Viginum, the French government body responsible for monitoring foreign digital interference, published a detailed report uncovering a large-scale Russian influence operation that used TikTok to sway Romania’s presidential race in December last year.

The campaign, backed by Russian-linked networks, boosted fringe candidate Calin Georgescu and ultimately led Romanian authorities to annul the vote.

The decision triggered protests and political instability, fuelled in part by US Vice-President JD Vance, who questioned the state of European democracy, after Romania’s Constitutional Court cancelled the December run-off.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance said European values were under threat if “European courts cancel elections”.

But Romanian authorities published proof of interference after the court struck down the 8 December vote, citing evidence that a Russian influence operation had distorted the outcome.

French cyber experts reveal vast network of Russian disinformation sites

Algorithm exploited

Viginum’s report revealed how TikTok’s algorithm was exploited to artificially inflate Georgescu’s visibility online. The agency detailed a  false advertising campaign – called astroturfing – involving over 25,000 coordinated TikTok accounts, many of which had been inactive for years.

“The explosive increase in the candidate’s visibility on the platform seems to have been achieved thanks to a sophisticated astroturfing campaign, consisting in the coordinated manipulation of the recommendation algorithm by massively publishing videos and comments containing certain hashtags and keywords,” said Viginum.

The hashtag #calingeorgescu alone recorded more than 73 million views in just one week.

According to Viginum, Georgescu – a little-known candidate – managed to secure nearly 23 percent of the vote in the first round, following the sudden online push.

More than 130 influencers were involved, many of them with no political background, who were recruited – often unknowingly – by obscure companies linked to Russia, Sergiu Miscoiu of Babes-Bolyai University told RFI.

“The report shows how influencers from different parts of the world connected with some very fuzzy companies, all of them having roots in Russia, or in the Russian sphere, on the internet, and intervened in the support of Georgescu by multiplying tens of thousands of accounts in his support,” Miscoiu said.

The manipulation extended beyond TikTok to Facebook and Instagram. Romanian authorities also reported more than 85,000 cyberattacks traced to Russia’s SVR intelligence agency.

Far right candidate takes the lead in Romania’s presidential race

‘Perfect mastery’

Viginum’s report, which was corroborated by Romanian intelligence and independent observers, warned that the architects of the campaign demonstrated “perfect mastery of methods for circumventing moderation policies”.

The agency noted that the operation had taken advantage of TikTok’s dominant role in Romania, where the platform has around 9 million users.

Viginum is now calling on France and other EU countries to increase oversight of digital advertising and influencer activity ahead of upcoming elections.

“The absence of transparency about the origin of funding and advertisements allowed the foreign network to move while remaining virtually invisible, directly reaching a gigantic electoral pool,” the report said.

Romania’s elections this month will be followed by votes in Albania and Poland, raising concerns that similar campaigns could target those countries next.

Eroding confidence

Miscoiu said Russian disinformation efforts across Eastern Europe are rarely designed to promote Russia directly. Instead, they aim to erode confidence in democratic institutions.

“They will try just to seed doubts about the European Union, about liberal democracy, to create alternative narratives, and through fake news and disinformation, to weaken the trust in the authorities,” he said.

One recent example is a false campaign claiming that young Europeans would be forcibly sent to fight in Ukraine. The rumour spread widely among Romanian and Bulgarian communities, stoking fear and distrust.

Other operations target everyday frustrations.

“There would be a report on ‘Eastern countries getting the rotten apples, the expired bananas, the second-hand services, and so they remain second-hand Europeans, while all the good products are reserved for the Western Europeans’,” said Miscoiu.

Viginum had already issued warnings last year about Russian attempts to meddle in European elections. Its latest findings suggest that while the Romanian vote was re-run, the tactics used to disrupt it are still in play.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said “a historic turning point” had been reached, after Russia agreed to direct talks with Ukraine next Thursday in Istanbul, and that the opportunity should be seized to once again negotiations, according to Erdogan’s office.

Macron stressed the “necessity” for Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, his office said of the call.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin read a televised statement in which he proposed “direct negotiations without any preconditions” talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war.

This came just hours after the Macron and other European leaders were in Kyiv to demand that Russia agree to a ceasefire starting Monday or face “massive” new sanctions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who had agreed to talks if Moscow agreed to the 30-day ceasefire, later said he was ready to meet Putin after US President Donald Trump told him publicly to immediately accept the proposal.

“I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”

Erdogan told Putin in a phone call that Turkey was ready to host the negotiations, but that a comprehensive ceasefire would create the necessary environment for peace talks, a readout from their call said.

Turkey hosted talks between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022, just after Russia’s invasion. 

The draft agreement discussed then would have required Ukraine to give up its Nato ambitions and accept permanent neutral and nuclear-free status in return for security guarantees from the five permanent United Nationsl Security Council members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after Putin’s statement that the talks must take into account that draft agreement and the current situation on the ground.

Ukraine has said agreeing to the terms of the 2022 draft would be tantamount to capitulation.

(with Reuters)

The new pope called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in the war in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all Israeli hostages held by militant group Hamas.

He also welcomed Saturday’s ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan and said he was praying to God to grant the world the “miracle of peace”.

The Pope also recited the Regina Caeli prayer, in honour of the Virgin Mary, to the tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and on the Via della Conciliazione leading to the Vatican.

Call for peace

Speaking from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, he said: “I would like to address the powerful people of the world, repeating the always-current call: ‘no more war’,” echoing a frequent call of the late Pope Francis.

He noted the recent 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in which some 60 million people were killed.

Leo said today’s world was living through “the dramatic scenario of a Third World War being fought piecemeal,” again repeating a phrase coined by Francis.

The crowds broke into applause at his call for peace.

The Pope said he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine“.

Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the bloody three-year war, Leo appealed for negotiations to reach an “authentic, just and lasting peace”.

He also said he was “profoundly saddened by what is happening in the Gaza Strip”, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

Israel has stopped all humanitarian aid entering Gaza and resumed strikes following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement.

Pope Francis calls for Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages in Easter address

Continuing predecessor’s “precious legacy”

Pope Leo was chosen as the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, after a two-day conclave in Vatican City.

He is the first US-born pontiff and was a relative unknown on the world stage before his election.

Formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, he said he had chosen the name Leo after a 19th-century Pope known for his teachings on social justice.

He held his first Mass as Pope in the Sistine chapel on Friday. During a meeting with cardinals on Saturday he described himself as an unworthy choice for Pope and vowed to continue his predecessor’s “precious legacy“.

Leaders and believers around the world pay tribute to ‘everyone’s pope’

Leo cited one of Francis’s key priorities of making the Catholic Church more attentive to lay people and inclusive.

In all of his appearances since his election, the new pope has made no mention of the country of his birth, angering some US conservative commentators.

Before becoming pontiff, he was not shy about criticising President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, notably their clampdown on immigration. 

In February, Prevost reposted an article headlined, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

In his first address on Thursday evening he told the crowds he wanted “to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice”.

Leo will be formally inaugurated on 18 May at a mass in St Peter’s Square.

(with newswires)

The latest report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found that Salafi jihadist groups had no unique weapon supply sources and rely on local, predatory acquisition methods just like other regional armed actors.

At least 20 percent of the weapons used by Salafi jihadist groups in the Sahel had been seized from regular armies of eight North and West African countries, researchers found.

The weapons were seized during attacks on national forces, particularly in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, the European research body found. Researchers also identified weapons that originally belonged to forces in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria and Chad.

This kind of military looting, the report says, is the main source of weapons for groups like JNIM (the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the support of Islam and Muslims) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

Researchers describe the tactic as a “key element” of the jihadists’ dual strategy of undermining state authority while arming themselves through direct confrontation.

JNIM regularly promotes such a method in its propaganda, publishing videos showcasing its captured “war trophies”.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to launch anti-jihadist force

Researchers analysed more than 700 weapons – including rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars – recovered during counterterrorism operations between 2015 and 2023.

Nearly all the weapons and ammunition were acquired locally due to geographic and logistical limitations.

Older weapons, when not seized from state forces, were often passed between illicit actors in the region while newer arms were acquired “mainly, if not exclusively,” through direct attacks on Sahelian armed forces.

Little evidence of foreign arms pipelines

The report found “no evidence that the groups are able to access weapons directly from outside of the central Sahel, or that they have established supply sources distinct from those available to other illicit armed actors in the region”. 

This debunks the idea that either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State are supplying weapons to Sahel-based jihadist groups directly. It also undermines online conspiracy theories claiming that foreign powers – particularly France – are arming the fighters.

Should Niger’s coup heighten fears over terrorism in the Sahel?

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have all experienced military coups since 2020, as well as the associated withdrawal of international security forces, including the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in 2023.

The three countries all severed military ties with longstanding partners, including France, to form a cooperation pact in September 2023 known as the Alliance of Sahel States. In January this year they officially withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

While protests continue over the jailing of the Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, his account on social media platform X has been cancelled.

X, formerly Twitter, claims it was in response to a Turkish court order. Dozens of Imamoglu supporters have also had their accounts suspended, drawing widespread condemnation.

The controversy is stoking broader concerns over the stance of the world’s tech giants towards Turkey.

“These international tech companies find it well to keep good relations with the Turkish authorities because their only evaluation is not just on the side of democratic standards,” said Erol Onderoglu of the Paris-based Reporters without Borders.

“But there is another challenge which is based on financial profit. The country’s advertising market is very vibrant regarding social media participation,” he added.

Google is also facing criticism. The US tech giant was recently accused of changing its algorithms, resulting in a collapse in people accessing the websites of Turkey’s independent media and therefore depriving the companies of vital advertising revenue.

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

Fewer alternative voices

Until now, the internet has provided a platform for alternative voices to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who controls around 90 percent of the mainstream media.

“Google has a very big effect when you search the web for news, the most visible ones are always from pro-government media or state media. But the omission of independent media from results is just a mystery right now,” said Volga Koscuoglu, editor-in-chief of the independent news portal Bianet.

Turkey’s independent media is battling arrests and fines by the Turkish authorities. Reporters Without Borders’ latest index on press freedom saw Turkey slip further down the rankings to 159 out of 180 countries.

Koscuoglu fears the government is seeking to extend its control over the media to the internet.

“We don’t know whether there was any political pressure as no reports have been made about that,” said Koscuoglu. “But the government has passed several laws in recent years and those were aimed to bring large social media under control in Turkey.

“You wouldn’t expect Google to be excluded from this control; so yes, there could be political influence on that decision.”

How Turkish voters are beating internet press clampdown before polls

Threat to reduce bandwidth

Duvar, one of Turkey’s largest and most prominent independent news portals, closed its doors in March, citing a loss of revenue following the collapse in internet hits, which it blamed on Google’s change to algorithms.

Google was approached to comment on the accusations but did not reply.

However, a spokesperson speaking anonymously to Reuters news agency said that any algorithm changes were simply aimed at enhancing the search facility.

Internet experts believe the Turkish government has controlled the world’s tech giants by making them liable to Turkish law.

“The government, in addition to warnings, financial penalties and an advertisement ban, was going to impose a bandwidth restriction,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a co-founder of Turkey’s Freedom of Expression Association.

“The government was going to throttle the social media platforms that didn’t comply…up to 50 percent of their bandwidth access was going to be reduced, and that was going up to 90 percent of their bandwidth being restricted from Turkey.

“Social media providers didn’t want to risk that,” he concluded.

Press freedom concerns as Ankara forces internet giants to bow to Turkish law

‘Extinction of pluralism’

With some of Turkey’s independent media organisations claiming their web activity has dropped by as much as 90 percent in the past few months, many are struggling to survive and are laying off journalists.

The experience of Turkey could well be the canary in the mine.

Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders claims the plurality of the media is at stake.

“Extinction of pluralism within the media, which means that you’ll have just one echo from a country which is the official line, is extremely dangerous,” he warned.

“This is the main concern not only in Turkey but in dozens of countries around the world,” he added.

“Journalists are trying to make viable another view within society, another approach from the official one.”

Questions over Google’s power as effective gatekeeper to the internet and what critics claim is the lack of transparency over the search engine’s algorithms are likely to grow.

Meanwhile, the algorithm changes leave Turkey’s besieged independent media, already battling arrests and fines, fighting for financial survival.

Demonstrators carried a banner reading “Sébastien Deyzieu Présent” and walked to the beat of drums while chanting “Europa, Youth, Revolution” – the slogan of the GUD, a violent, far-right student union officially disbanded in 2024.

Many participants covered their faces, which is prohibited in France. Some carried torches and displayed symbols linked to far-right movements such as Celtic crosses, and wore black t-shirts with neo-Nazi and hooligan imagery.

The march was organised by the May 9 Committee (C9M). It holds the rally around May 9 every year to mark the anniversary of the death of Sébastien Deyzieu who fell from a building when he was trying to escape the police during a march against American imperialism on 9 May 1994.

Deyzieu was a member of “Oeuvre Française” – a French nationalist, anti-semitic movement founded in 1968 by the son of a Nazi collaborator. Described by the interior ministry as “propagating xenophobic and anti-semitic ideology, racist and Holocaust-denying theories”, it was dissolved in 2013.  

Thirteen arrested

Some people attending the rally had come from abroad, including Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Spain.

Thirteen people, including counter-protesters, were arrested during the event though police said no major clashes occurred.

Last Wednesday, the Paris prefecture banned both the ultra-right C9M rally and a counter rally described as “antifascist and antiracist”, citing public safety concerns.

However, the Paris administrative court overturned the ban on the C9M rally on Friday evening, noting that last year’s march had not led to any legal action.

The counter-march was not authorised. But left-wing activists, backed by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, organised an “antifascist village” near the Patheon where figures of the French Resistance such as Jean Moulin, Josephine Baker, Missak and Mélinée Manouchian are honoured.

The event, in its second year, is designed to be a “reminder that neo-nazis have no more place in our streets than their ancestors”. Some 3,000 people attended, according to the organisers. 

Xenophobic groups banned

In 2023, the ultra-nationalist rally sparked controversy when around 600 neo-Nazis marched through Paris on 8 May, when Europe commemorates the victory of Allied forces over Nazi Germany.

Facing criticism for allowing the march, Gérald Darmanin, interior minister at the time, told police chiefs to ban far-right extremist demonstrations in France, leaving it up to the courts to authorise them or not.

In December 2023, the ultra-right Division Martel group was disbanded following violent clashes with police in the south of France. Founded in 2022, it promoted “the use of violence to foster the advent of nationalist and xenophobic supremacy”.

Government bid to outlaw French far-right group prompts online petition

Génération Identitaire (Generation Identity), which gained notoriety through several attempts to block migrants from entering the country, was banned in 2021, and the Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves movement in 2020.

Tourists flocking to see the treasures inside the Louvre museum may find it hard to imagine that behind the grand sandstone façade in the heart of Paris, a third of its 1,800 students are struggling to make ends meet.

“When we see how magnificent the Louvre is, we can’t begin to imagine that students studying at its school would have any kind of difficulty,” says Claire Barbillon, director of the school since 2017.

Established in 1882, by prominent politician Jules Ferry, the Ecole du Louvre is a school dedicated to studies in art history, archaeology and museum management.

Louvre plagued by leaks and crumbling infrastructure, museum boss warns

As well as educating students who hope to forge a career in art history, the school offers summer courses, conferences and online content that is available to the general public.

Although the annual fees for full-time students are minimal, thanks to state support, those attending still need to pay for accommodation and living expenses, as well as supplies for their courses.

Students using food banks

Many of the students come from outside Paris, without family or friends living nearby. Student accommodation fills up quickly and shared accommodation is not always a practical solution – or even possible to find.

Listening to their feedback over the years, Barbillon noticed a worrying pattern emerging. Students were having to sacrifice time they would have spent studying to work instead, to pay their bills.

Others were switching off their heating, while some were scrounging around markets to find unsold fruit and vegetables or even using food banks.

‘We must reflect society’s big issues’, says first woman director of Le Louvre

“Young people’s passion for the arts must be taken into consideration. Obviously, their skills count, but not their social background,” Barbillon told RFI.

She explained that for the last 20 years, the school’s partnership with the Culture and Diversity Foundation has made courses more accessible to students from lower-income families.

But despite passing the arduous entrance exam – there are 300 places for 1,500 candidates – some are unable to fulfil their potential, due to the financial strain of attending the school.

While wealthy donors and philanthropists have contributed to funding over the years, Barbillon saw a need to establish a long-term system to help students financially.

She became the president of the school’s endowment fund in 2020 and since then some 300 students have been given assistance. But in 2024, only 29 scholarships for living expenses were awarded, out of 144 applications.

For students who are coming straight from school, l’école du Louvre is “extremely demanding,” she said. “It’s a big step to take. There are new ways of working, the need for autonomy and a huge personal investment.”

Crowdfunding campaign

To speed up the process of organising emergency funds to help students pay their bills, Barbillon and her team have launched a clever crowdfunding campaign on the French platform Ulule.

It depicts students in the style of neglected portraits, with cracked oil paint and holes in the canvas – with the slogan: “Because the living conditions of our students need to be restored.”

For Barbillon, it’s a way of reaching out to a much wider donor base – donation options start from just €10. In exchange, donors are offered a guided visit or the chance to attend a special conference.

With people now familiar with the crowdfunding concept and donations made online, the campaign is aimed at potential donors around the world.

With a target of €50,000, Barbillon says the school will invest the money to generate interest, thus establishing a sustainable form of revenue for students.

‘They must be allowed to follow their dreams’

The Ecole du Louvre has an impressive roster of alumni – including many of Paris’s museum directors, such as the Louvre’s own director Laurence des Cars, says Barbillon.

Fashion designers Hedi Slimane, Christian Lacroix and Agnès B also studied at the school, as did filmmaker Agnès Varda and her daughter Rosalie.

Intergenerational living helps relieve isolation for seniors and students

Around 15 percent of students come from overseas. A famous example is Jackie Kennedy-Onassis who came over from the US in 1949 to study painting at the school.

Barbillon says she hopes former students and their families, art lovers and professionals alike will see making a donation as protecting France’s cultural heritage, and supporting the next generation.

“Every young person who wants to become a professional must be able to follow their dreams,” said Barbillon. “That’s why, once they’ve passed the entrance exam, I want them all to have the same opportunity for success.”

A group of 30 left-wing French politicians travelled to Algeria this week to take part in commemorations and call on France to acknowledge its responsibility.

“It’s important on this symbolic date to have a French delegation to show that in France there are not only enemies of Algeria, as we have seen with the heated debates of the past few months,” greens MP Sabrina Sebaï told RFI, referring to the degradation of diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria.

She said the visit aimed “to send a message also to say that there is a deep work to do on issues of memory and reconciliation”.

But for the French right, such a visit is a provocation.

“The day of 8 May, which is a day of national pride, you have French elected officials who go to Algeria to participate in self-flagellation and humiliation,” said Laurent Wauquiez, the president of the right-wing Les Republicains.

Listen to a history of what happened in Algeria on 8 May 1945 in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 128: 

The events being commemorated began on 8 May, 1945. As people gathered in the northern Algerian city of Sétif to celebrate the Allied victory, some brought out Algerian flags and banners calling for independence.

French authorities ordered the banners be removed. When some refused, troops opened fire on the crowd.

News of the shootings spread to nearby towns, including Guelma and Kherrata, where rioting broke out. Around 100 French settlers were killed.

In response, French authorities launched a brutal crackdown.

Charles de Gaulle, who led France at the time, gave the green light for “all necessary measures to repress all anti-French acts”.

Backed by army troops and the air force, colonial forces bombed villages and carried out summary executions across the region. Civilians – men, women and children – were killed throughout May and June.

France’s official silence

There is still no agreed figure for how many people died. Algeria says 45,000 were killed. Historians have estimated between 15,000 and 20,000.

“Eighty years later we do not know exactly the number of people who died in May and June 1945 because there was a code of silence,” said filmmaker Mehdi Lallaoui, who made a documentary on the Sétif massacre.

“The survivors of the killings were thrown in prison, and the state wanted to hide this event.”

De Gaulle reportedly said to “bury the whole affair”, and officials referred to it only as “the events”.

But in Algeria the Sétif, Guelma and Kherrata massacres helped spur on the emerging movement for self-determination – energising, perhaps even uniting, what had been a fractured independence movement until then. 

Over the next few years, resistance groups became more organised. On 1 November 1954, Algerians started their revolution against the French, who were eventually forced to grant the colony its independence in 1962.

Recognition and reconcilliation

Algeria made 8 May an official day of commemoration in 2020. Some in France want the same – a move that would involve officially acknowledging France’s role in the killings. So far, that has not happened. 

“Algeria’s independence remains a trauma in the French public opinion,” historian Nils Andersson told RFI.

“There is an anti-Algerian feeling in France – the colonising country – and I think the role of political leaders is to have the courage to recognise the facts about colonialism, which is neither an act of contrition of repentance, but just a moral and truthful act.”

In 2005, France’s ambassador to Algeria called the massacre an “inexcusable tragedy”. A decade later, a French minister visited the massacre’s commemoration site.

This week, a group of left-wing MPs submitted a proposal to officially recognise the massacres as a “state crime perpetrated against an unarmed civilian population”.

The MPs’ visit and the proposed resolution come at a time of high tension between France and Algeria. Interior Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told RTL radio on Tuesday that relations were currently “blocked”.

For the centrist Senator Raphaël Daubet, a member of the delegation, reopening dialogue with Algeria involves “the recognition of these massacres” that happened in Sétif, Guelma et Kherrata.

Traoré, known as “the King”, leads the Alternatives for Mali party and is part of the opposition coalition Jigiya Koura. He was arrested on 24 April and transferred to Dioïla prison, 160km from the capital. His trial is set for 12 June.

Traoré is charged with “undermining the credit of the state” and “spreading knowingly false news likely to disturb public order”.

The charges stem from an interview posted online on 22 April in which Traoré accused members of the National Transition Council – appointed by the junta – of enriching themselves at public expense.

He claimed they were receiving “billions” in salaries intended for elected MPs, while working “for their personal interest and not for the homeland”.

Traoré also questioned the legitimacy of the 2023 constitutional referendum and condemned the council’s silence over threats to ban political parties. “Not keeping your word is an insult to the honour of Malians,” he said during the interview.

Mali forum backs five-year presidency for junta leader Assimi Goïta

Widening crackdown

This is not Traoré’s first run-in with the authorities. Last year, he was jailed for more than five months along with 10 other political leaders after holding a meeting during a nationwide suspension of political activity.

In April, another member of his party was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 650,000 CFA francs after calling Mali’s military rulers “juntas” and urging resistance to what he called the “anarchic regime of Assimi Goïta”.

Goïta seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021. Last month, a government-backed national dialogue recommended naming him president for a renewable five-year term. The same forum also proposed dissolving all political parties – a move that has fuelled anger among opposition groups.

First major rally 

On Saturday, hundreds of activists defied threats and gathered in Bamako in the first major pro-democracy demonstration since the 2020 coup. Protesters met outside the Palais de la Culture after police blocked access to the venue, which had been occupied earlier by pro-military supporters.

“Any attempt to limit, suspend or dissolve political parties is a direct attack on the constitution and the sovereignty of the Malian people,” protest organisers said in a statement.

The following day, civic and political leaders held a press conference demanding a “rapid and credible return to constitutional order through the organisation of transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections”, said organiser Cheick Oumar Doumbia.

Police forced them to leave, citing risks of confrontation with junta supporters.

Opposition parties are now planning another rally in Bamako on 9 May. “We are taking it up a notch to demonstrate our capacity for mobilisation,” one party leader told local media.

Sahel ministers in Russia for talks after breaking with western allies

Rising alarm

Last week, Mali’s transitional government issued a decree in the Council of Ministers to repeal the law governing political parties. The move followed the conclusions of the national dialogue and has drawn warnings from rights groups.

“There is a real risk of increased tensions if political parties continue to face pressure,” Mamouni Soumano, a political analyst at Kurukanfuga University in Bamako, told the Associated Press.

The opposition coalition has called for the release of all political prisoners and a return to civilian rule by 31 December 2025.

Human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) have condemned what they describe as repeated attacks on basic freedoms during the transition period.

They say arrests, censorship and legal pressure are being used to silence dissent.

Mali’s military-led government has also cut ties with traditional Western partners and forged closer relations with Russia.

Geoengineers at the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), could try to thicken the Arctic ice pack by injecting seawater into the frozen blocks, under the programme Exploring Options for Actively Cooling the Earth.

Another project could see them attempt to make clouds more reflective by pumping reflective particles into the upper reaches of the skies to limit solar radiation.

“Climate change, largely caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, could cause the global temperature to increase by several degrees by the end of the century, precipitating climate tipping points with serious consequences,” said the programme’s director Mark Symes.

Top scientists warn France will have to spend more to deal with climate change

“The solution to this problem is to cease the burning of fossil fuels and to eliminate excess greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. However, lowering atmospheric greenhouse gas levels – even under the most aggressive scenarios – may not happen fast enough to prevent the onset of tipping points.”

Aria proposes small-scale, controlled, geographically confined outdoor experiments on approaches that might help reduce global temperatures, and could give mankind more time to adapt to the consequences of climate change.

“[The experiments] are not meant to be stepping stones to deployment,” Symes added. “The research conducted in this programme should allow us to provide critical – and currently missing – real-world data to scientists and society on what the options are for actively cooling the Earth, how such approaches might work, and what the consequences of their use might be, allowing better-informed assessments of their risks and benefits.”

Experiments

As well as thickening Arctic sea ice blocks to make them more reflective, projects which could lead to field experiments include marine cloud brightening (MCB) and stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI).

One proposed MCB experiment is to spray a fine mist of natural sea water into the atmosphere from a coastal location in the UK and then analyse whether this brightens clouds and increases their reflectivity.

An example of an SAI project is putting a small amount of natural mineral dust in a weather balloon and sending it high into the atmosphere to see how it responds in that environment.

Aria researchers say that no outdoor experiments will be conducted before the public has been consulted. And when they are held, they will be closely supervised and limited.

Climate-hit citizens launch legal challenge against French state

Controversy

However, Aria’s planned projects have coincided with a burgeoning campaign for an international agreement not to use solar geoengineering.

“Conducting small-scale experiments risks normalising highly controversial theories and accelerating technological development, creating a a slippery slope toward full-scale deployment,” said Mary Church, geoengineering campaign manager at the Centre for International Environmental Law.

“Solar geoengineering is inherently unpredictable and risks breaking further an already broken climate system,” she added.

‘Building trust’ key to solving climate crisis, Cop30 president tells RFI

As the 79th United Nations general assembly and New York Climate Week drew to a close last September, countries across Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific joined more than 500 academics and 2,000 civil society organisations to signal their support for bans on tampering with the atmosphere.

“Solar geoengineering deployment cannot be fairly governed globally and poses unacceptable risk if implemented as a future climate policy option,” reads an open letter calling for a ban on such experiments. 

“An international non-use agreement on solar geoengineering would be timely, feasible, and effective,” the letter added. “It would inhibit further normalisation and development of a risky and poorly understood set of technologies.”

“The UK government risks triggering a costly, dangerous and distracting race to develop technologies that should never be used,” Church echoed. “Even experimenting with these technologies could further destabilise an already tense geopolitical context.”

Global average temperatures in 2024 were 1.6C above pre-industrial levels, temporarily exceeding the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Current trajectories show the world passing 1.5C of long-term warming by the end of the early 2030s.

At stake with the election of a new pope is the direction of the Catholic Church, a 2,000-year-old institution with huge global influence but which is battling to adapt to the modern world, and to recover its reputation after the scandal of child sexual abuse by priests.

The process of this election – the conclave – however, is one element not in line for modernisation. Shrouded in secrecy, its name is derived from the Latin cum (with) and clavis (key) – meaning a “room that can be locked”.

This secrecy has seen the conclave enshrined in the popular imagination. The film Conclave, based on the bestselling novel by British author Robert Harris, picked up an Oscar, four BAFTAs and a Golden Globe during this year’s awards season.

‘Princes of the Church’

The 133 cardinals – the so-called “Princes of the Church” – who will vote will gather on Wednesday afternoon under the frescoed splendour of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

A cardinal (from the Latin cardinalis or principal) is a high dignitary of the Catholic Church chosen by the pope to assist him in his government. They form the top echelon of the Catholic Church, with their scarlet robes representing the blood of Christ.

The creation of cardinals reflects the political views of the pontiff, who normally uses this power to shape the selection of his own successor. The current College of Cardinals is a diverse group, thanks to Pope Francis appointing figures from far-flung diocese, some gaining a cardinal for the first time – such as Brunei, Mongolia and South Sudan.

This diversity means some observers are predicting a protracted process. Vatican affairs specialist Marco Politi told French news agency AFP that, given the unknowns, this conclave could be “the most spectacular in 50 years”.

Oath of secrecy

During the conclave, the cardinals are forbidden from contacting the outside world. They will stay at the Santa Marta guesthouse – although prior to 1996 they slept on camp beds in the Apostolic Palace, which is connected to the Sistine Chapel.

Leaders and believers around the world pay tribute to ‘everyone’s pope’

All windows in the conclave zone are darkened to guarantee privacy. Ahead of the vote, technicians deactivate all technological devices installed in recent years in the Sistine Chapel and sweep for secret recording devices.

The day before the conclave they will install “approximately 80 lead seals at all entrances to the perimeter”.

The extreme secrecy required extends to these technicians too, and all support staff – cleaners, cooks, doctors and nurses, drivers and elevator operators. All took an oath of secrecy on Monday. The punishment for breaking it? Automatic ex-communication.

Twelve technicians and maintenance craftspeople will remain inside the Sistine Chapel for the duration of the conclave, maintaining temperature, lighting and electrical systems, and assisting with ceremonial logistics such as operating the famous stove – which is now activated by remote control. 

The vote

On Wednesday, the day the conclave begins, the cardinal electors take part in a morning mass in St Peter’s Basilica. They will then gather in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at 4:15pm and invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit in making their choice.

They proceed at 4:30pm to the Sistine Chapel, where the election will be held, and take an oath vowing secrecy and promising that, if elected, they will conduct the role faithfully.

The master of ceremonies gives the order extra omnes (“everybody out”) and all those not permitted to vote leave the chapel.

The masters of ceremonies then distribute ballots to the electors. Lots are drawn to select three to serve as “scrutineers”, three infirmarii to collect the votes of cardinals who fall ill and three “revisers” who check the ballot counting by the scrutineers.

Cardinals are given rectangular ballots inscribed with the words Eligo in Summum Pontificem (“I elect as supreme pontiff”), with a blank space underneath. They write down the name of their choice for future pope, preferably in handwriting which cannot be identified, and fold the ballot paper twice.

Is the Catholic church ready for its first African Pope?

Each cardinal takes turns to walk to the altar, carrying his vote in the air so that it can be clearly seen, and says aloud the following oath: “I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected.”

The electors place their folded paper on a plate, which is used to tip the ballots into a silver urn on the altar, in front of scrutineers. They then bow and return to their seats.

Once all ballots are collected, scrutineers shake the urn to mix the votes up, transfer them into a second container to check there are the same number of ballots as electors and begin counting them.

Two scrutineers note down the names while a third reads them aloud, piercing the ballots with a needle through the word Eligo and stringing them together. The revisers then double-check that the scrutineers have not made any mistakes.

If no one has secured two-thirds of the votes, there is no winner and the electors move straight on to a second round. There are two pairs of votes per day, morning and afternoon, until a new pope has been elected.

The ballots and any handwritten notes made by the cardinals are then destroyed, burnt in a stove in the chapel. It emits black smoke if no pope has been elected and white smoke if there is a new pontiff.

The smoke is turned black or white through the addition of chemicals – potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulfur to produce black smoke, or potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin to produce the white smoke.

If voting continues for three days without a winner, there is a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue. If after another seven ballots there is no winner, there is another day of pause.

If the cardinals reach a fourth pause with no result, they can agree to vote only on the two most popular candidates, with the winner requiring a clear majority.

Cassocks competition: whose outfit will new pope wear?

In 2013, the conclave lasted 27 hours, and in 2005 it was 26 hours. The shortest on record took place in 1503, when it took cardinals just 10 hours to elect Pope Pius III.

As for the longest, in the 13th century it took almost three years, beginning n 1268 – 1,006 days to be exact – to choose Pope Clement IV’s successor.

From late 1269 the cardinals allowed themselves to be locked in to try to reach a decision.

When they still hadn’t managed this by June 1270, frustrated locals tore the roof off in a bid to speed things along – inspired by a quip by an English cardinal that without the roof, the Holy Spirit could descend unhindered.

When a cardinal is elected pope, the masters of ceremonies and other non-electors are brought back into the Sistine Chapel and the cardinal dean asks the winner: “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?”

As soon as he gives his consent, he becomes pope – and is free to celebrate, as John Paul II did in 1978, reportedly walking around pouring Champagne for the cardinals and singing Polish folk songs.

Controversies 

Conclaves have seen their share of controversy over the centuries. This year, United States President Donald Trump last week posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope on his Truth Social platform, after joking that he would be his own first choice for the next pontiff, drawing the ire of the Church. 

The New York State Catholic Conference wrote in a post on X: “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Peter. Do not mock us.”

Last week, France’s President Emmanuel Macron was accused by Italian media of attempted interference in the conclave, after he held a series of meetings with cardinals and Church officials while in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral. 

Wait for Vatican white smoke fires up social media

In 2013, so convinced were they of his success, upon sight of the famous white smoke signal the Italian bishops’ conference sent out a press release congratulating Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola – when Pope Francis had just been elected.

In the days leading up to the conclave, Italian newspapers openly promoted Scola as the next pope, appearing to have missed the warning contained in a traditional Italian saying that front-runners at a papal conclave are often disappointed: “He who enters a conclave as a pope, leaves it as a cardinal.”

In 1241, when the conclave was dragging on, the head of Rome’s government locked the cardinals into a dilapidated building and refused to clean the lavatories or provide doctors for those who fell ill.

According to Frederic Baumgartner in his Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections, the cardinals only reached a decision – electing Celestine IV – after one of them died and the Romans threatened to exhume his corpse and have it make decisions.

(with newswires)

The three-year expedition will take Plastic Odyssey around Africa, South East Asia and South America. 

Its current four-month mission in the Indian Ocean is part of a partnership programme led by the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) – an intergovernmental project involving France, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Comoros and Mauritius, with support from France’s development agency, the AFD.

“The main goal is to empower more local entrepreneurs and accelerate their plastic waste recycling programme,” Alaric de Beaudrap, stopover coordinator for Plastic Odyssey, told RFI.

For this, the Plastic Odyssey crew – mostly made up of engineers – holds an intensive three-day training session called “On-board laboratory”.

More than 25 Malagasy entrepreneurs have already applied for the programme, beginning on 30 April in the Tamatave harbour, 300 kilometres away from the capital Antananarivo.

Local engagement

One company Plastic Odyssey is in touch with is Andao, which makes school tables from recycled plastic bottle caps. 

“There is a huge problem of school furniture in Madagascar. They’re doing it locally at their own level. They would love to produce more of those recycled plastic tables for schools,” explains de Beaudrap.

Plastic Odyssey is a 40-metre vessel equipped with low-tech machines used to recycle plastic waste.

Once collected and processed, this recycled plastic can be used for building structures, irrigation for agriculture, flooring and furniture. 

The idea is to create local jobs with machines that can be built on-site. “All those machines are easy to operate and to maintain, and can be easily replicated,” explains de Beaudrap.

“We have been in more than 30 countries so far, where we stopped with the boat and we can exchange knowledge and good practices.”

Plastic Odyssey sets off on round-the-world mission to fight marine pollution

Plastic Odyssey also runs an education programme, with children aged between eight and 15 invited on board for a lesson on plastic pollution. “The main goal is to promote a plastic-free world to young people,” says de Beaudrap.

Waste mismanagement

According to a report published in 2020 by the COI, “it seems that 92 percent of waste is mismanaged in Madagascar,” says de Beaudrap, “and less than half of this plastic waste is collected”.

There are several illegal dumping sites on the Indian Ocean island, most of them near residential areas.

“We are not yet talking about recycling in Madagascar, only collecting,” he added. “There is an urgent need to prevent this waste from reaching the rivers and the sea because, in the end, this waste will pollute the Malagasy coastlines and ecosystems.”

Global plastic recycling rates ‘stagnant’ at under 10%: study

The second major component of the stopover in Madagascar is a five-day mission around the Sainte-Marie coastal area, during which the vessel will be made available to scientists from the oceanographic institution Ifremer and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, as well as universities of the Comoros and Madagascar.

“Our vessel will allow them to carry out surveys and observations of micro and macro plastics off the coast, and also to study the drift of these plastics, and what we call the link between plastics and megafauna,” explained de Beaudrap.

“This scientific approach will provide a foundation for policymakers and research centres to better identify and understand the role of plastic pollution on ecosystems – as well as its sources.”

After Madagascar, Plastic Odyssey will sail to Seychelles and the Comoro Islands, reaching Kenya in August, before its expected return to France in April 2026.

“They are at the end of their strength. Jacques’s face is more and more marked by the detention – you can feel he is dying slowly in that cell,” Noémie Kohler told RFI. “Cécile and Jacques are increasingly desperate and are less and less optimistic.”

Kohler, 40, and Paris, who is in his seventies, were arrested on 7 May 2022 at the end of a tourist trip to Iran. They are accused of spying – charges they strongly deny.

They are being held in section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, an area reserved for political prisoners. They are the last known French citizens still detained in Iran and are considered “state hostages” by the French government.

France warns of sanctions on Iran if nuclear deal not reached

Conditions ‘equivalent to torture’

France’s foreign ministry says the couple are being held in conditions that “amount to torture under international law”.

They have no furniture and continue to sleep on the floor. The lights remain on 24 hours a day and they are allowed outdoors just two or three times a week, for no more than 30 minutes at a time.

Whether they are allowed out depends on prison guards and weather. Phone calls are rare, short and tightly monitored. The most recent, on 5 May, lasted just eight minutes.

“She told us she writes poems in her head,” Noémie said. “She repeats them every night so she doesn’t forget them, because after three years, she still has nothing to write with.”

Noémie also described the mental pressure her sister and Jacques are under.

“For several months they have been told that a verdict is imminent, that it will be extremely severe. They are given deadlines each time and nothing ever happens,” she said. “It’s psychological torture.”

A few months after their arrest, Iranian state television broadcast “confessions” by the pair, which France said were forced.

Their lawyers have still not been granted access to their case files. “Their right to a defence has been completely denied,” Noémie said. “We have no reliable information about the legal process.”

French citizens jailed in Iran since 2022 ‘must be freed’ says Macron

Campaign for freedom

French President Emmanuel Macron marked the anniversary with a message on social media, saying France was working “tirelessly” to free them.

“I assure their families that our support is unwavering,” Macron posted on X.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also posted a video message describing Kohler and Paris as “hostages” and “victims of the Iranian regime”.

“They are kept in inhumane conditions that amount to torture,” Barrot added. He also urged French nationals not to travel to Iran.

France has said it will file a formal complaint against Iran at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. While the move has been welcomed by the families, it is not expected to lead to a breakthrough in the short term.

Frenchman Olivier Grondeau freed after more than two years in Tehran prison

Diplomatic tensions

The case comes amid worsening ties between Paris and Tehran.

In February, an Iranian woman was arrested in France on terrorism-related charges. A Franco-Iranian influencer is also due to go on trial on similar accusations. France has threatened new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

The couple are among several Europeans held by Iran. Some European governments say these detentions are politically motivated.

One of the others still in prison is Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who was sentenced to death in 2017 on spying charges his family says are false.

Dozens of rallies were planned across France on Wednesday to draw attention to Kohler and Paris’s case.

“They’ve become pawns in something far bigger than them,” Noémie said. “We just want them home.”

Vladimir Putin called Sunday for “direct talks” with Ukraine on 15 May in Istanbul.

It came a day after leaders from France, Germany, the UK and Poland met in Kyiv and warned Russia it would face “new and massive” sanctions if Moscow did not agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv is ready to meet Putin for ceasefire talks, calling it “a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war”.

Zelensky added that Ukraine expected Russia to confirm it would abide by the 30-day ceasefire, beginning Monday.

Putin has not responded directly to the European-proposed ceasefire, which is backed by the US.

Ukraine and allies call on Russia to accept 30-day truce

‘Not enough’

President Macron said Putin’s proposal was “not enough”.

“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition,” Macron told reporters on Sunday morning on his way back from Ukraine, adding that Putin was “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time”.

“We need to stand firm with the Americans and say that the ceasefire is unconditional and then we can discuss the rest,” Macron said.

US President Donald Trump, who had vowed to end the war in his first 24 hours back in the White House in January, was upbeat. “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!” he wrote on his Truth Social online platform.

US threatens to quit Russia-Ukraine effort unless ‘concrete proposals’

Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that Russia had launched more than 100 drones into Ukraine at night, shortly after a Russian 72-hour ceasefire had ended at midnight.

Drone attacks were reported in capital city Kyiv as well as over Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. 

Putin ordered the three-day ceasefire around commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on 9 May. Both Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of violating the ceasefire several times. 

“This aircraft embodied the industrial strength and innovative capacity of France in the field of aeronautics. It was also a symbol of our ability for international cooperation,” wrote French culture minister Rachida Dati on social media platform X this week.

“This aircraft, a pioneer of supersonic flights, has remained in people’s memories. Its preservation will allow future generations to experience a unique example of our aeronautical expertise through a futuristic vision,” she added.

A symbol of luxury and technological advances, the Concorde is the world’s only supersonic passenger plane, travelling faster than sound at speeds that whisked an elite class of travellers between London or Paris and the US east coast in just over three hours.

Fifty years of Concorde

Twenty aircraft built

A statement from the ministry specifies that Concorde number 1 (N1) is one of the 20 aircraft built between 1967 and 1979, and that 18 are still preserved today, including six in France.

Concorde N1 was one of the two prototypes intended to obtain the airworthiness certificate required to carry passengers.

It made its first flight on 6 December, 1973, and its last on 26 May, 1982, paving the way for flights between Paris and New York on 19 October, 1977.

Since 2014, it has been one of two aircraft preserved and displayed at the Aeroscopia museum in Blagnac near Toulouse in south west France.

The Concorde service was definitively retired in October 2003, three years after the crash of July 2000 that killed 113 people.

On 25 July, Air France Flight 4590, operating the Paris-New York route, crashed shortly after takeoff onto a hotel in Gonesse, a northern suburb of Paris. 

(with AFP)

The election pits Prime Minister Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha, a right-winger who heads an alliance of opposition parties. 

Rama, 60, has been Socialist Party leader since 2005 and is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term on the promise of European Union membership by 2030.

Berisha, 80, is eager to return to power after 12 years in opposition.

The former president’s coalition has adopted the Donald Trump-esque slogan – “Great Albania”, and is campaigning on a platform of economic revival.

“We are the only ones who can relaunch the country’s economy, the only ones able to take Albania forward. Edi Rama is counting the last days of his regime,” said Berisha.

Some of the architects of Trump’s presidential campaigns have reunited in Albania, to come to the aid of Berisha’s campaign

They include Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s successful 2024 effort; Trump’s longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio, and Paul Manafort, who served as chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign – before he was convicted in 2018 of crimes that included secretly lobbying for Ukraine’s former pro-Russian president.

Italian court rules outsourced migrant detentions in Albania illegal

“It’s the only Democrat Party I would ever consider working for,” quipped LaCivita, as he headed to the country for his third trip before Sunday’s election.

Berisha, who is hoping the new American administration will reverse sanctions barring him from entering the United States, has also signed a two-year, $6 million contract with Continental Strategy, a Republican consulting and lobbying firm.

At the end of a campaign marked by confrontation, particularly on social media, the latest polls indicate a win for Rama’s party.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meanwhile said there was “extreme political polarisation” in the Balkan nation of 2.8 million.

Berisha accuses the Socialists of “vote-buying, voter intimidation, pressure, use of public funds by ministers and majority candidates for their election campaign” – claims which Rama has dismissed as “nothing but an excuse for defeat”.

Diaspora votes

For the first time in the history of elections in Albania, the diaspora is able to vote from abroad by post. This is being seen as a test for the development of democratic processes and institutions – in the context of EU accession negotiations, which began in 2022.

According to official data from the central electoral commission, 245,935 Albanians not resident in Albania are registered to vote.

“Albania has made significant process on the path to EU accession, demonstrating its perseverance in implementing ambitious reforms for the benefit of its citizens,” Silvio Gonzato, the EU delegation’s ambassador in Albania, told French news agency AFP.

The losers have challenged the results of every election since the fall of Communism at the start of the 1990s on the grounds of fraud.

This time the vote is being closely monitored and, in another first, civil servants and justice officials will be deployed alongside the electoral commission and some 300 international observers.

Albania turns Soviet-era air base into regional NATO air operations hub

For Brussels, Sunday’s vote is a major test for Albania, which has been a member of Nato since 2009.

“The organisation of free and fair elections, in line with democratic norms and democratic values, will be an essential step to reinforce Albanian democracy, boost citizens’ trust in their elected representatives and advance the country’s European integration,” said Gonzato.

Five days after the election, Tirana will host the European Political Community summit, an intergovernmental discussion forum about the future of Europe – established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron. 

(With newswires)

Both sides came into the penultimate night of the French campaign knowing wins plus favourable results elsewhere could secure a top-three finish behind champions Paris Saint-Germain with a game of the season to spare.

Marseille got the job done away to relegation-threatened Le Havre, but it looked set to be a frustrating night for them despite Amine Gouiri putting the visitors in front.

The match was held up for around half an hour in the second half due to unrest caused by the presence of Marseille supporters in the home areas of the stadium, and when the action restarted Issa Soumare equalised for Le Havre.

However, Greenwood produced a moment of magic to put Marseille back in front from a powerful long-range strike with five minutes left, the goal his 19th of the season in Ligue 1.

Marseille face up to gulf separating them from PSG in France

Gouiri then sealed the win in stoppage time with his second of the game, leading to coach Roberto De Zerbi racing down the touchline to join in the celebrations with his players and the travelling fans.

“I am really, really pleased for the players, the club, the supporters and the city of Marseille, which is a city that lives for football,” said De Zerbi after securing a return to the Champions League for the 1993 European champions.

“I think we deserve to qualify for the Champions League and we are going to really push next week to finish second behind PSG,” added the Italian, whose side are a point above Monaco.

“In 10 years Marseille have been in the Champions League three times. This will be the fourth. We came eighth last year, reduced the wage bill and spent less in the transfer market than our direct rivals.”

Marseille supremo Longoria banned for 15 games over ‘corruption’ slur

While Marseille were not involved in any European competition this season, Monaco made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League and they will be back among the continent’s elite again in the next campaign.

Goals in the second half by Takumi Minamino and Denis Zakaria gave Monaco a 2-0 win over Lyon in the principality, dealing a huge blow to their opponents’ prospects of getting the prize money from the Champions League that they so desperately need.

Lyon are seventh with one game left, although they remain three points behind Nice in fourth as well as Lille and Strasbourg, meaning the final spot in the Champions League will be contested by that quartet next weekend.

Nice went down 2-0 at Rennes, for whom Arnaud Kalimuendo scored twice, while Lille were beaten 2-0 away at Brest.

Ramos hat-trick for PSG

Meanwhile, Strasbourg suffered a surprise 2-1 loss at Angers, Esteban Lepaul netting both goals for the home side to inflict a first defeat in 13 matches on Liam Rosenior’s team.

PSG have already wrapped up a fourth straight Ligue 1 title and rested several regulars for their 4-1 win at relegated Montpellier, three days after beating Arsenal to reach the Champions League final.

Teenager Senny Mayulu opened the scoring for PSG, who had lost their last two domestic outings, and Goncalo Ramos then netted a second-half hat-trick, including one goal from the penalty spot and one sensational strike from the edge of the area.

“He is a marvellous player,” coach Luis Enrique said of the Portuguese striker.

French minister apologises to Liverpool fans over 2022 Champions League final policing

Tanguy Coulibaly pulled one back for Montpellier, who do not yet know the identity of the second team to be automatically relegated to the second tier.

Saint-Etienne remain second-bottom, but goals by Florian Tardieu and Irvin Cardona gave them a 2-0 win at Reims which leaves Les Verts just a point behind Le Havre in the relegation play-off spot.

Le Havre are two points away from outright safety, with Nantes not yet guaranteed to stay up despite a 1-1 draw at Auxerre, and French Cup finalists Reims also still at risk of going down.

Toulouse and Lens drew 1-1 in the night’s other game, while earlier Lorient sealed the Ligue 2 title ahead of Paris FC, who are also promoted.

The survey, carried out by a gloabl team of researchers between 2021 and 2023, covers 39 countries and more than 50,000 people. It was published this week in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.

Its authors focused on the 26,735 respondents who said they had heard of climate change. They were asked who should bear the responsibility for limiting it and reducing its effects.

Nearly half – 45 percent – said their national government should take the lead. Just 13 percent named rich countries, while only 8 percent pointed to businesses and industry.

“There is clearly a desire among many respondents to see their government take more action to protect them and address the problem of climate change,” study co-author Talbot M Andrews, a political scientist at Cornell University, told RFI.

African cotton producers rally against climate shocks and low prices

Surprising results

The view that governments should take the lead was especially common in West Africa. In Nigeria, Liberia and Niger, close to three out of four people gave this response.

“It was surprising for us to see that many people placed so much responsibility on their own government, and that there was so little responsibility attributed to historical emitters, namely industrialists and wealthy countries,” Andrews said.

Although Africa has contributed little to global warming – just 3 percent of historical CO2 emissions since 1750 – its populations are among those most exposed to its impact. The United States alone accounts for nearly a quarter of emissions.

Around 30 percent of those surveyed said that ordinary people in their own countries should carry the most responsibility for responding to climate change. This view was most common in Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia.

Four small island states – Cape Verde, Mauritius, the Seychelles and São Tomé and Príncipe – were among the countries where respondents were most likely to name historical polluters.

Researchers suggested this may reflect greater concern over rising sea levels.

Children’s tale takes root in West Africa’s fight to regrow its forests

Education a factor

The authors also found that respondents with higher levels of education or better access to media were more likely to blame developed countries.

“We see that with reduced poverty and better access to media among respondents, responsibility is transferred to historical emitters,” Andrews said.

The way the survey question was phrased may also have shaped how people responded, Andrews added. It wasn’t clear whether they were thinking about mitigation – tackling the causes – or adaptation, which focuses on coping with the effects.

In addition, given how vulnerable many Africans are to climate risks, she said, it made sense that they would prioritise local protection over identifying global causes.

“It’s understandable to see that they want their own government to protect them from these impacts here and now. It’s not just thinking about the causes of climate change.”

This story was adpated from the original version in French by RFI’s Juliette Pietraszewski

The protest, organised by the nationalist opposition, drew demonstrators from across Poland, who carried the red and white national flag and chanted slogans such as “no to immigration”.

Immigration is a central issue in the central European country ahead of the election on 18 May.

Poland currently hosts around one million refugees from the war in neighbouring Ukraine, and has accused Russia and Belarus of orchestrating a wave of immigration into the European Union member.

The protesters made their way towards the seat of government in central Warsaw, chanting the name of nationalist presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki.

Andrzej Duda: Polish president loyal to ruling right-wing

Pro-European frontrunner

Nawrocki, 42, is a fan of US President Donald Trump and has the backing of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party and outgoing President Andrzej Duda.

Duda has also voiced support for Trump.

Nawrocki is polling second in the presidential race, with around 25 percent support.

The frontrunner, Warsaw’s pro-European Union Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, has the support of Tusk’s Civic Coalition and is polling on 32 percent.

“Poland has to defend itself against illegal immigration. These migrants have their own countries. They should stay there,” 66-year-old farmer Boguslaw Uchmanowicz told France’s AFP news agency.

Despite massive support for Ukrainian refugees in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion, Poles are becoming less welcoming, France 24 reported. While candidates are surfing on an anti-Ukrainian sentiment, economists say migrant families have driven growth. 

(with newswires)

Members of the Bern Convention, tasked with the protection of wildlife in Europe, agreed in December to lower the wolf’s status from “strictly protected” to “protected”.

EU lawmakers on Thursday approved the move by a majority of 371 to 162, with support from conservative, centrist and hard-right groups.

Green and left-wing parties voted against a change they called politically motivated and lacking scientific basis, while the parliament’s socialist grouping was split on the matter.

The EU, as a party to the Bern Convention, was the driving force behind the push to lower protections, arguing that an increase in wolf numbers has led to more frequent contact with humans and livestock.

Birds in France still ingesting toxic lead pellets 20 years after ban

But activists fear the measure would upset the recovery made by the species over the past 10 years, after it faced near extinction a century ago.

Grey wolves were virtually exterminated in Europe 100 years ago, but their numbers have surged to a population of 20,300, mostly in the Balkans, Nordic countries, Italy and Spain.

A trio of campaign groups – Humane World for Animals Europe, Eurogroup for Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) – denounced the vote as “a worrying precedent for European nature conservation“.

“There is no data justifying a lower level of protection, but the EU institutions decided to ignore science,” IFAW’s Europe policy director Ilaria Di Silvestre said in a joint statement.

Echoing those concerns, Sebastian Everding of the Left group in the European Parliament said the move “ignores effective coexistence tools”. He added that: “Downgrading wolf protection… panders to fear, not facts.”

‘Not a licence to kill’

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the results of Thursday’s vote.

“With growing wolf concentrations in some areas, we should give authorities more flexibility to find balanced solutions between the aim to protect biodiversity, and the livestock of local farmers,” she wrote.

In late 2022, von der Leyen lost her pony Dolly to a wolf attack at her rural property in northern Germany – leading some to suggest the matter had become personal.

Mixed reactions as France prepares to simplify wolf culling rules

In practice, the EU rule change makes it easier to hunt wolves in rural and mountainous regions, where their proximity to livestock and sheepdogs is deemed too threatening.

Von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP), which spearheaded the change, has stressed that member states will remain in charge of wolf management on their soil, but with more flexibility than before.

To date, there have been no human casualties linked to rising wolf populations, but some lawmakers backing the change warned that this may be only a matter of time.

Spain’s Esther Herranz Garcia, a member of the conservative EPP, cited figures showing that wolves attacked more than 60,000 farm animals in the bloc every year.

“The people who feed our country cannot be expected to work with this fear hanging over them,” said France’s Valerie Deloge, a livestock farmer and lawmaker with the hard-right Patriots group, where the rule change found support.

Rising bear numbers in French Pyrenees mask long-term fears for species’ survival

Socialist and centrist lawmakers, while agreeing to back the changes under a fast-track procedure, struck a more measured tone.

“This is not a licence to kill,” Pascal Canfin, a French lawmaker with the centrist Renew group, told French news agency AFP. “We are providing more leeway for local exemptions – wolves remain a protected species.”

(with AFP)

US media has reported that US President Donald Trump‘s administration plans to welcome the first group of white South Africans as early as Monday, after Trump accused Pretoria of “racial discrimination” against them.

In a statement published Friday, South Africa’s foreign ministry contested the allegations and said the move was politically motivated.

“It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy,” the foreign ministry said.

“We reiterate that allegations of discrimination are unfounded,” it said. “Moreover, even if there are allegations of discrimination, it is our view that these do not meet the threshold of persecution required under domestic and international refugee law.”

South African deputy foreign minister Alvin Botes has raised the concerns directly with his US counterpart Christopher Landau, it said.

While challenging the US assessments of alleged refugee status, South Africa said it would “not block citizens who seek to depart the country from doing so”. 

Pathway to citizenship? 

Trump halted refugee arrivals immediately after taking office in January.

But in an executive order in February, he described Afrikaners as victims of “racial discrimination”, opening the way for them to resettle in the US.

Reports said afterwards that thousands of Afrikaners had approached the US embassy in Pretoria about the resttlement offer.

White S. Africans clamour for US resettlement after Trump order

US investigative outlet The Lever quoted a government source saying Washington was preparing to resettle up to 1,000 Afrikaners this year.

National Public Radio (NPR) said a group of 54 Afrikaans South Africans was scheduled to arrive Monday, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.

The sources said a press conference was planned for the group’s arrival at Dulles airport in Virginia, attended by high level officials from the Departments of State and Homeland Security.

Trump accuses South Africa of ‘confiscating’ land, cuts funding

Growing US-South Africa tensions 

Relations between South Africa and the United States have nose-dived this year over a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, culminating in Washington’s expulsion of Pretoria’s ambassador in March.

The South African government passed a new land reform bill in January that Trump has claimed would allow the South African government to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property “without compensation”.

But so far no land has been confiscated and the government says the “expropriation without compensation” clause would be used only in rare instances after efforts had been made to reach a fair agreement with the owner.

South Africa unites against Trump as US freezes aid over land reform

Elon Musk, a leading adviser in the Trump administration, was born and raised in South Africa during apartheid. He has been critical of Pretoria, claiming it is leading a “genocide” against white farmers.

Official data however suggests most victims of killings are young black men in urban areas.

White Afrikaners are predominantly descendants of Dutch settlers who arrived at the tip of Africa more than three centuries ago. Today they make up most of South Africa’s 7.3 percent white population.

Mainly Afrikaner-led governments imposed the race-based apartheid system that denied the black majority political and economic rights until it was voted out in 1994.

(with newswires)

Juliette Binoche came to the Croisette in 1985 for her first major role in the film Rendez-vous by André Téchiné. Forty years later, the actress is one of the most internationally known French stars, thanks to collaborations with the biggest names in cinema including Michael Haneke, David Cronenberg and Abbas Kiarostami, to name a few.

A committed and eclectic actress both on stage and screen, the 61-year-old has appeared in more than 60 films and won the  industry’s greatest awards – notably Best Actress Award at Cannes for Certified Copy in 2010 and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for The English Patient in 1996.

She was last in Cannes in 2024 to present the Honorary Palme d’Or to American actress Meryl Streep, whom she affectionately called “the dancing queen”.

The year before, Binoche presented The Taste of Things (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant) with Benoît Magimel, directed by Tran Anh Hung, who won Best Director. It was also shortlisted for the Oscars as France’s international film entry.

Cannes Film Festival organisers announce women-majority jury

Whipping up a storm

Halle Berry broke a glass ceiling in 2002 by becoming the first African American to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball.

A glamour icon, the 58-year-old actress dabbled in independent cinema, making a name for herself with Spike Lee (Jungle Fever, 1991), but has tended to be more involved in blockbusters, playing a Bond girl in Die Another Day (2003), Catwoman in 2004, and the mutant Storm in the X-Men saga.

In 2020, she stepped behind the camera for the first time, directing Bruised, in which she plays a returning MMA fighter.

Korea on the Croisette

A prolific filmmaker and master of pared-down style, South Korean Hong Sangsoo, 64, is a regular at the Croisette.

Four of his films have been honored in the official competition, including Woman Is the Future of Man (2004), and four others have been selected for the Un Certain Regard section.

Over the past five years, he has shot seven films and is currently working on a feature film entitled At the Middle of Life.

Award-winning author

French-Moroccan novelist Leïla Slimani is a unique member of this Cannes jury – the only one whose work has no direct connection to film, even though her book Chanson douce, winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt in France in 2016, was adapted for the big screen.

A bestselling author and a prominent figure in the French literary world, Slimani, 43, also co-wrote the memorable and much-discussed opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with director Thomas Jolly.

Strong man

In 2024, Jeremy Strong made his mark at Cannes as Donald Trump’s New York mentor in The Apprentice, presented in the official competition.

Acclaimed on the Croisette, his portrayal of conservative lawyer Roy Cohn earned him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

The 46-year-old American actor, who has appeared in films for James Gray, Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Spielberg, has also distinguished himself on stage and in the hit HBO series Succession, for which he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Indian eye

Indian director and screenwriter Payal Kapadia wowed the Cannes jury in 2024, winning the Grand Prix with All We Imagine as Light, her first feature-length fiction film.

A celebration of friendship, coupled with a declaration of love for Mumbai, it allowed India to return to the Cannes competition after a 30-year absence.

The 39-year-old filmmaker previously made a name for herself with her documentary work, notably All Night Without Knowing (2021) about the melancholy of an Indian film student.

Olé Mexico

At 53, director and screenwriter Carlos Reygadas embodies Mexico’s thriving cinema scene, alongside Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón.

A proponent of demanding cinema, heavily influenced by Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky, Reygadas has forged a special connection with the Cannes Film Festival.

He won the Caméra d’Or Special Mention for his debut film, Japon (2002), the Jury Prize for Silent Light (2007), and the Best Director Prize for Post Tenebras Lux (2012).

Sister act

An Italian actress with an international reputation, Alba Rohrwacher, 46, first rose to prominence working for her compatriots Luca Guadagnino and Marco Bellocchio.

She expanded her international reach under the direction of French director Arnaud Desplechin and American director Noah Baumbach.

A regular at the Cannes Film Festival, she has presented several films in competition alongside her sister, director Alice Rohrwacher, including The Marvels (Grand Prix 2014). Alice Rohrwacher is president of this year’s Caméra d’Or jury.

Kinshasa to Cannes

Congolese director Dieudo Hamadi, 41, brought the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Croisette in 2020 when his documentary Downstream to Kinshasa was in the official selection.

The film, which denounced the plight of victims of armed conflict who faced the indifference of their rulers, established his status as an uncompromising observer of the turmoil in a country gripped by long-standing, deadly conflict in the east.

Two short films, made in 2009 and 2010, highlighted his work, which has since been acclaimed at several festivals.

In total, the jury will hand out seven main prizes at the closing ceremony on 24 May, including Best Actress and Actor.

Follow all the action of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival with RFI.

(with AFP)

It’s not just a design choice: it’s a symbol of how the climate crisis is reshaping the planet.

“The climate is changing, droughts are becoming more frequent and more severe,” said Brian Baihaki, the designer behind the new emoji.

“Trees have adapted in different ways to survive these droughts – for example by losing their leaves to conserve water.”

Baihaki first submitted the idea in May 2022 to the Unicode Consortium – the international group that decides which emojis get added to keyboards everywhere. It took almost three years and a strict selection process before the dead tree finally made it to screens.

From ornitherapy to kissing trees, how can nature benefit human health?

Steep competition

Each year, hundreds of emoji proposals are sent in. Most are turned down. To be approved, a symbol has to be usable across different cultures, languages and situations. Local foods, religious icons or region-specific objects rarely make it through.

“The criteria is strict. Emojis have to be able to carry more than one meaning and be usable worldwide,” explained journalist David Groison, author of La Révolution Emoji, a graphic novel about emoji culture.

Groison has made several attempts to get a wind turbine emoji accepted – always without success, and without explanation.

The dead tree, though, ticked all the right boxes.

It can stand for winter, wildfires, sickness or sadness. And it’s a search term people actually use. “Dead tree”, Baihaki pointed out, appears in more than twice as many online search results as the word “deciduous”.

In his application, he wrote: “This emoji is likely to be widely used because it represents prolonged droughts, which are becoming increasingly common.”

The Kenyan engineer building a sustainable future with recycled plastic bricks

Warming planet

That warning now feels urgent. The year 2024 was officially the hottest ever recorded. It brought extreme droughts to many parts of the world, especially Africa.

A UN report published in December warned that, unless our habits and systems change fast, drought could affect 75 percent of the global population by 2050.

Even worse, arid land has already spread by 4.3 million square kilometres in just 30 years. Drylands now cover 40 percent of the planet’s surface.

Two billion people already live in these dry zones – and that number could rise to 5 billion before the end of the century.

While droughts can come and go, aridity is permanent. It’s a shift that leaves soil exhausted and water scarce.

Do celebrity climate warriors amplify the message or embody the problem?

How emojis can help

But can a tiny image on a screen really change how people think? Perhaps. Three Italian researchers writing in the journal iScience last year said emojis could be a useful tool for raising environmental awareness.

“Emojis can be used to encourage public support for conservation efforts, to stress the urgency of protecting endangered species and to prompt people to take part in biodiversity events,” they wrote.

In 2021, the World Wildlife Fund worked with tech companies to mark World Wildlife Day using emojis to draw attention to the extinction of species.

For Belgian psychiatrist Daniel Desmedt, emojis do something deeper – they restore emotion to dry, digital messages.

“Back when people wrote letters by hand, there was the texture of the paper, the physical presence of the letter, the author’s unique handwriting – all sorts of details that could carry their personality and possibly even their emotion,” Desmedt said.

“With SMS, we’d lost some of that. Emojis bring feeling back into communication. They can express emotion more clearly.”

Desmedt believes the dead tree emoji will stand out. “The dead tree will trip us up. It won’t let us feel calm. There’s something disturbing about it – something that speaks to us on another level,” he said.

How weird fossils created by human garbage may baffle future civilisations

Eco-anxiety symbol

Stefano Mammola, one of the researchers behind the iScience study, said the emoji could help get people talking about big environmental issues.

“It could contribute to facilitating discussions and raising awareness about important topics in ecology and conservation, such as the climate crisis and the global loss of biodiversity,” he added.

But that will only work if people use it.

Right now, there are about 3,790 emojis available. Some – like the crying-laughing face – are everywhere. Others vanish quickly. The eye-in-speech-bubble emoji, launched in 2015 to signal anti-bullying efforts, was barely used and quickly forgotten.

“The dead tree will probably end up being used in ways we can’t imagine right now. It will depend on which other emojis it gets combined with,” Groison said.

One of the other new emojis released alongside the dead tree is a weary-looking face with dark circles under the eyes. It’s meant to represent the exhaustion many feel in today’s world.

Used together, they could become a visual shorthand for eco-anxiety – the emotional fallout of a planet in crisis.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI’s François-Damien Bourgery

The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday to ratchet up pressure on Russia to commit to a 30-day ceasefire. 

“Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X following the talks.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were making their first joint visit to Ukraine.

More than three years after the Russian invasion, it’s a strong symbolic show of European unity, just a day after President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone at a Moscow parade marking 80 years since victory in World War II. 

US President Donald Trump has proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as a step to end the conflict. Ukraine has agreed but Putin has resisted so far.

A three-day truce, unilaterally declared by Putin on Thursday and which Ukraine has declared a farce, ends on Saturday.

Moscow has ruled out a longer truce unless the West halts arms deliveries to Kyiv.

New push to end the war in Ukraine gains ground in Paris talks

‘Bloodshed must end’

The four countries, part of an alliance Britain and France have called “the coalition of the willing“, said in a joint statement they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end. Russia must stop its illegal invasion,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

On his way to Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said that once a 30-day ceasefire was in place, there could be “direct talks between Ukraine and Russia“.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have hinted they are open to negotiating with each other but Zelensky says this would only be possible once a ceasefire takes effect.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office only this week, warned Russia will face tougher sanctions if it refuses the ceasefire.

If President Vladimir Putin does not agree to the truce, “there will be a massive hardening of sanctions and the massive aid to Ukraine will continue –  politically, of course, but also financially and militarily,” Merz said in an interview with German media. 

Germany’s Merz tells Trump US remains ‘indispensable’ friend

European force

The leaders are later scheduled to host a virtual meeting to update other European leaders on moves to create a European force that could provide Ukraine with security after the war.

Such a force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, the leaders’ statement said.

Russia has said it will not tolerate any Western military presence in Ukraine once the fighting ends and has warned the proposal could spark war between Moscow and Nato.

The symbolic show of European unity comes a day after Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping but also Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is an EU member, at the Moscow parade. Slovakia stopped supplying Ukraine with military aid in October 2023. 

War in Ukraine shifts France’s weapons industry into high gear

In an interview with the ABC news channel on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said arms deliveries from Ukraine’s allies would have to stop before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.

A truce would otherwise be an “advantage for Ukraine” at a time when “Russian troops are advancing… in quite a confident way” on the front, Peskov said, adding that Ukraine was “not ready for immediate negotiations”.

Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory since its invasion in February 2022 and intensified deadly attacks on the country this spring.

The US embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that a “significant air attack” could occur at some point within the next several days.

(with newswires)

Since 2006, France has on 10 May commemorated the slave trade and its abolition. with the date chosen as it marks the definitive adoption in 2001 of the Taubira Law, which recognises the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.

The first cities to establish a memorial to slavery site in France were those with a history directly linked to the slave trade, such as the ports of Nantes, Bordeaux and La Rochelle. 

Bordeaux museum working to change narrative on slavery past

Arcueil, in the southern suburbs of Paris, however, wanted to have a memorial site despite not having this direct link.

The small town, of 21,000 inhabitants, has installed a commemorative stele at a memorial site located between two primary and secondary schools.

“The project was to install a broken column, like slavery that was also broken. You can see that the top is a little bit broken,” explains Guillaume Guillot, deputy mayor of Arcueil.

“Then the idea was to have a stele that would have a plaque on it, which is the recognition of slavery. There was work done, especially with young people, to decide what phrase we should write on the stele.

“In the end, it was narrowed down to the first article of the 2001 law, which recognises slavery as a crime against humanity by France,” he said. “We added this phrase from [French Martiniquais writer] Édouard Glissant about memory: Oblivion offends, and memory, when it is shared, abolishes this offence.”

Why descendants of France’s slaves are still fighting for their memory

A place of reflection

For the last 10 years, the town of Arcueil had held a commemoration every 10 May at the town’s war memorial. 

“There was no specific place of reflection dedicated to this, and it seemed important to create a place and something that would also endure,” added Guillot.

Damarys Maa Marchand, a women’s rights activist and member of the collective Les Chemins de la Mémoire (“the paths of memory”) said of the town’s new memorial site: “At times when I need some strength, I will come here to reflect.”

“We’ve been to places where other histories of France were commemorated,” she added. “We said, one day it will happen that we will have a place.”

The Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery will now register this new memorial site.

France first abolished slavery in its colonies in 1794, during the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte then reinstated it in 1802.

After years of pressure from abolitionists and uprisings in the colonies – notably in Martinique and Guadeloupe – slavery was permanently abolished in 1848.

► This report was adapted from RFI’s podcast Reportage en France, produced by Sylvie Koffi.

Relations have been turbulent since Donald Trump took office in January. Cooperation on trade, health, defence and diplomacy has suffered after several of Trump’s executive orders.

The US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner, but exports to America now face 30 percent tariffs.

On 7 February, Trump issued an executive order to resettle white South African refugees, saying the country’s leaders were doing “some terrible things, horrible things”.

US media say the first group of Afrikaner (white South Africans) “refugees” is due to arrive as from 12 May. South Africa expressed its “concerns” to the United States on 9 May and reiterated that “allegations of discrimination are unfounded”.

On 14 April, South Africa named former deputy Finance Minister Mcebesi Jonas as its special envoy to Washington after ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Rasool was “no longer welcome” in America, calling him “a race-baiting politician who hates America” and Trump.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump spoke on the phone on 24 April in what was described as a cordial exchange. Trump invited Ramaphosa to Washington and suggested he “bring the golfers over”.

South Africa unites against Trump as US freezes aid over land reform

RFI: Where are we at today with the relationship between South Africa and the United States?

Ronald Lamola: The relationship has always been dynamic and evolving, obviously with more challenges since the election of President Trump, particularly with the number of executive orders that are not based on any facts or truths.

In South Africa, the expropriation bills are aimed at redressing the imbalances of the past to ensure there is equitable distribution of all the resources of our country. This is done in line with the constitution, which has got sufficient safeguards against any arbitrary use of power by the executive or by the state.

It is in that context that we continue to engage with Washington because the relationship remains important. Washington is our strategic trading partner, the second biggest after China.

RFI: Is there more going on behind the scenes than we can see? Are relations improving despite the tensions?

Ronald Lamola: Indeed, there are still challenges, but we continue to engage at a diplomatic level.

International Court of Justice hears South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

RFI: Is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice being used as a bargaining chip?

Ronald Lamola: No, it cannot be used as a bargaining chip. This is a matter of principle.

Our history is linked to that of Palestine and, as Nelson Mandela said, the struggle of South Africa is not complete until the Palestinian people are also free. There has been propaganda that Iran or Hamas is paying for these legal fees.

You can check the departmental websites where all reports are recorded. It is the South African government tax money that is paying for this case. There is no other hidden hand paying for the case.

RFI: Can you imagine a scenario where the United States might ask South Africa to drop the case against Israel in order to continue enjoying good relations with Washington?

Ronald Lamola: Unfortunately, I cannot imagine things that I don’t know.

RFI: What would South Africa’s position be if that were to happen?

Ronald Lamola: I don’t want to speculate about anything or any scenarios. We deal with what is in front of us.

As you are aware, in one of the executive orders, this issue of the case has been raised and, also in some of the bills that are before Congress. But this is a matter of principle. It’s based on the Genocide Convention. Principles cannot be negotiated.

RFI: Where does the case at the ICJ stand now?

Ronald Lamola: We are waiting for Israel to respond. As you are aware, we filed a memorial last year in June. The case has to take its normal course. The court must decide because the future of the world is dependent on certainty, on a rules-based international order, which is based on international law.

We have to ensure that international law is respected by all. The might cannot always be right.

RFI: South Africa says it will not cut ties with historic allies. President Ramaphosa said that South Africa will not be bullied. Is there a price to pay for standing by your principles?​​​​​​

Ronald Lamola: Nations must respect and abide by the rule of law. We are signatories to the Genocide Convention. We will respect and live by the UN Charter. Obviously, there will be pain that may come with it, but this is the pain we need to pay for the people of the world.

South Africa is a product of solidarity. We would not be free if it was not for the people of the world who suffered and stood in solidarity with us. So, we owe it to the people of the world to ensure that the UN Conventions and the UN Charter are protected and defended.

EU flags stronger partnership with South Africa with €4.7bn investment

RFI: The US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner. How can your country absorb the blow of 30 percent tariffs, if they go through by mid-July?

Obviously, it is going to be very difficult and damaging to our economy. We see it also as an opportunity for us to engage in bilateral agreements with the US that are mutually beneficial.

There are South African businesses invested in the US, and also US businesses invested in our country. About 601 companies from the US have invested in South Africa, responsible for more than 150,000 jobs in our country.

It is an important dynamic relationship, which has also brought a lot of technology in our country and improved our economy.

But, we also have to diversify markets. We are glad that the EU is opening its market to work with us and trade with us. We are also looking at other countries to trade with us.

We will, however, continue to engage with the US because we believe the relationship is mutually beneficial and we have to continue to nurture it for the benefit of our two nations.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity

Trump announced last Sunday that he was directing relevant government agencies to “immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 percent tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands”.

In a post on his Truth Social network, he added in capital letters: “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

Trump claimed Hollywood was being “devastated” by other countries’ “incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States,” which he called a “national security threat” and “propaganda”.

Trump’s move appears to target a business model favoured by American studios and filmmakers who obtain subsidies or tax breaks to film in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Hungary, Spain and Australia.

These countries benefit in turn from jobs generated by the filming for local industry workers, and tourism revenue.

Many US blockbusters are partially or entirely filmed outside the country, including some of the Marvel and James Bond movies and, most recently, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning – which is due for its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

Tom Cruise brings final chapter of ‘Mission: Impossible’ to Cannes

Hollywood in trouble

While Trump’s idea is divisive, there is widespread agreement that the US movie industry is in dire straits.

Hollywood is a major sector of the country’s economy, generating more than 2.3 million jobs and $279 billion (€266 million) in sales in 2022, according to the latest data from the Motion Picture Association.

But Hollywood has struggled to get back on its feet since the strikes by actors and writers that shut it down in 2023. The number of filming days in Los Angeles hit a record low in 2024, excluding the total shutdown in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Industry professionals reacted with a mix of scepticism and a degree of support to Trump’s suggestion of tariffs.

Deadline magazine quoted one Hollywood movie financier as saying he agreed with Trump’s goal of having more movies filmed in the US. “But obviously the need is for rebates, not tariffs. Tariffs will just choke the remaining life out of the business,” they were quoted as saying.

Some unions for actors and other media and entertainment workers, such as SAG-AFTRA, said they were awaiting more details on Trump’s plan but supported the goal of increasing home-grown production.

But others pointed out that even if a system could be devised to impose tariffs, this would do more harm than good to the US industry.

“The result of that would be to reduce production, to increase the cost of movies, to reduce the number of movies available for movie theatres and streamers to show, which would damage the distribution side of the business,” entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel told French news agency AFP.

From geeks to box office gold: why Hollywood is banking on video games

Reactions around the world

Outside of the US, there are serious concerns over what the introduction of these tariffs could mean.

The Canadian Media Producers Association said in a statement earlier this week: “The proposed actions outlined in US President Donald Trump’s announcement will cause significant disruption and economic hardship to the media production sectors on both sides of the Canada-US border.”

A survey of studio executives revealed that Canada ranked twice in their top five preferred production locations for 2025 and 2026, due to competitive tax incentive schemes on offer.

Bernard Larivière, who heads a film technicians union in the province of Quebec, told AFP a third of their members work on US productions.

“Major productions made from A to Z in the United States are rare,” said Evelyne Snow, a spokeswoman for a Canadian film technicians’ union, in an interview with the daily La Presse. “An American production in Montreal supports 2,000 people, from the cameraman to the limousine driver.”

So-called “Aussiewood” has for years used generous tax breaks and other cash incentives to lure foreign filmmakers, producing a string of hits for major Hollywood studios including The Matrix, Elvis and Crocodile Dundee.

“The collaboration is a good thing. So, let’s not get in the way of that,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told national broadcaster ABC.

For its part, the UK government said that it would take a “calm and steady approach” to Trump’s latest proposed tariffs amid ongoing bilateral trade talks.

The British Film Commission, the government’s investment agency, called the move “concerning” but added it hoped to continue “a strong, shared history of film-making” with the US.

However, Kirsty Bell, chief executive of production company Goldfinch, told UK news agency the Press Association that the move could leave UK freelancers in the film industry “jobless”.

French film industry 

France, which is hosting the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, is wary of the US position, but considers itself safer from the effects of any tariffs than other countries due to its state support system.

In an interview with France Inter radio on Wednesday morning, France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati said that Trump’s film tariffs, if implemented, would lead to “the American industry being penalised, not ours”.

France produced 231 films last year and recorded an increase in cinema admissions compared to 2023, while other European countries and the US saw a decline, industry figures showed.

“I hope this system [of promoting French film-making] will endure,” the head of the Cannes film festival Iris Knobloch told French news agency AFP this week. “The good health of the French film sector shows that this system is working well,” she added ahead of the festival which opens next Tuesday.

Thousands of French actors call for fair share of streaming profits

But the director of the French Film Commission, Gaëtan Bruel, sounded alarm bells last month, saying Europeans must “prepare for any eventuality” in the face of “a possible American offensive against our model” of state support for culture.

France has a complex mix of taxes, quotas and levies on film and TV distributors that help funnel money into the national film sector, making it Europe’s cinema powerhouse.

Some American directors and film studios, as well as streaming giants Netflix and Amazon, have lobbied the Trump administration to push back on EU legislation designed to protect and promote European film-making.

In a memo published by the White House on 21 February, Trump took aim at what he called “overseas extortion” – with a particular mention of laws that “require American streaming services to fund local productions”.

“On the other side of the Atlantic, powerful players in this industry are hostile to the French cultural exception,” Dati said.

Even though major US studios saw their shares plunge immediately after Trump’s announcement, the White House said no final decision on foreign film tariffs had been made.

It said in a statement: “The administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.”

Follow all the news from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival with RFI.

(with newswires)

While protests continue over the jailing of the Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, his account on social media platform X has been cancelled.

X, formerly Twitter, claims it was in response to a Turkish court order. Dozens of Imamoglu supporters have also had their accounts suspended, drawing widespread condemnation.

The controversy is stoking broader concerns over the stance of the world’s tech giants towards Turkey.

“These international tech companies find it well to keep good relations with the Turkish authorities because their only evaluation is not just on the side of democratic standards,” said Erol Onderoglu of the Paris-based Reporters without Borders.

“But there is another challenge which is based on financial profit. The country’s advertising market is very vibrant regarding social media participation,” he added.

Google is also facing criticism. The US tech giant was recently accused of changing its algorithms, resulting in a collapse in people accessing the websites of Turkey’s independent media and therefore depriving the companies of vital advertising revenue.

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

Fewer alternative voices

Until now, the internet has provided a platform for alternative voices to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who controls around 90 percent of the mainstream media.

“Google has a very big effect when you search the web for news, the most visible ones are always from pro-government media or state media. But the omission of independent media from results is just a mystery right now,” said Volga Koscuoglu, editor-in-chief of the independent news portal Bianet.

Turkey’s independent media is battling arrests and fines by the Turkish authorities. Reporters Without Borders’ latest index on press freedom saw Turkey slip further down the rankings to 159 out of 180 countries.

Koscuoglu fears the government is seeking to extend its control over the media to the internet.

“We don’t know whether there was any political pressure as no reports have been made about that,” said Koscuoglu. “But the government has passed several laws in recent years and those were aimed to bring large social media under control in Turkey.

“You wouldn’t expect Google to be excluded from this control; so yes, there could be political influence on that decision.”

How Turkish voters are beating internet press clampdown before polls

Threat to reduce bandwidth

Duvar, one of Turkey’s largest and most prominent independent news portals, closed its doors in March, citing a loss of revenue following the collapse in internet hits, which it blamed on Google’s change to algorithms.

Google was approached to comment on the accusations but did not reply.

However, a spokesperson speaking anonymously to Reuters news agency said that any algorithm changes were simply aimed at enhancing the search facility.

Internet experts believe the Turkish government has controlled the world’s tech giants by making them liable to Turkish law.

“The government, in addition to warnings, financial penalties and an advertisement ban, was going to impose a bandwidth restriction,” said Yaman Akdeniz, a co-founder of Turkey’s Freedom of Expression Association.

“The government was going to throttle the social media platforms that didn’t comply…up to 50 percent of their bandwidth access was going to be reduced, and that was going up to 90 percent of their bandwidth being restricted from Turkey.

“Social media providers didn’t want to risk that,” he concluded.

Press freedom concerns as Ankara forces internet giants to bow to Turkish law

‘Extinction of pluralism’

With some of Turkey’s independent media organisations claiming their web activity has dropped by as much as 90 percent in the past few months, many are struggling to survive and are laying off journalists.

The experience of Turkey could well be the canary in the mine.

Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders claims the plurality of the media is at stake.

“Extinction of pluralism within the media, which means that you’ll have just one echo from a country which is the official line, is extremely dangerous,” he warned.

“This is the main concern not only in Turkey but in dozens of countries around the world,” he added.

“Journalists are trying to make viable another view within society, another approach from the official one.”

Questions over Google’s power as effective gatekeeper to the internet and what critics claim is the lack of transparency over the search engine’s algorithms are likely to grow.

Meanwhile, the algorithm changes leave Turkey’s besieged independent media, already battling arrests and fines, fighting for financial survival.

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 winners’ names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week’s quiz: On 12 April I asked you a question about the drop in air pollution in Paris. That week, Airparif, an independent group that tracks air quality, reported that between 2005 and 2024, levels in Paris of the two most harmful air pollutants – fine particles and nitrogen dioxide – fell by 55 percent and 50 percent respectively.

You were to re-read our article “Air pollution in Paris region ‘cut in half’ over the past 20 years” and send in the answer to this question: According to Airparif, what are the policies that led to the reduction in Paris’ pollution? What are some of the concrete steps that were taken?

The answer is, to quote our article: “Antoine Trouche, an engineer at Airparif, told France Inter radio that several concrete steps had made a difference.

These included ‘the Euro emissions standards, taxation of industrial pollutant emissions, and increased public transport and cycling infrastructure’.

He also pointed to ‘the replacement of diesel vehicles with petrol and electric vehicles.’”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India: “Suppose you find an old magical lamp which when rubbed a genie appears and tells you he will fulfill one wish. What would your wish be?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Malik Allah Bachaya Khokhar, the president of the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Malik is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Malik.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ramu Reddy, a member of the RFI Pariwar Bandhu SWL Club in Chhattisgarh, India, and RFI Listeners Club members Sardar Munir Akhter from Punjab, Pakistan, as well as Deekay Dimple from Assam, India.

Last but not least, RFI English listener Ataur Rahman Ranju, the president of the Alokito Manush Cai International Radio Listeners Club in Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Free Wheelin’” by Thierry Durbet and Laurent Thierry-Meig; “Arc en Ciel 3” by Philippe Bestion; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Un Nuit à Paris” by Kevin Godley and Lol Cream, performed by 10cc.

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 “France hosts summit to lure scientists threatened by US budget cuts”, which will help you with the answer.

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

Relations have been turbulent since Donald Trump took office in January. Cooperation on trade, health, defence and diplomacy has suffered after several of Trump’s executive orders.

The US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner, but exports to America now face 30 percent tariffs.

On 7 February, Trump issued an executive order to resettle white South African refugees, saying the country’s leaders were doing “some terrible things, horrible things”.

US media say the first group of Afrikaner (white South Africans) “refugees” is due to arrive as from 12 May. South Africa expressed its “concerns” to the United States on 9 May and reiterated that “allegations of discrimination are unfounded”.

On 14 April, South Africa named former deputy Finance Minister Mcebesi Jonas as its special envoy to Washington after ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Rasool was “no longer welcome” in America, calling him “a race-baiting politician who hates America” and Trump.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump spoke on the phone on 24 April in what was described as a cordial exchange. Trump invited Ramaphosa to Washington and suggested he “bring the golfers over”.

South Africa unites against Trump as US freezes aid over land reform

RFI: Where are we at today with the relationship between South Africa and the United States?

Ronald Lamola: The relationship has always been dynamic and evolving, obviously with more challenges since the election of President Trump, particularly with the number of executive orders that are not based on any facts or truths.

In South Africa, the expropriation bills are aimed at redressing the imbalances of the past to ensure there is equitable distribution of all the resources of our country. This is done in line with the constitution, which has got sufficient safeguards against any arbitrary use of power by the executive or by the state.

It is in that context that we continue to engage with Washington because the relationship remains important. Washington is our strategic trading partner, the second biggest after China.

RFI: Is there more going on behind the scenes than we can see? Are relations improving despite the tensions?

Ronald Lamola: Indeed, there are still challenges, but we continue to engage at a diplomatic level.

International Court of Justice hears South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

RFI: Is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice being used as a bargaining chip?

Ronald Lamola: No, it cannot be used as a bargaining chip. This is a matter of principle.

Our history is linked to that of Palestine and, as Nelson Mandela said, the struggle of South Africa is not complete until the Palestinian people are also free. There has been propaganda that Iran or Hamas is paying for these legal fees.

You can check the departmental websites where all reports are recorded. It is the South African government tax money that is paying for this case. There is no other hidden hand paying for the case.

RFI: Can you imagine a scenario where the United States might ask South Africa to drop the case against Israel in order to continue enjoying good relations with Washington?

Ronald Lamola: Unfortunately, I cannot imagine things that I don’t know.

RFI: What would South Africa’s position be if that were to happen?

Ronald Lamola: I don’t want to speculate about anything or any scenarios. We deal with what is in front of us.

As you are aware, in one of the executive orders, this issue of the case has been raised and, also in some of the bills that are before Congress. But this is a matter of principle. It’s based on the Genocide Convention. Principles cannot be negotiated.

RFI: Where does the case at the ICJ stand now?

Ronald Lamola: We are waiting for Israel to respond. As you are aware, we filed a memorial last year in June. The case has to take its normal course. The court must decide because the future of the world is dependent on certainty, on a rules-based international order, which is based on international law.

We have to ensure that international law is respected by all. The might cannot always be right.

RFI: South Africa says it will not cut ties with historic allies. President Ramaphosa said that South Africa will not be bullied. Is there a price to pay for standing by your principles?​​​​​​

Ronald Lamola: Nations must respect and abide by the rule of law. We are signatories to the Genocide Convention. We will respect and live by the UN Charter. Obviously, there will be pain that may come with it, but this is the pain we need to pay for the people of the world.

South Africa is a product of solidarity. We would not be free if it was not for the people of the world who suffered and stood in solidarity with us. So, we owe it to the people of the world to ensure that the UN Conventions and the UN Charter are protected and defended.

EU flags stronger partnership with South Africa with €4.7bn investment

RFI: The US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner. How can your country absorb the blow of 30 percent tariffs, if they go through by mid-July?

Obviously, it is going to be very difficult and damaging to our economy. We see it also as an opportunity for us to engage in bilateral agreements with the US that are mutually beneficial.

There are South African businesses invested in the US, and also US businesses invested in our country. About 601 companies from the US have invested in South Africa, responsible for more than 150,000 jobs in our country.

It is an important dynamic relationship, which has also brought a lot of technology in our country and improved our economy.

But, we also have to diversify markets. We are glad that the EU is opening its market to work with us and trade with us. We are also looking at other countries to trade with us.

We will, however, continue to engage with the US because we believe the relationship is mutually beneficial and we have to continue to nurture it for the benefit of our two nations.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity

Ever since US President Donald Trump started defunding and dismantling US scientific institutions, France has made a push to get scientists to move. In March the French minister in charge of research asked universities to fund programmes to attract American scientists. In 2017, after Trump first pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, Macron launched a recruitment drive aimed at climate scientists working in the US. Two of those grantees, Ben Sanderson and Philip Shulz, talk about the experience of leaving the US for France, and what the current environment is like for climate scientists today. (Listen @1’10)

With 87 percent of France considered a “medical desert”, lawmakers and the government are looking to tackle doctor shortages. But the proposals – to regulate when specialists can open their private practices and require health professionals to work two days a month in areas with chronic shortages – have met with strong opposition from GPs, trainee doctors and students. Yassine Bahr, vice-president of the French junior doctors union (ISNI), and Anna Boctor, president of France’s Jeunes Medecins (young doctors) union, talk about why the proposals won’t solve the problem and the sense of injustice at being held responsible for a situation that is not of their making. (Listen @20’20)

On 8 May 1945, during a celebration of the end of WWII in Europe in the Algerian city of Setif, French colonial authorities shot at Algerians holding pro-independence signs. The ensuing riots then spread to neighbouring cities where the authorities  unleashed a campaign of reprisals to crush the unrest – indiscriminately killing tens of thousands of Algerian men, women and children. France has yet to officially acknowledge its role in the massacres. (Listen @15’00)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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).

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 winners’ names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week’s quiz: On 3 April I asked you a question about Marine Le Pen, the president of the far-right French party the National Rally (RN). She, along with eight other RN Parliament members, was judged guilty of embezzling 4.4 million euros in European Union funds to pay France-based RN party staff who worked only for the RN and not on EU issues.

Le Pen and her fellow lawmakers have been banned from running for office for five years. This ban, which had previously been a rare sentence, has become commonplace since the Sapin 2 law was adopted in 2016, which made it the standard sentence for cases involving the embezzlement of public funds and was roundly supported by RN lawmakers – until now.

You were to re-read our article “RN leader Le Pen battles for political future after embezzlement conviction”, and send in the answer to this question: Aside from the ban on running for office, what else was included in Le Pen’s sentence?

The answer is, to quote our article: “Le Pen was also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, two of which will be served under an electronic bracelet, and a fine of 100,000 euros.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by the late Muhammad Shamim who lived in Kerala State, India: “Would you rather be rich but not famous, or famous but not rich?”   

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Lata Akhter Jahan, the co-president of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, Bangladesh. Lata is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Lata, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh; Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State, Nigeria; John Yemi Sanday Turay from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and last but not least, Saleha, who is also a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Les Jardins de L’Alhambra” by Gérard Torikian; “Stacatto” by René Aubry; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Aýa döndi” by Nuri Halmamedov and Mahtumkuli, performed by baritone Atageldi Garýagdyýew.

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 “How French women won, and used, their right to vote in 1945”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 2 June to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 5 June 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.   

In the last three months, Trump has presented the world with “a ding-dong of measures and counter-measures,” as Nigerian finance analyst Gbolahan Olojede put it.

With such measures including increased tariffs on US imports from African nations (as elsewhere), this new regime has effectively called into question the future validity of preferential trade agreements with African states – such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows duty-free access, under strict conditions, to the US market for African goods.

“The reciprocal tariffs effectively nullify the preferences that sub-Saharan Africa countries enjoy under AGOA,” South Africa’s foreign and trade ministers said in a joint statement on 4 April.

Jon Marks, editorial director of energy consultancy and news service African Energy, echoed this climate of uncertainty: “With the Trump presidency lurching from policy to policy, no one knows where they are. And it’s very difficult to actually see order within this chaos.”

Africa braces for economic hit as Trump’s tariffs end US trade perks

He told RFI he expects long periods of stasis, in which nothing actually happens, when people have been expecting immediate action.

“That’s going to be, I think, devastating for markets, devastating for investment. The outlook really is grim,” he added.

Commodities

In 2024, US exports to Africa were worth $32.1 billion. The US imported $39.5 billion worth of goods from Africa, the bulk of these being commodities such as oil and gas, as well as rare minerals including lithium, copper and cobalt.

“The focus of the Trump administration is on critical minerals now, particularly in the [Democratic Republic of Congo], which is the Saudi Arabia of cobalt,” said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China Global South Project news site.

The US is aiming to build non-Chinese supply chains for its military technology.

“The F-35s, supersonic fighter jets, need cobalt. When they look at critical minerals, they’re not looking at that for renewable energy. They’re looking at it specifically for weapons and for their defence infrastructure,” Olander explained.

Collateral damage

On 2 April, President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on US imports worldwide, declaring that the US “has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far” and calling this date a “Liberation Day” which will make “America wealthy again”.

Stock markets immediately plummeted as a result of his announcement.

On 9 April, Trump announced a 90-day pause – until mid-July – on these tariffs. Instead, a flat 10 percent rate will be applied on exports to the US.

The exception was China, whose goods face even higher tariffs – 145 percent on most Chinese goods. Beijing retaliated with 125 percent levies on US imports.

According to Olander, most African nations have so far been “insulated from the harsh impact of these tariffs” and from the consequences of what is, in effect, a trade war between two economic giants – China and the US.

“South Africa, which accounts for a considerable amount of Africa’s trade with the United States, is much more exposed to the effects of these tariffs than the rest of the continent,” he said.

Africa First

But what if Trump’s “America First” agenda was to be copied, asks Kelvin Lewis, editor of the Awoko newspaper in Sierra Leone.

“Just like Trump is saying America First, we should think Sierra Leone First,” he told RFI. “He is teaching everyone how to be patriotic. We have no reason to depend on other people, to go cap in hand begging, because we have enough natural resources to feed and house all 9 million of us Sierra Leoneans.”

He added: “If Africa says we close shop and we use our own resources for our benefit like Trump is telling Americans, I think the rest of the world would stand up and take notice.”

Meanwhile, Trump believes his imposition of these increased tariffs has succeeded in bringing countries to the negotiating table.

“I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are dying to make a deal. Please, please sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir,” Trump said on 8 April at a Republican Congress committee dinner in Washington.

New markets

Olander believes that the trade war instigated by Trump has resulted in more risks than opportunities for Africa’s vulnerable countries.

“But, there is a lot more activity now diplomatically between African countries and other non-US countries,” he added.

“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from Ethiopia was in Vietnam, as was Burundi’s president. There’s more engagement between Uganda and Indonesia, more trade activity and discussions between Brazil and Africa.”

Foreign ministers from the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) met in Rio de Janeiro on 28 April to coordinate their response to Trump’s trade policy.

However, securing markets for non-US exports is a challenging task. It took Kenya 10 years “of steady diplomacy” to get China to fund the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to the Ugandan border, according to Olander.

Kenyan president visits China as country pivots away from the US

“Whether it’s in China, Indonesia, Brazil or elsewhere, it takes time. Exporting into developed G7 markets means facing an enormous number of hurdles, like agricultural restrictions,” he continued. “Then, in the global south, Angola is not going to sell bananas to Brazil, right?”

“Trump’s trade policies have actually been to depress the oil price,” said Marks. “The price has been under the psychologically low threshold of $70 a barrel.

He explains it is because of the demand destruction Trump’s policies have placed on global trading.

Demand destruction means that people are not investing, “ Marks said. “It’s really a period of wait-and-see.”

“This will affect prices very profoundly. One of the ironies is that although a lower dollar means that African economies should be able to export their goods for more money, a declining dollar amidst market uncertainties means that investors are not going to be rushing to come into Africa.”

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.