror prosecutors (Pnat) had been tasked with probing the incident.

“La Grande Motte’s synagogue was the target of an attack this morning,” Attal said in a post on social media platform X. “An anti-semitic act. Once again, our Jewish fellow citizens are being targeted.”

Earlier, acting Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called the incident “an obviously criminal act” and said police were looking for a suspect. 

“I want to assure our fellow Jewish citizens and the municipality of all my support and say that at the request of the President of the Republic @EmmanuelMacron, all means are being mobilised to find the perpetrator [of the attack],” Darmanin said on X.

Darmanin and Attal are due to travel to the scene later on Saturday.

‘Attempt to kill Jews’

One police officer was injured in the explosion. William Maury, of police union Alliance Police Nationale, told BFM TV the officer’s life was not in danger.

The five people inside the synagogue at the time, including the rabbi, were not injured.

Stéphane Rossignol, the mayor of La Grande-Motte, told Le Figaro daily that surveillance cameras had shown an individual setting fire to vehicles in front of the synagogue.

Several politicians as well as Jewish organisations denounced the explosion as an antisemitic attack. 

“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organisation of French Jewish groups, said on X.

In May, French police shot dead an armed man who was trying to set fire to a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen.

France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October and Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza.

Anti-Semitism in France ‘quadrupled’ on back of Israel-Hamas war

(with newswires)

The construction of the 1,000-megawatt plant will begin in 2027, with the project expected to cost around 500 billion Kenyan shillings (about 3.5 billion euros), according to media reports.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said a research reactor would be commissioned by the early 2030s.

“Kenya is committed to leading in clean energy. Kenya is focused on advancing nuclear technology as part of Kenya’s sustainable energy strategy,” said Mudavadi in a statement.

The project aims to increase Kenya’s energy capacity, reduce carbon emissions, and create new job opportunities.

Currently, Kenya generates about 90 percent of its energy from renewable sources, including geothermal, hydro-electric, wind and solar power.

President William Ruto, who has positioned himself at the forefront of African efforts to combat climate change, said the country could increase that figure to 100 percent by 2030.

Concerned locals 

However, the prospect of a nuclear plant on the Indian Ocean coast has raised significant concerns, particularly among activists and local residents.

The Kenya Anti-Nuclear Alliance urged the government to focus on renewable energy sources instead.

“Instead of pursuing a nuclear programme that puts the lives and livelihoods of our people at risk, we urge the government to invest in renewable energy sources that are safer, cleaner, and more sustainable,” said the group earlier this year.

The proposed plant will be located in Kilifi County, a region known for its white sandy beaches, seafood, coral reefs, and dense mangrove forests, making it one of Kenya’s top tourist destinations.

Local residents are particularly worried about the environmental impact, as they are already battling plastic pollution in the area.

Growing trend

Kenya’s nuclear ambitions are part of a broader trend across Africa. South Africa remains the only African nation with a civil nuclear programme, operating two reactors for more than 30 years.

Rwanda has signed a deal with a Canadian-German startup to build an “experimental” nuclear reactor to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Kenya’s interest in nuclear energy dates back to the 2000s, gaining momentum in 2018 when 10 other African countries expressed interest in nuclear energy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that more than a third of the countries applying for nuclear energy are African, encouraged by the continent’s large reserves of uranium.

Over 10 days of talks in Geneva, a new group of mediators including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates tried to negotiate more aid and protection for civilians facing famine, mass displacement and spreading disease after 16 months of war between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries.

At the end of talks on Friday, the mediators, calling themselves the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group, said they had “secured guarantees from both parties to the conflict to provide safe and unhindered humanitarian access through two key arteries – the Western border crossing in Darfur at Adre and the Dabbah Road with access through the north and west from Port Sudan”.

Aid trucks were driving towards the Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, where famine has been declared, it added. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said 15 trucks had made it over the border.

“These routes must remain open and safe so we can surge aid into Darfur and begin to turn the tide against famine. Food and starvation cannot be used as a weapon of war,” the group said in its concluding statement.

The mediators said they were also making progress on opening an access route through the Sennar junction in the southeast.

Famine and floods add to distress of Sudanese displaced by war

SAF no-show limits progress

The group acknowledged, however, that any progress fell far short of the response needed for one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises – one in five people have been forced to flee their homes and tens of thousands have died. More than half of the country’s 50 million population are facing acute hunger.

“We hope that this will be a source of momentum for much bigger steps and progress down the road,” US Sudan envoy Tom Perriello told a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

“The sad thing is, the crisis in Sudan is so severe that we could do four of these [negotiation rounds] and still be barely scratching the surface of what Sudanese people deserve.”

Sudan at ‘cataclysmic breaking point’ amid multiple crises, UN warns

In an illustration of the challenges, only a fraction of the aid available at Adre has been dispatched this week, as the army-aligned government imposed a halt to movements after the crossing opened for the first time in months.

Despite intense diplomatic lobbying, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) were unhappy with the format and did not send a formal delegation to Switzerland, though they were in telephone contact with the mediators.

“Though we were in consistent communication with SAF virtually, we regret their decision not to be present, and we believe that limited our ability to make more substantial progress towards key issues, particularly a national cessation of hostilities,” ALPS said in its statement.

(with newswires)

The elections, scheduled in three stages starting on 18 September, will allow nine million voters to elect representatives to the 90-member state legislature. Results will be announced on 4 October, said chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

“After a long gap, elections are due and will be held in Jammu and Kashmir,” Kumar said in Delhi.

The polls come after a prolonged period of uncertainty, following the region’s 2019 loss of statehood and the special privileges guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian constitution.

The announcement of the elections has sparked a significant administrative reshuffle.

Approximately 200 officials, including Kashmir’s police and intelligence chiefs, were transferred after the election date was confirmed on 16 August.

Opposition parties allege the reshuffle could benefit India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming vote.

“We are writing to the Election Commission to investigate these transfers in Jammu and Kashmir,” said Omar Abdullah, a former state chief minister.

India’s Modi to visit Ukraine in bid to rebalance diplomatic ties

Court-mandated vote

The elections are being held after the Supreme Court set a 30 September deadline for the vote in Kashmir, where an insurgency has claimed around 80,000 lives since 1989.

Despite upholding the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, the court’s ruling has forced the BJP government to allow these elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the 2019 decision, stating it removed “unjust” laws and paved the way for peace and progress in the troubled region.

He also noted that recent village and district-level elections have helped establish democracy in Kashmir.

Restoring statehood?

Peerzada Irshad Ahmad Shah, head of the political science faculty at Kashmir University, said many people hope the elections will restore statehood and autonomy.

“They are hopeful a popular government might give new hope to the people by asking the centre to grant us our statehood back,” Shah told RFI from Srinagar, the region’s capital.

“That is our dream.”

Shah also pointed to high unemployment in Kashmir, which reached 18.3 percent last year, and expressed hope that the new government might implement reforms to create jobs.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah echoed this sentiment, saying one of the elected government’s main tasks would be to restore full statehood.

“Only as a state will we be able to start undoing some of the damage done to Jammu and Kashmir after 2019,” he said.

India offer jobs and perks worth billions in first budget after polls

Strategic importance

Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, a retired military commander of Kashmir, said the elections would bolster India’s regional influence.

“A successful assembly election actually conveys the message that the people of Kashmir are with us and want to be part of us,” he said.

Hasnain noted that insurgency in Kashmir has largely retreated to forested areas, with 36 people, including 19 soldiers, killed in attacks this year.

The region remains heavily militarised, with thousands of troops patrolling the 1,222-kilometre border with Pakistan, making it one of the world’s most militarised zones.

India administers two-thirds of Kashmir, while Pakistan occupies the northern tip. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars since their 1947 independence, two of which were over Kashmir.

As the elections approach, analyst Shah expects the BJP to seek local alliances in Kashmir.

“Local alliances might emerge, which would benefit the BJP, knowing it cannot win seats by itself in the Muslim-majority valley,” he said.

In 2015, the BJP formed a coalition with a regional Kashmiri party, but the alliance collapsed in 2018, leading to the imposition of direct federal rule.

The upcoming elections will be a critical test of whether Modi’s reforms have gained support in the region or if Kashmir’s electorate will push back against the changes.

Less than three weeks before the 10 September presidential debate between the US vice president and the Republican ex-president, and only a month before early voting kicks off, polls show the race for the White House is neck and neck.

Former senator and prosecutor Harris leaves the DNC in Chicago with the wind in her sails, having erased the polling leads Trump was enjoying before she replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket last month.

• Harris vows ‘new way forward’ for America as she accepts nomination

But in one of the many speeches at the DNC, Michelle Obama, wife of former president Barack Obama, struck a sober note. In spite of all the “enthusiasm and positivity” generated by the convention, she cautioned, the race for the White House will be an “uphill battle”.

One of the main challenges, believes Gretchen Pascalis, a spokesperson for Democrats Abroad France, may be low turnout. She is also concerned about voter suppression, pointing to Harris’s remarks on “protecting the right to vote”.

She is particularly worried about Trump’s recent, puzzling remark that his Christian supporters would never need to vote again if they elected him, a statement Pascalis calls “very dangerous and frightening”.

• Democratic convention catapults Harris into US presidential race

Show of unity

Overall, Pascalis thought that the DNC was a show of “new energy, of very democratic ideas, and of a real desire to improve the life of everyday, middle-class Americans”.

She was particularly impressed by the performance of television icon Oprah Winfrey (“What an energy she has!”), and says she supports Harris’s choice of Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate. 

“He complements her in many ways. And he really represents rural America. And he can appeal to certain undecided voters,” she told RFI. 

Contrasting the DNC to its rival, the Republican National Convention that was held in July, Pascalis noted: “Unlike the Republican convention, at the Democratic convention, all former living presidents actually spoke, except for Jimmy Carter, who’s unwell.”

Indeed, in the past week, former US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both took the stage to give speeches supporting Harris, as well as sitting president Biden.

But at the RNC, neither George Bush nor former Republican vice-president Dan Quale, nor party heavyweights Dick Cheney and Mitt Romney, showed up. Even Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president, did not make an appearance. 

In spite of the show of unity and positivism at the Democratic convention, however, there were sharp controversies as well. 

Palestinian question

Pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered outside the convention centre were supported by a group of 30 delegates inside, who are described as the “uncommitted” movement.

According to political magazine Mother Jones, they “represent the hundreds of thousands who voted uncommitted in lieu of supporting President Joe Biden’s primary campaign”.

During the four days of the convention, these delegates tried, in vain, to secure a slot on the main stage for either Ruwa Romman, the representative for the state of Georgia and the first ever Palestinian-American to be elected as a delegate to the DNC, or a doctor who has volunteered in Gaza.

Both requests were refused.

Members of the uncommitted movement point out that while Israeli parents Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg were invited to make a moving speech from the main stage about their son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage during Hamas’ attack on 7 October, Palestinian speakers were only offered speaking time on the sidelines of the main venue. 

“It is quite disappointing to see that, even with our protest vote, we did not get a Palestinian speaker to be at the DNC,” says Ali Hallal, who canvassed for uncommitted candidates in Detroit.

‘Not guaranteed my vote’

“(Harris) does not have a guarantee of my vote at this point,” he told RFI. “You can’t expect an uncommitted voter to vote for Kamala without a level of guarantee of a policy change.”

Hallal points out that uncommitted voters make up a large portion in some swing states such as Michigan and Georgia.

But the prospect of people voting for a third candidate, such as the Green Party’s Jill Stein, or not voting at all, is not attractive either.

“We are dealing with the rising risk of another Trump presidency, which could drastically change the material conditions of the US at an accelerated rate for working-class people and people of colour,” Hallal says.

Pascalis, the Democrat Abroad, did not want to comment, but stressed that Harris “did talk about both protecting Israel and their right to exist” but also about “really trying to do everything to eliminate the suffering in Gaza”, and indicated that she is looking to secure a ceasefire as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced the move as part of the government’s broader push to ensure that Senegal’s newfound energy wealth benefits its people, fulfilling a key campaign promise made by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Sonko.

The commission, comprised of legal, tax and energy sector experts, was officially established on Monday.

It will scrutinise contracts in Senegal’s oil, gas, and mining sectors to identify areas where terms can be renegotiated in favour of the national interest. The commission has the authority to bring in additional expertise from abroad if necessary.

This move follows President Faye‘s landslide election victory, in which he promised to audit and, if needed, renegotiate contracts with foreign operators in strategic sectors.

While details of the audit and any specific renegotiation plans have not been disclosed, the establishment of this commission marks a significant step towards fulfilling that commitment.

Promises

Sonko emphasised the government’s dedication to honouring its pledge to the Senegalese people.

“As an opposition political party, we vigorously denounced the way in which agreements and conventions were concluded to the detriment, most of the time, of the strategic interests of Senegal and its people,” Sonko said.

Now in power, he promises to do better.

He said the commission will have sufficient resources to look into the contracts and hire experts from abroad if necessary.

• Senegal joins oil-producing nations with launch of first offshore field

The commission’s work comes at a pivotal time for Senegal, which became an oil producer for the first time earlier this year.

Australia’s Woodside Energy announced in June that its Sangomar oil and gas field had produced its first oil in Senegal.

Additionally, gas production is expected to begin by the end of the year at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, operated by BP.

Despite the commission’s formation, Sonko did not specify how long the contract review process would take.

Challenges

Former Senegalese MP Oumar Sy praised the decision to renegotiate the contracts but cautioned that it could be a lengthy and challenging process.

“These types of contracts are very heavy and hard to change. It might take years to do so,” Sy told RFI in Dakar.

In addition to the contract review, Sonko also announced plans to develop a restructuring and reconfiguration plan for the Port of Dakar, further indicating the government’s focus on strengthening national control over key resources and infrastructure.

This latest move follows another milestone for Senegal: the launch of its first satellite from California last Friday.

The satellite launch makes Senegal one of 12 African nations with their own surveillance and telecommunications satellites in space, a development that Faye hailed as a major step towards the country’s “technological sovereignty”.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine.  And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes 12 September. We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counseled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 29 June, I asked you a question about France’s snap elections for the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly. President Emmanuel Macron had just dissolved the Assembly after his party was rather severely trounced in the European Parliament elections by the far-right National Rally party.

The first round of voting was on 30 June, and the candidates were, as I noted then, promising the moon to voters … you were to listen to Sarah Elzas’ report on her Spotlight on France podcast, and send in the answer to this question: What did the National Rally party say they would do in July to decide what they can or cannot do, as far as their economic promises to the voters?

The answer is: As Romeric Godin told Sarah on the podcast: “Many of the spending proposals put forward by Bardella and the RN are predicated on an audit of the country’s finances, planned as of July, which would determine what can (and cannot) be done.

“That’s a traditional way to say ‘We can’t implement some promises we made before, because public finances are not in order’,” says Godin, skeptical that the RN will be able to deliver.

For Godin, the economic audit offers a way out: “They can say that if the report on France’s public finances is very bad, they will not do it in the autumn, or at all.”

The fiscal information is all there, no audit is necessary.  France’s Cour des Comptes, the country’s independent and supreme audit institution, publishes a monthly report on the country’s finances. It’s not a secret document. It’s online, and everyone can read it.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What do you remember about your first day at your first job?”, which was suggested by Mokles Uddin Mollahis from Bogura, Bangladesh.

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI English listener Rafiq Khondaker, the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Congratulations, Riaz, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and RFI Listeners Club member Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark. Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners Liton Ahamed Mia, from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khokhar from the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. 

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Sous le ciel de Paris” by Hubert Giraud and Jean Dréjac, sung by the one and only Edith Piaf; the traditional valse-musette “A Happy Day in Paris” performed by AccordionMan; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Hymne à l’Amour” by Marguerite Monnot and Edith Piaf, sung by Céline Dion.

Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate.

You have until 16 September to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 September podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club,  

“We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace,” Modi said.

Modi is paying the first visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister.

As he pushed for a way forward on ending the Ukraine war, Modi urged Zelensky to sit down for talks with Russia and offered to act as a “friend” to help bring peace.

The two leaders shook hands and exchanged a warm hug at the entrance of the Martyrologist Exposition at the Ukraine National Museum, before talks at the Mariinsky presidential palace.

“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, Modi wrote on X.

Zelensky plans to discuss a summit on peace in Ukraine with Modi and also called for strengthened trade and military cooperation with India.

Four agreements between India and Ukraine are planned to provide for cooperation in agriculture, medicine, culture and humanitarian assistance, Indian officials said.

• India’s Modi visits Ukraine in bid to rebalance diplomatic ties

Putin hug ‘disappointing’

Modi’s arrival in Kyiv – a day ahead of Ukraine’s independence day – follows his two-day trip to Poland.

It also comes on the back of his trip to Moscow in July, where he hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky said of Modi’s trip to Russia: “It’s a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”

Friday’s talks come at a crossroads in the war, with Ukrainian forces launching an attack on Russia’s western Kursk region on 6 August.

Russian troops are also grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraine’s east.

But it remains unclear if Modi could really become an effective dealmaker.

“No problem can be resolved on a battlefield,” Modi said in Poland on Wednesday before heading to Ukraine.

(with newswires)

The situation has left France in political limbo for 47 days, following the elections on 7 July, which failed to give any party a working majority.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who resigned after the defeat of Macron’s Renaissance party, has continued to lead a caretaker government at Macron’s request to see through the Paris Olympics.

With the Games ending on 11 August, the so-called “Olympic truce” is over, and Macron now faces pressure to appoint a new prime minister capable of forming a stable government.

“Article 8 of the French Constitution states that the president names the prime minister, but it doesn’t fix a time frame,” said Arnaud Le Pillouer, a public law specialist at Paris Nanterre University.

Although theoretically France could remain without a premier for one or two years, Le Pillouer told RFI the constitution must be interpreted in light of democratic principles.

“He could name Brigitte Macron as PM, but would that be acceptable in terms of democracy? I doubt it.”

Macron must face political truths as Olympics euphoria wears off

Building a stable majority

The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which united the Socialist, Communist, Green, and hard-left France Unbowed parties for the election, emerged as the largest faction, winning 193 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly.

The NFP is pushing for economist Lucie Castets to be appointed as the new prime minister.

Macron will meet with NFP leaders, including Castets, on Friday morning, followed by representatives from his own centrist Ensemble (Together) camp and the conservative Republicans.

Meetings with the far-right National Rally and its affiliates are scheduled for Monday.

Macron’s goal, as stated in July, is to build “the largest and most stable majority” before appointing a new premier.

What is the New Popular Front, surprise winner of France’s election?

Macron has ruled out including figures from France Unbowed or the National Rally in the government, preferring an alliance with the traditional right and parts of the centre-left.

Names circulating as potential prime ministers include former PM Edouard Philippe, Xavier Bertrand (head of the northern Hauts de France region), and Socialist former foreign minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

“The President is on the side of the French people, the guarantor of institutions and above all the expression of their vote on 7 July,” said the Elysée Palace on Thursday.

However, the NFP insists that the election results clearly went in their favour, with the France Unbowed faction even threatening to launch impeachment proceedings against Macron.

Meanwhile the presidential camp, the right and the National Rally have threatened a no-confidence motion if an NFP-led government included members from the hard left.

Paris politics heats up as left pushes for power and impeachment

Presidential discord

Friday’s talks follow apparent cracks within Macron’s centrist Renaissance party. Former PM Elisabeth Borne has announced her candidacy for the leadership of Renaissance, positioning herself as a unifying force.

Borne told Le Parisien on Wednesday that the party “was not meant to be a presidential stable” and stressed the need to focus on “in-depth reflection and mobilising its members”.

She added: “We need to give French people hope again, to develop a vision and a plan for the country.”

Her candidacy could tread on the toes of Gabriel Attal, who is head of the Renaissance group within the National Assembly and is looking to redefine his role after stepping down as prime minister.

Asked about Attal’s ambitions, Borne said: “Traditionally, it’s not customary to be group chairman at the same time as leading the party.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that cases of mpox Clade 2 have been reported in Côte d’Ivoire.

According to national health officials, at least 28 cases of mpox and one death have been recorded in the West African country.

“The National Public Hygiene Institute [INHP] recorded 28 confirmed cases, including one death across the country as of Tuesday,” said INHP doctor Daouda Coulibaly.

He added that monitoring for mpox had been strengthened.

“We have to break the chains of transmission, identify the contacts of cases, isolate them and monitor them.”

Cases rise in Central Africa

The number of mpox cases continues to increase in Central Africa, notably in the Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

According to RFI’s correspondent in CAR, Rolf Steve Domia-Leu, nearly 100 suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected throughout the country over the past four weeks.

The main areas affected by the disease so far are Mbomou in the east, Kemo in the centre, Lobaye in the south-east and the capital, Bangui.

The disease is nonetheless under control, according to Valentin Nebanga, head of the health promotion department at the Ministry of Public Health.

“We have recorded 92 suspected cases, not only in Bangui, but in some provincial towns as well,” he said.

“Of the 92 suspected cases, samples were taken and nine cases came back positive,” he added.

“The positive patients were all hospitalised in dedicated treatment centres at the Bangui General Hospital, and the good news is that the nine patients have all been declared cured and have already been discharged from the hospital.”

France to donate 100,000 mpox vaccines as it prepares for outbreak at home

New strain reaches Asia

Meanwhile Thailand on Thursday confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox, Clade 1b, in a patient who had travelled to the kingdom from Africa.

The patient landed in Bangkok on 14 August and was sent to hospital with mpox symptoms.

The Department of Disease Control said laboratory tests on the 66-year-old European confirmed he was infected with mpox Clade 1b.

“We have monitored 43 people who have been in close contact with the patient and so far they have shown no symptoms, but we must continue monitoring for a total of 21 days,” the department said in a statement, adding that the WHO would be informed of the development.

Anyone travelling to Thailand from 42 “risk countries” must register and undergo testing on arrival, the department said.

Dangerous variant

The WHO declared a global public health emergency over the new variant of mpox in mid-August, urging pharmaceutical companies and governments to work on increasing the current production of vaccines.

Mpox cases and deaths are surging in Africa, where outbreaks have been reported in the DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and other countries since July.

More than 18,700 mpox cases detected in Africa since January

Cases were also reported in Sweden and Pakistan last week.

The disease is caused by a virus transmitted by infected animals and passed from human to human through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.

Mpox has been known for decades, but the new strain known as Clade 1b is deadlier and more transmissible. It has driven the recent surge in cases.

Clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children more at risk, according to the WHO.

(with newswires)

The 59-year-old sought to strike a presidential tone as she delivered a message of unity and patriotism for Americans after one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in US political history.

“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past – a chance to chart a new way forward,” Harris said to huge cheers from tens of thousands of pumped-up supporters.

“And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans.”

The convention became a giant party to celebrate Harris’s astonishing ascent from something of a political afterthought to Democratic standard bearer upon President Joe Biden‘s surprise decision to end his reelection bid.

A sea of waving Stars and Stripes flags and chants of “USA” filled the arena as jubilant Democrats anointed Harris.

She was later joined on stage by her running mate Tim Walz and their families, as they held their arms aloft while 100,000 red, white and blue balloons tumbled from the ceiling.

Country act The Chicks sang a version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” while pop star Pink also performed as the Democrats rolled out a list of celebrity backers.

‘President who unites us’

But it was Harris’s time to shine on the biggest night of her political life, after becoming the first Black woman to be nominated by a major US party.

She reached out to voters across America’s bitter political divide, promising to bring economic opportunity and protect their personal freedoms on key issues like abortion.

“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations,” she vowed.

Harris then launched a broadside at 78-year-old Trump, whose campaign has been upended by having to face a woman two decades younger, rather than the increasingly frail Biden, 81.

“We know what a second Trump term would look like,” she said, saying he wanted to “pull our country back to the past.”

She laid out her personal story as a child of a single working mother, and her career as a prosecutor, saying she has the background and experience to serve the country in contrast to Trump who she said only works for himself and “his billionaire friends.”

Turning to foreign policy, she accused Trump of trying to “cozy up” to foreign autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Harris pledged instead to “stand strong” with Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion and support NATO allies — again all in stark contrast to Trump’s isolationist stance.

On the hugely divisive issue of Israel‘s war in Gaza, Harris went further than the rhetoric of her boss Biden by calling the scale of suffering in the Palestinian enclave “heartbreaking”.

She vowed to get a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and cheers erupted when she vowed “self-determination” for the Palestinian people.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have demonstrated throughout the Democratic convention, with several thousands rallying outside it again on Thursday.

‘Ready on day one’

The Democrats have been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm since Harris stepped up. She has wiped out former president Trump’s lead in the polls, drawn enormous crowds and raised record funds.

The torch having well and truly been passed, Biden gave a farewell speech on the first day of the convention and said he had called Harris to wish her luck.

“I am proud to watch my partner Kamala Harris accept our nomination for president. She will be an outstanding president because she is fighting for our future,” Biden, who is on holiday in California, said on X.

Barack Obama, who along with his wife Michelle delivered rousing support for Harris at the convention on Tuesday, said Harris had “showed the world what I have known to be true.

“She is ready on day one to be President and represents the best of America. Let’s get to work.”

Yet Democrats will also be trying to temper their hopes.

Harris told reporters after her speech that the Democrats were the “underdogs” in the election, with a nail-biting sprint to November against a combative opponent.

As he struggles to recalibrate his own campaign, Trump is increasingly resorting to personal insults, racially charged attacks, and dark rhetoric.

He gave a play-by-play commentary on Harris’s speech on his Truth social platform, accusing her of making the United States a “failing nation” while part of the Biden administration.

“She’s done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and that’s what she’s doing tonight, she’s complaining about everything but doing nothing!” he wrote.

“I think that we’ve already had a great transfer window, and we’re not in any rush to add any more players,” said Enrique who lost star striker Kylian Mbappé at the end of last season.

“I have huge faith in every player in our squad,” the 54-year-old Spaniard added.

“Obviously, we’ll keep an eye open until the end of the transfer window but it’s very hard to find an opportunity that will strengthen the team.”

Enrique took over at PSG in July 2023 and steered the club to a domestic treble of French Super Cup, Coupe de France and Ligue 1 title.

Following Mbappé’s departure to Real Madrid, PSG supremos signed the 22-year-old Ecuador international defender Willian Pacho from the German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and 19-year-old Désiré Doué from Rennes to bolster the options in midfield.

“We looked for reinforcements in the transfer window,” said Enrique. “But we already had a good squad last season. I don’t look at the ages of our signings but at their performances and where we can improve.

Simplicity

“It’s obviously easier for a French player to adapt because there isn’t that language barrier,” said Enrique of Doué’s arrival.

“I think that Désiré is a versatile player who can play either in attack or in midfield and either centrally or out wide. He’s a real reinforcement and I’m really happy that he wanted to join us.”

PSG started the defence of their Ligue 1 crown last Friday with a 4-1 win at Le Havre during which striker Goncalo Ramos was injured. The 23-year-old is likely to be out until just before Christmas. Marseille enjoyed the most impressive result of the opening round of games. Former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood bagged a brace as Roberto de Zerbi’s charges walloped Brest 5-1.

Without European football this season after finishing eighth, Marseille are expected to be among the main challenges to PSG’s attempt for an 11th top flight crown in 13 years.

Montpellier, who finished 12th last season, began their campaign on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg.

“You know what it will be like at the Parc des Princes against PSG,” said Montpellier goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.

“You have to concentrate for 90 minutes and right up until the final whistle because if PSG are looking for something they’ll play for it.

“It’s up to us to do whatever we have to do to thwart them. We’ll have to play well defensively and to make the most of the opportunities that we have in front of goal.”

Depardieu, 75, has been under investigation since 2020 after actor Charlotte Arnould said he raped and assaulted her on two occasions in 2018 at his Paris home.

Although the probe was initially dropped in 2019, Arnould pushed successfully for its reopening the following year and Depardieu was charged in December 2020.

Following the in-depth investigation into the rape and sexual assault claims, it will now be up to an investigating magistrate to decide whether he will face trial.

A lawyer representing Depardieu did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Arnould’s lawyer Carine Durrieu-Diebolt said the move was “the result of a long investigation which was able to gather evidence corroborating the words of my client”.

Durrieu-Diebolt added that it was “a huge step forward filled with hope” for Arnould, now aged 28.

Arnould herself wrote on X that she was “extremely relieved and moved” at the news a trial had been requested.

“This gives me hope for what’s next, even though I’m staying extremely cautious” before the magistrate’s decision, she added.

French celebrities distance themselves from Depardieu, accused of rape

‘Manhunt’

Depardieu, a monument on the French cinema landscape for decades, has denied a string of rape and sexual assault allegations in recent years.

“Never, but never, have I abused a woman,” he wrote in a letter published in conservative daily Le Figaro last October in reference to Arnould’s allegations.

“A woman came to my home… coming up to by bedroom of her own free will. Today she says she was raped,” Depardieu wrote.

“There was never constraint, violence or protest between us,” he added.

President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly weighed into the debate in December, saying that Depardieu faced a “manhunt” and should benefit from the presumption of innocence.

He sought in a May interview to soften those remarks, saying he had “no indulgence” towards Depardieu but insisting that “our principles” – including the presumption of innocence – “will allow the judiciary to make a decision in October”.

The actor already faces a trial that month for alleged sexual assaults against two different women during a film shoot in 2021.

In January, a former production assistant filed a criminal complaint against Depardieu for alleged sexual assaults during a shoot in 2014.

That investigation was closed as the alleged crime had passed the statute of limitations, along with a complaint from actor Helene Darras for an alleged 2007 sexual assault.

Dozens of French actors denounce ‘lynching’ of Depardieu

Directors and bigwigs

A broader reckoning with sexual assault allegations in French cinema has only slowly been making its way through the justice system since the late 2010s and the emergence of the worldwide #metoo movement.

Last month, well-known film director Benoit Jacquot, 77, was charged with raping actors Julia Roy, 34, and Isild Le Besco, 41.

The allegations emerged after 52-year-old actor Judith Godreche accused Jacquot of raping her during a years-long relationship in the 1980s, which began when she was aged 14.

Prosecutors did not charge Jacquot in Godreche’s case because the allegations were past the statute of limitations.

Another director, 80-year-old Jacques Doillon, was released from questioning for medical reasons after himself being accused by Godreche of assaulting her when she was underage.

And in June Dominique Boutonnat, the head of France’s National Centre of Cinema (CNC), was given a three-year jail term for sexually assaulting his godson in 2020.

Boutonnat – who will likely serve only a year under house arrest – immediately stepped down from leading the country’s top film institution, part of whose role is overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

Anti-abuse training has become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

In a first reaction, Tran’s lawyer Bertrand Repolt told journalists: “We are not surprised, but obviously disappointed.”

He said that the decision reflected a “bad interpretation” of jurisprudence when it comes to corporate immunity, showing that the companies in question have a lot of leeway.

Like in 2021, the Paris appeals court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to judge a case involving the wartime actions of the United States government, on whose orders the chemical companies supplied Agent Orange.

Repolt stressed that the judgement is not “final” and that the battle will continue in the Court of Cassation, France’s top appeals court.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry, quoted by the daily Vietnam News, said that Hanoi found the ruling “very regrettable”.

“While the war in Vietnam has long ended, its tremendous implications continue to linger on the country and people of Vietnam, including the long-term severe consequences of Agent Orange,” spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told reporters.

Through the generations

Tran, who was born in Vietnam when it was under French occupation, has been battling the chemical giants in court for a decade.

She was exposed to Agent Orange at age 24, when it was used by the US military to destroy the forests that sheltered Vietcong guerrilla fighters.

Her first daughter died of a heart defect after 17 months, while her two other daughters and grandchildren suffer from serious health conditions that she ascribes to her exposure to the defoliant.

Now 82, Tran herself suffers from “recurrent tuberculosis, cancer, and type II diabetes”, according to Vietnam Dioxin, a collective that fights for the rights of the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

In 2014 Tran filed a lawsuit in Paris against 14 firms that allegedly made or sold the highly toxic chemical, including the Dow consortium and Monsanto, now owned by German giant Bayer.

Backed by several NGOs, Tran accuses the companies of being responsible for injuries sustained by her, her children and countless others, as well as for damage done to the environment.

But in 2021 a court dismissed the case, ruling that the companies were protected from prosecution because they had acted on behalf of a sovereign government.

• French court dismisses case over Agent Orange defoliant use in Vietnam War

Millions of victims

According to a 2003 study published in the journal Nature, “between 1961 and 1971, the American army dumped some 80 million litres of chemicals on the country by air, above the forests of former French Indochina”.

The aim was to destroy Vietnam’s dense jungle vegetation where communist fighters of the Vietcong were thought to hide.

According to the study, data revealed that “millions of Vietnamese were likely to have been sprayed upon directly”. Vietnam Dioxin estimates that the chemical caused more than three million victims.

Apart from human casualties, Vietnam’s ecology was also badly affected.

According to some estimates, a fifth of South Vietnamese forests were chemically destroyed, and more than a third of mangroves disappeared.

In 1984, 15,000 American veterans who said they suffered from cancer, liver disease and nervous disorders after being exposed to Agent Orange were awarded the equivalent of €225 million in compensation in a settlement with Monsanto and Dow Chemical, the main producers of the substance.

But Vietnamese victims were never compensated. In 2005, petitions filed by an association representing them were dismissed by US courts and eventually by the Supreme Court, which argued that Agent Orange was a herbicide and not a chemical weapon.

“We strongly support the efforts of Agent Orange victims to urge chemical companies in charge of producing and supplying Agent Orange or dioxin to the US in this war against Vietnam, which has caused millions of Vietnamese people to become victims, to take responsibility, and address their relevant consequences,” commented Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham after Thursday’s ruling.

(with newswires)

In a joint letter, the three countries denounced the “open and assumed support of the Republic of Ukraine for terrorism internationally, particularly in the Sahel”.

The countries asked the UN to “take responsibility” for Ukraine’s actions and to prevent “subversive acts” that threaten regional and continental stability.

The letter was dated 19 August and circulated to the 15-member Security Council the following day, diplomats told Reuters news agency.

The text was also posted on the Malian foreign ministry’s social media account.

The complaint marks a new stage in the deterioration of relations between these countries and Ukraine, according to experts.

Accusations

The row arose over comments by a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency about fighting in northern Mali that killed dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group in late July.

Both ethnic Tuareg separatists and jihadist insurgents operate in the region.

Speaking to Ukrainian media, spokesperson Andriy Yusov said rebels had received “all the necessary information they needed” to conduct “a successful military operation against Russian perpetrators of war crimes”.

Mali interpreted the remarks as an admission of Ukraine’s direct involvement in the conflict, accusing the country of supporting terrorist groups.

Mali’s military government consequently cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in early August, followed days later by Niger.

Along with Burkina Faso, the neighbours are allied by a mutual defence pact signed last year.

• Niger follows Mali, cutting ties with Ukraine over support to rebel groups

Russian presence

Ukraine said it regretted the “short-sighted and hasty” decision by Mali and Niger to sever ties.

The Ukrainian government has since repeatedly called the allegations groundless, while an alliance of Tuareg rebels denied receiving its support. 

But a Western security source confirmed to French news agency AFP this week that contacts exist between Ukrainian military authorities and Malian separatists, without specifying the nature of Kyiv’s possible support.

The source also ruled out a Ukrainian presence on the ground.

Ukraine has been locked in heavy fighting with Russia for more than two years, while Moscow has become a strong ally of the three juntas in power in the Sahel.

Russia has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Africa in recent years in a bid to compete with the West in countries traditionally viewed as its allies.

• Concerns mount as Russian troops take over US base in Niger

Public pressure

The UN Security Council does not have a mandate to manage disputes between states.

For their complaints to be successful, the three West African countries would have to go instead to international courts, Johann Soufi, a lawyer specialising in international relations, told RFI.

The letter to the UN aims primarily to put more pressure on Ukraine, he believes, as well as speaking to the population at home. 

“I don’t think it’s going to achieve anything,” he said.

(with newswires)

As they finalise their preparations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, members of the Refugee Paralympic Team have been training in Reims, eastern France.

Organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the training camp is the first time the athletes have come together as one team.

“It has been fantastic to bring the team together for the first time to benefit from such world-class sport facilities,” Paralympian and mission leader Nyasha Mharakurwa told the IPC.

“I’m really proud of how quickly the athletes have come together,” he said.

“On paper, we thought this might be a challenge bearing in mind the diversity of the team and the differences in language and culture.

“In reality, however, they have built relationships and shown support for each other from day one, united by the fact that at Paris 2024 they are part of something much bigger than themselves.” 

Refugee Olympic Team flies the flag for resilience at Paris Games

‘Message of perseverance’

The team of eight athletes and two guide runners is the largest Refugee Paralympic Team in history. They will compete in six different sports: para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis, para-taekwondo, para-triathlon, and wheelchair fencing.

Among them is Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian athlete who will be competing in para-triathlon. Al Hussein lost his right foot and parts of his left foot in 2012 during the civil war that ravaged his country and forced him to flee to Greece.

“I left Syria in a wheelchair and I want to send a message of perseverance and hope to everyone who feels miserable or bad about themselves,” Al Hussein told the Associated Press in Reims.

Living in refugee camps for years with little or no access to training centres, Al Hussein and his teammates overcame many obstacles to reach top sporting competitions.

“We are all proud to be members of the Refugee Paralympic Team and representing not just ourselves but the 120 million displaced people from around the world and the more than one billion people with disabilities,” he told the IPC.

Paris suburb gets France’s first inclusive sports complex thanks to Olympics

Zakia Khudadadi, who won the 2023 European Taekwondo Championship in the 47kg category, will be the first team member to compete on the opening day of competition on 28 August.

Like every athlete, she is hoping to land a podium place – something no other refugee Paralympian has done yet.

“It would be a dream come true to be the first to ever win a medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team,” Khudadadi, who is originally from Afghanistan and has been based in Paris since 2021, told the IPC.

“If that happens, I know how much inspiration and hope that would give to millions of people around the world, especially women and girls.  

“It will show them that no matter how difficult the struggles they face, they should never give up.”

(with newswires)

The EU on Tuesday revised its proposed punitive duties on imports of Chinese EVs to 36.3 percent from an initial planned duty of 37.6 percent, but fell short of abandoning them, as Beijing had called on Brussels to do.

The revision drew rebuke from China’s commerce ministry, which in response said it is “firmly opposed to and highly concerned” about the findings, and vowed to take all necessary measures to protect Chinese firms.

The anti-subsidy investigation on dairy announced by China’s commerce ministry on Wednesday, the latest in a series of Chinese probes this year into EU agricultural goods, will focus on various types of cheeses, milks and creams intended for human consumption.

It was prompted by a complaint submitted by the Dairy Association of China and the China Dairy Industry Association on July 29 on behalf of the domestic dairy industry, the ministry said.

EU struggles to come out on top in systemic rivalry with China

EU defends dairy industry

China will examine 20 subsidy schemes from across the 27-strong bloc, specifically those from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Ireland, and Romania, it said in a statement.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the bloc “will firmly defend the interests of the EU dairy industry and the Common Agricultural Policy, and intervene as appropriate to ensure that the investigation fully complies with relevant World Trade Organization rules”.

The European Dairy Association, meanwhile, said it was confident that EU farm subsidies were compatible with World Trade Organization rules and would seek to clarify “the dairy part of the rather complex trade relation between China and the EU today”.

Of the EU countries listed by China’s commerce ministry, Ireland is by far the biggest exporter of dairy products to China, having sold $461 million worth of goods to the Asian nation last year.

French dairy sector body CNIEL said France was also part of the EU-wide Chinese probe, adding that the country was China’s second-largest supplier of cream after New Zealand.

The EU was China’s second-largest source of dairy products with at least 36 percent of the total value of imports in 2023, behind only New Zealand, according to Chinese customs data.

The EU exported 1.7 billion euros in dairy products to China in 2023, down from 2 billion in 2022, according to data from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, which cited Eurostat.

Pork, dairy worth less than EVs

China already launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of EU pork in June, which mainly affects Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, following an anti-dumping investigation into EU brandy announced in January that was almost exclusively related to France.

Macron thanks China’s Xi for not imposing duties on French cognac

“The combined value of EU pork and dairy exports to China – areas of goods potentially affected by tariffs – are smaller than the value of China’s battery EV exports to the EU, which we estimate to stand at around $13.5 billion in 2023,” Chim Lee, senior China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said.

“Domestic economic pressures, alongside the increasingly important role played by external demand in supporting China’s economy, will keep Chinese policymakers cautious about invoking an overly confrontational approach to trade,” Lee added.

(Reuters)

Police launched a manhunt on Tuesday after Collins Jumaisi, who is accused of murdering and dismembering dozens of women, broke out of a police station in an upmarket area of the Kenyan capital along with 12 Eritreans.

Five officers appeared in court on Wednesday suspected of aiding Jumaisi’s escape and have been freed on a 200,000 Kenyan shilling ($1,500) bond, despite prosecutors seeking an order to keep them in custody for 14 days.

The 33-year-old Jumaisi, described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath”, was arrested last month after the gruesome discovery of a number of mutilated female bodies in a rubbish dump in Mukuru slum area in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Police say he has confessed to murdering 42 women over a two-year period from 2022, with his wife his first victim, but the suspect has claimed he was tortured after his arrest.

Kenyan film explores the struggles of motherhood and mental health in Africa

Reward offered

Officers said Jumaisi and the other men escaped by cutting through a wire mesh roof where he was being held, before scaling a perimeter wall.

“A significant cash reward will be provided to anyone with credible information leading to the suspect’s arrest,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said, without specifying an amount.

It is the second time in barely six months that a suspect in a high-profile case has escaped from custody in Nairobi.

The latest twist to the grisly story has infuriated many Kenyans, with the country appalled over the discovery of the butchered women.

It has also thrown a spotlight on police as the bodies were found just 100 metres from a police station.

Kenya‘s police watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, has said it was looking into whether there was any police involvement or a “failure to act to prevent” the killings.

Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of carrying out unlawful killings or running hit squads, but few have faced justice.

“These doses will be distributed through the European Union to regions where the virus is circulating widely,” Attal posted on X.

The World Health Organization, which has declared the surge of mpox cases in Africa a global health emergency, and the United States will donate 50,000 mpox vaccine doses to Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN health agency has called for a major increase in vaccine production and said that a vaccination campaign must be a key priority for affected countries.

Last week, the African Union health agency said some 200,000 vaccines would be deployed across Africa thanks to agreements with the EU and Danish drug company Bavarian Nordic, whose vaccine was approved in 2019.

• DR Congo on standby for first vaccines to fight mpox outbreak

Vaccination sites in France

Some 232 vaccination sites are in place in case of an eventual outbreak in France.

“We aim to be ready to face all scenarios and all risks,” Attal wrote.

No mpox cases have yet been reported in France. Sweden’s Public Health Agency announced last week it had registered a case of the more dangerous Clade 1b variant of mpox.

While that was the first case in Europe, the patient had been infected during a visit to an affected African country.

The virus has swept across the DRC, killing more than 570 people so far this year.

Outbreaks have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July.

(with AFP)

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine.  And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes 12 September. We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counseled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 29 June, I asked you a question about France’s snap elections for the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly. President Emmanuel Macron had just dissolved the Assembly after his party was rather severely trounced in the European Parliament elections by the far-right National Rally party.

The first round of voting was on 30 June, and the candidates were, as I noted then, promising the moon to voters … you were to listen to Sarah Elzas’ report on her Spotlight on France podcast, and send in the answer to this question: What did the National Rally party say they would do in July to decide what they can or cannot do, as far as their economic promises to the voters?

The answer is: As Romeric Godin told Sarah on the podcast: “Many of the spending proposals put forward by Bardella and the RN are predicated on an audit of the country’s finances, planned as of July, which would determine what can (and cannot) be done.

“That’s a traditional way to say ‘We can’t implement some promises we made before, because public finances are not in order’,” says Godin, skeptical that the RN will be able to deliver.

For Godin, the economic audit offers a way out: “They can say that if the report on France’s public finances is very bad, they will not do it in the autumn, or at all.”

The fiscal information is all there, no audit is necessary.  France’s Cour des Comptes, the country’s independent and supreme audit institution, publishes a monthly report on the country’s finances. It’s not a secret document. It’s online, and everyone can read it.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What do you remember about your first day at your first job?”, which was suggested by Mokles Uddin Mollahis from Bogura, Bangladesh.

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI English listener Rafiq Khondaker, the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Congratulations, Riaz, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and RFI Listeners Club member Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark. Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners Liton Ahamed Mia, from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khokhar from the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. 

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Sous le ciel de Paris” by Hubert Giraud and Jean Dréjac, sung by the one and only Edith Piaf; the traditional valse-musette “A Happy Day in Paris” performed by AccordionMan; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Hymne à l’Amour” by Marguerite Monnot and Edith Piaf, sung by Céline Dion.

Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate.

You have until 16 September to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 September podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club,  

In a world increasingly dominated by Western beauty standards promoted through pop culture and the global beauty industry, the Decolonising Beauty campaign seeks to challenge narrow perceptions and showcase the multifaceted beauty traditions in Africa.

The campaign uses a multi-platform approach to reach a broad audience of English and French speakers in Africa and around the world.

A series of initiatives from the campaign will be announced until the end of the year involving photographers, artists, poets, media makers and content creators.

Zikora Media & Arts founder Chika Oduah tells us more.

• Read also: French lawmakers vote in favour of bill to ban hair discrimination

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompéani

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

Abbas received a standing ovation in the Turkish Parliament on Thursday, where he addressed an extraordinary session. Deputies wore scarves adorned with Turkish and Palestinian flags as a show of solidarity.

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan watching from the balcony, Abbas praised Turkey’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

“We highly appreciate Turkey’s pioneering role under the leadership of President Erdogan for its courageous and unwavering positions in defense of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence,” declared Abbas.

Increasing isolation

Erdogan is attempting to position himself at the forefront of international opposition to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, even as Turkey finds itself increasingly sidelined from global efforts to resolve the conflict.

China’s recent hosting of Palestinian faction leaders highlights Erdogan’s diminishing influence.

“Erdogan was hoping to reconcile Palestinian factions, but China stole the spotlight and acted preemptively. China had more political clout over the parties,” Selin Nasi, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics contemporary Turkish studies department, told RFI.

Abbas’s visit to Russia on Tuesday further underscores the growing importance of other nations in efforts to address the Gaza conflict.

Domestic message

Erdogan’s invitation to Abbas also serves as a way to reinforce his pro-Palestinian credentials with his domestic conservative base.

“He’s trying to keep his base intact domestically,” Sezin Oney, a commentator on Turkey’s Politikyol news portal, told RFI.

“Once upon a time, Erdogan resonated with the Arab public in general.

“The Arab Street, as it was called back then, and the Muslim population in general saw him as connected with international grassroots movements. But he doesn’t have that appeal anymore; he’s lost that appeal.”

Turkey a bridge?

Erdogan has long claimed to be a bridge between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

“This is an issue that Erdogan personally invested a lot of time and energy in,” said Selin Nasi.

However, Erdogan’s influence with Hamas has waned, particularly after the assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh last month, and his replacement by Yahya Sinwar, who is relatively unknown in Turkey.

“They cannot host [Sinwar], they cannot contact him, nor do they have the kind of relations that they had with Haniyeh. So they have to settle with Mahmoud Abbas at this point,” Oney said.

Abbas, however, appears to show little interest in Turkey’s playing a larger role in resolving the conflict, and Erdogan’s strong support of Hamas and his fiery rhetoric against Israel is increasingly isolating him from countries seeking to end the fighting.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear what Rodrigo Hunrichse, your fellow RFI English listener, has found to be true in his life. Don’t miss it!

Here’s Rodrigo’s essay:

Seize the moment, cherish loved ones, make a good impression, avoid toxicity, plant seeds, harvest in time, write/ report regularly, study/ inform yourself, make good, love, find someone to love you back, question important things, rest regularly, good deeds should return, bad ones too, don’t judge until having good understanding of facts, don’t take their words for a fact: verify, don’t mind popular opinion, save for the uncertainty, remember good/bad people in your life so you’ll be remembered similarly, find a belief and a belonging so you have peers to support and be supported, no one is perfect especially you that know yourself, take care of yourself so to age with dignity, it’s never too late!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “People Are Strange”, by Jim Morrison and Robby Krieger, performed by The Doors. 

The quiz will be back next Saturday, 24 August. Be sure and tune in! 

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Hossen Abed Ali, Karuna Kanta Pal, and Jayanta Chakrabarty.

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “How Long”, written and performed by Jackson Browne; “Top of the World” by John Bettis and Richard Carpenter, performed by The Carpenters, and “Mademoiselle Chante le Blues” by Didier Barbelivien, sung by Patricia Kaas.

Be sure and tune in next week for a “This I Believe” essay written by RFI Listeners Club member Rodrigo Hunrichse.   

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.