The Normandy native finished in 58 minutes, 1 second – almost three minutes ahead of American Carson Clough and Spain’s Nil Riudavets Victory – who claimed silver and bronze respectively in the men’s PTS4 class triathlon.

Hanquinquant – already number one in World Triathlon Para Rankings – raised his arms in triumph and pointed to his name as the home fans cheered, while the athletes finishing behind him slumped to the ground in exhaustion.

“It was really a perfect race, I even allowed myself the luxury of slowing down on the last lap. The crowd was incredible. I heard ‘Alexis, Alexis’ all the way through,” Hanquinquant said. “Doing it at home is exceptional, I’m so happy, it’s so beautiful”.

Hanquinquant had his right leg amputated just below the knee in 2013, about three years after it was crushed by agricultural equipment in a work accident.

Sport classes PTS2 to 5 are for athletes with limitations in lower or upper limbs who don’t need a handcycle for the cycling segment or a racing chair for the running segment.

Prosthetic legs and bike modifications are allowed.

Four-time world champion claims gold

Earlier in the day, Alsace native Jules Ribstein also won gold for France in the men’s PTS2. As the crowd roared, Ribstein flexed his biceps and slammed his chest as he crossed the finish line.

Overcome with emotion, the four-time world champion broke down in tears in a post-race interview with French TV.

Ribstein finished ahead of Americans Mohamed Lahna and Mark Barr, who were second and third, respectively.

Hailey Danz of the United States won the women’s PTS2 triathlon, compatriot Grace Norman took gold in the women’s PTS5, and Chris Hammer claimed another triathlon victory for the U.S. in the men’s PTS5.

• Dirty water in River Seine forces postponement of para triathlon events
• Seine swimming to return to heart of Paris after century of bans

More medals for Team France

In addition, Frenchmen Thibaut Rigaudeau won silver and Antoine Perel bronze, one after the other, in the same category for visually impaired athletes.

As with the Olympic Games, the para-triathlon began with a swimming event in the River Seine.

After the 750m swim, the para-athletes had to cycle 20 kilometres and run 5 kilometres through the streets of Paris – which were more or less crowded with spectators depending on the location – on what was back-to-school Monday. 

The 11 events, which had already been rescheduled, were postponed from Sunday because of concerns about the water in the Seine after rainstorms.

Heavy rains cause wastewater and runoff to flow into the river, leading to a rise in bacteria levels.

Falaeo’s election marks a departure from the leadership of Roch Wamytan, of the pro-independence FLNKS party, who was a prominent critic of France’s management of New Caledonia.  

The first Kanak congress president, Wamytan lost his position by a narrow margin of 26 to 28 votes. 

New Caledonia’s congress was established in 1999 to govern health, tax, roads, welfare and schools. It has 54 councillors who are elected every five years. A vote is held every year to elect the congress’ president.

‘Democracy Maker’

Falaeo’s rise comes at a critical time for New Caledonia, which has been grappling with political instability and social unrest.

It’s seen numerous protests and clashes related to reforms proposed by Paris, which many Kanaks fear could undermine their political influence and independence aspirations.

Falaeo’s party was founded in 2019 to advocate for the Wallisian and Futunian community, which faces under-representation and marginalisation in New Caledonia.

That year Ocean Awakening garnered over 8 percent of the vote in the Southern Province, securing four seats in the Provincial Assembly and three in congress.

Following this success, it’s become a key player in New Caledonian politics, positioning itself as a “democracy maker”.

• Can France solve the economic collapse and unrest plaguing New Caledonia?

New Caledonian TV station NC La 1’ere reported that Falaeo had been supported by anti-independence parties, although her party has not previously belonged to the two traditional blocs.

Falaeo has pledged to pursue a middle-way approach to governance.

In a statement following her election, she emphasised her commitment to fostering a more inclusive and representative congress.

“Oceania is not an ethnic group for us, but a way of life, a way of being, a state of mind, and above all, values that echo those of the republic: respect, equity and solidarity,” she said.

Pro-independence riots

France sent hundreds of police to New Caledonia after voting reforms in May sparked deadly protests by pro-independence Kanak groups.

Kanaks, who make up 41 percent of the population, fear reforms will dilute their vote and make it harder for any future referendum on independence to pass. Paris says the measure is needed to improve democracy by allowing more residents from France to vote.

• New Caledonia’s pro-independence alliance name jailed activist Tein as leader

The reforms have since been suspended by President Emmanuel Macron.

As congress president, Wamytan had been a vocal critic of France’s handling of New Caledonia’s independence movement.

He was particularly outspoken about the recent postponement of a visit by Pacific Island leaders, which he attributed to France’s attempts to control the scope of the fact-finding mission.

This stance further strained relations between the pro-independence factions and the French government.

Azerbaijan meddling claims

Wamytan’s tenure was also marked by controversy, including allegations of foreign meddling.

Several French loyalists, including Nicolas Metzdorf – one of New Caledonia’s representatives in the French National Assembly – called for Wamytan’s replacement after he approved a cooperation agreement between the congress and Azerbaijan, a country often critical of France.

This agreement, along with the arrest and detention in France of Wamytan’s chief of staff for suspected links to recent riots, fuelled tensions within the congress.

Pro-independence parties claim the seven arrested officials, including Wamytan’s chief of staff, are political prisoners, although Wamytan has denied any financial ties between his party and Azerbaijan.

Christian Tein – who considers himself a “political prisoner” – was one of seven pro-independence activists transferred to mainland France in June in a move that sparked renewed violence that has raged across the archipelago and left 11 people dead.

His appointment on Saturday to lead the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) risks complicating efforts to end New Caledonia’s political crisis, sparked in May by a Paris plan for voting reforms that indigenous Kanaks say will thwart their ambitions for independence by leaving them a permanent minority.

• Can New Caledonia’s first female congress president bridge the divide amid civil unrest?

Laurie Humuni of the RDO party – one of four in the FLNKS alliance – said at the weekend that Tein’s nomination was a recognition of his CCAT party’s leading role in mobilising the independence movement.

In a post on X, the FLNKS congress said the move to elect Tein “went back to the origins of the Front by integrating several groups and recognising the CCAT and the struggle of committees as FLNKS [partners]. It was not an election ‘by the UC and the RDO’ but by the 10 components of the Front”.

Discord among FLNKS ranks

It remains unclear if the two other alliance members – the UPM and Palika – supported the move as they had recently refused to participate in the latest FLNKS meeting and indicated they would not support any of its proposals.

The alliance also said it was willing to renew talks to end the protests, but only if local anti-independence parties are excluded.

According to Humuni: “We will have to remove some blockades to allow the population access to essential services, but that does not mean we are abandoning our struggle“.

• New Caledonian activist jailed in France claims to be a ‘political prisoner’
• New Caledonia pro-independence group vows more protests over election reforms

On Thursday, France said it had agreed to terms with Pacific leaders seeking a fact-finding mission to New Caledonia in a bid to resolve the dispute, though a date for the mission has not yet been set.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government has sent thousands of troops and police to restore order in the archipelago, almost 17,000 kilometres from Paris, and the electoral reforms were suspended in June.

Outgoing Education Minister Nicole Belloubet – who visited two schools on Monday – told reporters she was happy with the way things were turning out.

“I don’t deny that here and there, a few teachers are absent, but in the vast majority of situations, the teachers are there and that is fortunate,” she told France Inter radio.

One of the hot topics of the month is the recruitment issue – with 3,000 teaching posts in both public and private sectors not filled.

Despite this confidence, Catherine Nave-Bekhti, of the CFDT Education union says teachers were feeling especially nervous due to the unprecented political crisis and the fact that a new Education Minister has not been named.

Level groups

More than 850,000 teachers returned to their primary, secondary and high schools on Friday, a few days before their students tasked with fine-tuning back-to-school plans.

One of the other challenges they face is organising “level groups” for French and mathematics in middle school classes, a reform launched by outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal when he was Education Minister.

This came after a 2022 Pisa study revealed  a “historic” decline in French students’ proficiency in mathematics and a significant drop in reading comprehension.

Marian Petitfils, a mathematics teacher at a college in the Paris region, told RFI that this policy has been “largely rejected at the ballot box” and criticised by parents and teachers alike.

Karine Nazury, head of a middle school in the Nice academy, agrees that trying to organise smaller groups for struggling students is like a “puzzle” and the resources are not available.

Another issue is the modification to the national exam for the end of middle school known as le brevet.

Attal’s government wanted to make obtaining the diploma (DNB) mandatory to enter senior high school, but the decree has been “suspended”, Belloubet announced on Tuesday.

Attal had also proposed to increase the share of exams in the final result (60 percent instead of 50 percent currently) and to take into account all year subjects in the remaining 40 percent.

Children with disabilities still left out of French schools, activists warn

For Jérôme Fournier of the SE-Unsa teachers’ union, changing the rules during the year would be “unacceptable and unthinkable”.

Belloubet has suggested postponing any changes until the new school year in September 2025.

Phone ban

The outgoing government also chose to implement a ban on mobile phones at school for pupils up to the age of 15, arguing that pupils need a “digital pause” during school times.

The measure will first be tested in a few schools, then could be rolled out nationwide from January.

Almost 200 secondary schools will take part in the experiment, with youngsters required to hand over phones on arrival at reception.

In 2018, a first law banned pupils at primary and secondary schools from using their phones on the premises but allowed them to keep possession of them.

This measure follows the recommendations of the “screens” commission, commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, but has prompted skepticism from the unions.

Urgent matters

Meanwhile, some 90 schools have volunteered for a full-scale experiment of school uniforms, starting this Monday.

Others will follow in January.

First lady Brigitte Macron, a former drama teacher, has backed the introduction of school uniforms.

But the measure doesn’t have the full support of teachers or parents’ groups nationwide and there is push back over the cost.

French town tests controversial school uniforms

Sophie Vénétitay, Secretary General of the SNES union, told RFI that she is concerned thes topics are overshadowing the real emergencies.

“Today, we don’t know where we’re going, we don’t know who our contacts are and, above all, during this time, the crisis is getting worse,” she said.

She pointed to urgent matters including the question of salaries and working conditions.

“Very quickly, we will need someone to deal with these issues, because we will very quickly discuss the 2025 budget,” she insisted.

Three unions have called for a strike day on 10 September to protest against the proposed reforms.

 (with newswires)

Emmanuel Macron will receive this Monday the former presidents, socialist Francois Hollande and right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as Bernard Cazeneuve, a former member of the Socialist party and an experienced politician, sources close to Macron said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Macron has been under pressure to end weeks of political deadlock after he called a snap election that delivered an unwieldy hung parliament.

Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview with right-wing French daily Figaro published on 30 August that he called on the right to unite and govern.

Divisions

Cazeneuve – who was to be hosted at L’Elysée this morning –headed the government under Hollande from December 2016 to May 2017. He left the Socialist party two years ago to protest against its tightening links with far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

He is consided by politicians and observers as one of the most likely candidates to lead the new government as he is seen as respected by right-wing parties while still being close to the left.

As well as this brief stint as prime minister at the end of Hollande’s term, Cazeneuve was a minister three times – for European Affairs, Budget and Interior.

The Socialists are divided over this proposition and still wish to name Lucie Castets as prime minister.

Left-wing alliance calls for street protests after Macron rules out leftist PM

“Bernard Cazeneuve is not supported by any of the four left-wing parties in the country,” said LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard.

Meanwhile, LFI deputies published their proposed resolution on Saturday to initiate impeachment proceedings against Macron, accusing him of “serious failure” to fulfil his “duty” by refusing to appoint Castets to Matignon. 

Among the Ecologists-EELV, hostility remains against Cazeneuve, because of the death of activist Rémi Fraisse on the Sivens dam (Tarn), during clashes with the police in 2014, when he was Interior Minister.

Other options 

Macron is also due to meet Xavier Bertrand, a member of the conservative Republicans and president of the Hauts-de-France region, also cited as a potential future prime minister although less frequently than Cazeneuve.

The President is largely said to prefer to appoint a prime minister from the right, hoping to draw the Republicans party into a coalition.

What is France’s new caretaker government and what will it mean?

Macron’s gamble to call the snap parliamentary election in June backfired, with his centrist coalition losing dozens of seats and no party winning an absolute majority.

The left’s New Popular Front alliance came first but Macron ruled out asking it to form a government after other parties said they would immediately vote it down.

Coalition deadlock

The situation is unprecedented in France. The nation has not known coalition building since Charles de Gaulle changed the constitution in 1958, creating the French Fifth Republic.

Even if the political paralysis continued after the appointment of a new government, Macron could not call a new snap election until July next year under the French constitution.

France’s next prime minister will have the daunting task of trying to drive reforms, and of passing the 2025 budget in October through a hung parliament, while under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.

 (with newswires)

Ayachi Zammel, the leader of a liberal party, was arrested early on Monday morning on suspicion of falsifying endorsements, his campaign team told Reuters news agency.

He was one of only two challengers who saw their applications to stand against Saied approved by Tunisia’s electoral commission, the ISIE.

Fourteen other opposition candidates tried to run, but their bids were denied. 

Three successfully appealed the commission’s decisions in court: former minister Mondher Zenaidi, prominent politician Imed Daimi, and Abdellatif Mekki, former leader of the conservative Islamist party Ennahda.

The ISIE has not yet confirmed whether it will accept the rulings. It is expected to announce its final list of candidates shortly.

Dominant power

Aside from Saied, only two other candidates were approved outright: Zouhair Maghzaoui of the pan-Arab, left-wing People’s Movement, who long supported Saied before distancing himself from the president, and Ayachi Zammel, though his recent arrest might lead to a ban from running.

Democracy watchdogs have criticised the incumbent’s stranglehold on the country’s institutions – notably on the judiciary.

Bassem Trifi, president of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), told RFI’s correspondent in Tunis that the current political climate was unhealthily dominated “by a single power”.

That means the election is not taking place on a level playing field, according to the non-profit organisation, which also decries pressure on the media, the detention of opposition figures and violent political discourse. 

With concerns for the ballot growing, it warns that Tunisia is on the verge of becoming “a vast prison”.

• Tunisian opposition leader sentenced to a further three years in jail

‘Unfree and unfair’

The October election is bound to be “non-transparent, unfree and unfair”, Yosra Frawes, director of the Maghreb and Middle East office at the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), told RFI’s Afrique Midi programme.

Many opposition figures remain in prison, she said, and Tunisia is in the grip of a new “dictatorial” climate.

Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tunisian authorities “have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates” ahead of the October vote.

Mekki has faced multiple different charges and in August was sentenced to eight months in prison for allegedly faking endorsements. He is appealing the conviction, but remains barred from appearing in the media or leaving his neighbourhood in the southern suburbs of Tunis.

Authorities are also “stifling dissent, especially in the media”, according to Human Rights Watch, which reports that at least five media professionals are currently behind bars for their work or opinions.

According to the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, at least 39 cases have been brought against journalists for their work since May 2023, many under laws against cybercrime and terrorism.

• Tunisia’s presidential race marred by arrests and claims of intimidation

President’s reshuffle

Elected in 2019, Saied has been accused of orchestrating a sweeping power grab since 2021 – when he dismissed his prime minister and parliament.

He had a new constitution approved by referendum in 2022 that created a presidential system with a parliament that has only limited powers.

Last weekend Saied carried out another major government reshuffle, replacing 22 ministers out of the 30 in his government.

The president described his choice as “indispensable” to ensure what he calls “national security”.

Without giving further details, he spoke of “power hubs” within the “Tunisian state apparatus itself” that needed to be dismantled.

The 18-year-old beat Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine 21-9, 21-9 to claim the para badminton bronze medal in the women’s SL3 category for players with moderate limitation of movement on one side of the body or in both legs, or missing limbs.

“I feel good,” she told RFI. “I’m happy because at least I’m going home with a medal. I’m really pleased.”

On Sunday, following her defeat to Zuxian Xiao in the semi-final, Bolaji held up a picture of her former coach Bello Rafiu Oyebanji, who died in a car crash in 2021 as she was preparing to play at the Tokyo Paralympics.

“I am dedicating the medal to him,” she said. “He will be proud of me because I’m going home with a medal.”

Nigeria’s Bolaji targets para badminton medal in Paris to honour dead coach

Learning from loss

Bolaji was one of the favourites to take the crown in her category, but admitted she had succumbed to the pressure during her semi-final.

“I learned a lot from the loss,” she said. “I was thinking about how to play my match today so that it would be easier for me.

“I was less emotional and I was calmer and much clearer about what I wanted to do.”

Xiao claimed gold with a 22-14, 22-20 victory over the top seed Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh from Indonesia.

Chinese teenagers claim para table tennis doubles crown

In the mixed doubles in the SL3/SU5 category, the French pair Lukas Mazur and Justine Noel beat the Indonesian duo Siripong Teamarrom and Nipada Seansupa 21-14, 21-16 to take the bronze medal.

On Monday afternoon, 25-year-old Mazur will return to the courts to defend his SL4 title against the top seed Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj from India.

It will be a rematch of their Paralympic showdown three years ago at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Ply me a river

The triathlon scheduled for Day 4 was postponed because of dirty water in the Seine. In the Seine? Yes. What the Olympic and Paralympic summer of sport has lacked is someone to sit down by a water treatment centre and sing à la Paul Robeson an ode to the River Seine. A clean flow spiritual? It might charm The Elements to stop slinging stuff down from the heavens to mess up the honed logistics of The Organisers. The River Seine can’t cope with rain because it means lots of grubby things from the beleaguered drains down here on planet Earth flow into the river. The Organisers know this. They have been well aware of this throughout the organisation of the Games. But they have wanted to use the Seine because it runs through the centre of Paris and provides lots of picture opportunities during the race. The Paralympics is about the Paralympians, The Organisers say.

Medal target

Emotional scenes at the para badminton at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena following the semi-final defeat of Mariam Eniola Bolaji from Nigeria. In tears, she showed a picture of her former coach Bello Rafiu Oyebanji who was killed in a traffic accident as she prepared for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. Bolaji, 18, will attempt to win bronze on Day 5 when she takes on Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine.

Pride in the fall

Soon after her loss, Mariam Eniola Bolaji spoke to the review. On the verge of more tears, she said that she would learn from her defeat. Would coach Oyebanji be proud of her? A pause and the flicker of a smile. “I am playing good. He would be proud of me.” 

Busy main man

The defending champion in the men’s SL4 category Lucas Mazur looked composed and in control of his para badminton semi-final against Fredy Setiawan from Indonesia. The 25-year-old Frenchman won it 21-13, 21-8 to the joy of the partisans at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. And Mazur will need that backing on Day 5 when he takes on the top seed Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj in the final. That’s after he goes for bronze with Faustine Noel in the mixed doubles against the Thai pair Siripong Teamarrom and Nipada Seansupa.

Ride of redemption

Can see the film coming here. Kadeena Cox from Britain crashed during the final of the C4-5 500m time trial on Day 1. She was one of the favourites for the top prize and was understandably distraught. However, with Jody Cundy and Jaco van Gass, she won the final race of the track cycling programme, the C1-5 750m team sprint. Theirs was one of 12 gold medals for the British delegation on the day to sit well behind China in the medals table with 23 golds among the 43 medals.

Between 2011 and 2020, Dominique P., a 71-year-old former employee with electricity provider EDF, allegedly incited more than 70 men to rape his wife while she lay unconscious at their home. 

Of the 72 suspects, 50 have been identified and are standing trial. They face up to 20 years in prison.

They include civil servants, soldiers, firefighters, prison guards, truck drivers, a journalist and municipal councillor.

The men, aged 21 to 68 at the time, were recruited via an online sex forum called “Without her knowing”.

The victim, a woman in her early 70s who wishes to remain anonymous, will attend the trial and face her alleged rapists for the first time.

According to her lawyer, she has no memory of the rapes and discovered what had happened to her only at the time of her husband’s arrest.

Sexual assaults videoed

Dominique P. was arrested in September 2020 after he was found using a pen with a hidden camera to spy on women in changing cubicles in a shopping centre in the town of Carpentras.

When police searched his home in a nearby village they found numerous videos and photos of his wife, visibly unconscious and often in the foetal position, being raped by different men.

Police also found conversations on an online platform, coco.gg, where Dominique P. invited people to come and take advantage of his wife. The site, denounced by authorities as a “den of predators”, was closed down by the courts in June.

The images found on his camera phone and computer allowed police to identify 92 acts of rape by 72 men.

One of the accused, a fireman, was shown wearing his uniform during the assault. Prosecutors say his computer contained 728 images of children being sexually abused.

Top French court rejects rape charges against firefighters in child abuse case

Dominique P. is currently in prison in Avignon charged with aggravated rape and administering drugs to sedate his wife.

He admits to having sometimes put powerful anti-anxiety drugs in his wife’s evening meal without her knowledge.

Some of his co-defendants claim they had no idea the victim had not consented and that they believed they were participating in the fantasies of a libertine couple. One denied it was rape, telling investigators: “It’s his wife, he does what he likes with her.”

‘Everyone knew’

The majority of the accused had sex with the victim on one occasion, and 10 of them several times.

Dominique P. maintains “everyone knew” his wife was being drugged without her consent.

While the victim’s lack of consent has been established – experts describing her state as “closer to a coma than sleep” –  the court will have to rule on how aware the co-defendants were of that at the time.

Prosecutors maintain everyone had free will and could have left the scene. Dominique P. claims only three of the accused did not go through with the sexual act.

Macron vows to integrate ‘consent’ into French legislation on sexual assault

Dominique P. claims to have been raped by a nurse when he was nine years old. His lawyer says he is ready to “face his wife and family”.

Separately, the chief defendant has been accused of murder and rape in a case dating back to 1991 – a charge he denies.

He has admitted to charges of attempted rape from 1999 after DNA tests proved he was the perpetrator.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the first far-right party to win a state legislature election in Germany since World War Two with its result in weekend voting in Thuringia.

It came a close second behind the conservatives in Saxony, projections late on Sunday showed.

But the AfD, deemed “right-wing extremist” by security officials in both of the east German states, is unlikely to be able to govern as other parties have so far refused to collaborate with it to form a majority.

Still, the nationalist, anti-migration and Russia-friendly party could end up with enough seats in both states to block decisions requiring a two-thirds majority such as the appointment of judges or top security officials, giving it unprecedented power.

“The results for the AfD in Saxony and Thuringia are worrying,” Scholz said in a statement to the Reuters new agency. He clarified he was talking as a lawmaker for his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation.”

Immigration a key issue

With a year to go until Germany‘s national election, the results on Sunday punished Scholz’s fractious coalition, which could aggravate infighting.

All three ruling parties lost votes, with only his SPD comfortably clearing the 5 percent threshold needed to stay in the two states’ parliaments.

Populist leftist newcomer, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), founded by a former member of the East German Communist Party, did better than all of three coalition partners in its first state elections, coming in third place.

Far right to seek greater influence in EU parliament

“Sunday’s election results are bitter – for us too,” Scholz said. But he noted that the more dire predictions, that the SPD might fall out of a state parliament for the first time, had not materialised.

Junior coalition partners the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats both fell out of the Thuringia state assembly.

Sunday’s results could also pressure the government to be tougher on immigration and intensify the debate over support for Ukraine, issues that dominated the campaign.

 (Reuters)

Around 3.7 billion people live in areas that contribute less than 3 percent of global water quality data. This data gap is particularly concerning, as it hampers the ability to manage critical issues such as droughts, floods and pollution, a recent UN Environment report found.

Fewer than 4,500 lake quality measurements are available out of nearly 250,000 needed, highlighting the extent of the data shortage.

Recent years have seen widespread degradation of freshwater ecosystems.

Between 2015 and 2019, 61 percent of countries reported that at least one type of freshwater ecosystem was in a degraded state.

Although this figure decreased to 31 percent between 2017 and 2021, newly available data suggests that the proportion of countries with degraded ecosystems may still be around 50 percent, the UN said.

• French food authority finds traces of banned pesticide in drinking water
• Tap water undrinkable in a quarter of French towns and cities

Monitoring programmes

This environmental damage is affecting 90 countries, particularly in Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

Key contributors to the decline include pollution, dam construction, land conversion, over-extraction of water and the impacts of climate change.

Addressing the decline in freshwater quality requires improved data collection and monitoring.

​​​​To help fill the data gap, UN experts recommend the expansion of government-funded monitoring programmes and suggests leveraging satellite-based Earth observation technologies and projection models to enhance data accuracy.

In France, recent issues highlight the urgency of addressing water quality.

Traces of banned pesticides have been detected in drinking water, and a quarter of French towns and cities are reported to have undrinkable tap water.

The decision was taken on Saturday and announced by NDB chief Dilma Roussef at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa.

By joining “this important development institution, the financial arm of the BRICS group, Algeria is taking a major step in its process of integration into the global financial system,” the Algerian finance ministry said in a statement.

The bank of the BRICS group of nations, whose name derives from the initials of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is aimed at offering an alternative to international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

Algeria’s membership was secured thanks to “the strength of the country’s macroeconomic indicators” which have recorded “remarkable performances in recent years” and allowed the North African country to be classified as an “upper-tier emerging economy”, the finance ministry said.

Membership in the BRICS bank will offer Algeria, Africa’s leading exporter of natural gas, “new prospects to support and strengthen its economic growth in the medium and long term”, it added.

Created in 2015, the NDB’s main mission is to mobilise resources for projects in emerging markets and developing countries.

It has welcomed several country as new members, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

• Brics club invites six new members in bid to reshape global order

(With newswires)

The Paralympics, which got underway on Wednesday, are counting on the incredible energy generated during the two weeks of the Olympics, which drew enthusiastic crowds both inside the venues and in the public fan zones around the capital.

One of the largest areas open to the public is at the Hôtel de Ville, or town hall, in the heart of the city.

The building’s ornate stone façade are festooned with banners in the Paris 2024 palette of pale pink, green, beige and shades of blue, while the flagstones of the plaza out front have been covered with bright blue mats, sports equipment and shaded seating areas to welcome around 2,500 people at a time.

Léo, a young instructor who works for the local parasports committee in the greater Paris region, runs workshops in wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.

He’s happy to see parasports edging further and further into the limelight, thanks in part to the excitement around the Paris Games.

“I have a twin brother who is disabled so I have always been in contact with parasports. It is very rewarding and nice to see young people with disabilities enjoying sports,” he told RFI.

Requests for workshops to raise awareness in schools and communities have noticeably increased, he says.

Who are the French athletes competing in the Paris Paralympic Games?

A chance to explore

Nearby, teams of kids in red and green jerseys and eye masks are getting instructions on how to play blind football. Some of them are tourists visiting from Slovenia and Germany.

The workshops are run by members of Femix’Sport, an association which promotes diversity and women’s representation in sports federations.

Thiphaine Meriot, the group’s development and communications manager, says that the workshops at the city hall fan zone are an ideal opportunity for people from different social groups to mix – regardless of age and background, and whether or not they have a disability.

She says that people are surprised and curious to learn the rules of blind football, in which visually impaired players seek to score goals guided by a ball with a bell inside.

Only the goalkeeper is allowed to have full sight, while assistants near the goalposts can help give vocal instructions to the other players.

“I thought that blind football was quite well known, but in fact it’s not,” Meriot says. “We can tell that people are not familiar with it, so they discover it here.

“The more we have these kinds of workshops, the more we can help people discover new and challenging sports.”

Accessibility gaps

Not only are the Paralympics a chance to highlight the talents of remarkable athletes, organisers are also hoping to address issues of discrimination, inclusiveness and accessibility in wider society.

Alain, a volunteer at the Games, spends his days scooting around the fan zone in his electric wheelchair, showing visitors around.

Although he is proud to see Paris hosting such a high-profile event, he admits that a lot needs to be done to improve accessibility, especially when it comes to public transport.

“Only the automatised metro line 14 is fully accessible at all stations,” he says, adding that the tram network is in better shape because it was built more recently, while public buses now have special ramps.

But the suburban RER train network is unfortunately lagging behind, he says, as only a few of the stations have been upgraded. These lines serve several Paralympic sites outside the city, such as the equestrian arena at the Château de Versailles.

“Of course we can call on someone [from the station] to help us, but that means that we are not independent. I find that unacceptable in 2024. We should be independent like everyone else,” Alain says.

Paris metro accessibility a ‘weak spot’ ahead of Paralympics

Shifting priorities

A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will be reused during the Paralympics, albeit with minor modifications to better suit parasports.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons told French news agency AFP earlier this year he hopes the Paris edition will help make the issues facing people with disabilities a higher global priority.

Parsons said he believes the Games “will have a big impact in how people with disability are perceived around the world”.

He argued that disability had fallen behind sexual and gender identity in recent years.

“We do believe people with disability have been left behind,” he said. “There is very little debate about persons with disability.”

According to Unapei, an association that represents people with intellectual disabilities and their families, the shortage of support means many children spend six hours a week or less in school.

The week before French schools reopen on 2 September, the organisation warned in a statement of serious disparities in access to education across France.

In the Eure department of Normandy, for instance, some 27 percent of children supported by Unapei’s local branch receive six hours or less of schooling, while the figure is as high as 40 percent in Hérault in southern France, and 50 percent in the centre-west department of Sarthe. 

“The new school year is about to start and there are many children, thousands of children, who have problems going to school or who aren’t in school at all,” Sonia Ahehehinnou, Unapei’s vice president, told RFI.

The consequences can last a lifetime, she warned: “Going to school a little bit is not the same as going to school. If you don’t fully enter into learning, if you’re not in the right place, you can’t develop and you can’t build your future.”

Inclusive ideals meet reality

The French system operates on the principle that pupils with disabilities should be integrated where possible into regular classes rather than educated separately – though, as Ahehehinnou explains, that’s a challenge.

“On the one hand you have inclusion, which favours school attendance, socialising, access to equal education and participation in society,” she said.

“However, some children have very specific needs, which require adaption and much more personalised support from different professionals and in different domains. And this expertise isn’t always available within the school itself.”

She points to a lack of training and resources for staff in mainstream schools, as well as a shortage of places in specialised institutions – “for which pupils might be waiting anywhere between one and 10 years”.

Podcast: Educating the disabled, a challenge in France

‘True nightmare’

One of the main barriers, according to Unapei, is a lack of trained learning support assistants for students with special educational needs, known in France by the acronym AESH. 

Among nearly a thousand testimonies gathered by the association, some parents recounted that they still didn’t know by August whether their child would be assigned an assistant for the return to school in September.

Others described waiting years for a place in specialised facilities, or struggling to get more than a couple of hours a week in dedicated units within mainstream schools.

Having waited for a place in a designated facility for three years and with no specialised units available, the parents of one 12-year-old boy in Nantes reported that he was about to enter a regular class for his age group – despite having the reading and writing level of a six year old.

“He has learning difficulties and a class of 30 pupils where you switch teachers and classroom every period would be a true nightmare for a child who needs routine,” they wrote on Unapei’s online platform for sharing personal experiences, Ma Rentrée (“My return to school”).

Reforms promised

Some 470,000 children with disabilities were in education in France at the start of the last school year, according to the Education Ministry, two-thirds of them with learning support – though it does not specify how many hours a week such pupils spend in school.

The government promised in May to launch several new initiatives during the coming school year, including multifunctional “school support centres” where children can access specialised teaching and equipment as well as speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychological support and other services.

The government also pledged to improve training for educators and assign AESH assistants to support children during lunch breaks. 

However, with a caretaker administration in charge after France’s inconclusive parliamentary elections, those reforms are now in doubt.

“We were already worried about various measures that had been in the pipeline for years, and now we’re very concerned, and angry too,” commented Unapei’s Ahehehinnou.

“Under a caretaker government projects risk being put on standby, important projects that were supposed to be implemented from the start of the school year, and other projects will be cancelled. We don’t know who to turn to, or how things are going to go for children who are already in difficulty or for those who are just starting school now.” 

Repeated failings

Activists have slammed France for years over its record on disability issues, ranging from education to transport to health care. 

Last year the Council of Europe, the EU’s human rights watchdog, condemned France for failing to respect fundamental disability rights set out in the European Social Charter, after Unapei and three other associations brought a joint complaint.

Council of Europe rules France violated charter on disabled people’s rights

Since then, there have been high-profile promises but no concrete improvements, the associations say.

Ahehehinnou hopes the Paris Paralympics might finally help focus more attention on the issue.

“Education isn’t a competition, it’s a challenge the state has to meet,” she told RFI. “And they have to do it today, urgently.”

“We can spend up to 44 hours with power,” Kelly Huckaby tells RFI from the outskirts of Lusaka.

Originally from the United States, he has been based in Zambia since 2010 and runs a Christian ministry that hosts camps and conferences for up to 200 children at a time.

A reliable supply of electricity is essential. But the drought that has gripped southern Africa since early this year has led to rolling cuts in a country that relies heavily on hydropower.

For Huckaby, solar is proving the best alternative.

“We have just ordered solar fans, which can provide relief from the heat and also a little light and allow us to charge phones,” he says. 

Not only has he decided to invest in the devices for his own centre, he wants to offer solar lamps and fans to all his employees for Christmas.

Dams run dry

Zambia is going through one of its worst droughts in decades. 

The country declared a national disaster in February, and has since been scaling back energy supply and trying to import electricity from neighbouring countries.

Hydroelectric dams normally provide more than 80 percent of the country’s power, but lie nearly empty after months of dry weather.

The gigantic Kariba Dam on the Zambezi river, Zambia’s largest source of hydroelectricity, has only 10 percent of water available for power generation, according to the Energy Ministry. The power plant it feeds will likely shut down within weeks.

“This year there’s been very little rain in the central and southern parts of the country,” John Keane, CEO of the UK-based charity SolarAid, told RFI from Lusaka. 

“But in the north of the country, there’s been more rain than usual, with flooding. There’s two stark realities: Lake Tanganyika in the north is reportedly at its highest levels since 1964, and in the south, where the Kariba Dam is, that’s extremely low levels.” 

Turning to alternatives

For months now Zambians have been forced to get used to lengthy blackouts, and more are on the way.

Last week the government warned that 14-hour power cuts introduced in July would be extended to 17 hours a day from September, with no end date in sight.

“Energy in particular is an obstacle to everyday life,” said one Lusaka resident who preferred not to be named.

Like others, she has sought ways to adjust to what has become a “new normal”.  

“In my household we are using alternative sources of energy, i.e. the solar lamps and gas for cooking,” she told RFI. “My family in particular, we’re relying a lot on solar energy.”

She’s not alone. According to SunnyMoney Zambia, a social enterprise owned by SolarAid that sells solar lighting in rural communities, sales have increased by more than 540 percent since the beginning of 2024.

“We ordered new containers of lights produced in China” to try to match demand, said SunnyMoney country manager Karla Kanyanga, “as well as a set of solar fans, as temperatures keep on rising”. 

Solar’s potential

Solar advocates hope the trend makes the start of a long-term shift.

“We’ve been campaigning in schools to educate people about solar power for years,” Kanyanga told RFI. “The goal was to promote the use of solar lights in homes, schools and clinics, especially to replace charcoal, gas and candles.” 

Now the drought has highlighted the potential of decentralised energy sources like solar, especially in remote areas. 

“In Zambia and much of sub-Saharan Africa, especially the rural areas, only a very small percentage of the population have access to electricity – we’re talking between two, three, four percent,” said SolarAid’s Keane.

“People are then living in houses without light, without any of the modern electrical appliances that we have grown up with. And that actually makes life pretty difficult.”

As the cost of solar panels drops and battery technology improves, organisations like his say solar is an increasingly affordable and reliable way to switch those households on.

Anglophone Cameroon’s Solar Mamas light the way for rural farmers

Scaling up

Zambia currently has two solar power stations in operation, built by French and Italian investors, and has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to develop further large-scale projects.

The country has long depended on hydroelectricity, mostly produced by a single state-owned company.

Changing weather patterns and extreme events like this year’s drought have exposed how vulnerable it is to shortfall.

Lack of a steady power supply hinders both the economy and food production.

The International Monetary Fund in June revised its projected growth for Zambia’s economy this year downward from 4.7 percent to 2.3 percent because of the drought.

Meanwhile the UN’s World Food Programme has warned that the region-wide drought has worsened food insecurity across the whole of southern Africa.

The next rainy season would normally begin around November, but climate change makes it more difficult to predict the seasons.

Africa’s nuclear dreams a fusion of high hopes and high hurdles

In the 17th century, Parisians frequently swam in the Seine, often in the nude, until authorities banned the practice. By 1923, all urban swimming in the Seine was prohibited for health and safety reasons due to increased river traffic in Paris.

A century later, in the summer of 2025, three sites in the heart of Paris will open for free to experienced swimmers.

These locations will be at Bras Marie, between the Sully and Marie bridges near the Marais on the right bank; at Bras de Grenelle, near the Eiffel Tower on the left bank, between the Grenelle port and the Île aux Cygnes; and upstream at Bercy, around the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir between the Tolbiac and Bercy bridges.

“I really like the idea of swimming in the Seine, having heard about the recent work to clean it,” said Henry Gibbs, a set designer from Bristol, in the UK, who moved to Paris six months ago.

“I’d love it if I was able to swim here,” added his friend James Griffiths, lounging on a deck chair at Bras Marie. in black boxer shorts and a book

Griffiths, a photographer from Bristol now settled in Paris, said: “The most annoying thing in summer is having to travel outside the city, down to the river at Fontainebleau, to go swimming.”

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

Olympic boost

The Paris Olympic Games accelerated the City Hall’s long-term project of making the Seine swimmable. A total of 110 triathletes and 55 marathon swimmers participated in five open-water events held in the river, despite training sessions being cancelled and the men’s triathlon postponed due to heavy rainfall degrading the water quality.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo even dived into the Seine on 17 July to demonstrate that the water quality met Olympic standards.

The Olympics’ success strengthened the resolve of the state, the City of Paris, and others, to make swimming in the Seine a reality by July 2025 during the two-month Paris Plages summer events.

Paris Plages transforms the Seine’s banks and two canal locations into a summer oasis, offering various free activities, deck chairs, and parasols.

“I come to Paris Plages every summer,” said Eliza, an assistant lecturer in Paris. “At the moment, I don’t think I would dive in the Seine. I still feel it might be a little unclean.”

Efforts to improve water quality date back to the 1980s. Today, 34 species of fish thrive in the Seine, compared to only two 40 years ago.

Climate change

With increasing heatwaves, Paris’s initiative to open its waterways to swimming is a sustainable response to global warming and extreme heat.

The three future river swimming spots, along with the two existing sites on the canal, provide a much-needed respite, in summer, for a capital city with over two million residents.

“In other major cities in Europe, you can swim in the rivers. Paris is among the only ones I know where you can’t swim in the middle of the city,” Gibbs said.

“It would be really beneficial if you could do that here in Paris, at Paris Plages.”

Monitoring the river

Opening the Seine to swimmers during summer is a €10 million project subject to strict oversight by authorities before being deemed safe.

Antoine Guillou, Paris’s deputy mayor in charge of sanitation, told RFI ongoing discussions are taking place with the Regional Prefecture and the Regional Agency for Health.

Turning the tide: Olympic organisers hope to make murky Seine swimmable again

“The City of Paris will submit a dossier in the coming months to both institutions. The final word belongs to the Regional Prefecture. It’s the institution which will decide what the conditions will be in order to swim in the Seine in 2025.”

Once approved, Guillou said two types of tests would be regularly conducted.

The first is a laboratory test to assess E. coli and Enterococci bacteria levels – which indicate sewage or faecal pollution in the river – with results available within 24 hours. The second involves using the ColiMinder or Fluidion tool to monitor bacteria levels in the Seine, in real time.

Infrastructure

Swimming areas in the Seine will be different from the four existing pools in the canal, at Bassin de la Villette.

In the canal, water flows naturally into the pools through holes on the sides. The pools, of varying depths, are enclosed with flat floaters at the bottom.

In the Seine, there will be no enclosed pools; the swimming experience is intended to be as “natural” as possible, with lifeguards on duty.

Floaters will mark the boundaries for swimmers while protecting them from the usual river traffic at the Bercy location. Bras Marie and Bras Grenelle locations will be closed to river traffic while opened for swimming.

Layla, a Californian working for a start-up in Paris, remains unconvinced. “I run near Canal Saint Martin sometimes, and I saw people swimming in there one day. To be honest, I found that gross,” she told RFI.

However, she and her friend Eliza said they might “dip their toe in” if they saw others diving into the Seine.

“It’s not every day you get to walk around a museum naked,” said Julie Guegnolle, 38, who was celebrating her birthday at the “Naturist Paradises” exhibition at the Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (Mucem).

Once a month, visitors can explore the displays in only their shoes – a precaution not for modesty’s sake but simply to “avoid getting splinters”, the head of France’s FFN naturist organisation, Eric Stefanut, told French news agency AFP.

Dedicated to the history of naturism in Europe, the exhibition features some 600 photos, paintings, sculptures and other works, including loans from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Louvre and the Swiss National Library in Bern.

The naturist movement sprang up in Switzerland and Germany in the 19th century.

France’s first naturist group emerged in the south-eastern Provence region in 1930 before spreading throughout the country with the help of pioneers such as Christiane Lecocq, co-founder of the first French naturist resort in Montalivet, near Bordeaux.

Her nude black-and-white portrait is among the photos on display.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

Strolling around the galleries clad in a sarong, Guegnolle said she wanted to “do something different” for her birthday.

She and her husband were among 80 visitors in various states of undress one Tuesday in August.

“When we arrived, we felt a bit lost, but it’s not so strange,” Guegnolle said.

Some visitors suffered more culture shock than others, with one couple from south-west England marvelling at the liberated attitudes towards nudity on display.

Kieren Parker-Hall and Xander Parry said discovering the history of naturism while in the nude was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

“There’s not a lot of naturist stuff in England,” said web developer Parker-Hall, 28, adding the practice is “not really accepted”.

Parry, a 30-year-old stained glass maker, agreed. Being naked in Britain is seen as “weird… you should be a bit ashamed of being naked,” he said.

Naturism ‘comes out of the closet’ in France

‘Stronghold of naturism’

Though there is no official ranking, Mucem describes France as “the world’s leading tourist destination” for those who enjoy going nude outdoors.

The southern port city of Marseille, long considered a “stronghold of naturism”, boasts several dedicated centres – due in part to the region’s mild climate, according to Bruno Saurez, head of the local naturist association.

“We’re right on Spain’s heels for the number of visitors to vacation resorts” dedicated to naturists, he said.

Rennes welcomes international naked bike rally, a first in France

But for Christelle Bouyoud, 53, naturism goes further than tourism or the freedom to bare it all. The decision to go nude can be a unifying force for society, she believes.

“When you’re naked, it’s very complicated to face someone on the battlefield,” said Bouyard, a naturist of a decade’s standing.

For the fully clothed and the naked alike, the exhibition runs at Mucem until 9 December.

(with AFP)

On 3 August, two Nepalese agencies signed an accord with a private drone provider to kick off the clean-up service on mountains around Mount Everest.

The deal came after a Chinese DJI FlyCart 30 airlifted 234 kilos of cargo in an hour last April, between Everest’s 5364 metre Base Camp and Camp I which lies six kilometres away.

“It would have taken more than a dozen porters six hours to carry out such a task,” an official said of the Flycart, which is fitted with cameras, radar and can airlift up to 30 kilos in a single sortie.

The firm will reportedly provide free drone service for two years, and the machines will ferry supplies to Camp I and fly back with trash.

According to Jagat Prasad Bhusal, administrator of rural municipality where Mount Everest is located, Nepal will send out the drones next month to Mount Ama Dablam.

He added the battle against litterbugs at the popular Ama Dablam mountain was just the beginning.

Besides Ama Dablam, drones will also deploy to other Himalayan peaks including around a 7861 metre mountain known as Mount Nuptse – some two kilometres from Everest.

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Everest Next

“After the successful test in April, we [also] plan to use drones commercially in the Everest region,” Bhusal added.

“It’s a test. The success means we will use drones in a full-fledged manner to bring garbage from Camp II, next season,” he said.

“We however have not discussed whether drones can be used to transport supplies and logistics… to reduce casualties on the notorious Khumbu Icefall,” he added.

The kilometre-long strip of unstable ice has buried alive at least 50 Sherpas since 1953 including 16 killed in a 2018 avalanche and three more last year.

Mountaineers such as S.P. Malik – who is also the Secretary-General of India’s Sport Climbing Federation – hailed it as a “novel” project but voiced scepticism over its success.

“The success will be limited because many don’t bother about their climbing gear while returning,” Malik told RFI in Delhi.

“In fact, people must not just account for their gear but carry back stuff abandoned by others,” said Malik.

‘Leave No Trace’

Experts say manual trash collection from great heights poses a risk because of the unforgiving conditions.

Nepal estimates up to 50 tonnes of frozen trash including tents, oxygen tanks and ropes litter Mount Everest, as well as some 200 frozen bodies.

The country’s army brought down 119 tons of refuse and 14 corpses in annual clean-ups launched by the military in 2019.

In February, Nepal ordered climbers to bring back their excrement and said those scaling Everest – and two other designated peaks – must return with eight kilos of used gear.

Those on Ama Dablam are required to descend with three kilos of waste in line with a “Leave No Trace” policy in Nepal.

That the S13 world record holder Ihar Boki claimed the spoils to add the prize to his golds in the 100m butterfly and the 100m backstroke seemed irrelevant to the 13,000 partisans around the pool.

Alex Portal led for most of the race for swimmers with visual impairments. Boki went ahead of the 22-year-old Frenchman just before the turn for 350m and the 30-year-old Belarusian surged clear in the final 50m to take the course in three minutes, 58.37 seconds and rack up a 19th gold medal over four Paralympic Games.

Portal was nearly two seconds behind the legend. His 17-year-old brother pipped Kyrylow Garashchenko to the bronze to the delight of the flag-waving French fans.

Challenge

“I said to myself: ‘This is my moment. In front of the Paris crowd, I’m obliged to do the 50m of my life.’ said Kylian Portal.

“And I think that’s what I did. I managed to get this bronze medal.”

Kylian added: “Each time I win a medal, I have the feeling that Alex is prouder for me than he is for himself when he wins.”

Their father, Frédéric, was simply delighted.

“We would never have believed that the two of them would be on the same podium,” he told RFI. “It was magical.”

On Friday, Alex Portal claimed bronze in the 100m backstroke and silver – behind Boki – on Thursday in the 100m butterfly.

“Only Alex or Kylian on the podium would have been tough,” added Frédéric Portal; “But I’m extremely proud. Before the race, the most important thing for me was that they were not disappointed at the end.”

Reward

It was an otherwise barren third night of competition for French swimmers. However, their British rivals excelled winning three of the night’s 15 finals.

Stephen Clegg started the ParalympicsGB gold rush in the men’s 100m backstroke S12.

The 28-year-old finished in a world record time of 59.02 seconds.

William Ellard won the S14 men’s 200m freestyle also with a world best of one minute, 51.30 seconds. Nicholas Bennett from Canada was second and Jack Ireland from Australia claimed the bronze.

Three years after claiming bronze in the S10 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Paralympics, Alice Tai won gold over the same distance in the S8 class at the Paris Games.

Tai, 25, completed her race in one minute, 09.06 seconds. Viktoriia Ishchiulova was some six seconds behind in second and Mira Jeanne Maack from Germany was third.

The United States picked up two golds and Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo won his second gold of the Games for Brazil.

On Thursday the 22-year-old won the men’s 100m S2 backstroke. On Saturday night, he claimed the 50m S2 backstroke in 50.93 seconds.

Published every five years, this latest analysis paints a grim picture of the world’s largest coral reef system, which is struggling to recover from its fifth mass bleaching event in eight years.  

Despite a slight improvement in the condition of some fast-growing coral species, the reef’s overall prospects remain “very poor”, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said in its 600-page report. 

“While recent recovery in some ecosystem values demonstrates that the reef is still resilient, its capacity to tolerate and recover is jeopardised by a rapidly changing climate,” it said, emphasising that any recovery is fragile at best. 

The assessment lays bare the worsening condition of the reef, driven by rising ocean temperatures, severe tropical cyclones and the increasing frequency of mass coral bleaching events. 

Rising threats 

Bleaching occurs when heat-stressed corals expel the symbiotic algae that lives within them, leading to a ghostly white appearance and, in many cases, death. 

Marine scientists in June told RFI of their deep concern for the survival of corals of the Unesco heritage-listed site, given that species typically resistant to bleaching are now also struggling.  

The GBRMPA report confirms their fears, showing that the recent marine heatwave, which brought sea surface temperatures to a peak of 2.5°C above average, has caused unprecedented damage across all three regions – northern, central and southern – of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Earlier this year, Neal Cantin of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, who led a team of researchers conducting aerial surveys along the 2,300-kilometre length of the reef, told RFI 2024 had delivered the worst bleaching event on record. 

Almost two-thirds of the reef was struck, including the southern third, an area previously thought to be more resilient due to its typically cooler waters.  

Great Barrier Reef bleaching crisis ‘like a bushfire underwater’

Warmest oceans 

The repeated bleaching of Australia’s reef comes as the warmest ocean temperatures in history, fuelled by El Nino, drive an ongoing mass bleaching of the world’s corals. Experts say more than 60 percent are suffering. 

They have described bleaching events as “underwater bushfires”, reflecting the catastrophic impact on coral reefs – often described as the rainforests of the sea due to their incredible biodiversity. 

However, the GBRMPA said that climate change was not the only threat bearing down on the Great Barrier Reef.  

Unsustainable fishing practices, pollution from coastal development, sediment runoff from agriculture and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish were combined pressures found to be severely degrading water quality and further diminishing the reef’s health. 

France to map genes of underwater species to help protect its vast sea life

Final neon glow 

The report also sheds light on a phenomenon observed during severe bleaching events: corals sometimes emit a vibrant, final burst of colour – bright pinks, blues and greens – as they struggle to survive.  

This dramatic display is a last, desperate attempt to stave off death. Despite the initial burst of brilliance, the majority of corals that experience severe bleaching do not recover. 

A survey from Australia’s Lizard Island, in the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, revealed that over 97 percent of the fluorescing corals had perished just three months after heavy bleaching.

Known for its vibrant marine biodiversity and typically clear waters, the island is now a barometer of the reef’s broader health crisis and the devastating impact of prolonged thermal stress. 

Monaco’s ‘virtual dive’ of Australia’s Barrier Reef encourages ocean protection

Call for action 

The GBRMPA warns that without substantial global efforts to reduce emissions, the Great Barrier Reef will continue to deteriorate, with its window for recovery rapidly closing.  

It stresses the urgent need for governments – including Australia, a major exporter of fossil fuels – to address greenhouse gas emissions, enhance conservation efforts, combat starfish outbreaks and restore damaged ecosystems. 

“Future warming already locked into the climate system means that further degradation is inevitable,” the report said. “This is the sobering calculus of climate change.”

Many of the works selected for the annual photo festival in Perpignan, now in its 36th year, have to do with exclusion, poverty and life on the margins.

“When we hear Trump or Orban speeches and all these populists who make exclusion a key part of their programmes, we think it’s important to draw the public’s attention to that,” Jean-François Leroy, the festival’s director, told French news agency AFP.

Poverty across borders

A multi-year reportage by Pierre Faure explores the theme of poverty in France, while Karen Ballard and Brenda Ann Kenneally look at the decline of the American empire – photographing the other side of Venice Beach, California, or the misery of a working-class family in New York State.

Other photographers turn their lens on walls built to keep out or repel others.

Alejandro Cegarra captures the barriers encountered by migrants in Mexico, while Mugur Varzariu spotlights the segregation of Roma people in Romania.

Leroy praised the “varied” and “heterogeneous” view of events offered by the photographers.

Even after 36 years, he said, “I’m always pleasantly surprised by the proposals I receive”.

Photographs lift the lid on Japan’s underground 1950s tattoo scene

Capturing conflict

Other series present scenes from some of the year’s most intense conflicts.

Anastasia Taylor-Lind’s images show life a few miles from the front in Ukraine, Corentin Fohlen captures the shock of gang violence on the streets of Haiti, and John Moore photographs the merciless war waged on drug traffickers in Ecuador.

The festival has also reserved a special place for the Middle East, riven by the Israel-Hamas conflict since the attacks of 7 October 2023, with two exhibitions on Gaza and the West Bank.

Frozen in time: reviving 19th-century technique to photograph Ukraine war

Elsewhere, the focus is on the year’s biggest sporting event: the Paris Olympics. Some of the most memorable images taken by AFP’s roughly 70 photographers bring the Games back to life. 

From 2 to 7 September, eight Visa d’Or awards will be presented, including the top prize for news reporting, as well as four grants and six other prizes to support the work of photojournalists.

(with AFP)

► Visa pour l’Image runs from 31 August to 15 September 2024.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan described August’s second round of indirect talks in Ankara between his Ethiopian and Somali counterparts as constructive and positive.

“We were able to focus on the details and technicalities of concrete steps that are important convergences on some major principles and specific modalities”, Fidan said.

“This constitutes notable progress.”

While there was no breakthrough, all sides agreed to meet again in September.

Controversial deal 

Ethiopian-Somali tensions have escalated since January, when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia.

Under the agreement, Ethiopia would secure sea access in exchange for recognising Somaliland, a deal condemned by Somalia as an infringement on its territorial integrity.

“Ethiopia needs access to a coastline”, said Dubai-based geopolitical consultant Norman Ricklefs.

“It’s the second-largest country in Africa. It’s a booming economy. And, somehow, that deal needs to be made, but it’s not going to be easy because of the previous deal earlier this year with Somaliland.”

Ricklefs predicts that finding a solution will require considerable diplomatic finesse.

“It’s not going to be easy to convince the Somalis to grant that [Ethiopian demands], feeling that they’re under pressure right now because of the deal that was previously done with Somaliland,” he said.

“But I think Turkey is probably best placed, as they have a very close relationship with both Ethiopia and Somalia.”

Somalia recently threatened to block access to Ethiopian Airlines in the latest bout of diplomatic tensions. Meanwhile, Egypt could reportedly deploy soldiers to Somalia, a move that threatens to further escalate and broaden tensions, given existing Ethiopian-Egyptian conflicts.

Ethiopia and Somalia move closer to resolving Somaliland dispute

Deepening influence

The situation between Somalia and Ethiopia is expected to be discussed during Wednesday’s summit in Turkey, where Egyptian President Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to meet.

Africa expert Elem Eyrice-Tepecikoglu from the African studies department of Ankara’s Social Sciences University said Turkey’s historical and deepening economic and military ties with both Somalia and Ethiopia give it an advantageous position in its mediating efforts.

“Somalia has a very important place in Turkey’s Africa policy. Turkey has established its largest embassy in Somalia’s capital, and it also established its largest military training facility, again in Somalia,” said Tepecikoglu.

“But Turkey also has old and established relations with Ethiopia as well. There are several investments of Turkish companies in the country, and Turkey also signed a military cooperation agreement with Ethiopia. Reportedly, Turkish drones were used against the Tigray rebel forces.”

Growing military buildup in Azerbaijan and Armenia a concern for peace talks

Economic, military stakes

Earlier this year, the Somali parliament ratified a naval agreement with Turkey to protect its territorial waters and a deal to search for hydrocarbons. Turkey is second only to China in investment in Ethiopia, including selling its military-proven drones.

Analysts suggest that there is more than diplomatic prestige at stake for Ankara in resolving Ethiopian-Somali tensions, given the region’s potential and geostrategic importance as a critical world trading route.

“There’s a reason why the Horn of Africa has American military bases and Chinese military bases. The Japanese even have a base in that area. All of them think the Horn of Africa is a pretty significant region for global shipping,” Ricklefs said.

“It’s a region that has not been developed. It has hydrocarbon resources and other resources like agricultural resources that have not been developed and would need networks and infrastructure that a country like Turkey could provide if there was security and stability.”

Ethiopian and Somali talks are set to resume in September. Success would underline Turkey’s growing influence in a region of increasing international competition, while failure could threaten two decades of Turkish investment in the region.

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 6 July, I asked you a question about France’s snap legislative elections, called by President Emmanuel Macron after his centrist party was severely trounced by the far-right National Rally Party in the European legislative elections.

The first round of voting was on 30 June; voter turnout was quite high. You were to consult RFI English journalist Jessica Phelan’s article “The three-way factor that makes France’s election results so unusual” and send in the answer to these two questions: What was voter turnout on Sunday 30 June, and in which year was it last that high? 

The answer is: As Jessica wrote in her article: “The last three parliamentary elections have seen turnout of roughly 48 percent (2022), 49 percent (2017) and 57 percent (2012) in the first round, which effectively meant parties had to win a higher share of ballots cast to get across the threshold.

On the 30th of June turnout reached almost 67 percent – its highest since 1997.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Given unlimited resources, what scientific or medical problem would you investigate, and why?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Lata Akhter Jahan from Bogura, Bangladesh. Lata is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Lata, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, the president of the Kemogemba RFI Club in Tarima, Tanzania, and Nirupa Bain, a member of the RFI Pariwer Bandhu Shortwave Club in Chhattisgarh, India.

Last but not least, two RFI Listeners Club members: Sakawat Hossain from Sylhet, Bangladesh, and Solomon Fessahazion from Asmara, Eritrea.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, arranged for marimba ensemble by Fumito Nunoya and performed by the Nunoya Marimba Ensemble; “I’ve Got Rhythm” by George Gershwin, performed by Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and  “Un jour tu verras” by Georges van Parys and Marcel Mouloudji, sung by Mouloudji.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Paralympic torch arrives in France ahead of opening ceremony”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 23 September to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 28 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,  

Azerbaijan showcased its military might in a grand parade in Baku last year to celebrate its victory in recapturing the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave from Armenian-backed forces.

Azerbaijan, buoyed by its oil wealth, is continuing its aggressive rearmament programme, heavily relying on Turkey for military support.

“The Turkish defence industry and Turkish military equipment will be providing further arms to protect Azerbaijan,” predicts Huseyin Bagci, a professor of international relations at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.”

However, Bagci noted that Azerbaijan is also turning to another ally for advanced weaponry.

“Israel is much better in this respect. Azerbaijan buys the highest technology from Israel, and Israel is providing it.”

Turkish and Israeli arms played a crucial role in Azerbaijan’s recent military successes, overwhelming Armenian-backed forces that relied on outdated Russian equipment.

Armenia’s response

In response to its loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia is also ramping up its military capabilities, with France leading the supply of new, sophisticated weaponry.

Paris argues that this support helps Armenia shift its focus away from Russian reliance and towards Western alliances.

Yerevan maintains that its rearmament is purely for self-defence.

“Right now, there is no military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” says Eric Hacopian, a political consultant in Armenia.

“The goal is to create deterrents to make any aggression against Armenia more costly. In the medium term, we aim for equality, and in the long term, superiority.”

Stalled peace talks

The rearmament comes amid stalled peace talks, with Baku concerned that Yerevan’s military buildup might indicate ambitions to retake Nagorno Karabakh.

“The truth is our territory was under occupation, so we worry that in five, 10 years, Armenia will rearm its military, strengthen military capacities, and will come back,” warned Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Centre of Analysis of International Relations.

Yerevan maintains that its rearmament is purely for self-defence.

“Right now, there is no military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The goal is to create deterrents in the short run to make any aggression against Armenia far more costly than it has been in the past,” says Eric Hacopian, a political consultant in Armenia.

“Two is to create equality in the middle term and in the long term superiority. You can’t have any other goal when your country is constantly under threat, or attack is the only way to respond to it.”

Hacopian also notes: “The moment Armenia can defend itself, then the game is up because Ilham Aliyev is not going to risk a war that he is not guaranteed to win; Armenia rearming means he is not guaranteed to win a war which he means he won’t launch one.”

However, Hacopian acknowledges that the coming year will be dangerous for the region as Yerevan seeks to close the military gap with Azerbaijan.

“Next year is the year of living dangerously because next year is the last year that they can do a major aggression against Armenia without having to face the consequences because the gap is closing. Once it closes, the game will be up,” he says.

Ongoing tensions

Earlier this month, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces exchanged fire in a border skirmish, underscoring the ongoing tensions between the two nations.

Both Baku and Yerevan insist their military enhancements are for defensive purposes.

However, Bagci warns that the arms race is turning the region into a potential flashpoint.

“Armenia and Azerbaijan are like two children; they play with fire, and the house is burning, and everybody is asking the big powers why the house is burning and who has done it. They have done it together,” he says.

Despite their rearmament, both Armenia and Azerbaijan claim to remain committed to the US-backed peace process.

Analysts, however, warn that the escalating arms race could deepen mutual suspicions and further complicate efforts to achieve lasting peace.

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.

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.