Negotiators worked through the night in a windowless sports stadium in the Caspian Sea city of Baku in a search for compromise as the two-week UN climate talks dragged into an extra day.

In a year set to be the hottest ever recorded, developing nations bearing the brunt of rising drought and disasters flatly rejected on Friday an initial offer of US$250 billion per year by 2035.

Two negotiators said the EU was urging that wealthy countries – whose ranks also include the United States, Britain and Japan – raise the sum to US$300 billion.

But this came with conditions in other parts of the broader climate deal under discussion at the COP29 conference in Azerbaijan, the negotiators added.

The Europeans in particular want an annual review of global efforts to phase out fossil fuels, which are the main drivers of global warming.

This has run into opposition from Saudi Arabia, which has sought to water down a landmark pledge to transition away from oil, gas and coal made at COP28 last year.

Irish climate minister Eamon Ryan said he was “hopeful” for a deal but that a clearer picture would emerge later in the day when a new text is expected.

“We need to get an agreement. This is really important that we give hope to the world, that multilateralism can work, that we are responding to the climate crisis,” Ryan told AFP.

He said there was a recognition of the need for more money for the developing world, “but also we have to put a halt to the advance of fossil fuels”.

Ali Mohamed, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, told AFP that there had been “good discussions” on finance after the initial US$250 billion offer which he called “a big mockery”.

He said that developing nations had made clear that a lack of movement would “lead to a failure of COP”.

“No deal is better than a bad deal,” he said.

‘Billion of people’ at risk

The stance of Mohamed, who is also Kenya’s climate change envoy, was backed by a coalition of more than 300 activist groups that urged developing nations to stand firm.

In a letter, the non-governmental organisations accused developed nations of seeking to avoid legal obligations for climate finance.

“You claim to champion a rules-based system, yet flout the rules when they don’t suit your interests, putting at risk billions of people and life on Earth,” they wrote.

Wealthy nations counter that it is politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding.

The US earlier this month elected President-elect Donald Trump, a sceptic of both climate change and foreign assistance, and a number of other Western countries have seen right-wing backlashes against the green agenda.

The draft deal posits a larger overall target of US$1.3 trillion per year to cope with rising temperatures and disasters, but most would come from private sources.

Even US$250 billion would be a step up from the US$100 billion now provided by wealthy nations under a commitment set to expire.

A group of developing countries had demanded at least US$500 billion, with some saying that increases were less than met the eye due to inflation.

 (AFP)

The summit had been due to finish on Friday but ran into overtime as negotiators from nearly 200 countries – who must adopt the deal by consensus – tried to reach agreement on the world’s climate funding plan for the next decade.

The shift in position came after a $250 billion proposal for a deal, drafted by Azerbaijan’s Cop29 presidency on Friday, was panned by developing countries as insultingly low.

It was not immediately clear if the wealthy countries’ revised position had been communicated to developing countries at Cop29, and whether it would be enough to win their support.

Five sources with knowledge of the closed-door discussions said the EU had agreed they could accept the higher number. Two of the sources said the United States, Australia and Britain were also on board.

A European Commission spokesperson and an Australian government spokesperson both declined to comment on the negotiations.

The US delegation at Cop29 and the UK energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Delegates were awaiting a new draft text of the deal on climate finance on Saturday after negotiators worked through the night to bridge wide gaps in their positions.

The Cop29 talks have laid bare the divisions between wealthy governments constrained by tight domestic budgets and developing nations reeling from the soaring costs of storms, floods and droughts fuelled by climate change.

The new goal is intended to replace developed countries’ previous commitment to provide $100 billion in climate finance for poorer nations per year by 2020. That goal was met two years late, in 2022, and expires in 2025.

Details, details  

Any deal would require agreement on more than just the headline amount.

Negotiators have been working throughout the two-week summit to address other critical questions on the target, including who is asked to contribute and how much of the funding is on a grant basis, rather than provided as loans.

The roster of countries required to contribute – about two dozen industrialised countries, including the US, European nations and Canada – dates back to a list decided during UN climate talks in 1992.

European governments have demanded others join them in paying in, including China, the world’s second-biggest economy, and oil-rich Gulf states.

The recent election of Donald Trump as US President, who has called climate change a hoax, has cast a cloud over the talks in Baku.

Negotiators from other wealthy nations expect the world’s biggest economy will not pay into the climate finance goal during Trump’s impending four-year term.

A broader goal of raising $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035 – which economists say matches the sum needed – was included in the draft deal published on Friday, and would include funding from all public and private sources.

All options on table 

Poorer countries have warned that a weak finance deal at Cop29 would kneecap their ability to set more ambitious targets to cut the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.

Africans push food systems and climate justice at Cop29

Sierra Leone’s Environment Minister Jiwoh Abdulai told Reuters the initial proposal for a $250 billion target for 2035, from Friday, would not amount to a real increase in support when accounting for inflation.

“We’ve spent three years negotiating these numbers. And with the end of the three years we’ve got nothing,” Abdulai said, adding that the deal needed stronger language to make accessing funding easier.

On Saturday, the least developed country grouping in the UN talks, of which Sierra Leone is a part, will present its red lines for a deal to the Cop29 president.

A walk out of talks “should be on the table,” he told Reuters. “All options should be on the table.”

 (Reuters)

Saâda Arbane, now 30, survived a brutal attack when she was six years old during Algeria’s “black decade”, between 1992 and 2002. 

Her village in Tiaret was raided in 1993, leaving her with a partially slit throat and damaged vocal cords. Many of her neighbours were killed, and her family was decimated

Arbane says she recognised her own life story in the novel’s protagonist, Aube. Daoud published the novel without her permission, she claims, despite her repeated refusals to let him adapt her story.

“I don’t like talking about my story, it’s something that disturbs me in life,” said she told RFI.

Arbane also alleges that her psychiatrist, Aïcha Dahdouh – who is Daoud’s wife – violated medical confidentiality by sharing details of her treatment with her husband.

Legal battle

Daoud and Dahdouh are now facing legal action in Algeria’s Oran court. Arbane’s lawyer, Fatima Benbraham, told RFI that her client has evidence to back her claims.

“If the evidence did not exist, the claim would have been inadmissible,” said Benbraham. “My client’s rights will never remain violated, by anyone. We want justice.”

The complaints, filed in August, accuse the couple of using Arbane’s personal story without consent and violating Algerian laws on medical confidentiality.

“Right after the publication of the book, we filed two complaints against Kamel Daoud and his wife, Aïcha Dahdouh, the psychiatrist who treated the victim,” Benbraham told journalists this week.

African writers celebrated with prestigious French literary prizes

Horrific story

In a recent interview with an Algerian television channel, Arbane described the similarities between her life and the novel’s plot.

These include her physical scars, a tattoo, her medical history, and her personal experiences, such as her love of horses and her career as an equestrian champion.

Arbane says she was shocked by what she read in Houris.

Daoud’s publisher, Gallimard, has denied the allegations, calling them “defamatory attacks” against the author.

In a statement, Gallimard said the novel’s plot and characters are “purely fictional”, despite being inspired by the events of Algeria’s civil war, during which up to 200,000 people were killed.

Daoud himself has dismissed the claims as part of “violent defamatory campaigns organised by media close to the Algerian regime”.

He also noted that Houris is banned in Algeria.

The head of the Gallimard was forbidden from presenting his works at the Algiers International Book Fair, which ended on 17 November.

Arbane’s lawyer has further accused Daoud of defaming victims of terrorism and violating Algeria’s national reconciliation laws, which prohibit publishing details about the so-called black decade.

Despite the controversy, Houris was widely regarded as a frontrunner for the Goncourt Prize, which it won earlier this month.

The complaints were filed in August, before Daoud won the prize. “We didn’t want to talk about it so it wouldn’t be said that we wanted to disrupt the author’s nomination,” said Benbraham.

Conservative background

Daoud, who was born in Algeria, initially supported Islamist parties before breaking ties and becoming a columnist.

His first novel, The Meursault Investigation, was published in 2013. He moved to France in 2023 and has often sparked controversy with his outspoken views.

For a decade, he wrote for the French weekly magazine Le Point, frequently facing criticism for what some called anti-Arab racism.

In 2016, he published an op-ed in The New York Times titled The Sexual Misery of the Arab World, following reports of sexual assaults by Arab migrants in Cologne, Germany.

He has also been linked with French far-right intellectuals.

Grapes have been grown for centuries in Manisa, western Turkey. It is here that Fulya Akinci and her Spanish husband, Jose Hernandez Gonzalez, decided they wanted to be a part of the transformation of the country’s wine industry.

“In 2005, in 2006, maybe when you went to a restaurant, you would order red wine or white wine, that was it,” explains Akinci. “In the last 15 years, there has been a real boom. We have so many, we say, boutique wineries. Now, with these small wineries, the quality has changed a lot.”

With their wine label Heraki, Akinci and Hernandez Gonzalez are part of this surge of new, small producers – a group which has grown to number around 200, from only a handful a decade ago. The couple trained at a wine school in Bordeaux and have worked in vineyards around the world. Hernandez Gonzalez explained that it was Turkey’s untapped potential that persuaded him and Akinci to produce their own wine there.

“As a foreigner, when I came to Turkey I was really surprised about the biodiversity of different grape varieties,” he said. “This is a country with many different grape varieties. Also, [there was] the potential of the soils and the climate. We have mountains, we have the coasts – many different climates to make grapes. And the potential of those grapes to make wine is huge.”

France asks for EU help to destroy ‘unprofitable’ Bordeaux vines

Government restrictions

Hernandez Gonzales explained that rather than making wine from vines used worldwide, they decided to use indigenous grapes. “One of our main ideas here at Heraki was to make wines from those local grapes.”

In five years, their production has increased from a couple of thousand to 20,000 bottles. But the couple says this has been an uphill struggle. “We have some difficulties because of the bureaucracy – so much paperwork – and some pressures over tax… so huge pressures on us. It’s not easy at all,” explained Akinci.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK), which enjoys large support among Muslims, has, since coming to power in 2002, hiked alcohol taxes to 65 percent, among the highest in the world. There are also growing restrictions on wine production, sales and advertising. “We love making wine, but it’s not easy at all. It’s hard, and every day is getting worse and worse,” said Akinci.

Turkey’s broadcasting authorities banned images of alcohol on television back in 2013, and in much of the country securing alcohol licences is difficult.

Turkish radio ban is latest attack on press freedom, warn activists

But meanwhile, government adverts promoting Turkey as a tourist destination abroad often highlight the country’s wines as an attraction. With much of the wine industry based in tourism centres, experts say tourists are helping to drive demand and grow the reputation of Turkish wines.

International interest

“Wine producers have started to get better prices for their wines. They can now make money, against all the odds. There is international interest,” said wine consultant Sabiha Apaydın Gonenli. Through her Kok Koken Toprak Conference (Root Soil Wine Conference) international symposiums, she promotes Turkey’s wine industry internationally.

However, she warns the industry still has a long way to go. “It’s not that economically viable at the moment because it is very small. In order to market this, you need support. You can’t do this alone, wine producers need to come together.”

Police break up French-Italian wine fraud ring

As for Heraki wines, they are now being stocked at a top European restaurant and have secured a German distributor. But despite such successes, Akinci says wine-making in Turkey remains a bittersweet experience.

“One day, we are so happy to make wine here, and we are thinking about increasing the volume and making other things. Then another day, we’re thinking about closing up and going to Spain.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile – the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree – at a Ukrainian military facility in response to Kyiv striking Russia with US-made and British-made missiles this week for the first time after the US granted its approval.

“The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine, and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side,” Peskov told reporters.

“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” he said.

Moscow has said it regards Ukraine’s firing of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia as proof of direct US and British involvement in the war.

It says satellite targeting data and the actual programming of the missiles’ flight paths must be done by NATO military personnel because Kyiv does not have the capabilities itself.

Putin said Moscow had struck a missile and defence enterprise in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where missile and space rocket company Pivdenmash, known as Yuzhmash by Russians, is based.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that all of the missile’s warheads had hit their targets and hailed what it said was its first successful use of an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile with conventional warheads in combat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia’s use of the new missile amounts to “a clear and severe escalation” and has called for strong worldwide condemnation.

Peskov said Russia had not been technically obliged to warn the United States about the strike because the missile used had been intermediate-range rather than intercontinental, but he said Moscow had informed the US 30 minutes before the launch anyway.

He said Putin remained open to dialogue, but that the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden “prefers to continue down the path of escalation” and urged it to heed a warning Putin issued in September.

Putin said at the time that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict and force Moscow to take “appropriate decisions” based on the new threats.

In his televised remarks on Thursday, Putin said that Russia had fired its new missile after Ukraine, with approval from the Biden administration, had struck Russia with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday and with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and US-made HIMARS on Thursday.

Peskov said he hoped that the US had received and understood Moscow’s message.

“As for openness to dialogue, even in yesterday’s statement the president stressed his readiness for any contacts – both with a view to de-escalation, to avoiding further escalation, and to reaching a peaceful trajectory,” said Peskov.

“Yesterday’s statement (from Putin) was very comprehensive, clear, and logical. We have no doubt that the current administration in Washington had the opportunity to familiarise itself with this statement and understand it.”

 (Reuters)

The objects, dating to the 19th century, are symbols of governance, chiefship and royal heritage.

Originally crafted by Asante court artisans, they include swords, linguist staffs, palace security locks, rings, necklaces and gold weights.

The artefacts were authenticated by historian and associate director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, Ivor Agyeman-Duah.

“This is a significant cultural moment for Ghana and Africa,” he said.

Speaking to AFP, he described the regalia as “masterpieces of gold smithery reflecting the sophistication of Asante court governance”.

The presentation will take place at a mini-durbar at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the return from exile of the king’s grand-uncle, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I.

The event will also honour the visiting president of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, according to a statement from the palace.

Agyeman-Duah said the restitution follows a direct appeal that the Asante king – the Asantehene – made earlier this year to AngloGold Ashanti, a South African mining company, to hand back the artefacts.

Ghana loses historic forts along its coastline to climate change

Blood and Bronze: unveiling the British Empire’s brutality in Nigeria

Stolen goods

The objects had been part of the company’s Gold of Africa Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, before being transferred to the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria.

Their return to Kumasi was approved three weeks ago by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the statement added.

The objects will be housed in a new contemporary gallery recently added to the Manhyia Palace Museum.

This restitution brings the total number of cultural objects returned to the Asante Palace this year to 67, the largest repatriation of artefacts in Africa in recent years.

Earlier this year, seven items looted during the 1874 Anglo-Asante War were returned by the Fowler Museum at UCLA in California.

A further 32 were restituted from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

An AngloGold Ashanti delegation will attend the ceremony in Kumasi.

Neighbouring Nigeria is also negotiating the return of thousands of 16th- to 18th-century objects looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin and held by museums and art collectors across the United States and Europe.

And, two years ago, Benin received two dozen treasures and artworks stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces.

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.

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, 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! 

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions – or wishes – for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, or what you hope to see happen in 2025, go ahead and send it to us. We’ll need your resolutions and/or wishes by 15 December.

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!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Jahangir is also the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in his fair city. Welcome, Jahangir!

This week’s quiz: On 26 October, I asked you a question about The COP16 Biodiversity Summit, which opened on  21 October and ran through the first of this month, November. Held in Cali, Columbia, it was attended by leaders and delegates from over 200 countries.

RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow wrote about what was at stake at this COP, in her article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”.

Not much has happened since COP15 – as Amanda noted, as of this date, only 17 percent of land and about 8 percent of oceans are protected – a far cry from the 30 percent committed to at COP15.

Money pledged is also far behind schedule: and that was your question. You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answer to this question: How much money was promised by wealthy nations to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, and how much has actually been secured?   

The answer is, to quote Amanda: “Talks at Cop16 will focus on pressuring wealthy nations to deliver the promised US 30 billion annually to support biodiversity protection in developing countries. So far, pledges to a new biodiversity fund have fallen far short, with only about 400 million secured – and even less disbursed. Countries like China may also be called on to play a larger financial role.”  

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Imagine that France’s president Emmanuel Macron came to visit your city. Which three places would you take him?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Malik Shoaib Ahmad Khokhar from Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Malik is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Malik!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are our brand-new RFI Listeners Club member Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh, as well as RFI English listeners Kripa Ram Kaga from Sirajganj, Bangladesh; Bari from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and last but assuredly not least, our brother journalist Suresh Agrawal, from Odisha, India.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Les Pommes de Grand-Mère” from Le Grand Cahier by Alexander Litvinovsky, performed by the Metamorphose String Orchestra conducted by Pavel Lyubomudrov; “Zingaro” by Rene Aubrey; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and  “Intro” by Alan Braxe and Fred Falke.

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 “Senegal’s ruling Pastef party on track to get large majority in elections”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 6 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 11 January 2025 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

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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.   

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.”

Grapes have been grown for centuries in Manisa, western Turkey. It is here that Fulya Akinci and her Spanish husband, Jose Hernandez Gonzalez, decided they wanted to be a part of the transformation of the country’s wine industry.

“In 2005, in 2006, maybe when you went to a restaurant, you would order red wine or white wine, that was it,” explains Akinci. “In the last 15 years, there has been a real boom. We have so many, we say, boutique wineries. Now, with these small wineries, the quality has changed a lot.”

With their wine label Heraki, Akinci and Hernandez Gonzalez are part of this surge of new, small producers – a group which has grown to number around 200, from only a handful a decade ago. The couple trained at a wine school in Bordeaux and have worked in vineyards around the world. Hernandez Gonzalez explained that it was Turkey’s untapped potential that persuaded him and Akinci to produce their own wine there.

“As a foreigner, when I came to Turkey I was really surprised about the biodiversity of different grape varieties,” he said. “This is a country with many different grape varieties. Also, [there was] the potential of the soils and the climate. We have mountains, we have the coasts – many different climates to make grapes. And the potential of those grapes to make wine is huge.”

France asks for EU help to destroy ‘unprofitable’ Bordeaux vines

Government restrictions

Hernandez Gonzales explained that rather than making wine from vines used worldwide, they decided to use indigenous grapes. “One of our main ideas here at Heraki was to make wines from those local grapes.”

In five years, their production has increased from a couple of thousand to 20,000 bottles. But the couple says this has been an uphill struggle. “We have some difficulties because of the bureaucracy – so much paperwork – and some pressures over tax… so huge pressures on us. It’s not easy at all,” explained Akinci.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK), which enjoys large support among Muslims, has, since coming to power in 2002, hiked alcohol taxes to 65 percent, among the highest in the world. There are also growing restrictions on wine production, sales and advertising. “We love making wine, but it’s not easy at all. It’s hard, and every day is getting worse and worse,” said Akinci.

Turkey’s broadcasting authorities banned images of alcohol on television back in 2013, and in much of the country securing alcohol licences is difficult.

Turkish radio ban is latest attack on press freedom, warn activists

But meanwhile, government adverts promoting Turkey as a tourist destination abroad often highlight the country’s wines as an attraction. With much of the wine industry based in tourism centres, experts say tourists are helping to drive demand and grow the reputation of Turkish wines.

International interest

“Wine producers have started to get better prices for their wines. They can now make money, against all the odds. There is international interest,” said wine consultant Sabiha Apaydın Gonenli. Through her Kok Koken Toprak Conference (Root Soil Wine Conference) international symposiums, she promotes Turkey’s wine industry internationally.

However, she warns the industry still has a long way to go. “It’s not that economically viable at the moment because it is very small. In order to market this, you need support. You can’t do this alone, wine producers need to come together.”

Police break up French-Italian wine fraud ring

As for Heraki wines, they are now being stocked at a top European restaurant and have secured a German distributor. But despite such successes, Akinci says wine-making in Turkey remains a bittersweet experience.

“One day, we are so happy to make wine here, and we are thinking about increasing the volume and making other things. Then another day, we’re thinking about closing up and going to Spain.”

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.

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, 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! 

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions – or wishes – for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, or what you hope to see happen in 2025, go ahead and send it to us. We’ll need your resolutions and/or wishes by 15 December.

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!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Jahangir is also the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in his fair city. Welcome, Jahangir!

This week’s quiz: On 26 October, I asked you a question about The COP16 Biodiversity Summit, which opened on  21 October and ran through the first of this month, November. Held in Cali, Columbia, it was attended by leaders and delegates from over 200 countries.

RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow wrote about what was at stake at this COP, in her article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”.

Not much has happened since COP15 – as Amanda noted, as of this date, only 17 percent of land and about 8 percent of oceans are protected – a far cry from the 30 percent committed to at COP15.

Money pledged is also far behind schedule: and that was your question. You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answer to this question: How much money was promised by wealthy nations to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, and how much has actually been secured?   

The answer is, to quote Amanda: “Talks at Cop16 will focus on pressuring wealthy nations to deliver the promised US 30 billion annually to support biodiversity protection in developing countries. So far, pledges to a new biodiversity fund have fallen far short, with only about 400 million secured – and even less disbursed. Countries like China may also be called on to play a larger financial role.”  

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Imagine that France’s president Emmanuel Macron came to visit your city. Which three places would you take him?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Malik Shoaib Ahmad Khokhar from Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Malik is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Malik!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are our brand-new RFI Listeners Club member Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh, as well as RFI English listeners Kripa Ram Kaga from Sirajganj, Bangladesh; Bari from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and last but assuredly not least, our brother journalist Suresh Agrawal, from Odisha, India.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Les Pommes de Grand-Mère” from Le Grand Cahier by Alexander Litvinovsky, performed by the Metamorphose String Orchestra conducted by Pavel Lyubomudrov; “Zingaro” by Rene Aubrey; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and  “Intro” by Alan Braxe and Fred Falke.

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 “Senegal’s ruling Pastef party on track to get large majority in elections”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 6 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 11 January 2025 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.   

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.

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.