Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region, was freed on 23 November 1944 by General Leclerc and France’s Second Armoured Division, several months after the D-Day landings in June and the liberation of Paris in August.

During a desert campaign in Kufra, Libya, in 1941, Leclerc had vowed to retake Strasbourg, swearing: “Swear to lay down your arms only when our colours, our beautiful colours, once again float over Strasbourg Cathedral.”

His words are now inscribed on a memorial in Place Broglie, where Macron will attend a ceremony after laying a wreath at Place de la République.

The city is hosting a series of 80th anniversary commemorative events, including “dancing battalions” performed by 190 participants, a reenactment of the flag raising on the cathedral, and evening concerts.

Paris commemorates 80th anniversary of liberation from German occupation

At the time of its liberation, Alsace was under Nazi control, having been annexed – along with Moselle – by the Reich in 1940. The region was treated as German territory, unlike the rest of France, which was under occupation.

Adolf Hitler ordered fierce resistance when Allied troops reached the area. However, French forces surprised the Germans by entering Strasbourg at dawn on 23 November. The German military governor surrendered the next day.

“Inhabitants of Strasbourg, the spire of your cathedral has remained our obsession. The invader will not return,” Leclerc declared on 24 November.

The city faced danger again in January 1945 during Operation Northwind, Germany’s final major offensive on the Western Front. It wasn’t until March 1945 that Alsace was declared free, several months after much of France had been liberated.

Remembering D-Day’s heavy toll on French civilians

Tribute

Macron will also visit the village of Natzwiller, home to the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in the foothills of Vosges mountains.

The camp received its first inmates in May 1941, who were put to work at a local quarry and dismantling aircraft engines.

From 1943, so-called “Nacht und Nebel” (Night and Fog) detainees from Western Europe – arrested under the December 1941 decree of that name which allowed German authorities to arbitrarily detain individuals deemed to be “endangering German society” – were sent to Natzweiler-Struthof.

These included people politically opposed to the Nazi Party, homosexuals and Jews.

France honours overlooked heroes of 1944 Provence landings, 80 years on

Of the 50,000 prisoners interned at the camp and its annexes, “17,000 died or disappeared, notably during the death marches of spring 1945, which makes a death rate of around 40 percent,” according to historian Cédric Neveu.

On 25 November, 1944, two days after the liberation of Strasbourg, American soldiers found the camp deserted.

Until 1949, it was used as an internment site for collaborators, then as a penitentiary centre, before becoming a memorial, visited each year by more than 200,000 people.

(with newswires)

The warrants – issued late Thursday – mark the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are accused of “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and targeting civilians during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif is accused of war crimes, including orchestrating the October attack on Israel and “sexual and gender-based violence” against hostages.

Israel said it killed Deif in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The ICC‘s 124 member states must arrest suspects on their territory, though the court has no power to enforce this.

France backs ICC after arrest warrant for Israeli, Hamas leaders

Mixed reactions

The ICC decision has sparked starkly different reactions across the globe. US President Joe Biden condemned the move, calling it “outrageous.”

He said: “There is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

European countries have, for the most part, expressed their willingness to fall in line with the court’s decision.

France offered a measured response, acknowledging the court’s independence but declining to comment on potential enforcement.

“True to its long-standing commitment to supporting international justice, it reiterates its attachment to the independent work of the court,” the foreign ministry said.

But Christophe Lemoine, a ministry spokesman declined to say whether France would arrest Netanyahu if he came to the country, saying it was “legally complex”.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell defended the court’s authority, stating: “It is a decision of a court of justice… and has to be respected.”

Austria rejected the warrants as “absurd”, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a staunch ally of Netanyahu, described them as “outrageously impudent” and invited the Israeli leader to visit Hungary.

Hungary holds the European Union‘s rotating presidency and Orban is one of Israel’s closest partners in the 27-country bloc. He is also the only EU leader to have maintained close ties with Vladimir Putin after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Netanyahu on Friday thanked Orban for showing “moral clarity” and “standing by the side of justice and truth”.

He denounced the ICC’s actions as “anti-Semitic” and “absurd and false”, rejecting all allegations. Israeli officials have firmly denied the charges.

Hamas, meanwhile, welcomed the move as a step towards justice. Senior official Basem Naim said it was “an important step” but warned that it must be “backed practically by all countries” to have real impact.

UN rapporteur says Israel’s war in Gaza is ’emptying the land completely’

Historical ties

France and Germany, mindful of their historical ties to Israel, are treading carefully.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reiterated Berlin’s support for the ICC, calling it a product of “German history”.

However, he acknowledged that Germany’s unique relationship with Israel demands careful consideration of the warrant’s implications.

“At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations with and a great responsibility towards Israel,” Hebestreit said in a statement.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said they were examining exactly what the warrant means for “implementation in Germany”.

In France, Israeli ambassador Joshua Zarka criticised the ICC decision as “entirely arbitrary” and urged President Emmanuel Macron to reject it.

“This decision to equate a democratic country with a terrorist organisation is an offence to all victims of this war, whether Israeli or Palestinian,” Zarka said.

Meanwhile South Africa praised the ICC’s actions as “a significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine.”

The country is also pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which it claims violates the UN Genocide Convention.

As nations around the world continue to weigh in on the ICC warrants, chief prosecutor Karim Khan urged the body’s members to act on them, and for non-members to work together in “upholding international law”.

Of the 56 warrants issued since the creation of the ICC in 2002, only 21 have been executed.

At the Cop29 talks in Azerbaijan, developing nations are demanding a bigger commitment from historic polluters most responsible for warming, but rich countries insist that massive financial pledges are not politically realistic.

In a draft text revealed hours before two weeks of fraught bargaining were set to end, Azerbaijan said wealthy nations had committed to providing $250 billion a year by 2035.

The text also sets an ambitious overall target to raise at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 from not only developed countries but the private sector.

But a red line for many climate-imperilled nations at Cop29 had been securing a new commitment from developed nations well above their existing pledge of $100 billion a year.

‘Inadequate’

The new target “is totally unacceptable and inadequate”, said Ali Mohamed, chair of the African Group of Negotiators.

“$250 billion will lead to unacceptable loss of life in Africa and around the world, and imperils the future of our world,” he said.

The Alliance of Small Island Developing States, for which climate change is an existential threat, said the target showed “contempt for our vulnerable people”.

But the United States signalled it was not looking to negotiate a higher figure. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in two months and is expected to pull the world’s largest economy again out of climate diplomacy.

Plastic-eating mealworms found in Kenya offer hope for waste crisis

“It has been a significant lift over the past decade to meet the prior, smaller goal. $250 billion will require even more ambition and extraordinary reach,” said a senior US official, whose team in Baku comes from outgoing President Joe Biden‘s administration.

Germany, a longtime leader on climate where elections are due next year, said any final deal was inevitable to include debt restructuring and other financial tools to raise the money, not just government money.

Europe wants to “live up to its responsibilities, but also in a way that it doesn’t make promises it can’t live up to”, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters.

Cop29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev said negotiations would press on and that $250 billion “doesn’t correspond to our fair and ambitious goal”.

Less than needed

Activists point to studies that show that far more is needed for poor countries, which bear little responsibility but are disproportionately affected by record-high temperatures and rising disasters.

Jasper Inventor from Greenpeace called the $250 billion offer “inadequate, divorced from the reality of climate impacts and outrageously below the needs of developing countries”.

But Avinash Persaud, special advisor on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said that the offer showed the talks were “within sight of a landing zone” for the first time.

“There is no deal to come out of Baku that will not leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth,” said the former advisor to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

The United States and European Union have wanted newly wealthy emerging economies like China – the world’s largest emitter – to chip into the pot.

French NGO calls for international protection zone for whale sharks

China, which remains classified as a developing nation under the UN framework, provides climate assistance but wants to keep doing so on its own voluntary terms.

Apart from splits over money, many nations fear the climate deal in negotiation does not reflect the urgency on phasing out coal, oil and gas – the main drivers of global warming.

Last year’s Cop28 summit in Dubai made a landmark call on the world to transition away from fossil fuels after long negotiations in Dubai.

But a Saudi official speaking on behalf of the Arab Group said the bloc would “not accept any text that targets any specific sectors, including fossil fuel” in Baku.

Top German diplomat Baerbock singled out Saudi Arabia and warned that its goal was “turning back the clock”.

Criticism of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, an authoritarian state that relies on oil and gas exports, has been accused of lacking the experience and bandwidth to steer such large and complex negotiations.

“This is the worst Cop in recent memory,” said Mohamed Adow of the Climate Action Network.

The EU had also called for stronger leadership from Azerbaijan, whose leader, Ilham Aliyev, opened the conference by railing against Western nations and hailing fossil fuels as a “gift of God”.

The annual UN-led climate talks come on what is already poised to be the hottest year in history and as disasters rise around the world.

Just since the start of Cop29 on November 11, deadly storms have battered the Philippines and Honduras, while Ecuador has declared a national emergency due to drought and forest fires and Spain has been reeling after historic floods.

Sources told RFI that plainclothes security officers took Sansal, 75, from his car in Dar El Beida, east of the capital, shortly after he travelled to Algiers international airport from France. They said he was being held in police custody.

Family members and local media say he has not answered his phone for six days.

He is reportedly awaiting a summons before the public prosecutor in either Algiers or his hometown of Boumerdès, 50 kilometres away.

While the specific charges remain unclear, the writer could face accusations of “undermining national unity” – a crime that carries a prison sentence under Algerian law.

Sansal obtained French nationality earlier this year, and French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “very concerned” about the writer’s disappearance.

“The services of the state are mobilised to clarify his situation,” Macron’s office said. The president “expresses his unfailing attachment to the freedom of a great writer and intellectual”.

Algeria recalls Paris ambassador over airing of ‘revolution’ documentaries

Openly critical

Sansal is known for his defence of free speech and his criticism of Algeria’s government. His debut novel, The Oath of the Barbarians, examined the rise of fundamentalists who helped drive the country into a brutal civil war between 1992 and 2002, claiming at least 200,000 lives.

His 2015 dystopian novel 2084: The End of the World, a critique on the alleged Islamisation of France, won the Grand Prix du Roman from the Académie Française.

While his books are available in Algeria, the author remains controversial there, particularly after a 2014 visit to Israel, which drew sharp criticism from Algerian authorities.

While the writer’s arrest has not yet been officially announced, sources say the criminal proceedings brought against him are linked to recent statements made to the far-right French media outlet Frontières.

Sansal is quoted as saying: “When France colonised Algeria, the entire western part of Algeria was part of Morocco: Tlemcen, Oran and even as far as Mascara. This whole region was part of the kingdom.”

The comments, widely circulated in Morocco, will likely have angered Algiers.

Sansal’s arrest comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria. Algeria recently recalled its ambassador from Paris after France recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region.

“Boualem Sansal’s views on the Algerian regime are well known, he’s highly critical,” political analyst Arnaud Benedetti told RFI.

Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler

Wave of support

A number of mainly right-wing French politicians have expressed concern and support for Sansal.

“He embodies everything we cherish: the call for reason, freedom and humanism against censorship, corruption and Islamism,” said former prime minister Edouard Philippe.

Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the conservative Republicans party, said France should use all means to push for the release of the “great writer Boualem Sansal”.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally described him as a “freedom fighter and courageous opponent of Islamism”.

Sansal faces potential charges of “undermining national unity” and “inciting division within the country.” These allegations are punishable by prison sentences under Algeria’s penal code.

Sansal is not the only writer facing scrutiny.

French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud, winner of the latest Prix Goncourt, is also under investigation in Algeria, accused of exploiting a civil war survivor’s story in his latest novel.

Ambassador Antoine Michon faced Haiti’s foreign minister on Thursday over what officials called “unfriendly and inappropriate” comments made by Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.

Macron was caught on camera criticising the Caribbean country’s decision to oust the prime minister earlier this month.

“Frankly, it’s the Haitians who have destroyed Haiti by letting in drug trafficking,” he said while speaking to a bystander about Haiti’s political and humanitarian crisis.

“They are completely dumb, they should never have fired him,” he added, describing the former prime minister as “great”.

The comments referred to Garry Conille, who was removed on 10 November after five months in office amid worsening gang warfare. He was replaced by entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

Haiti’s transitional presidential council expressed “indignation at what it considers unfriendly and inappropriate remarks which ought to be rectified” in a statement seen by France’s AFP news agency.

The council said it would file a formal protest with France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, the French ambassador acknowledged the remarks were “unfortunate”, the Haitian Foreign Ministry said.

Speaking later in Chile, Macron appeared to moderate his position. “France will never turn its face from a crisis … There will never be a double standard in face of tragedy, be it in Haiti, Venezuela or at the gates of Europe,” he said.

More than 700,000 people are displaced in Haiti, according to the UN

French-Haitian relations

France has a complex relationship with Haiti, which gained independence in 1804 after a successful slave revolt.

The country later paid France a “debt” for lost property – including slaves – that activists estimate at over $100 billion. Many believe this debt has contributed to Haiti’s persistent economic and political struggles, with calls for reparations continuing today.

Haiti remains in crisis, with more than 700,000 people displaced by gang violence, according to the UN.

A history of violence: Haiti’s revolution, collapse and descent into anarchy

The nation’s leadership has been wracked by infighting and three members of the transitional presidential council – tasked with restoring security and paving the way for elections – have been accused of corruption. They remain in their posts.

France has pledged 4 million euros to a UN fund financing a deeply under-resourced security mission mandated to help restore security in Haiti, as well as funding for French and Creole classes for its troops.

The Haitian Foreign Ministry said Michon assured officials that France would remain committed to helping Haiti improve security and hold elections.

(with newswires)

Gunfire erupted on Thursday evening in Juba, the capital of the world’s youngest country that is plagued by power struggles, ethnic infighting and a deep economic malaise.

The shooting around the home of Koor, who was fired by President Salva Kiir in early October and then placed under house arrest, lasted about an hour, according to an AFP journalist.

There was a heavy deployment of military forces around his home in the Thongpiny district on Friday, an AFP correspondent said, but traffic has resumed and people are going about their daily business.

The Sudans Post newspaper had cited a military source as saying Koor had been arrested after intense fighting that reportedly left dozens of his soldiers dead or wounded.

But South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesman Lul Ruai Koang told AFP that “he remains at his house”, denying claims circulating on social media that Koor had fled to the UN compound in Juba.

South Sudan postpones elections, extends transitional period

‘Misunderstanding’

Police spokesman John Kassara said the situation was now calm but that Thongpiny remained sealed off and residents “should remain vigilant”.

In an alert to its staff on the ground on Thursday, the United Nations in South Sudan had said the shooting was linked to the arrest of the former spymaster and advised people to take cover.

Koor became head of the feared National Security Services (NSS) after South Sudan’s independence in 2011 but was sacked in October leading to widespread speculation he had been planning to overthrow Kiir.

Koang had said on Thursday the shooting involved “our own security forces that had been deployed there to provide extra security”.

He said there was a “misunderstanding” between two levels of security providing protection at Koor’s home.

UN Security Council extends South Sudan arms embargo

“We do not know what had happened and that misunderstanding degenerated into gunfire,” Koang said, adding that two servicemen were shot and wounded in the fighting before the situation was contained.

Koor’s sacking came just two weeks after the government again postponed by two years, to December 2026, the first elections in the nation’s history.

The delay has exasperated the international community, which has been pressing the country’s leaders to complete a transitional process, including unifying rival armed forces and drawing up a constitution.

South Sudan has struggled to recover from a brutal civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and his now deputy Riek Machar from 2013 to 2018 that killed about 400,000 people and drove millions from their homes.

It remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on the planet and continues to be plagued by chronic instability and climate disasters.

“I really like the Parc, everyone does,” al-Khelaifi told French broadcaster RMC during a lavish gala for the inauguration of the PSG Campus in Poissy, 30km to the north-west of the Parc des Princes.

“If I listen to my heart, we’re not leaving the Parc,” the 51-year-old added. “But all the big teams in Europe have stadiums with 80,000, 90,000 seats.

“We need that too, otherwise we’re dead.”

Time

The Parc des Princes, which is owned by Paris city council, was built in 1897 in the form of a velodrome and revamped in 1972.

The 48,000-seat capacity stadium has housed PSG since 1974 and also doubled up as the venue for France international rugby and football matches until the construction of the Stade de France for the 1998 football World Cup.

Since Qatar Sports Investment group bought PSG in 2011, it has spent billions of euros bringing in some of the best players and coaches to the club. 

Fired by the talents of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, PSG has claimed 10 of the past 12 Ligue 1 championships. It has also won seven Coupe de France crowns and six Coupe de la Ligue titles over the same period.

But city councillors have refused to sell the venue, claiming the ground forms part of Paris’s sporting and cultural heritage.

Sale

“A sale is not desirable, because that would be a decision with no turning back,” said Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor for sports. “That’s why we have to rule out the sale of the park. We don’t want to sell off the city’s legacy.”

PSG executives came under fire from diehard fans at the end of 2023 for considering a move to the 80-000 seat Stade de France. It is understood PSG executives are considering three sites, including one near the campus.

“The club needs to build a new stadium as quickly as possible,” al-Khelaifi added.

“We need a stadium ready in three to four years. We have no time to lose, otherwise we are behind other clubs in Europe.”

However, for their 12th game of the 2024/25 season, PSG are six points ahead of second-placed Monaco, who play at Brest in Friday’s early evening kick-off.

PSG face a resurgent Toulouse side who have shaken off a ragged start to the season to collect 10 from a possible 12 points.

Toulouse striker Joshua King, who has scored three times in the past four games, told the Ligue 1 website: “When you arrive at a new club, especially at the end of the transfer window, you need a bit of time to settle. That’s normal and it’s what I said a few days before scoring for the first time.” 

PSG boss Luis Enrique’s search for a reliable marksman following the departure of Mbappé received a boost this week with the return to squad training of the Portugal striker Gonçalo Ramos who has been out with an ankle injury sustained in the opening game against Le Havre in August.

“He’s doing very well already and is in the final phase of recovery.” said Enrique. “He just needs to sharpen up so he can play in matches.”

A research team in Kenya found that larvae of the lesser mealworm – a beetle species from the Alphitobius genus – can consume the widely used packaging material when combined with other nutrients.

Polystyrene is a plastic material widely used in food, electronic and industrial packaging, and is difficult to break down.

The discovery was made by researchers led by Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, a senior scientist with the Plant Health Theme, at the Icipe research centre in Duduville, near Nairobi.

The team had been studying insects as potential food sources.

Surprise find

Khamis told RFI the team unexpectedly spotted the insect in their chicken coop litter. It resembled the yellow mealworm found in Europe and the United States, already known to eat plastic.

“We identified it using molecular tools, and, since it is a close relative of the yellow mealworm, we decided to test if it could feed on plastic,” Khamis said. 

To confirm their theory, the researchers fed the larvae on three different diets over a month-long trial: polystyrene alone, bran alone, and a mixture of both.

Ghana grapples with crisis caused by world’s throwaway fashion

Larvae given both polystyrene and bran survived better and ate more plastic than those fed polystyrene only. The combined diet group broke down nearly 12 percent of their total polystyrene intake.

So are the worms actually “eating” the plastic?

“Yes, these insects are digesting it; they are feeding on it … and surviving on it. When you introduce the bran, it increased the survival level because of course it has other nutrients,” Khamis explained.

Role of gut bacteria

The real breakthrough may lie not just in the mealworms themselves, but in the bacteria in their guts. Analysis showed significant changes in the larvae’s gut bacteria depending on their diet.

Larvae fed on polystyrene had higher levels of bacteria like proteobacteria and firmicutes, known for their ability to adapt to various environments and break down complex substances.

Other bacteria, including kluyvera and klebsiella, were also abundant and are capable of producing enzymes that digest synthetic plastics.

“It is possible that mealworms might not naturally have the ability to eat plastic but that, instead, the bacteria in their guts might change when they start eating plastic, to help break it down,” said Khamis.

This raises the possibility of isolating these bacteria and their enzymes to create large-scale solutions for plastic waste.

Waste crisis

By studying these natural plastic-eaters, the team hopes to create new tools that will get rid of plastic waste faster and more efficiently.

Khamis believes the lesser mealworm’s discovery is particularly important for Africa, where plastic waste is a growing problem due to high imports, low re-use, and limited recycling infrastructure.

Traditional recycling methods – like chemical and thermal processing – are expensive and can create other pollutants.

“The insects and environmental conditions in Africa may differ from those in other parts of the world,” she said, suggesting that the findings could lead to solutions tailored to African settings.

What’s needed to make that happen, Khamis concludes, is more funding from both the public and private sectors.

In March 2022, Ephrem Fidèle Yalike Ngonzo was sitting in the back of a 4×4 which suddenly veered off a road on the outskirts of the CAR’s capital, Bangui, and plunged into the forest. 

When it came to a stop, a white man named Michel drew a gun and warned Yalike: “I’m only going to repeat myself once. If you lie to me, I’ll kill you right here.”

This confrontation came two and a half years after Yalike began collaborating with Russia’s information service in the CAR.

He had opted for a career as a journalist over the priesthood, studying law and international relations at the Bangui seminary and going on to work for news site Le Potentiel Centrafricain.

This pro-government publication covered events organised by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which began operating in the CAR in early 2018.

Yalike’s journey into his collaboration with Moscow began when he received a mysterious phone call requesting a meeting at a local cafe. There he met Michel, who introduced himself as the “director of communications” for the Russian mission in the CAR.

Through an investigation led by the Forbidden Stories consortium, Michel has been identified as Mikhail Prudnikov – a pro-Putin youth activist turned regional manager in Sudan for a group associated with Wagner’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

‘Web of propaganda’

At the time, the CAR was struggling to recover from the political crisis of 2013: after several years of instability, the Seleka rebellion had finally entered Bangui and toppled president François Bozizé, bringing down an already fragile state.

Initially, Yalike was asked to write articles about the achievements of the Central African Armed Forces (Faca). 

It was an attractive offer, in financial terms. “In the Central African media, very few people earn more than 150,000 CFA francs,”he said – approximately €225. Working with the Russians, his own situation improved significantly, as he found himself earning a salary of €760 per month.

But as the collaboration deepened, Yalike was drawn into a complex web of propaganda.

• CAR in talks with US security firm as West eyes Wagner’s ground in Africa

As his role expanded, he provided press reviews on Russian activities and was tasked with rebutting any criticism. He also engaged with other local media outlets, facilitating payments for articles that supported Russian perspectives – all the time operating under strict orders to keep this collaboration confidential.

He met with Michel frequently at the Roux military camp, Wagner’s Bangui headquarters, where he collected payments and coordinated propaganda efforts – including radio broadcasts that featured “experts” paid to deliver pro-Russian opinions.

At the camp, the Russians also prepared pro-Moscow placards and banners used in the demonstrations they organised and financed.

To maximise his developing role as a “communications officer”, Yalike was given 30 Android phones at the start of 2020, which he distributed to “influencers” – young people who would rally demonstrators and share, comment on or “like” fake news posts on social media platforms. 

Manipulating public opinion

By late October 2022, he had arranged for experts to defend controversial decrees from the Central African government, collaborating closely with Russian operatives to manipulate public messaging.

Yalike’s involvement also extended to logistics for demonstrations targeting foreign powers. He organised an event protesting against French influence in the country, distributing both slogans and funds, and ensuring media coverage.

The objective was to manufacture a narrative of public dissent against perceived external interference – specifically targeting France, the United States and the United Nations. 

• France accuses CAR of complicity in disinformation campaign, suspends support

But the financial rewards were no longer enough to dispel Yalike’s unease, especially once he began to detect mistrust from his Russian handlers. The tipping point came when he inadvertently disclosed information that upset Michel.

One morning, he was summoned to the Roux camp, where Michel confronted him over a publication detailing a Russian misstep. It was that day that he found himself in the 4×4 in the forest, with Michel demanding that he confess to his alleged infractions.

Yalike remained composed, denying any wrongdoing. No incriminating material was found on his phone and he was allowed return to Bangui.

Escaping Moscow’s grip

For Yalike, this was the turning point – at which he finally acknowledged the reality of Russia’s interests in the CAR, and how their presence justified violent acts by local armed groups.

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine had forced Russia to cut its budget for Wagner’s operations in the CAR. When Michel told Yalike that he would not need him as much, and consequently his salary would be cut, the journalist told his Russian handlers that he would need to look for new work opportunities in the media.

In 2022, he got in touch with Forbidden Stories, providing them with evidence of his experiences and the inner workings of the Russian propaganda machine within the CAR.

His escape from the country followed in early 2024 – but only after a tense airport encounter with police, through which he finally understood the full extent of Russian influence and the danger he had been facing.

• Russian mercenaries accused of rights abuses, hindering peacekeepers in CAR

On 6 February, as he waited to board a flight to France with his wife and child at Bangui airport, he was summoned by the border police for an intense interrogation, and his luggage was taken off the plane.

“The commissioner authorised my family to leave but said I had to stay because of the need for an investigation.”

Attempting to assert his rights, Yalike clashed with the officer. “He said to me: ‘You think you’re going to deal with us? You’re going to deal with the Russians.’ That’s when I realised where the order came from.” He was released, and went into hiding “to save [his] skin”.

Having left his phone and identity papers on the officer’s desk, when he eventually crossed the Ubangi River by boat and then travelled on to Europe, with the help of the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers in Africa, he arrived with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Today – as a refugee in France – Yalike is seeking redemption through his testimony, while recognising that many in the CAR already recognise the disinformation strategies employed by the Wagner group and the Kremlin.

He is calling for accountability, asking that journalists in the country do not overlook their role in spreading disinformation.

“When you get into this system, it’s hard to get out,” he said, knowing all too well the inherent risks of dissenting against powerful forces.

But his revelations serve as a timely reminder for countries where Russian influence seeks to manipulate public opinion and undermine stability.

^{This testimony was collected as part of an investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories, an international network that continues the work of journalists who have been silenced. It involves ten partner media outlets, including Radio France Internationale.}

Should France emerge victorious, Didier Deschamps’ men will play the winners of the tie between the Netherlands and the defending champions Spain.

In the other quarter-finals, Denmark take on Portugal and Italy face Germany.

The semi-finals will take place on 4 and 5 June, with the match for third place and final to follow on 8 June.

Following a disappointing exit at the 2024 European championships, France finished top of their Nations League pool with 13 points.

Croatia, who France beat to claim the 2018 World Cup, came second in their group.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye‘s Pastef party secured 130 seats in the west African country’s 165-seat national assembly, according to an AFP tally of figures given by the national vote-counting commission, confirmed by a Pastef official.

The results from Sunday’s vote remain provisional, pending confirmation by the Constitutional Council within a five-day period.

It would be the largest majorities ever won by a single party in a legislative election.

The Socialist Party obtained 103 seats out of 120 under then-president Abdou Diouf in 1988, with stronger majorities having since emerged, such as in 2012, but it was a coalition.

The opposition was quashed. Former president Macky Sall‘s coalition settled for just 16 MPs, with seven for former premier Amadou Ba’s and three for Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias’, provisional results showed.

Highly influential and charismatic Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was the lead candidate for Pastef, is considered the mastermind behind the legislative landslide.

After sweeping to power eight months ago, the new leaders must address the expectations of the hard-up Senegalese population, after promising profound change in the form of leftist Pan-Africanism.

The objective is “a coherent and pragmatic systemic transformation of Senegal“, Faye told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He spoke of a need to deal with “economic and social emergencies” such as the high cost of living and unemployment, while revitalising the economy, “particularly in the driving sectors of agriculture, livestock farming, tourism, mining and hydrocarbons”.

The national commission’s figures are a compilation of results published at the departmental level on Tuesday, which already indicated Pastef’s triumph.

The long path to Senegal’s troubled presidential elections

High hopes

After three years of economic and political turmoil in Senegal, Faye and Sonko secured victory pledging economic transformation, social justice and a fight against corruption.

Their election spurred hopes among a largely youthful population facing high inflation and widespread unemployment.

But an opposition-led parliament hampered the government’s first months in power, leading Faye to dissolve the chamber in September and call snap elections as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so.

The pair have vowed to diversify political and economic partnerships, review hydrocarbon and fishing contracts and re-establish Senegal’s sovereignty, which they claimed had been sold abroad.

The opposition had accused the new government of inaction, amateurism and a desire to settle scores with the previous administration.

Sonko has argued that he and Faye inherited a difficult legacy from the former administration and faced resistance to their ambitious reforms.

Unemployment stands at more than 20 percent and scores of people continue to risk their lives every month attempting to reach Europe by boat.

The government said an audit of public finances revealed a wider budget deficit than previously announced, with the International Monetary Fund suspending an aid programme pending the audit’s review.

Moody’s downgraded Senegal’s credit rating following the conclusions of the audit and placed the country under observation.

The Academie Française, guardian of the French language since 1635, has issued the 9th edition of its official dictionary, with 21,000 new words compared to the 8th edition of 1935. President Macron has praised the academy’s steady pace, which “prevents it from giving in to the temptations of ticks and trends”. Writer Frederic Vicot, one of the “immortels” on the dictionary commission, talks about how writers, historians and scientists have pooled their talents over the decades to get the best definitions possible. But the dictionary has its detractors – a group of  linguists have slammed the opus as useless and outdated given the time it takes to publish. Florent Moncomble from the “Community of Appalled Linguists” outlines why both the choice of terms, and the academy’s methodology, are problematic. (Listen @0′) 

Donald Trump’s recent election to a second term as President of the United States came as a shock to many in France, who’d been less than enthusiastic about his first term in office. Trump’s intent to impose import tariffs is set to impact the economies of both France and Europe more widely, and his approach towards Ukraine runs against France’s unwaving support. Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European council on Foreign Relations, talks about what France needs to do to face a second Trump presidency, and reflects on the impact his election will have on France’s far right. (Listen @19’50”) 

The collapse of the Malpasset dam in the south of France, on 2 December 1959, decimated the Reyran river valley. More than 400 people died and the town of Frejus was cut off for days. The disaster prompted a wave of fundraising and solidarity, in what is considered the first example of international solidarity following a catastrophe. (Listen @15’30”) 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

The UN climate summit is scheduled to conclude on Friday but the latest draft deal released by hosts Azerbaijan was spurned by rich and poor countries alike.

The main priority at Cop29 is agreeing a new target to replace the $100 billion a year that rich nations pledged for poorer ones to fight climate change.

Developing countries plus China, an influential negotiating bloc, are pushing for $1.3 trillion by 2030 and want at least $500 billion of that from developed nations.

Major contributors like the European Union have baulked at such demands, and insist private sector money would be needed to meet a larger goal.

The latest draft recognises that developing countries need a commitment of at least “USD [X] trillion” per year, but omits the concrete figure sought in Baku.

“There is a critical piece of this puzzle missing: the overall number,” said Cedric Schuster, the Samoan chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group of nations at threat from rising seas.

“The time for political games is over.”

Ali Mohamed, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators, another important bloc, said the “elephant in the room” was the figure.

“This is the reason we are here… but we are no closer and we need the developed countries to urgently engage on this matter,” said Mohamed, who is also Kenya‘s climate envoy.

Cop29 hosts Azerbaijan said a “shorter” draft would be unveiled Thursday evening and would “contain numbers”.

Children are ‘first victims’ of climate change, French rights watchdog warns

‘Unacceptable’

Other major sticking points – including who contributes and how the money is raised and delivered – were also left unresolved in the slimmed-down 10-page document.

Many nations also said the text failed to reflect the need to phase out coal, oil and gas – the main drivers of global warming.

Australian climate minister Chris Bowen said countries had “hidden, pared back or minimised” explicit references to fossil fuels.

“This is a big step back, and is not acceptable at this current moment of crisis,” he said.

As the clock ticks down, frustration boiled over at the Cop29 hosts.

“Could I please – could I please – urge you to step up the leadership?” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in pointed remarks.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m really sorry to say, but the text we now have in front of us – in our view – is imbalanced, unworkable and unacceptable.”

Cop29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev appealed for “compromise and solidarity”.

“This is a moment where you need to put all your cards on the table,” he told delegates, stressing there was “a long way to go”.

Ireland‘s climate minister Eamon Ryan insisted negotiations were “advancing” behind the scenes.

“This text is not the final text, that is clear. It will be quite radically different. But I think there is room for further agreement,” he told AFP.

Norway‘s climate minister also offered a rosier view: “The deadline isn’t here yet,” he told AFP.

EU parliament votes to delay and dilute deforestation law

‘Blank paper’

Landing a deal on finance for poorer countries was meant to be the centrepiece of Cop29.

But the draft entrenches the broad and opposing positions of developed and developing countries that have largely persisted since Cop29 opened over a week ago.

Developed countries want all sources of finance, including public money and private investment, counted toward the goal, and for wealthy countries not obligated to pay, like China, to chip in.

Developing countries want the money to mostly come from government budgets of richer nations in the form of grants or money without strings attached, not loans that add to national debt.

The EU and the United States, two of the biggest providers of climate finance, have refused to put forward a figure without the finer points of the pact.

That was an “insult” for the millions of people imperilled by climate disaster, said Greenpeace‘s Jasper Inventor.

Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan climate activist, said developing countries “need a cheque but all we have right now is a blank piece of paper”.

Besigye, the former president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was charged at the Makindye General Court Martial with possessing an illegal firearm four days after he disappeared in the Kenyan capital.

The 68-year-old will remain in custody at Luzira Prison, south-eastern Kampala, until 2 December with FDC member Hajj Lutale Kamulegeya, who was also charged with the same offence. 

Uganda’s government spokesperson said on Wednesday that it did not carry out abductions and that arrests abroad were done in collaboration with host countries.

In a TV interview on Wednesday night, Korir Sing’oei, principal secretary at Kenya’s foreign ministry, said Besigye’s detention was not the act of the Kenyan government.

Investigation

Sing’oei added: “The Kenyan interior ministry has begun an investigation into how Besigye has been forcefully removed from premises in our country and taken to Uganda.”

On Saturday, Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, claimed he had been kidnapped while in Nairobi to attend a book launch.

“As a civilian, Dr Besigye should be tried in a civilian court NOT a military court,” Byanyima wrote on the social media platform X.

Besigye was the personal physician of Yoweri Museveni during the guerrilla war of the 1980s, but became one of his fiercest critics once he seized power in Uganda.

The allegations of kidnapping and the court appearance have fuelled criticism of Kenya’s record on human rights and international law.

In July, Kenyan authorities deported 36 members of Besigye’s political party to Uganda, where they were charged with terrorism-related offences. Last month, Kenya deported four Turkish refugees to Ankara.

James Risch, the ranking member on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on X that Besigye’s abduction raises serious questions about important US partners violating international norms.

Tigere Chagutah, the regional director of the human rights campaign group Amnesty International, said: “Amnesty International is deeply disturbed by the abduction of Dr Besigye as well as the lack of an extradition process from Kenya.

“The Ugandan government has a track record of systematically cracking down on opposition political parties through abductions, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions on trumped-up charges.

“Amnesty International strongly believes that Dr Besigye’s abduction is designed to send a chilling message to those whose opinions dissent from the Ugandan government. These practices must stop.”

The 60-year-old chef, who succeeds Yoann Conte of the eponymous restaurant in Veyrier-du-Lac in the French Alps, responded to the honour with characteristic humour.

“Given my age, I thought I might go straight to the Académie Française,” he said, referring to the institution known for its highly prestigious members, the “Immortels”, who are often senior figures in French cultural and intellectual life.

Anton oversees the Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne, the Jules Verne, which earned a second Michelin star this year, and the Don Juan II, a restaurant boat that cruises the Seine.

The Gault & Millau guide – founded by two restaurant critics in 1969 – praised his connection to traditional Parisian cuisine while noting his Lorraine roots and exceptional career path, including his time working with renowned chef Joël Robuchon.

The Chef of the Year award recognises chefs at the peak of their careers, with the guide’s investigations director Marc Esquerré noting that timing and circumstances play a crucial role in the selection.

“The title is the culmination of a career, recognising a chef at the peak of their craft, with all the right conditions aligning for this distinction that year,” he said.

Gault & Millau also honoured Sébastien Nabaile from Château de Pavie in Saint-Émilion as Pastry Chef of the Year.

Bastien Debono of La Table de Yoann Conte earned the title of Sommelier of the Year.

After an initial strike day on Thursday, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots unions said the renewable and unlimited strike action would begin on 11 December.

“There is a lot of anger and frustration. Some of us are ready to fight, we are feeling pretty low,” according to Sébastien Mourgues, regional secretary of the CGT Languedoc Roussillon in the south of France.

“We are sounding the alarm and we want real negotiations,” he told Franceinfo on Wednesday.

“We have made a series of proposals and we are asking for a parliamentary debate so that the decisions taken are not unilateral.”

Although unions are hoping for a strong turnout, SNCF said traffic will be almost normal on the high speed TGV, specifying that there would be some disruptions on regional lines with seven TER trains out of ten on average.

Intercity trains are likely to be affected with only one in two trains in circulation, and no night trains.

In Ile-de-France, disruptions will be limited and will mainly focus on the RER D and line R of the Transilien, strongholds of the Sud-Rail union, with only one train in three.

In recent weeks, the unions have criticised the continuing shake-up of the railway operator, slamming the “fragmentation” of the network.

Last week, Julien Troccaz, the Sud-Rail federal secretary referred to the changes to the freight sector alarming.

“Our colleagues don’t know what’s going to happen on 1 January. They know they’re going to be working for private companies, but they don’t know what their social rights are.”

Wave of strikes brewing as French budget cuts anger unions

In 2023, the European Commission announced an in-depth investigation into whether France breached EU rules on state support by subsidising SNCF’s freight division.

The French government launched a restructuring process which will see France’s top rail freight company replaced next January by two separate companies, Hexafret and Technis.

The plan was negotiated by the French government and the European Commission to avoid a reorganisation procedure that could have led to the outright liquidation of the company, which employs 5,000 people.

Trade unions said: “A moratorium is possible and necessary to allow the various players to get back to the table and find ways of guaranteeing not only the continuity of Fret SNCF, but also its development over the longer term.”

Reorganisation, competitiveness

Another point of contention is the opening of regional lines to competition.

Mourgues said this privatisation would result in the transfer of SNCF staff to subsidiaries, and would have the effect of lowering the social conditions of railway workers.

On 14 December, around 1,200 railway workers in Amiens, Nice and Nantes will be transferred from SNCF Voyageurs to companies that won tenders launched by the regions for the regional TER train market.

The transferred railway workers will retain certain advantages such as retirement rights and travel benefits but will also undergo a reorganisation of their working time, in order to increase productivity.

France stages May Day rallies a year after pensions backlash

“There is a very strong awareness [among the railway workers] that these structural changes are obviously not going in the right direction,” general secretary of the CFDT-Cheminots, Thomas Cavel said.

SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou insisted that the process had been underway for many years and that the social negotiations were well advanced.

“The French would not understand a long and hard strike in December,” he said in an interview with Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche.

Privatisation

 In 2018, President Emmanuel Macron took on the SNCF’s powerful unions to push through an overhaul that stripped employees of jobs-for-life and pension guarantees, while promising to revive slower lines.

Labour bosses called it the first step toward privatisation. They staged massive transport strikes but failed to derail the reform.

Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays.

In February, train controllers went on strike during a holiday weekend, leaving 150,000 people stranded.

A Christmas strike in December 2022 affected some 200,000 holidaymakers.

(with AFP)

The West African country, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Maiga, who was appointed by the military after the second coup, had been seen as isolated in his position as prime minister, with little room for manoeuvre.

His dismissal on Wednesday creates further uncertainty in an already troubled context.

“The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated,” according to a decree issued by Colonel Assimi Goita that was read out by the secretary general of the presidency, Alfousseyni Diawara, on state television ORTM.

Some key junta figures such as Defence Minister General Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague are members of the government.

Australian mining company to pay Mali junta $160m for release of CEO

Elections promised

In June 2022, the junta promised to organise elections and hand over power to civilians by the end of March 2024, but later postponed elections indefinitely.

Maiga on Saturday publicly condemned the lack of clarity regarding the end of the transition to civilian rule.

He said the confusion could pose “serious challenges and the risk of going backwards”.

Maiga, 66, previously served as a minister on several occasions and ran three times as a presidential candidate.

He was the civilian face of the junta’s strategic pivot away from former colonial ruler France and toward closer political and military ties with Russia.

At the United Nations in September 2021, Maiga denounced what he called the “abandonment in mid-air” regarding the announced withdrawal of the French anti-jihadist force deployed in the country.

He said the withdrawal forced Mali to explore new avenues with other partners, at a time when the presence of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner loomed.

Malian junta suspends TV5 Monde, citing ‘lack of balance’ in reporting

Increasingly untenable

Maiga is a key figure in the M5-RFP political movement that took part in protests against Mali’s former civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was toppled by the military in August 2020.

But Maiga began to distance himself from the junta, prompting speculation for months that he would be sacked.

In May, the M5-RFP movement published a statement openly criticising the military rulers after they failed to meet their deadline to hand back power to civilians.

A close ally of Maiga, who signed the statement, was sentenced to a year in prison in July before being released in September after his sentence was commuted.

Maiga endorsed the statement but had until now kept his position at the head of the government.

After his criticism of the junta on Saturday, Maiga’s position became increasingly untenable.

An influential group supporting the military rulers, the Collective for the Defence of the Military (CDM), had called for him to step down within 72 hours.

Limited demonstrations took place on Tuesday in support of the military and calling for the prime minister’s resignation.

Maiga’s comments gave rise to speculation as to whether he was positioning himself for a possible future presidential election.

In a rare joint press conference on the side-lines of the 106th Congress of Mayors, local councillor associations reiterated their strong opposition to what they described as cuts amounting to between €10 and €11 billion in the proposed 2025 budget, which the government has labelled as “five billion euros of savings”.

David Lisnard, President of the Association of French Mayors (AMF), said Wednesday, “We are united not to contest the principle of savings, but to say that what are presented as savings on the local authority bloc are in reality essentially deductions.”

He emphasised that local authority debt has remained “stable for 30 years” at “just under 9 percent of total GDP” and warned, “The measures proposed are recessionary measures which – in the end – will have a recessionary effect on State budget revenues.”

Posting on X, the AMF wrote: “The associations representing local authorities are calling on the government and parliament to amend the finance bill so as to re-establish the trust and dialogue with mayors and presidents of inter-municipal bodies that are essential if our country is to overcome the crisis in public finances.”

Negative impact

Joining him were representatives from seven other local elected associations, all voicing their rejection of the government’s plans.

Gilles Leproust, president of Ville et Banlieue, highlighted the serious concerns within working-class towns, stating: “In our working-class towns, there are a lot of concerns about this budget. It’s going to have a huge impact on the residents, but also on the associations that are … the lifeblood of democracy and social life in our towns.”

Meanwhile, Christophe Bouillon, president of the Association des petites villes de France, warned of the potential consequences: “We are often described as social shock absorbers. When the shock absorbers are removed, when there is a democratic crash … that’s the risk we face, and it hurts a lot.”

• Wave of strikes brewing as French budget cuts anger unions
• French PM launches budget plan in test for new government

Communities ‘penalised’ 

Jean-François Debat, acting president of Villes de France, also criticised the government’s approach, saying, “This levy will result in a drop in investment and a deterioration in public services,” describing the method as “brutality” and “totally excessive and violent.”

The associations issued a joint motion opposing the proposed ‘€11 billion in levies, underlining, “It is today’s residents who are going to be penalised by the withdrawal of local public services.”

They added, “It is their children who will suffer from a slowdown in investment to combat global warming.”

The elected representatives are calling for the removal of three planned measures – including a €3 billion ‘precautionary’ fund – from the upcoming draft budget.

The hard-line farmers’ union Coordination Rurale (CR) lifted its roadblock for heavy trucks on the A9 motorway on Wednesday, which links south-western France with Spain’s northeast.

Organisers had earlier said that they intended to maintain the barricade, designed to provoke shortages of produce in French supermarkets.

Barnier also spoke with another CR branch from the western Lot-et-Garonne region by phone.

“Your Prime Minister knows and respects farmers. I will do everything I can … uphold the very many commitments that have been made,” said Barnier – a former agriculture minister – in comments captured by multiple media cameras.

Taking to social media, Barnier posted on X: “I hear the anger, the tension and the incomprehension of farmers about the proposed EU-Mercosur agreement. France is firmly opposed to it.”

Concessions ‘not honoured’

So far the French political class –  including President Emmanuel Macron – has echoed rural opposition to the Mercosur deal.

Barnier’s office stated that he had also spoken to Arnaud Rousseau – head of the heavyweight FNSEA farmers’ union – by phone.

In early 2024, farmers launched massively disruptive demonstrations including blockading many motorways across France and Europe, over issues including low prices for their produce and environmental regulation.

French protesters secured concessions from the government – but delivery was interrupted by President Emmanuel Macron’s call for new elections in June.

Resistance has been reinflamed by the prospect of an EU deal with the Mercosur bloc – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – that would create the world’s largest free-trade zone.

“The aim is to again put on the pressure to speak out against things that cannot be accepted. And, as I keep saying, always while respecting property and people,” Rousseau told Franceinfo on Wednesday.

• French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal, block motorways in southern France
• Farmers warned of ‘zero tolerance’ as France braces for week of protest

‘Unacceptable’ methods of protest

The FNSEA chief was looking to set his outfit apart from CR, some of whose members have this week dumped waste outside regional government offices, broken into the French biodiversity authority and set up the motorway blockade.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard told broadcaster France 2 that such methods were “unacceptable” and risked wearing down widespread public sympathy for farmers.

The latest farmers’ protests come weeks before elections to regional Chambers of Agriculture, at which smaller unions CR and Confederation Paysanne hope to loosen the FNSEA’s tight grip.

On Wednesday, Confederation Paysanne targeted the Rouen headquarters of Haropa Port – a state-owned firm that runs the Le Havre, Rouen and Paris ports.

“The only people who benefit from free trade are the food industry, large-scale farms, traders, chemical manufacturers and finance that speculates on all of it,” said Mathieu Grenier, one of around 20 farmers demonstrating at the offices.

“For farmers, there will be a lot more losers than winners,” he added.

“The fact is, while children are the least responsible for environmental damage, they are the most exposed to it and are the first victims”, France’s Defender of Rights chief Claire Hédon said in the  report published on Wednesday.

“These risks are in their immediate environment – ​​their home or place of life – in all the places that welcome them and in outdoor spaces.”

The report titled  Annual Report on the Rights of the Child 2024, which focuses on children’s right to live in a healthy environment, outlines the actions the Defeder’s office believes are necessary to ensure this.

To guarantee these rights, Hédon is calling on public authorities to introduce “a legally binding international treaty for the protection of the environment”.

On a global scale, “more than 99 percent of children are exposed to a climatic and environmental risk factor” and “a quarter of the deaths of children under five are directly linked to pollution”, Hédon said.

The report adds that current policies do not sufficiently take into account the particular vulnerability of children.

“The worsening consequences of the environmental crisis underline the growing burden that future generations will have to bear,” it reads.

Hédon has called on public authorities to act in order to “guarantee present children and future generations the satisfaction of their essential needs: breathing, drinking, eating healthily and living in safety”.

In all, the report puts forward 20 recommendations, including speeding up the renovation of school buildings and improving all venues that accommodate children.

French children living near large vineyards at higher risk of leukaemia: study

Myriad of crises

The Defender of Rights also calls for “rethinking public spaces” to reduce children’s exposure to pollution, such as planting trees, expanding pedestrian areas near schools and developing alternative transport.

Another proposition is to adapt the school day and the school holiday calendar to “better take into account climatic changes and their effects on the national scale”.

Consultations for prenatal exposure to pesticides should also be accessible to parents, the report said.

In a further push to integrate children’s rights into policymaking, Hédon proposed creating “a children’s college within the National Energy Transition Council”, or expanding the composition of the Children’s Parliament in the National Assembly, made up of several classes each year who are responsible for drafting legislative proposals.

‘Myriad of crises’

Unicef sounds alarm over child poverty in French overseas departments

The recommendations come as the United Nations agency for children also issued warnings in its annual report, released Tuesday.

“Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef, wrote in a statement.

This year, Unicef has projected forward to 2050 identifying three “major trends” that in addition to unpredictable conflicts that pose threats to children unless policymakers make changes.

The first risk is demographic change, with the number of children expected to remain similar to current figures of 2.3 billion, but they will represent a smaller share of the larger and ageing global population of around 10 billion.

While the proportion of children will decline across all regions, their numbers will explode in some of the poorest areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

This offers the potential to boost economic growth, but only if the new young population has access to quality education, health care, and jobs, Unicef notes.

The second threat is climate change.

If current greenhouse gas emission trends continue, by 2050 children could face eight times more heatwaves than in 2000, three times more extreme flooding, and 1.7 times more wildfires, Unicef projects.

(with AFP)

While Cop29 has entered its second week of negotiations, most participants expect little progress until the very last day, Friday 22 November.

Greenpeace Africa activists are intensifying their campaign, vowing on social media to “keep fighting” until “all polluters are held accountable for their climate injustices!”

The NGO delivered a petition to the Chair of the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN), Ali Mohammed. The petition underscores the importance of the collective power of supporters, volunteers, and partners, they said in a statement on social media. 

Juma Ignatius from Kenya is a senior advisor to the office of the AGN at the UN, and is in Baku to focus on climate adaptation.

“Adaptation remains a key priority for the African continent for many people in Africa,” he told RFI from Azerbaijan.

He says the main focus now is ensuring that financing, technology, and capacity-building are in place to scale up adaptation efforts in Africa, enabling people to lead better lives.

“This is primarily why we’re here,” he said.

While he believes the negotiations are progressing, he thinks they are moving very slowly.

“There are some tactics employed on purpose here, especially wait-and-see tactics, to see what happens in what room and then how can other rooms [will] respond to this…” Ignatius said. “We believe this is what is really slowing down the process of the negotiation.” 

He views the G20 commitments made so far, particularly on adaptation funding, as encouraging signs.

G20 backs climate finance deal but faces fossil fuel backlash

“We’ve seen reports from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), saying that we need money, that is a lot. But… the fractions we are receiving here are very, very small,” he also told RFI.

“The adaptation needs are increasing every day. The gap is increasing between what is really required and what’s being pledged. So, we need to see more action.”  

Double burden

Dean Bhebhe Bhekhumuzi is the intelligence and campaigns advisor at Power Shift Africa, and the lead coordinator for the Don’t Gas Africa movement. Originally from Zimbabwe, he’s working with the Kenya-based organisation remotely from Johannesburg, in South Africa. 

He expects that any breakthrough will likely occur only at the very end of this round of negotiations, most likely on the final day.

But he also thinks that what’s important is to understand the relationship between developing and developed countries.

“When we look at the type of finance that Africa needs to tap into, it becomes important to mention the debt crisis,” he said. “Nigeria, Senegal, for example, need to pay off their huge debt.”

These two countries use up to 67 percent of their GDP to pay off debt, leaving only 33 percent to tackle energy, healthcare, infrastructure, education, and all the other essential building blocks for development.

“Developing countries are asking developed countries to essentially manage and pay for emission reductions, and to implement a strategy,” Bhekhumuzi explains. 

He points out that Africa bears the brunt of the climate crisis, yet they are the least responsible for it, and the mechanisms to change this situation are not there.

“Surely we cannot be expected to also contribute financially, despite the debt burden,” he said.

Africa is battling plastic pollution and waste crisis, activists say

No room for pessimism

Both activists say they need to remain optimistic as they say they cannot give up on the multilateral processes.

“We must reckon that some of the benefits have been achieved,” Juma Ignatius, the senior advisor to the office of the AGN, told RFI. “For example, the Paris Agreement.”

Africa and the G77 at the UN, representing 77 developing economies,  have called for a total of $1.3 trillion last week. 

For Ignatius, this is achievable this week at Cop29, despite a huge presence of fossil fuel lobbies. So he insists that African negotiators should not be defeated or focus on what’s not working. 

“We can encourage ourselves [with the] that something greater is coming,” he said.  

Bhekhumuzi agrees. “I think what is important is actually uploading Global South countries,” he told RFI, and get their voices heard.

“The Africa group of negotiators is pushing for an act that is people-centred, one that will empower Africa. Because we’re having those critical discussions, this is already a small win,” Bhekhumuzi said.

The Academie Française, guardian of the French language since 1635, has issued the 9th edition of its official dictionary, with 21,000 new words compared to the 8th edition of 1935. President Macron has praised the academy’s steady pace, which “prevents it from giving in to the temptations of ticks and trends”. Writer Frederic Vicot, one of the “immortels” on the dictionary commission, talks about how writers, historians and scientists have pooled their talents over the decades to get the best definitions possible. But the dictionary has its detractors – a group of  linguists have slammed the opus as useless and outdated given the time it takes to publish. Florent Moncomble from the “Community of Appalled Linguists” outlines why both the choice of terms, and the academy’s methodology, are problematic. (Listen @0′) 

Donald Trump’s recent election to a second term as President of the United States came as a shock to many in France, who’d been less than enthusiastic about his first term in office. Trump’s intent to impose import tariffs is set to impact the economies of both France and Europe more widely, and his approach towards Ukraine runs against France’s unwaving support. Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European council on Foreign Relations, talks about what France needs to do to face a second Trump presidency, and reflects on the impact his election will have on France’s far right. (Listen @19’50”) 

The collapse of the Malpasset dam in the south of France, on 2 December 1959, decimated the Reyran river valley. More than 400 people died and the town of Frejus was cut off for days. The disaster prompted a wave of fundraising and solidarity, in what is considered the first example of international solidarity following a catastrophe. (Listen @15’30”) 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

Turkey’s media regulator, RTUK, revoked the station’s licence, claiming it had failed to comply with an earlier fine and suspension.

That order came after a guest earlier this year referred to the 1915 killings of Armenians by Turkey’s then-Ottoman rulers as a genocide.

RTUK ruled that the comment incited public hatred. While Acik did pay the fine, it didn’t come off air, saying it was appealing the initial ruling in court.

The revocation of its broadcasting licence has drawn international condemnation and alarm. “Acik Radio has always adopted a moderate language, reflecting various political views,” Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative for Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told RFI. 

Onderoglu warns that banning Acik is part of a wider trend in the country of “eliminating media pluralism and weakening remaining minority voices”. He continued: “It is in line with a political mission to impose a single official view on society, what they call national and patriotic journalism.”

‘Cultural hub’

In Istanbul’s Kadikoy district, listeners have been chanting in protest over Acik Radio’s removal from the airwaves.

Elif Unal, an avid listener, said the station has been an important part of everyday life for a long time. “They ban everything that makes us smile, that makes us feel happy,” she said. “Most of the people in Istanbul, across Turkey, open their eyes listening to Acik Radio. Acik Radio is important because it’s a cultural hub and also a political supporter of many organisations, NGOs and activists.”

Armenians warn ethnic cleansing risks being forgotten – again

Protestor Mete Atature said he grew up listening to Acik. “Whichever programme you are listening to, you’ll learn something. Not like a lecture, not like an education programme, but there’s always something it leaves you with, and I miss that.”

He added: “From one side, of course, it’s a shock. From another side, it’s not unexpected, given the way the whole country is going. There is less and less free speech, and there’s more oppression, and this is another example.”

Diverse voices

Since its launch in 1994, Acik Radio has sought to bridge Turkey’s deep cultural and political divides. Volunteers produce and present social and cultural programmes that represent the country’s diverse population, including minorities.

Yetvart Danzikyan hosted Acik’s show “Radio Agos,” a programme aimed at Turkey’s Armenian minority.

“We tried to make the unheard voices of not only the Armenian community but also all the other minorities, the Greek, Jewish, and Suryani communities,” he said, adding that they were trying to bring even more unheard voices to the station’s programmes.

Turkey’s embattled civil society fears worst as foreign funding dries up

Turkey’s main opposition parties are supporting the station, and say the closure is a government attempt to further tighten its grip on the country’s media.

For now, Acik has returned to broadcasting via the internet, securing a licence under the new name of APACIK Radio. 

But those who run the station feel they are fighting an uphill battle. “The general atmosphere is getting towards more repression in Turkey,” Acik’s co-founder Omer Madra said wearily. “But we are very determined to fight on, and we’ve had some magnificent support from all the regions of the country.”

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.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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!

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 bilingual 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 counselled 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 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 Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, The International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. 

Remember, podcasts are radio, 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 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: In mid-October, our beloved sportsman Paul Myers wrote about yet another speedy Kenyan: Ruth Chepngetich. Chepngetich not only won the Chicago Marathon on 13 October, she set a world record, too. She finished the 42-kilometer course in two hours, nine minutes, and 56 seconds – beating the previous long-distance record set by almost two minutes. That record was set by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. 

Chepngetich also became the first woman to win the Chicago Marathon three times, since its inception in 1977.

You were to re-read Paul’s article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, and send in the answers to these questions: What are the names and nationalities of the women who took second and third place in the 2024 Chicago Marathon race?

The answer is: Ethiopian Sutume Kebede came second in two hours, 17 minutes and 32 seconds. Irine Cheptai from Kenya was third, with two hours, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you describe real friendship? Give an example.” The question was suggested by Lata Akhter Murshida from Bogura, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Pradip Chandra Kundu from West Bengal, India. Pradip is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Pradip, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ali Shahzad, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, and RFI Listeners Club members Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh as well as Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Tesha Akhter from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Sanoftob” by Thierry David; “Virtual Lifestyle” by Jean-Paul Merkel; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin, performed by Evgeny Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

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 Isabell Martinetti’s article “Paris Photo fair focuses on photo books and their publishers”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 16 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 December 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

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.   

Zitouni Ould Dada, representing the FAIRR Initiative – a network raising awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the food sector – underscores the need to transform global food systems.

“Since Cop15 in Paris and Cop26 in Glasgow, good progress has been made towards building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,” he said. “Cop29 is a key moment to accelerate the transformation of food production.”

He calls on policymakers to strengthen climate commitments, integrate agriculture into national plans, and create policies to attract sustainable investment.

Financing green energy and addressing climate disasters are key issues at this year’s summit.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the African negotiators group and chair of the Green Climate Fund, coordinates the African Union Adaptation Initiative. He shared his perspective with RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier.

Speaking from Baku, Nafo explored the question of responsibility for funding climate recovery in the most affected regions.

The negotiations come during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of Cop29’s agenda.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Erdogan, who congratulated Trump as a “friend” on social media, sees this as a chance to reshape US-Turkey relations.

During Biden’s presidency, engagement was largely limited to foreign ministers – marking a stark contrast to the “strong leader-to-leader relationship” Erdogan and Trump had enjoyed, says analyst Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

Trump and President Erdogan met face to face about nine times, compared to only two “brief encounters” with Biden, he adds.

Chemistry

Erdogan often speaks warmly of his dealings with Washington during Trump’s first term in office.

“The chemistry is the same. Two charismatic leaders, two leaders who are unpredictable,” notes Turkish presidential adviser Mesut Casin, a professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Yeditepe University.

He believes their personal rapport could set the stage for greater bilateral and regional cooperation, including efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Erdogan has long sought to play a role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, given his close ties with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and, more controversially, with Vladimir Putin – a relationship that drew criticism and suspicion from some of Turkey’s NATO partners.

“Trump will push for negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war. And I think that’s something that Turkey has always preferred,” predicts Asli Aydintasbas a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Turkey eyes US presidential race that stands to shake up mutual ties

YPG policy

Erdogan will also look to Trump for changes in US policy toward the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara views as linked to the PKK, a group fighting the Turkish state.

The YPG’s alliance with Washington against the Islamic State has strained US-Turkey relations, with Biden resisting Erdogan’s calls to end support for the group.

Former Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen predicts Erdogan will hope Trump might be open to a deal.

“Erdogan thinks that, like himself, Trump too is a pragmatic leader. So leaving aside principles or other such in brackets, the two sides can reach an agreement by giving and taking something between the two,” says Selcen.

Unpredictability

While Trump has often spoken positively about Erdogan, he nonetheless remains unpredictable.

“Can you rely on him?” asks Murat Aslan of SETA, a Turkish pro-government thinktank.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel could also complicate relations.

Erdogan has expressed hope that Trump will succeed where Biden failed in ending Israel’s war on Hamas and Hezbollah, but with Trump’s strong support for Israel and Erdogan’s backing of Hamas, a clash could be looming.

“What happens if there is an escalation in the Middle East with the polarisation of Israel and Turkey, as it currently is, and the attitude of Trump, it’s very clear that the Trump administration will threaten Turkey,” says Aslan.

With conflicts raging across the region, Erdogan views a new Trump presidency as an opportunity for Turkey and the region.

But given the leaders’ unpredictability, that opportunity doesn’t come without risks.

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.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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!

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 bilingual 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 counselled 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 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 Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, The International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. 

Remember, podcasts are radio, 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 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 12 October, I asked you a question about the troubled relationship between France and Algeria.

Algeria’s recently re-elected president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accused France, its former colonial ruler, of “genocide”.

Tebboune has postponed trips to Paris to meet with Emmanuel Macron several times; the latest was scheduled for late September or early October, and that trip was also postponed.

You were to re-read our article “Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler”, and send in the answer to this question: What happened last July that sent the Algeria/France relationship into a nosedive – even provoking Algeria to recall its ambassador to France?

The answer is, to quote our article: “… relations nose-dived in July after Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco voicing support for the Kingdom’s autonomy plan in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you remember things?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Bushra Nawaz, who’s a member of the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Bushra is also the winner of this week’s bonus question.

Congratulations, Bushra, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and Father Steven Wara, who lives in the Cistercian Abbey in Bamenda, Cameroon.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listeners Amara, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan, and Jahangir Alam, the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Soul Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones, performed by the Quincy Jones Ensemble; “Aghan” by Mohammad Rouane, performed by the Rouane Ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Asa Branca” by Luiz Gonzaga and Humberto Teixeira, performed by Rosinha De Valença.

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 “Tributes roll in for beloved musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died at 91”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 December 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

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.   

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.