The British drama series “Adolescence”, which explores the troubling impact of misogynistic content on social media, is set to be used as an educational tool in schools, France’s Education Minister Élisabeth Borne announced on Sunday.

Speaking on the LCI parliamentary channel, Borne revealed that the producers of the Netflix series had granted the French government the rights to use it in classrooms.

As a result, the Ministry of Education will develop and introduce five educational sequences based on the series to help students engage with the issues it raises.

Posting on X, Borne wrote: “Featuring situations of violence, social media use and distress, this series is a useful educational tool for raising awareness and supporting students.”

Already shown in some secondary schools across the UK, selected excerpts from the mini series are, according to Borne, “highly representative of the kind of violence young people can experience.”

These segments will be accompanied by tailored teaching resources and will be made available from fourth year onwards. 

The average ages of fourth year students in the French secondary school system is between 13 and 14 years of age. 

EU countries push for stricter rules to keep children off social media

Combatting mysogynist ideology

In late March, Downing Street announced that the series would be incorporated into secondary school lessons across the UK to prompt discussion and help “prevent young boys from being drawn into a vortex of hatred and misogyny.”

Borne stressed that the initiative aims to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of “screen overuse, the normalisation of online violence”, and the rise of so-called “masculinist” ideologies – misogynistic networks that promote hatred and violence against women.

Adolescence follows the story of 13-year-old Jamie, a British teenager from a quiet English town who is arrested after being accused of fatally stabbing a classmate.

Through police interviews and emotional sessions with a psychologist, each episode examines how harmful online ideologies may have influenced Jamie, while also portraying the confusion and helplessness of adults trying to make sense of social media’s darker side.

France struggles to decide what place screens should have in schools

Anti-Semitic incidents on the rise

In a separate development, Borne also addressed rising concerns over anti-Semitism in schools, following the discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti at a primary school in Le Havre.

She announced that her ministry would soon “update guidance for headteachers and teaching staff” to help them better respond to emerging forms of anti-Semitism.

This includes tackling issues such as the “refusal to teach” and the “shift from anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism,” she said.

An investigation into the graffiti incident, which was discovered last Thursday, is currently under way.

Speaking at the opening of the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, French President Emmanuel Macron injected optimism into the global effort to safeguard the planet’s oceans, expressing confidence that the landmark High Seas Treaty could enter into force by the end of the year.

Joined by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Macron welcomed delegates with the announcement that 50 countries have already ratified the treaty, with a further 15 pledging to follow suit – just short of the 60 required to activate it.

“We are within reach of making history for ocean protection,” Macron said. “Let’s not miss this opportunity.”

Posting on X, Macron wrote: “Every action taken to protect our oceans is a transformation of consciousness to maintain balance and preserve biodiversity. Let’s make the Nice conference a success together.”

The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023 after years of negotiation, would allow countries to establish protected marine zones in international waters – areas that make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans yet remain largely unregulated.

At present, only around 1 percent of these waters enjoy any legal protection.

World leaders arrive in France for UN summit on ocean threats

Ecosytems close to collapse

Macron’s remarks came alongside a stirring appeal from Guterres, who warned that human activity – ranging from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the unchecked warming of ocean waters – was pushing marine ecosystems to the brink.

“The ocean is the planet’s shared lifeline. But we are failing it,” Guterres said.

He pointed to collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels, and acidification as clear signs of an ocean in distress, adding the world can not let the deepest oceans “become the wild west.”

Oceans absorb about 30 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and are a vital buffer against climate change. But hotter waters are damaging ecosystems and threatening this natural carbon sink.

“These are symptoms of a system in crisis – unravelling food chains, destroying livelihoods, and fuelling instability,” Guterres said.

He called on world leaders to accelerate ratification of the treaty and increase investment in ocean health, noting that just $10 billion was committed globally between 2015 and 2019 – far below the $175 billion per year the UN says is needed.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

US delegation absent

While the United States has yet to ratify the treaty or send senior officials to the conference, Macron was undeterred.

“We know where some nations stand, but momentum is building,” he said. “Let’s deliver for future generations.”

The conference also saw a contribution from the UK’s Prince William, who described the challenge of protecting the oceans as “unlike any we have faced before.”

This initiative, accessible on starfishbarometer.org, was presented at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice.

The barometer is accompanied by a scientific article published in the journal State of the Planet, but was designed to reach citizens with serious data that is easy to understand.

Its symbol wasn’t chosen at random, explains Pierre Bahurel, director of Mercator Ocean.

“With a five-armed starfish, we illustrate that to tackle the topic of the ocean, we can’t rely on just one aspect,” he told RFI’s Pauline Gleize.

“That means we will describe the state of the ocean (branch one), but we will also examine human pressures on the ocean (branch two) and the harmful consequences this can create (branch three). We will also look at positive protection actions and the opportunities that can arise from them (branch five),” explains Bahurel.

The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery

Ocean health

It’s a health check of the ocean — and it’s not in good shape.

Around 1,677 marine species are at risk of extinction, with one-third of them being shark species.

Since 1901, sea levels have risen by 23 centimetres, and pressures are increasing: ever more CO2 emissions, and nearly 38 percent of fish catches come from unsustainable fishing.

On a more economical aspect, the barometer shows that sales of marine-derived pharmaceuticals have increased by 7.5 percent over five years.

Land pollution is drowning the oceans in plastic, French experts warn

But Starfish is not just an environmental barometer.

“The method involved bringing together scientists from different fields — economists, physicists, oceanographers, biologists. And the perspective was truly about examining the relationship between humans and the ocean — or rather, between humanity and the ocean,” emphasizes Bahurel.

The number of migrants who died at sea was also recorded: 9,002 last year, a ten-year high.

Starfish will be published every year on 8 June.

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella welcome a host of Europe’s far-right leaders to the French countryside today, as the National Rally (RN) marks the one-year anniversary of its historic win in the 2024 European elections.

The gathering, taking place near Mormant-sur-Vernisson in the Loiret region, south of Paris, is both a celebration and a strategic show of strength – designed to spotlight the party’s growing international alliances and domestic ambitions.

The event draws key figures from across the European far-right, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Spain’s Vox leader Santiago Abascal, and senior figures from Poland, Greece, Belgium, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

‘Free Le Pen’: US conservatives rally behind French far-right leader

Together, they represent the “Patriots for Europe” group in the European Parliament, which now holds 85 of 720 seats and positions itself as a rising force against Brussels bureaucracy and mainstream politics.

Bardella posted on X that the event is being held “for a Europe of nations, peoples, freedoms, protections, identities, production and innovation, farmers and entrepreneurs!”

‘Summit-style’ atmosphere

For Le Pen and Bardella, it’s an opportunity to underline their influence beyond France’s borders, to present a united front with their ideological allies, and to shift the spotlight firmly onto their leadership ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

With the RN having topped the polls with over 31 percent in last year’s European elections – the best first-round result in its history – they are determined to show it wasn’t a one-off.

Set against a rural backdrop of food trucks, flags and festive supporters, the event is dubbed “Victory Day”– a nod to 9 June 2024.

But it’s also a calculated moment of political theatre.

Orban, never one to mince words, has already set the tone with a social media post accusing “Brussels bureaucrats” of promoting “submission and decline” through migration, debt-sharing and war funding.

He pointed to civil unrest in the nearby town of Montargis – following the death of a 17-year-old, killed at a police checkpoint in a Paris suburb in 2023 – as evidence of what happens when “patriots lose control”.

Just ten kilometres away from today’s event, Montargis will see a counter-demonstration led by left-wing MPs and trade union leaders, highlighting the political polarisation the gathering has drawn.

Bardella ready to lead National Rally if Le Pen barred from 2027 elections

Message of unity

Back in Mormant-sur-Vernisson, however, the far-right message is unified, at least on the surface.

Previous attempts at such international summits, like a meeting in January in Madrid, revealed cracks – especially around Donald Trump-style politics and social conservatism – but today’s event appears tightly stage-managed.

Le Pen and Bardella even held a closed-door meeting on Sunday in Fontainebleau to iron out any potential hiccups.

At home, the RN is still navigating a complicated political landscape. While its European success was striking, the momentum didn’t fully carry over to the 2024 legislative elections, where chaotic candidate selection and a reinvigorated Republican front left the party with only 120 MPs – well short of the 289 needed to propel Bardella to the role of Prime Minister.

Still, Bardella’s star continues to rise. His popularity rivals Le Pen’s, his book sales are moving off the shelves, and many now see him as a viable presidential contender – especially with Le Pen’s future clouded by a possible court ruling on her eligibility in 2027.

For now, the two are presenting united front, with today’s gathering designed to reinforce far-right unity. 

(with newswires)

The leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems inclined, at the moment, to stand for a fourth time – having taken third place behind National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen in the 2022 ballot.

On the left, a broad church

The 2022 result, alongside the collective memory of the relatively short-lived Nupes left-wing alliance, as well as the divisions that arose in the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the wake of their victory in the 2024 legislative elections, will have certainly pre-armed Mélenchon with knowledge of the contention he arouses in some sections of the electorate, and on his side of the political spectrum.

Over at the Socialist Party (PS), the internal ballot currently under way to elect a new leader raises the crucial question of whether the party will field its own presidential candidate for 2027, or take part in a wider primary within the left.

President Macron set to unfurl two-year plan amid prospect of referendums

The latter is the line taken by the current First Secretary Olivier Faure – “a primary from Ruffin to Glucksmann”. 

François Ruffin was a key organiser of the rapidly formed NFP leftist alliance during the 2024 elections, and is now a member of the Ecologist Group in the National Assembly, having parted ways with LFI and Mélenchon during the campaign. 

MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, was named one of 20 “Rising Stars” at The Parliament Magazine’s annual MEP awards last year.

Known for his campaigning on forced labour in China and the plight of Uyghurs held in the Xinjiang internment camps, he was one of five MEPs under sanction by China until April this year, lifted following negotiations with the European Parliament.

This kaleidoscopic primary could also include feminist activist Clémentine Autain, one of a group of MPs who founded the L’Après (“The Aftermath”) party in the wake of a split from LFI, as well as Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party and their candidate for the 2022 election – in which he came eighth. 

While Ruffin is in favour of this wider primary, Glucksmann is not, and the other candidates in the PS internal ballot – Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol and Boris Vallaud – would also like to see the party set out its own stall for the election.

In the centre, the great reshuffle

Former PM Gabriel Attal, now the leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the National Assembly, may not have declared his intentions, but is considered to be taking his first steps towards the Elysée Palace – having been greeted with chants of “Attal president!” at a rally on 6 April in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, as reported by Le Monde.

Meanwhile, his fellow former PM Édouard Philippe has announced that he will run, as widely expected. 

“I’m preparing to propose things to the French. What I propose will be massive. The French will decide,” Philippe told Le Point magazine on 3 September last year, adding that he would prioritise education, public order and the budget.

A right-winger who was Macron’s first prime minister has remained a popular figure since resigning in July 2020, after which he returned to his job as mayor of Le Havre and formed his own centre-right party, Horizons.

Former French PM Edouard Philippe announces 2027 presidential bid

At Renaissance, although Élisabeth Borne has not ruled out a candidacy, she will have heard those chants of “Attal president” coming loud and clear from Saint-Denis

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the current president of the National Assembly, has not made any announcements about the 2027 elections – but she has published a book. À ma place (“In My Place”) was published on 10 April. In an interview on that day when asked whether she was considering running in 2027, she said: “I’m not thinking about it. My focus today is having a country that functions democratically.”

Nor does the book contain any mention of a potential candidacy, although she does write that “women need to take the lead”.

On the right, a new order emerges

After the melodrama of Éric Ciotti’s departure from the Republicans (LR) – following his calls for an alliance with the far-right RN ahead of last summer’s snap legislative elections – the centre-right party has finally settled the question of its leadership, with Bruno Retailleau elected as president last month.

Retailleau wins leadership of Les Républicains party, paving way for 2027 presidential bid

While Interior Minister Retailleau will be making the most of his dual role, many believe he will also be focusing on his candidacy for the presidency. But does this mean the choice of candidate is a done deal for the Republicans? 

Xavier Bertrand, who played a key role in Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign; Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard (notable as one of the mayors who in 2016 attempted to ban the burkini); Laurent Wauquiez, who was defeated by Retailleau in the leadership contest, and even former prime minister Michel Barnier, may beg to differ 

For the time being, there is no general consensus emerging from the conservative end of the political spectrum. 

To their (far) right, Le Pen’s previous election defeats loom large, as does her conviction for embezzling EU funds, which rules her out of the 2027 election thanks to a five-year ban on running for office – although she has said she will appeal this decision.

Does ‘politically dead’ Marine Le Pen still have a path to power?

Pending this ruling, inevitably the question of whether Le Pen’s dauphin and RN president Jordan Bardella will take her place in the running arises – although this could bring with it electoral uncertainty.

Meanwhile, despite Éric Zemmour’s far-right Reconquest party currently holding no seats in the National Assembly or the Senate, and having one MEP in the European Parliament – his partner, Sarah Knafo – Zemmour himself has not disappeared from view, and Knafo is increasingly visible.

The 32-year-old is known to be a fan of both Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and the couple were guests at Trump’s January inauguration – among the few French politicians to receive invitations.

(With newswires, and partially adapted from this article from RFI’s French service.)

The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them.

The UN Ocean Conference (Unoc-3), hosted jointly by France and Costa Rica, must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions.

“We have a duty to mobilise because the science is clear and the facts are there,” declared Macron on Sunday, during a visit to Monaco, at the closing of a forum on the blue economy and finance.

“There is the possibility of sustainable fishing. There is the possibility of sustainable maritime transport. There is the possibility of sustainable tourism,” Macron insisted.

Planet in danger

“The planet can no longer tolerate broken promises,” warned Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, whose country will host the UN environment summit Cop30 in November.

“Either we act, or the planet is in danger,” he insisted. 

Lula da Silva is one of the more than 50 heads of state to attend the Nice summit, alongside Macron and his counterpart from Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles.

As part of Sunday’s activities, Macron also witnessed a maritime parade, organised as part of the World Oceans Day celebrations and visited the Nice Exhibition Center, transformed into the belly of a whale.

Researchers presented him with the recommendations of the scientific conference that preceded the Nice summit, as well as the new Starfish barometer, which measures the state of the ocean.

In the evening, Macron was to host leaders for a dinner of Mediterranean fish ahead of the summit’s formal opening on Monday.

US absent

Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers.

A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threatens their very survival.

The United States under President Donald Trump – whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage – is not expected to send a delegation.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

Conservationists have warned the summit – which will not produce a legally binding agreement – risks being a talk fest unless leaders come armed with concrete proposals for restoring marine health.

Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target.

“We’ve created this sort of myth that governments don’t have money for ocean conservation,” Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, told reporters.

“There is money. There is not political will,” he said.

Samoa leads the way

So far, only around eight percent of oceans are designated marine conservation zones and even less are considered truly protected.

Greenpeace says at this rate, it could take another 82 years to reach the 30 percent goal.

In a boost this week, Samoa declared 30 percent of its national waters under protection with the creation of nine new marine parks.

Conservationists hope others at Nice follow suit.

“All eyes should be on the many Pacific leaders attending… Their ambition and dedication to ocean protection can serve as inspiration to all countries,” said Kevin Chand from the nonprofit group Pristine Seas.

There has also been a concerted push for nations, including France, to ban bottom trawling – a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately scrapes the ocean floor.

French NGOs slam ‘lack of ambition’ after Macron’s bottom trawling announcement

On Saturday, Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper that bottom trawling would be restricted in some national marine protected areas.

Inching closer toward the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on high seas protection, will also be a summit priority.

France is spearheading a separate push in Nice to build support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a closely-watched meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July.

(with AFP)

The Russian paramilitary group Wagner is leaving Mali with its mercenaries after three and a half years of presence and is handing over to Africa Corps, another paramilitary group more firmly under the control of the Kremlin.

“Officially, Wagner is no longer present in Mali. But the Africa Corps is stepping up,” one diplomatic source in the Sahel region cited in French news agency AFP,  said.

A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: “Mission accomplished. PMC Wagner is going home.”

In Bamako, none of the sources in official circles contacted by RFI confirmed or denied the departure of the Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group from the country however, as the Malian junta has always denied the presence of these mercenaries on its territory, preferring the term “Russian instructors.”

Mali, along with neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade been battling an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

But since military juntas seized power in coups in 2020 then in 2021, Mali broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support.

France withdrew its 2,400 troops from Mali in 2022 after ties with the junta soured and anti-French sentiment surged among the public.

Sahel ministers in Russia for talks after breaking with western allies

The Kremlin ‘in control’

Wagner is Russia’s best-known mercenary group, and was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow.

Kremlin silent on reported death of Wagner boss Prigozhin in plane crash

Mali has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors.

“The Kremlin remains in control,” the same diplomatic source added.

“Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako.”

The Africa Corps is another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin and seen as the successor to the Wagner group. Like Wagner, its mercenaries are actively supporting several African governments.

For over three years, Mali had been reported to rely on Wagner in its fight against jihadists who have killed thousands across the country.

“Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin,” a Malian security source said Sunday.

“Although Wagner claims that its operations and support strengthened the Malian army, Africa Corps will need to continue training and support, especially after the recent wave of attacks against the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces),” said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Brutality and killings

The paramilitary group’s brutal methods on the ground in Mali have been regularly denounced by human rights groups.

A UN report accused Mali’s army and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 people during a March 2022 anti-jihadist sweep in Moura, a claim denied by the junta. Western governments believe the foreign fighters were Wagner mercenaries.

Wagner mercenaries and Mali army accused of killing civilians near Gao

Last April, bodies were discovered near a Malian military camp, days after the army and Wagner paramilitaries arrested dozens of civilians, most from the Fulani community.

In December, Human Rights Watch also accused Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group of deliberately killing at least 32 civilians over an 8-month span.

Wagner’s withdrawal comes amid what the Malian army calls a “resurgence” of jihadist attacks, including two assaults that killed dozens of soldiers and forced troops to abandon a key central base. 

 (with newswires)

Just 26.1 percent of the global seafloor – including both shallow and deep areas – has been mapped using modern sonar, according to the Seabed 2030 project, which aims to chart the entire ocean floor by the end of the decade. 

But mapping from above is not the same as seeing it up close. Scientists estimate that humans have directly observed less than 0.001 percent of the deep seafloor – defined as depths below 200 metres. That’s an area roughly one-tenth the size of Belgium. 

That figure comes from a study published this month in Science Advances led by explorer and scientist Katy Croff Bell who, along with colleagues, compiled data from more than 43,000 deep-sea dives carried out since the 1950s.  

The results show how lopsided ocean exploration has become. Nearly two-thirds of all observations happened within 200 nautical miles of just three countries: the United States, Japan and New Zealand. Five nations conducted 97 percent of all dives. 

This leaves entire regions of the ocean floor completely undocumented – particularly in waters around poorer countries that lack the tools and funding for deep-sea research. 

“As we face accelerated threats to the deep ocean – from climate change to potential mining and resource exploitation – this limited exploration of such a vast region becomes a critical problem for both science and policy,” Bell, founder of the non-profit Ocean Discovery League, told Scientific American. 

France pushes for action as high seas treaty hangs in the balance

Charting the unknown 

Some of those gaps are starting to close thanks to new tools. 

NASA’s SWOT satellite – short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography – was launched in December 2022 to track changes in water height across oceans, rivers and lakes.

By measuring tiny shifts in sea surface elevation – sometimes just a few centimetres – it helps scientists detect what lies below, including underwater mountains, ridges and deep-sea trenches. 

A study published in the journal Science last December found that SWOT delivered clearer images of the seafloor in a single year than earlier satellites achieved in three decades. 

“In this gravity map made from merely one year of SWOT data, we can see individual abyssal hills, along with thousands of small uncharted seamounts and previously hidden tectonic structures buried underneath sediments and ice,” said Yao Yu, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

“This map will help us to answer some fundamental questions in tectonics and deep ocean mixing.” 

Climate-driven changes to ocean colour fuel urgency ahead of UN summit

Why mapping matters 

But maps like these do more than fill scientific gaps. They help pinpoint safe sites for offshore wind farms, guide where to lay submarine cables and flag areas at risk from tsunamis or underwater landslides. 

These kinds of insights are becoming central to marine policy – especially as countries look to balance economic development with protecting the ocean. 

Still, many scientists say there’s no substitute for a direct look. Visual dives don’t just show topography – they reveal entire ecosystems, offering clues about what species live there, how they interact and how fragile they may be. 

“Being able to explore, or at least accelerate, the exploration of the other 99.999 percent of the deep ocean is really going to give us an amazing opportunity to ask new questions we’d never even thought of before,” said Bell. 

New Caledonia bans ‘dangerous’ seabed mining for half a century

Eyes on the deep 

New expeditions are already pushing into the deep.  

This year, the research vessel Nautilus, operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, is exploring the Mariana Islands – a region dotted with more than 60 underwater volcanoes.

Scientists are using remotely operated vehicles to study hydrothermal vents and collect biological and geological samples from depths of up to 6,000 metres. 

Further north, teams led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are surveying the Aleutian Arc off Alaska, where only 38 percent of the seafloor has been mapped. They’re studying deep-sea coral habitats, volcanic formations and possible mineral deposits.

These missions are part of a growing global effort to unlock the secrets of the deep – an environment that helps regulate climate, store carbon and sustain biodiversity. 

Plastic Odyssey on sea-faring mission to target plastic waste in Madagascar

High-stakes summit 

The ocean feeds 3.2 billion people and generates an estimated $2.6 trillion in economic value each year. Yet just 8 percent is formally protected – and only a fraction of that is off-limits to damaging activities. 

That disconnect will be centre stage in Nice, where world leaders, scientists and campaigners are meeting for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) from 9 to 13 June.  

Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit follows a string of high-level events already under way. 

More than 2,000 scientists are taking part in the One Ocean Science Congress this week, while the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco this weekend will bring together investors and policymakers to address the multi-billion-dollar funding gap in marine protection. 

A public exhibition area called La Baleine has been open since Monday at Nice’s Palais des Expositions, while the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition summit on Saturday will focus on coastal communities affected by rising seas. 

The goal in Nice is to secure new voluntary commitments under the Nice Ocean Action Plan – pledges from governments, businesses and civil society to protect marine life and support the sustainable use of the seas. 

But for many researchers, it starts with something more basic: actually knowing what’s down there. 

The leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems inclined, at the moment, to stand for a fourth time – having taken third place behind National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen in the 2022 ballot.

On the left, a broad church

The 2022 result, alongside the collective memory of the relatively short-lived Nupes left-wing alliance, as well as the divisions that arose in the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the wake of their victory in the 2024 legislative elections, will have certainly pre-armed Mélenchon with knowledge of the contention he arouses in some sections of the electorate, and on his side of the political spectrum.

Over at the Socialist Party (PS), the internal ballot currently under way to elect a new leader raises the crucial question of whether the party will field its own presidential candidate for 2027, or take part in a wider primary within the left.

President Macron set to unfurl two-year plan amid prospect of referendums

The latter is the line taken by the current First Secretary Olivier Faure – “a primary from Ruffin to Glucksmann”. 

François Ruffin was a key organiser of the rapidly formed NFP leftist alliance during the 2024 elections, and is now a member of the Ecologist Group in the National Assembly, having parted ways with LFI and Mélenchon during the campaign. 

MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, was named one of 20 “Rising Stars” at The Parliament Magazine’s annual MEP awards last year.

Known for his campaigning on forced labour in China and the plight of Uyghurs held in the Xinjiang internment camps, he was one of five MEPs under sanction by China until April this year, lifted following negotiations with the European Parliament.

This kaleidoscopic primary could also include feminist activist Clémentine Autain, one of a group of MPs who founded the L’Après (“The Aftermath”) party in the wake of a split from LFI, as well as Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party and their candidate for the 2022 election – in which he came eighth. 

While Ruffin is in favour of this wider primary, Glucksmann is not, and the other candidates in the PS internal ballot – Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol and Boris Vallaud – would also like to see the party set out its own stall for the election.

In the centre, the great reshuffle

Former PM Gabriel Attal, now the leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the National Assembly, may not have declared his intentions, but is considered to be taking his first steps towards the Elysée Palace – having been greeted with chants of “Attal president!” at a rally on 6 April in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, as reported by Le Monde.

Meanwhile, his fellow former PM Édouard Philippe has announced that he will run, as widely expected. 

“I’m preparing to propose things to the French. What I propose will be massive. The French will decide,” Philippe told Le Point magazine on 3 September last year, adding that he would prioritise education, public order and the budget.

A right-winger who was Macron’s first prime minister has remained a popular figure since resigning in July 2020, after which he returned to his job as mayor of Le Havre and formed his own centre-right party, Horizons.

Former French PM Edouard Philippe announces 2027 presidential bid

At Renaissance, although Élisabeth Borne has not ruled out a candidacy, she will have heard those chants of “Attal president” coming loud and clear from Saint-Denis

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the current president of the National Assembly, has not made any announcements about the 2027 elections – but she has published a book. À ma place (“In My Place”) was published on 10 April. In an interview on that day when asked whether she was considering running in 2027, she said: “I’m not thinking about it. My focus today is having a country that functions democratically.”

Nor does the book contain any mention of a potential candidacy, although she does write that “women need to take the lead”.

On the right, a new order emerges

After the melodrama of Éric Ciotti’s departure from the Republicans (LR) – following his calls for an alliance with the far-right RN ahead of last summer’s snap legislative elections – the centre-right party has finally settled the question of its leadership, with Bruno Retailleau elected as president last month.

Retailleau wins leadership of Les Républicains party, paving way for 2027 presidential bid

While Interior Minister Retailleau will be making the most of his dual role, many believe he will also be focusing on his candidacy for the presidency. But does this mean the choice of candidate is a done deal for the Republicans? 

Xavier Bertrand, who played a key role in Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign; Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard (notable as one of the mayors who in 2016 attempted to ban the burkini); Laurent Wauquiez, who was defeated by Retailleau in the leadership contest, and even former prime minister Michel Barnier, may beg to differ 

For the time being, there is no general consensus emerging from the conservative end of the political spectrum. 

To their (far) right, Le Pen’s previous election defeats loom large, as does her conviction for embezzling EU funds, which rules her out of the 2027 election thanks to a five-year ban on running for office – although she has said she will appeal this decision.

Does ‘politically dead’ Marine Le Pen still have a path to power?

Pending this ruling, inevitably the question of whether Le Pen’s dauphin and RN president Jordan Bardella will take her place in the running arises – although this could bring with it electoral uncertainty.

Meanwhile, despite Éric Zemmour’s far-right Reconquest party currently holding no seats in the National Assembly or the Senate, and having one MEP in the European Parliament – his partner, Sarah Knafo – Zemmour himself has not disappeared from view, and Knafo is increasingly visible.

The 32-year-old is known to be a fan of both Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and the couple were guests at Trump’s January inauguration – among the few French politicians to receive invitations.

(With newswires, and partially adapted from this article from RFI’s French service.)

Since its founding in 1975, ESA has contributed to a broad range of scientific and technological areas. One of its most notable moments came in 2014 with the Rosetta mission, when the Philae lander became the first human-made object to land on a comet. The event drew global attention and is considered a major milestone in robotic space exploration.

Copernicus and Galileo

ESA has also developed long-running programmes such as Copernicus and Galileo, which continue to serve scientific, environmental, and practical purposes. Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme, uses satellite data to monitor environmental changes. According to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, “Without those satellites that we have built – and Europe has built many of those – we would not understand the extent of climate change.”

Ariane 6 rocket debuts successfully restoring Europe’s space independence

Meanwhile, Galileo, ESA’s satellite navigation system, now in its 30th year, has become a key infrastructure for location and timing services. Aschbacher described it as “the most accurate navigation system in the world,” with wide applications across transport, telecommunications, and emergency services.

Over the years, ESA has also expanded its international cooperation. It works with agencies in the United States, Japan, India, the UAE, and Australia, among others, across a range of missions and projects. “Partners want to work with us. We have something interesting to offer,” Aschbacher said, referring to ESA’s role in collaborative initiatives.

 New objectives?

Looking to the months ahead, a major point of focus is the ESA Ministerial Council, to be held in November. Occurring every three years, the council allows ESA’s 22 member states to allocate funding to various programmes. Unlike some international agencies, ESA operates on a voluntary contribution model. “I have to make proposals that are very attractive that member states want to participate and want to put money in. Otherwise, I’m not succeeding,” said Aschbacher.

The funding proposals being prepared for the Council span a wide range of domains, including Earth observation, satellite navigation, telecommunication, astronaut missions, launch systems, and planetary exploration, including the Moon and Mars.

First commercial launch of Europe’s Ariane 6 carrying French military satellite

ESA also has a busy launch schedule for 2025, with over ten missions planned. These include new Sentinel satellites under the Copernicus programme, further Galileo satellites, as well as the April launch of Biomass Earth Explorer mission, which will measure tropical forest biomass as part of broader efforts to monitor carbon cycles.

Several smaller missions based on CubeSats and micro-satellites are also in development, incorporating onboard artificial intelligence to process data in orbit more efficiently.

ESA is placing increased emphasis on the role of space-based technologies across different sectors. In Aschbacher’s view, their relevance is likely to expand significantly in coming decades.

“Space today already has many applications… but in 20 years from today, you cannot live without space technology,” he said, comparing the trajectory of space tech to the early development of the internet.

As ESA reaches the 50-year mark, attention is focused not just on past achievements but also on how space technologies might be integrated more deeply into scientific research, infrastructure, environmental monitoring, and industry in the years ahead.

The French buy an average of 48 items of new clothing per year per person, but two thirds of those garments remain in the wardrobe, while others are thrown away and pollute the environment. Thirty-five garments are thrown away every second, according to Ademe – France’s environmental agency. 

On Monday, lawmakers in the upper house begin debating a proposed law to “reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry” – estimated to be responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide

In March 2024, MPs voted unanimously to define and regulate imports of low-cost, high-turnover clothing – known as ultra-fast fashion – embodied by Chinese online retailers like Shein and Temu. 

“Today, these giants of ultra-disposable fashion are invading the market without any oversight. We need to set rules and hit them as effectively and as hard as possible,” said Sylvie Valente Le Hir, a senator with the conservative Republicans and rapporteur of the bill.

Under the legislation, the legal definition of “fast fashion” would be based on factors such as production volume, product lifespan and repairability.

Companies falling under this definition would face new obligations, including environmental transparency and potential penalties through a bonus-malus system indexed to environmental labelling. It would reward virtuous production methods and penalise companies that adopt wasteful, fast-fashion practices.

Advertising for fast fashion would also be limited. 

French parliament votes to slow down fast fashion

Weakened proposals

However, following amendments by a Senate commission in February, the text put before senators is weaker than the original.

The proposed ban on advertising will now apply only to influencers, after senators argued it could infringe on economic freedom. 

Environmental labelling as the basis for the bonus-malus system has also been dropped. 

For Impact France, an NGO that spearheaded advocacy efforts for the law, the latest version is no longer aligned with France’s ecological transition goals.

“What made the first version of the text so strong was that it contained two measures that worked well. The first was a ban on advertising, and the second was a bonus-malus system based on the environmental impact of clothing,” said Impact’s co-president Julia Faure.

“The combination of these two measures made it possible to change the paradigm of the textile industry. If you take away half of the measures, you halve the effectiveness of such a text,” she told RFI.

Fashion and climate: why the greenest garment is the one you already own

Protecting France-based business

The amendments follow Shein’s intense lobbying of the French parliament. The Chinese giant hired former minister Christophe Castaner as a consultant. French media reported that Castaner had presented himself to MPs as a defender of low-income consumers.

The bill now targets mainly Asian ultra fast-fashion giants such as Shein and Temu. Critics such as the Stop Fast Fashion coalition fear this could turn the legislation into “an empty shell with no deterrent effect” by letting large European and French fast fashion platforms off the hook.

However, senator Sylvie Vallin, of the conservative Republicans party, defends the idea of excluding European fast fashion chains.

“Ephemeral fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and Kiabi are found in our shopping centres and city centres. And these brands and shops pay their taxes and employ people,” she told RFI. “I’m not going to green the entire textile industry with a bill like this one. However, we are seizing this opportunity to have an impact on the biggest Chinese giants, and then we are working at European level.”

The European Commission is considering introducing a tax on small parcels entering the EU – most of which come from China. In late May it urged Shein to respect EU consumer protection laws and warned it could face fines if it failed to address the EU’s concerns over the sale of unsafe and dangerous products sold on the sites of both Shein and Temu.

Donated clothes an environmental disaster in disguise for developing world

Impact France is calling for four key provisions to be reinstated in the fast fashion legislation – environmental labelling, inclusion of multi-brand platforms, a comprehensive ad ban, and extending producer responsibility on an international level.

“The fashion industry needs rules that reflect the scale of its impact,” Faure said. “We have an opportunity to set a global standard, France shouldn’t miss it.”

While the Senate opposes a blanket ban on fast fashion advertising, the government has said it will try and reintroduce it into the bill, with backing from the left.

Despite hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people, the situation in the country has received limited international attention, insufficient humanitarian funding and minimal political engagement, according to the NGO.

“It’s a case study in global neglect,” Laila Matar, NRC’s director of communications, told RFI. “There’s little media coverage, no meaningful diplomatic engagement and chronic underfunding. People are really struggling to survive.”

Cameroon is grappling with humanitarian emergencies driven by three distinct situations – violence in the far north, ongoing conflict in the anglophone regions, and an influx of refugees from neighbouring Central African Republic.

These crises have left the country’s services overwhelmed and under-resourced.

Uprooted and forgotten, Cameroon’s climate refugees living in despair

According to the NRC’s report, covering 2024, 11 percent of Cameroon’s population now faces acute food insecurity.

“1.4 million children are crammed into poorly maintained and overcrowded classrooms,” said Matar. “There’s simply no meaningful investment coming in from the global community.”

Cameroon’s 2024 humanitarian response plan was only 45 percent funded, leaving a gap of more than $202 million (almost €178m).

Alongside Cameroon, the NRC’s report highlights nine other displacement crises suffering from similar neglect and lack of aid funding, including those in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, each grappling with ongoing conflict.

‘Inward-looking policies’

To explain this reduced support and lack of engagement, Matar says: “Donor fatigue is certainly a factor. But more worrying is the shift we’re seeing from international solidarity to more inward-looking, security-focused policies in countries that used to be generous donors.”

Several developed countries have made significant cuts to their overseas aid budgets.

France announced it would reduce public development assistance by more than €2 billion – nearly 40 percent of its annual allocation.

The United Kingdom has cut its overseas development assistance from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of gross national income, while Germany and the Netherlands are amongst others to have announced substantial reductions in foreign aid.

France’s proposed budget cuts set to slash overseas development aid

This comes as the United States – formerly the worlds largest contributor to overseas relief funding – has shut down or drastically reduced several aid programmes, including USAID, amid accusations of inefficiency from the Trump administration. 

These decisions carry serious consequences for the humanitarian work of NGOs such as the NRC.

“We’re layering compromise upon compromise,” Matar told RFI. “And those compromises are deadly.”

Global aid in chaos as Trump proposes to slash funds and dismantle USAID

The NRC report also makes an impassioned plea for a shift in priorities, with the organisation’s secretary-general Jan Egeland saying: “Displacement isn’t a distant crisis. It’s a shared responsibility. We must stand up and demand a reversal of brutal aid cuts which are costing more lives by the day.”

While governments and institutions must lead the charge, Matar stressed that ordinary people also have a role to play.

“Humanitarian aid works. It helps people start to dream of a future again,” she said. “We can write to our MPs, speak out, and demand that our governments stop cutting aid in our name. We don’t need these crises to come to our borders to care about them.”

Albert Ojwang, 31, was found unconscious in a cell in Nairobi police station on Saturday and later pronounced dead in hospital. The police said he hit his own head against the wall.

“We saw the body yesterday… (it) had a lot of injuries on the hands, the shoulder area, but the head was swollen all around the frontal part… the nose, ears… and there was a lot of blood,” Julius Juma, lawyer for Ojwang’s family, told reporters and supporters, who had gathered outside the morgue in Nairobi on Monday.

Kenya was already on edge as it marks a year since massive protests over tax rises and corruption that triggered a police response in which at least 60 were killed.

Kenya rights groups decry abductions as government cracks down on protests

Ojwang’s death came just a few weeks before this anniversary of the deadly unrest in the protests, which sparked a crackdown on critics by President William Ruto’s government.

Call for investigation

Police said in a statement that Ojwang had been arrested for a “false publication” and suffered head injuries after striking his head against a cell wall.

Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja told reporters that Ojwang was arrested along with several others following a complaint by his deputy, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat.

“There was a complaint that had been launched by the (deputy inspector-general) about his name being tarnished. It is on that basis that investigations were actually being carried out because he also has a right to be protected by the same law,” Kanja said.

Amnesty International said Ojwang’s death “must be urgently, thoroughly and independently investigated”.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Albert Ojwang, who died last night at the Central Police Station in Nairobi,” the organisation wrote in a statement.

“No Kenyan should lose their life in police custody, and those entrusted with their protection. Police officers have a legal and moral duty to ensure the safety and well-being of every person under their custody. The death of Albert Ojwang while in detention raises serious questions that must be urgently, thoroughly, and independently investigated by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).”

The death also sparked outrage among Ojwang’s supporters online.

“We demand answers. This death cannot be swept under the rug. How many more young lives must we lose to this rotten system?” journalist Lynn Ngugi wrote on socials.

Harsh crackdown

Kenyan authorities have been accused of a harsh crackdown on critics of the government, with more than 80 illegally detained since the June 2024 protests, according to rights groups, some just for sharing cartoons or satirical images of President William Ruto.

Kenya probes alleged police involvement in abduction of government critics

Former attorney general Justin Muturi, who says his own son was illegally detained by security forces during the protests, spoke out against Ojwang’s death.

“The circumstances surrounding his death, including the alleged ‘suicide attempt’ in custody, are not just suspicious, they are outrageous,” he wrote on social media.

“They insult the intelligence of Kenyans and raise very serious questions about the conduct and accountability of our law enforcement agencies.”

 (with AFP)

The epic finished 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 after five hours and 29 minutes on centre court.

Alcaraz pulled off his salvage operation when Sinner, up two sets to one, led 5-3 in the fourth set.

The 22-year-old Spaniard fell to 0-40 on his serve as Sinner appeared to have a clasp on the Coupe des Mousquetaires perched just behind him on the ledge of the presidential tribune at the Roland Garros Stadium.

But Alcaraz refused to yield. For a brief moment in legend, control replaced flamboyance allowing him to claw his way back and force Sinner to serve for match.

The 23-year-old, who lost to Alcaraz at the Italian Open earlier in May, could not.

And Alcaraz went on to take the fourth set shoot-out seven points to three to level the match at two sets apiece after four hours and 12 minutes.

Marathon opening game

Four hours earlier, a 12-minute opening game in which Sinner saved five break points before holding his serve augured the swings and roundabouts to follow as ascendancy flitted between the contenders.

Alcaraz eventually claimed Sinner’s service in the opener to lead 3-2 but was immediately pegged back to 3-3.

The Italian took the set 6-4 and moved into a 3-0 lead in the second set displaying the composure and surgical precision which had cut through the players in the top half of the men’s singles draw.

He served for the set at 5-3 but faltered as Alcaraz began to find his range and brio to go on a three-game winning streak.

Sinner stopped the rot to level at 6-6 and he ran away with the shoot-out seven points to four to take a 6-4, 7-6 lead after nearly two hours.

Turn in fortune

The turn in fortune came, appropriately for a showman like Alcaraz, when the gig looked done. 

In the third set, with a point to consolidate the advantage, Sinner put the shot for 2-0 – a routine forehand – into the tramlines.

Reprieved, Alcaraz went on a four-game winning streak and held his advantage to serve for the set at 5-3.

Sinner stopped him to peg him back to 5-4. But he still had to hold his service.

And there, the third set spectacular kicked in. A couple of Sinner errors allowed Alcaraz to within two points of claiming it.

A forehand winner down the line notched up three set points and a vicious forehand drive and a volley into the open court brought the explosion of joy from the stands.

Alcaraz held his hand to his ear to soak up the adoration as he gained a foothold.

And it was he who wore the mantle of the home town hero. Every winning point was raucously greeted after he broke Sinner at the outset of the decider to take control of the match.

Change of circumstances 

Sixty-nine minutes after serving for his first French Open crown, Sinner had to hold serve to stay in the contest. He fulfilled that mission.

Five hours into what had become a landmark and around 75 minutes since saving match points, Alcaraz stepped up for his tilt at glory. 

He declined the invitation and then with Sinner leading 6-5 lead, he held his nerve to take the match into a final set 10-point super tiebreak.

Alcaraz turned that extended shoot-out into his own money-time extravaganza.

He waltzed into a 7-0 lead spraying forehand winners and a drop shot, drive volley combination to bedazzle Sinner and and become only the eighth man since tennis was opened up to professional players to retain the French Open crown.

“It was a privilege to share this history with you,” Alcaraz told Sinner after receiving his trophy from the 1999 champion Andre Agassi.

“You are an inspiration for so many young players,” Alcaraz added as he savoured his fifth triumph at a Grand Slam tournament.

“And you are an inspiration for me. I want to congratulate you on the fortnight you have played.”

Sinner, in only his second tournament after returning from a three-month doping ban, hailed his conqueror. “Amazing performance, congrats Carlos. Well done to you and your team.”

And gesturing to the packed stands, he added: “Thank you for the support throughout the fortnight. It has been amazing. I hope to see you next year.”

Show  time

Looking for entertainment? Where better to find it than at the French Open. For five hours and 29 minutes, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner gave us thrills and spills on centre court. Alcaraz defended his crown and emulated his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal who pulled off the feat numerous times as he clocked up 14 trophies. Players including Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Gustavo Kuerten have also won two on the trot since tennis was opened up to professional players in 1968. The 2025 French Open crown becomes a fifth trophy for Alcaaz at one of the prestigious Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

it’s the length, stupid. 

Always good to inject a bit of politics into the review. So apologies to James Carville for playing with his insight. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo came out early on Day 15 to say what a wonderful event the 2025 French Open has been. Well, she would say that wouldn’t she? And since the review wants to go back next year, we’re in no position to nitpick. Mauresmo was pressed on the issue of the lack of women’s matches in the night session. The tournament that purports to be among the best in the world appears to be hamstrung. “I always talk about the length of the matches, men compared to women,” said Mauresmo. “I think we wouldn’t be having this conversation if we had the same format for both games. In my opinion it’s the length or the possible length of the match that is making it hard for us in terms of scheduling.” Et voilà. No women’s matches. So, it’s a size thing. Strap for some gender politics.

Super Rafa

A moving tribute took place for honcho extraordinaire Rafael Nadal on the first Sunday at the French Open to salute his dazzling achievements. And there are moves afoot to make sure Nadal remains inextricably liked with the place that helped to define him. Now that all the bally-hoo of the tribute and the competition are over, French Open tournament director says there will be a powwow with Nadal to see what he can do for the French Open. “We will be resuming our discussions so that this common story that the tournament has had with Rafa over the past 20 years may continue in one way or another,” said Mauresmo. “So, yes, there is a common desire and we will find out how to do it.” Global warms the cockles of the review’s heart. 

Italian job

Well, even if Jannik Sinner didn’t succeed, there was happiness for Italy as the Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini won the women’s doubles title. The duo, who lost in last year’s final to Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova, beat Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunić 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to lift the trophy.  “Last year we were close to it,” said Paolini. “But I am happy that this year we managed to win the trophy. It’s an amazing feeling. It was a tough match. They were playing good, tactically also.”

Super respect

Jannik Sinner’s relentless, suffocating style offered the perfect foil for the mercurial flights of Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final which will surely figure on the list of greatest matches of all time. It had cadences, drama and scintillating quality. And a champions in victory and defeat. “Making the final, this is the good part of the sport,” said Sinner and hour or so after the five and a half hour battle. “Also today it got me the sad part, no? But, you know, if you watch only the sad part, you’re never going to come back, no? I believe I have improved as a player since last year, which is good. So we try to keep pushing.”

The crayfish were reportedly intended for Chinese nationals living in the country, and experts warn that their introduction could disrupt Malawi’s aquaculture ecosystem.

Invasive species and legal implications

The four individuals were arrested after being caught with five bags of live crayfish and were recently tried in court for “carrying out activity involving specimens and alien invasive species”. They were ordered to pay a fine or face a 12-month custodial sentence.

In Malawi, it is illegal to introduce invasive species – including non-indigenous fish – without a permit. Such introductions require the consent of the Department of Fisheries.

In court, the deputy director in the Department of Fisheries testified that the species pose an ecological threat. He cited Zambia, South Africa, and Namibia as countries where similar problems had already occurred.

“They are alien to Africa and are known to feed on other fish species, their eggs, and aquatic vegetation, thereby disrupting the ecosystem,” he was quoted as saying by MBC Online.

Environmental commentators warned that the introduction of these crayfish into Malawi’s waters would exacerbate existing ecological challenges. The country is already struggling to control invasive alien species – particularly plants – that have colonised significant areas of Nyika National Park and Mount Mulanje, distorting their natural beauty.

Rising cholera infections in Malawi raise fears of another deadly pandemic

Spotlight on Chinese environmental impact in Africa

The recent case has put a spotlight on illegal activities by Chinese nationals, which are negatively impacting the environment across Africa.

Although it is difficult to directly link such activities to the Chinese government, and while some resources are imported legally, there has been a rise in syndicates involved in smuggling. The methods used in resource extraction have also been linked to environmental degradation.

Reports indicate that Chinese involvement in Africa – particularly in infrastructure development and natural resource extraction – has contributed to increased carbon emissions and environmental harm. This includes deforestation, habitat destruction, water contamination, and air pollution.

In Ghana, for example, illegal gold mining involving Chinese nationals has been blamed for deforestation, water pollution, and soil degradation. A study documented habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and contamination of water sources with toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. Similar observations have been made in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In neighbouring Zambia, both authorities and environmentalists have expressed concern over the environmental damage caused by Chinese-owned copper mines. Incidents have included the spillage of acidic waste into major waterways, resulting in fish deaths and crop damage.

Malawi’s economic crisis pushes prices beyond the reach of struggling population

Calls for stronger controls

Greshan Kamnyamata, an Agriculture and Environmental Specialist, told RFI that the smuggling of crayfish into Malawi by Zambians is deeply troubling.

“The crayfish is an invasive alien species. This type of species outcompetes native species and causes them to disappear while the invasive species thrives,” he explained.

Malawi is home to unique fish species – including cichlids – that are not found anywhere else in the world.

According to Kamnyamata, the Zambians’ attempt to smuggle crayfish should serve as a wake-up call, signalling that other foreign products may be entering the country illegally, potentially by tourists or business people.

“Malawi receives many tourists who bring products from China, Tanzania, India, Zambia, and indeed from around the world. If robust mechanisms are not put in place to screen such individuals, we risk severe environmental degradation or even the extinction of native species,” he warned.

In a statement released Sunday, environmental protection group Bloom said that Macron had “confirmed that the imposture of France’s maritime protection policy would continue, namely that there would never be a binding framework to truly protect so-called protected marine areas.”

In an interview with the regional press on the eve of the Nice Oceans Summit (Unoc-3), Macron announced a restriction on bottom trawling in certain areas of French marine protected areas (MPAs).

He admitted that this fishing technique, which scrapes the seabed, “disrupts biodiversity and ecosystems that we must learn to protect.”

Bottom trawling will be just one of many items on the agenda at a week-long conference – hosted by France and Costa Rica – to confront what the United Nations calls a global “emergency” in the oceans.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

“There’s been a tiny bit of progress on the wording: bottom trawling has taken the place it deserves” in government communications, François Chartier of Greenpeace told French news agency AFP.

However, “we get the impression he’s announcing that he’s not going to announce anything,” he added, deploring the “lack of ambition” in the president’s statements.

Greenpeace is calling for a ban on bottom trawling in 30 percent of French waters classified as marine protected areas.

The NGO Oceana hailed it as “a good first step,” in the words of its spokesperson Nicolas Fournier, because “until now, it was taboo to talk about these issues.”

Call for a ban

Bottom trawling was carried out for 17,000 hours in French marine protected areas in 2024, according to a report published in May by Oceana, which calls for a ban on the practice.

Fournier noted that Macron cited the Port-Cros MPA (Var) in his interview, “where there is already no trawling.”

“If we decide to ban it, the impact on biodiversity will be minimal,” he told AFP.

“Banning bottom trawling in a marine protected area does not make it ‘strictly protected,’ because that would require banning all extractive activities, including fishing,” he added.

NGOs file complaint against France, Germany, and Italy over destructive fishing practices

To date, 33 percent of French waters are covered by at least one MPA, but most of them allow all fishing practices.

Macron announced a strengthening of the protection of these MPAs to achieve the European objective of placing 10 percent of its maritime domain under strong protection “as of 1 January, 2026,” four years ahead of the set deadline.

Bloom says the French president is claiming credit for the initiative made by the president of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson, who is due to announce in Nice “the creation of a vast marine protected area of ​​5.5 million square kilometres, including 1.1 million square kilometres under strict protection.”

Areas under high or full protection, the strictest level of protection, currently represent 2.6 percent of the French maritime domain and are almost exclusively located overseas.

(with AFP)

The Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) is one of three high-level events leading into next week’s critical UN Ocean Conference in Nice (UNOC). 

It brings together governments, investors and oceanographers to unlock new financing solutions to protect and restore ocean health and coastal livelihoods. Experts warn that without urgent action to close a multi-billion-dollar funding gap, these efforts could collapse. 

Of the $175 billion needed each year, the forum’s organisers say, only $25 billion has been mobilised so far. That shortfall has made SDG 14 – the UN goal to conserve oceans – the least funded of all its Sustainable Development Goals. 

Leaders from the Pacific, a region on the frontlines of ocean diplomacy, are among those pushing to get the cash flowing.  

“We’ll be calling for more investment and more partnerships to fund the commitments we’ve all made to SDG 14,” Pacific Ocean Commissioner Filimon Manoni told a press briefing by National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, a global marine conservation programme.  

“We also want to share our success stories, especially the ones led by communities.” 

France pushes for action as high seas treaty hangs in the balance

From pledges to finance 

Monaco has assembled a solid coalition to host BEFF. In charge are the government, the Prince Albert II Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute, with backing from France and Costa Rica. Global partners include the UN Global Compact and the World Economic Forum. 

“Together, we will mobilise the necessary investments – both public and private – for a sustainable blue economy,” Prince Albert promised ahead of the event, which has drawn some of the most influential voices in finance and ocean policy. 

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde will deliver a keynote address on financing ocean health, while International Maritime Organisation secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez will speak on decarbonising shipping and building more resilient ports. 

The closing remarks will come from French President Emmanuel Macron and Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles – co-hosts of next week’s UN Ocean Conference in Nice.

Panels will examine topics from blue bonds and biodiversity credits to venture capital and public-private partnerships. The forum also features a Blue Innovation Hall showing the latest advances in ocean technology, including tools for renewable energy, waste reduction and marine monitoring. 

The forum’s timing is crucial, said Kristin Rechberger, founder of the non-profit Revive Our Ocean and CEO of the green consulting firm Dynamic Planet. 

“We’re at an inflection point right now at the midpoint of this decade, where we can make conservation businesses the norm instead of the exception,” she said.  

“There’s a really exciting opportunity through the Blue Economy Finance Forum and UNOC to close the gap between the funding that’s actually available – it’s just misaligned – and the needs that are really hungry for a regenerative blue economy.” 

Climate-driven changes to ocean colour fuel urgency ahead of UN summit

Pacific leading the way 

The Pacific region is widely credited as a leader in ocean protection. Manoni said the region had been “walking the talk” for years, pointing to large marine sanctuaries now in place in countries including Palau, the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands.  

“The Pacific has not been sitting idle,” he said. “The Pacific has been at work.” The western and central Pacific, Manoni added, now supply more than half of the world’s tuna, helping to secure global food security. 

But experts say efforts like these need to be scaled up dramatically. Countries have pledged to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 – a target known as 30×30 – yet vast areas remain unmanaged or open to damaging activities. 

Enric Sala, founder of Pristine Seas, said more protection must go hand in hand with better enforcement and long-term funding. 

“We have only 8 percent of the ocean in protected areas, and only 3 percent in zones where damaging activities are banned,” Sala told journalists. “We need to quadruple protection in the next five years.”  

He said destructive practices like bottom trawling must also be banned – pointing to the “crazy situation” in Europe, where such activities continue even in many so-called protected areas. 

Sala cited research estimating the societal cost of bottom trawlingin Europe at up to €11 billion a year, largely owing to carbon emissions from churning up sea floor sediment.  

“The abundance of vulnerable species like sharks and rays is lower inside these areas than outside,” Sala added. 

New Caledonia bans ‘dangerous’ seabed mining for half a century

Investing in change

As harmful fishing practices continue to undermine conservation efforts, BEFF is also zeroing in on how improved financing can drive change. 

Key financial tools under discussion include debt-for-nature swaps and blended finance models that combine public and private investment. Twenty side events called “Solution Hubs” will explore everything from marine algae to sustainable aquaculture. 

“We need to make sure finance directly reaches the coastal communities working to safeguard our ocean,” said Rita El Zaghloul, director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People – a group of more than 100 countries pushing to protect biodiversity and expand access to conservation funding. 

Some of that is starting to happen. The coalition has launched a fast-track fund to provide small grants for marine-protected area planning.  

“A community marine reserve doesn’t need a giant World Bank loan,” added Rechberger. “It needs the right money, at the right time, and the right amount.” 

Land pollution is drowning the oceans in plastic, French experts warn

Awareness through storytelling 

The economic stakes are huge. The ocean feeds 3.2 billion people and contributes $2.6 trillion to the global economy. Yet destructive practices continue to erode these benefits. 

The forum is also taking place against growing pressure to resolve the disconnect between bold conservation pledges and the persistence of harmful practices at sea. 

To help raise awareness, a special screening of the documentary Ocean, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, will close Saturday’s programme. The film features the first underwater footage of bottom trawling in action. 

“Now, for the first time, people can see what bottom trawling does underwater,” said Sala. “People can see what this practice does and can make up their minds.” 

As the countdown continues to the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, from 9 to 13 June, organisers hope BEFF will help shape the tone of the week. With only five years left to quadruple ocean protection, the window for action is rapidly closing. 

“This is not only about conservation,” Rechberger said. “It’s about building a thriving, regenerative ocean economy that works for people and the planet.” 

“I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement from his office.

Calling Thunberg an “antisemite” and the group of activists “Hamas propaganda mouthpieces”, he added: “Turn back because you will not reach Gaza.”

The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Italy on 1 June with the aim of delivering aid and challenging the Israeli blockade, which has been in place for years even before the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023.

Organisers said Saturday the vessel had entered Egyptian waters and was nearing Gaza, where the war has entered its 21st month.

Aboard the boat are nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands.

Important initiative of solidarity

“Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas – a murderous terrorist group holding our hostages and committing war crimes,” Katz said.

“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or support terror groups – by sea, air or land,” he added.

In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack from Israel.

On Sunday, French MEP Rima Hassan, who is on board the Madleen told French news agency AFP that the crew were ready to “stay mobilised until the last minute – until Israel cuts the internet and networks.”

Earlier, she reported that more than 200 European parliamentarians had signed an open letter to Israel, calling for the Madleen to be allowed to reach Gaza.

In a statement released Friday, Amnesty International called the voyage “an important initiative of solidarity.”

Denouncing “one of the worst man-made humanitarian disasters in the world” in Gaza, the NGO asserted that “there is no justification” for preventing humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian territory.

Distribution zones in firing line

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday.

“Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am”, said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency.

The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution centre west of Rafah, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.

EU to review Israel trade deal over Gaza war and blocked aid

The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.

The Israeli military said it fired on people who “continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers” despite warnings.

It said the area around the distribution point had been declared an “active combat zone” at night.

“Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved toward the site and the army opened fire,” eyewitness Abdallah Nour al-Din told French news agency AFP.

Outside Nasser Hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body-bags.

Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to the civil defence.

France threatens tougher stance on Israel as US proposes new Gaza ceasefire plan

Bassal said another five people, including two young girls, were killed around in an overnight strike that hit a tent in the Al-Mawasi displaced persons camp in southern Gaza.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

On Sunday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the death toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,880, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable.

(with AFP)

Germany dominated the opening half but Mbappé provided the breakthrough just before half-time, carving a shot through a crowded penalty box to bring up his 50th goal in France colours.

Late in the second, with the hosts desperately looking for an equaliser, Mbappé snatched a poor Germany pass on the half-way line and rampaged forward, before setting up Michael Olise.

The French showed their incredible depth, while Mbappé again demonstrated his finishing and pace.

For Germany, who lost two straight straight matches for the first time since 2023, questions remain over how much they have truly improved under Julian Nagelsmann.

In the lead-up to Sunday’s encounter, France coach Didier Deschamps admitted the Nations League clash with old rivals Germany “isn’t the most important game for us,” with a clear focus on next year’s World Cup.

Deschamps made eight changes from the semi-final loss to Spain, with only captain Mbappé, goalie Mike Maignan and midfield veteran Adrien Rabiot keeping their starting spots.

Nagelsmann also rotated heavily, making four changes including bringing striker Niclas Fuellkrug back into the starting XI.

Lightning-fast forwards

The Germans had a wealth of chances in the opening half. Karim Adeyemi won a penalty but it was overturned by VAR for diving with. Florian Wirtz hit the post.

Mbappé struck just before half-time. The Real Madrid man collected a pass which floated over the 1.77-metre tall Joshua Kimmich’s head, took a touch and hammered a shot home with his preferred right foot.

Nagelsmann replaced rookie striker Nick Woltemade with Deniz Undav at half-time. The move seemed to have paid immediate dividends Undavhad the ball in the net, but his effort was chalked off for a foul in the build-up by Fuellkrug.

French president Macron hails PSG’s Champions League triumph at Elysée reception

Germany dominated possession and field position, but that left them vulnerable on the break to France’s lightning-fast forwards, led by Mbappé.

Marcus Thuram hit the post on 58 minutes. Then Mbappé and substitute Olise, who plays in Germany for Bayern Munich, combined to seal the match for France.

The French captain pounced on a poor Robin Koch clearance on the half-way line and ran goalwards, squaring for the onrushing Olise to tap home with six minutes remaining.

Later on Sunday, reigning Nations League and Euros champions Spain face Portugal in Munich to decide this year’s crown.

(with AFP)

Constance Banda sits on a wooden stool, her hands moving steadily as she washes her children’s clothes – three of the six look on, as at the end of the hall her four-year-old daughter cradles her tiny, two-week-old sister.

“I gave birth to her here,” Banda tells RFI, a brief smile emerging. “She offers me solace.”

The bungalow where Banda and her family now live was once part of a government poultry farm in Mvogbessi, in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé. The farm was abandoned after bird flu struck Cameroon in 2016, killing more than 15,000 birds.

Today, this building is home not just for Banda and her children, but for dozens of other internally displaced people from Cameroon’s war-torn North West and South West regions.

“It’s very hard for us here. My children sometimes go for days without food. My husband is a bricklayer, but he works for people and they hardly pay him,” says Banda.

Her neighbour, Ruth Che Ndukong from Akum village, has a similar story of loss and migration. Seven years ago, she was mourning the death of her mother when gunmen attacked.

“I came here seven years ago. It was just at the beginning of the crisis. We were burying our mother when gunfire stormed the burial grounds. It was terrifying. So we decided to flee.”

Ndukong said life hasn’t been easy since she arrived in Yaoundé, as she worked flour into dough. “I survive by making and selling doughnuts,” she explained. “It’s the only thing you can make with limited capital.”

Cameroon tops refugee NGO’s list of most neglected displacement crises

Multiple crises in the country

The experiences of these two women highlight the hardships endured by almost 1 million internally displaced people across Cameroon.

“Many of them are barely surviving. Many are exploited, because they are vulnerable,” said Willibroad Dze-Ngwa, a lecturer of history and political science at the University of Yaoundé 2.

Cameroon is grappling with multiple crises leading to this mass displacement, including a Boko Haram insurgency in the north, a refugee influx from the Central African Republic, and the protracted Anglophone crisis that has afflicted the country for more than eight years.

Banda and Ndukong are victims of the latter – which initially manifested as peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers in these regions who were challenging the imposition of French within Anglophone educational and judicial institutions.

The situation escalated into violence following the government’s hardline response. Subsequently a separatist movement developed, which resorted to armed conflict against the state, demanding the secession of the Anglophone regions to form a new nation, Ambazonia.

‘Worse than death’: Surviving sexual violence in Cameroon’s anglophone crisis

The roots of the conflict lie in Cameroon’s colonial past. The country had been colonised by Germany, but after the First World War it was split between France and the United Kingdom. The UK took control of the areas now known as the North West and South West regions, while France ruled the rest.

When independence came in 1960, the British and French-ruled parts of Cameroon decided to join together in a federation. But this came to an end following a controversial referendum in 1972, which saw the country abandon the federal system to become a unitary state.

Anglophone Cameroonians – who make up around 20 percent of the country’s 28 million people – view this change as the majority Francophone population trying to absorb them, and anger over this exploded into conflict in 2016.

Religious leaders call for schools to reopen in Cameroon’s anglophone regions

Aid cuts and lack of coverage 

As the people of Cameroon suffer through these crises, the latest report from the Norwegian Refugee Council has put the country at the top of the list of most neglected displacement crises. 

As well as noting the lack of funding to deal with the situation, in the wake of recent overseas aid cuts by several Western countries, the report highlights the relative lack of media coverage. 

It reports that the displacement crisis in Cameroon was mentioned in 28,800 articles in English, Spanish, French and Arabic in 2024 – 15 times fewer mentions than the war in Ukraine, which was mentioned in 451,000 articles.

Malaria fight under threat as US funding cuts raise fears in Africa

Theodore Lontum Wankuy, of the Big Steps Outreach Network NGO, told RFI that many of his organisation’s programmes have been derailed by aid cuts.

“We used to receive aid from Canada and the UN, but that UN assistance is no longer available after the Trump administration cut funding to UN agencies. The US previously supplied about 80 percent of UNDP funding. That support has been cut, meaning that door has been slammed shut for us. Consequently, many of our projects have been put on hold,” he said.

Both Banda and Ndukong said that since they arrived in Yaoundé, they haven’t received any assistance from the government or from NGOs.

“We basically live from day to day. You aren’t always sure where your next meal will come from,” Ndukong told RFI.

Banda added: “All I pray for is for the fighting to end so that we can return a rebuild our lives.”

“Most people throw these away,” he says, holding up a palm-sized lithium-ion cell. “I see power, potential, possibility.”

Waweru sources old laptop battery packs, tests their viability and then crafts new packs from them, which are then fitted as power sources for motorbikes.

These bikes can travel up to 50 kilometers on one charge, providing a cleaner, quieter and cheaper alternative to petrol-powered boda-bodas – Kenya’s famous motorcycle taxis.

From trash to transport

Waweru scours junkyards, repair shops and electronic waste dumps for old laptop batteries, which sell for as low as 0.50 Kenyan shillings – less than one American cent.

While most people view them as dead, Waweru says up to 70 percent of these cells still have some charge.

He converts old motorbikes by stripping out the internal combustion engine and replacing it with an electric motor and one of his custom battery packs. The end result is a machine that produces zero emissions and is almost free to operate.

“In places like Nairobi, where fuel prices keep rising and traffic chokes our cities, this kind of innovation isn’t just clever – it has become necessary,” he says.

Evans Otieno, a 29-year-old boda-boda rider in Kisumu, was among the first to test Waweru’s invention. He used to spend more than 700 shillings a day on petrol. Now he charges his bike overnight with solar power.

“No noise, no smoke, just movement,” Otieno grinned. “The customers do ask. They’re all surprised. They say, this came out of an old laptop?”

Global talks seek to curb e-waste dumping as Africa bears the brunt

An estimated 50,000 tonnes of e-waste are deposited in Africa annually, most of which ends in open, unregulated dumps, emitting toxins into the environment – adding to urban air pollution.

Waweru’s laptop-motorbike hybrids provide a grassroots solution for climate change, waste management and youth unemployment all in one, and all out of a backyard workshop.

“This is bottom-up climate action and it’s working,” said Mary Mburu, a circular economy strategist.

The Kenyan engineer building a sustainable future with recycled plastic bricks

From landfill to lifeline

Waweru’s vision reaches beyond his workshop. He has begun training young people in his community to test the used batteries, build circuits and retrofit bikes. He envisages a network of community-powered workshops across Africa, building electric vehicles using locally available waste.

“We don’t need to wait for Tesla or Toyota to bring electric mobility to Africa” he says. “We can build our own with what we have.”

His biggest challenges are funding, access to quality tools and grappling with outdated policies.

Back in his shed, he inserts the final cell into a freshly built battery pack. As he fastens the casing, a soft whir proclaims success. He steps back, watching one of his students ride the bike around the block.

“Change doesn’t have to be flashy,” he says. “It just has to work and keep moving forward.”

In Damascus, under the watchful eye of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Turkish construction firms Kalyon GES Enerji Yatırımları and Cengiz Enerji signed a $7 billion (€6.1 billion) energy deal.

They were joined by Qatar’s UCC Holding and the United States-based Power International. The contract aims to rebuild Syria’s electricity network, badly damaged by more than a decade of civil war.

“Today, we signed a very big agreement in Damascus. A contract was signed for the production of approximately 5,000 megawatts of electricity to meet Syria’s electricity needs,” Kalyon chairman Orhan Cemal Kalyoncu told RFI.

“We have a strong partnership and the means. God willing, we will start working as soon as possible.”

Sanctions lifted

The deal was made possible after the US lifted sanctions on Syria last month, and the European Union eased financial restrictions. This released frozen Syrian funds and gave energy-rich Arab states a green light to invest.

Rebuilding cities and restoring electricity are among the main tasks Syria’s new leadership is facing.

Trump and Erdogan grow closer as cooperation on Syria deepens

“Aleppo [Syria’s second largest city] is two hours away from Turkey’s southern border, so I don’t think meeting the Syrian construction needs will be a problem for Turkey,” said Veysel Yayan, secretary-general of the Turkish Steel Producers Association.

Turkish contractors are able to operate in difficult environments and can quickly deliver large-scale projects, Yayan added.

They are equipped to bring in everything needed – from materials to machinery – and complete construction in a matter of months, he said, even in places where others would struggle.

Political connections

Turkey’s construction industry has strong political ties, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closely linked to some of the country’s biggest building firms.

In addition, his government backed the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham during the civil war – the same group now led by Syria’s current president, al-Sharaa.

“I look at the countries [in the region] with excess capacity to provide Syria the cement construction materials, the wherewithal, and the engineering capacity – Turkey is the only one,” said Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst at New York consultancy firm Global Source Partners.

“So, not just because of political relations with Tahrir al-Sham necessarily, but because of economic necessity, Turkey will be the cheapest provider.”

Macron urges Syrian leader to protect minorities after deadly clashes

Economic lifeline

During the war, Turkish firms built thousands of basic homes in rebel-controlled parts of Syria. The reconstruction of the country could now offer a lifeline to Turkey’s struggling construction industry.

“The construction material industry, the contracting sector and the steel sector, we do not have the slightest problem in supplying all kinds of materials that Syria will need as soon as possible,” Yayan said.

“The most basic challenge for us is financing. That is, we are not in a position to start rebuilding in Syria without financing.”

With restrictions lifted, billions in frozen Syrian funds are being released. Gulf states are also starting to commit money to support rebuilding efforts.

Syria president says new authorities can’t satisfy everyone

“It is also in the interest of the European Union, I would say lift the sanctions because [countries] like Germany, they have 1 million Syrians who live there,” said Huseyin Bagci, professor of international relations at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“Establishing the new airports, roads, opportunities for the people to come and go and get property or get their properties back… they are all positive developments [for] Syria,” he added.

The speed and success of Syria’s reconstruction will be key to meeting public expectations of President al-Sharaa and stabilising the country. While for Turkey, it offers the prospect of a major economic boost.

Sabalenka powered into their 11th meeting. The 27-year-old Belarusian broke the American’s serve twice to sweep into a 4-1 lead after 18 minutes on centre court.

As the 15,000 spectators feared a rout, Sabalenka, boasting three points for a 5-1 lead, wandered.

She lost 11 points on the trot to allow the 21-year-old back to 4-3 and with three consecutive points to gain parity at 4-4

The world number one woke up to rescue the crisis but Gauff eventually got the break to justify her resilience and belief.

But Gauff failed to maintain her momentum. Sabalenka broke again to take the lead and served for the set at 5-4

In a 12-minute game of absorbing intensity, Sabalenka squandered two set points before Gauff converted her fifth break point to recover to 5-5.

Seize the initiative

Again, Gauff failed to push on. Sabalenka seized a second chance to serve for the set and failed again.

Fifty minutes after breezing along, Sabalenka was in a dogfight of a tiebreak. A Gauff backhand winner and two sloppy shots off the same wing from Sabalenka put Gauff in control but Sabalenka gritted her way back to life and won four consecutive points to take the shoot-out seven points to five.

In a comparatively tame second set, Gauff swiftly moved into a 4-1 lead on the back of less intensity and more unforced errors from Sabalenka, she served at 5-2 to level the match and she executed authoritatively without dropping a point.

Gauff got the first break of the decider to lead 3-1. As the tension mounted, Sabalenka twice produced imperious shots to stop Gauff going 4-1 up with her service to follow.

But that high seemed a distant memory when Sabalenka punched back to 3-3. After the flow, another ebb. She coughed up her own service. 

Gauff edged to 5-3 and a couple of hours after appearing that she was in for a waltz of an afternoon, Sabalenka was serving to stay in the mach.

She completed that dance to force Gauff to serve for the title.

A first match point came with a forehand crosscourt winner and it went in a thunderous forehand service return.

Sabalenka got her chance to level at 5-5 off a second serve but the return was fractionally out.

After Sabalenka’s backhand flew wide on the second match point, Gauff fell onto her back, held her head in her hands and wept.

“I’m very happy,” said Gauff after the four-time French Open champion Justine Henin presented her with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.

“Aryna, you are a fantastic opponent,” she added. “It was a hard match for me.”

Lula reiterated a comment he had made at a news conference with France’s President Emmanuel Macron this week, during a state visit.

While both Macron and Lula praised the strong ties between France and Brazil, Thursday’s press conference highlighted diverging views over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Macron stressed that Kyiv and Moscow should not be treated as equals, in contrast to Brazil’s proclaimed neutral stance on the conflict.

“There is an aggressor, which is Russia. There is a victim, which is Ukraine. We all want peace, but we cannot treat the two belligerents equally,” said Macron, stressing that Brazil had “a very important role to play” in finding a solution to the conflict.

Lula put forward the suggestion that “the UN can become a protagonist in this matter again”, calling UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “a good man”.

Listen to both sides

The United Nations chief should “propose a group of friends” to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who would then “talk with them both, listen to their respective truths and then build an alternative”, Lula said.

“What I am proposing is the creation of a commission consisting of countries that are not involved in the war to talk with Zelensky and Putin,” he said.

Neither side would “get what they want but they can get what is possible”, he said. “Neither 100 percent of Zelensky’s position, nor 100 percent of Putin’s position.”

Russia and Ukraine hold first peace talks since 2022

Last month, Lula said he wanted to “strengthen and rebuild a strategic partnership” with Russia during a trip to Moscow to mark 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany alongside other world leaders.

In contrast to most European countries, Lula maintains friendly relations with Moscow, while France has been one of the most vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Lula, who in July is to host the next summit of the BRICS group of nations in Rio de Janeiro, said that Putin was invited to the meeting despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Prisoner swap

A second round of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine opened this week in Istanbul, after a first round failed to secure a pause in more than three years of fighting.

But a major prisoner exchange  – the only concrete outcome of peace talks so far – was in doubt on Saturday after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of delaying and thwarting the swap.

France leads Europe’s big five in pushing for stronger Ukraine defence

Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to release all wounded soldiers and those aged under-25 that had been captured – more than 1,000 people on each side.

Russia said it would also hand back 6,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers.

Moscow on Saturday accused Ukraine of not turning up to collect the dead bodies and not agreeing a date to swap the captured soldiers, while Kyiv said Russia was playing “dirty games” by not sticking to the agreed parameters for the exchange.

‘Manipulations’, ‘dirty games’

“The Ukrainian side has unexpectedly postponed for an indefinite period, both the acceptance of the bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war,” Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media.

Responding to Russia’s accusations, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said no date had been agreed for the return of bodies.

It also said a list of names Russia said would be released did not match the terms of the agreement.

France leads EU push for tougher Russia sanctions amid ceasefire stalemate

“Unfortunately, instead of constructive dialogue, we are again faced with manipulations,” it said in a statement on social media.

“We call on the Russian side to stop playing dirty games and return to constructive work to bring people back to both sides and to clearly implement the agreement in the coming days,” it added.

The spat came hours after Russia launched a massive aerial attack across Ukraine, heavily targeting the city of Kharkiv.

 At least eight people were killed in the overnight barrage and frontline shelling in total, officials said.

(with AFP)

The red carpets were replaced daily at the festival, which ended on 24 May, with organisers handing over 1.5 tonnes of fine red material to a non-profit organisation in the port city of Marseille.

The carpets now sit on pallets or in black waste bags in a warehouse used by the La Reserve des Arts in the deprived northern suburbs of Marseille where they are being sorted, cleaned and prepared for re-use.

Some of them have small holes – possibly a result of hosting all those towering stilettoes – while others have been marked by footsteps or scuffs.

Reduce waste

“By reconditioning them, we’re helping to reduce the environmental impact of the event – something the festival is aware of,” Jeanne Re, coordinator at La Reserve des Arts, told French news agency AFP during a visit on Wednesday.

The Cannes Film Festival has for several years drawn attention to its efforts to improve its carbon footprint and cut down on waste – with the red carpet being just one of their environmental goals.

“The frequency with which the red carpet changes has been divided by 3: almost 1,400 kg of material is thus saved per edition, which is 59 percent of the carpet’s traditional volume,” the festival says on its website.

La Reserve des arts specialises in re-using or “upcycling” products used by the fashion, theatre or other entertainment industries, finding new lives for items that might otherwise have ended up as waste.

The approach helps to reduce landfill and is seen as a response to growing public concern about the volume of single-use items used to put on public events.

But some environmental groups believe so-called second-life policies can result in “greenwashing”, leading organisers and companies to tout their recycling policies rather than focusing on reducing their overall consumption.

Fashion and climate: why the greenest garment is the one you already own

Bucket hats and wine bottle bags

The Cannes carpet is being resold at just one euro a kilo, Re telling AFP that amounted to 33 cents per square metre – an “unbeatable” price.

She added that the goal was to make it “as accessible to as many of our members as possible”.

Elsa Ramouni-Yordikian, an artist and member who has been using the red carpets for the last four years, told AFP she had used the material for handbags, bucket hats, glasses cases and even bags for wine bottles.

Some were “quite unique pieces”, she said of her work with the charity Les Nippones.

How French laws on plastic packaging are changing an industry

She recently showcased her creations made with the 2024 carpet in an exhibition in Marseille titled “Dress like a Movie Star”.

“The fact that it comes from a famous festival and is recycled locally – that makes sense to us,” she said.

Production of synthetic materials like the red carpets will “never stop, there will always be more, just like festivals and trade shows, so we need to find ways to give them new value”, she said.

(with AFP)

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the 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” and 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: Brother 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 Brother 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 May, I asked you a question about women’s right to vote. Frenchwomen were granted the right to vote in 1944; the first election they voted in was in 1945. This is long after many of their sisters in other countries.

You were to re-read our article “How French women won, and used, their right to vote in 1945”, and send in the answer to this question: Which country was the first to grant women the right to vote, and in which year? I also asked you to send in the names and dates of the countries that followed the ground-breaker.

The answer is, to quote our article: “New Zealand was the pioneer, granting women the right to vote in 1893, followed by Australia in 1901, Finland in 1906, Denmark in 1915, Uruguay in 1917, Germany in 1918, the United States in 1920, and the United Kingdom in 1928.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, which was suggested by Father Stephen Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon. Father Steve wanted to know: What big anniversary do you have coming up? A birthday? A wedding? Something else? How will you celebrate it? How many guests will you invite?

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Mr. M. Ganesan from Goa, India, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Mr. Ganesan.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week – all women, to celebrate our big sister suffragettes who opened the door for us – are Hasina Zaman Hasi, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Jocelyne D’Errico from New Zealand; Jahan Ara Hussain from Odisha, India, and Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj in Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Eid Al-Adha Mubarak” by Babu and Shahnawaz, sung by Nawal Khan; Duet for Viola and Violoncello and Obligato Eyeglasses WoO 32 by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by Keith Hamm and Julie Hereish; “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 “Oi! Altas undas que venetz sus la mar” by Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, performed by the Eduardo Paniagua Spanish-French-Moroccan Ensemble.

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 Amanda Morrow’s article “The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 30 June to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 5 July 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.   

On Wednesday, a suburb of Istanbul witnessed the latest demonstration in support of the city’s detained mayor. Despite the protest taking place in a traditional electoral stronghold of President Erdoğan, tens of thousands attended.

İmamoğlu masks

In a recent attempt to quell the unrest, Istanbul’s governor’s office issued a decree ordering the removal of all images, videos, and audio recordings of İmamoğlu from state buildings and public transport across the city. Within hours, social media was flooded with footage of people wearing İmamoğlu masks while riding public transport.

Turkey’s youth rise up over mayor’s jailing and worsening economy

“Up to 75% are against İmamoğlu’s arrest, as the aversion to Erdoğan’s attempt to sideline his opponent with foul play was widely distributed by all parties,” claimed political analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners, citing recent opinion polls.

Yeşilada argues that the poll’s findings underscore the opposition’s success in winning over public opinion.

“There is a strong reaction. This is not a temporary thing. It’s a grievance that will be held and may impact the next election whenever they are held,” he added.

Recent opinion polls also show İmamoğlu enjoying a double-digit lead over Erdoğan in a prospective presidential race, with a majority of respondents believing the corruption charges against the mayor are politically motivated—a claim the government denies.

Erdogan’s jailed rivals

Political analyst Sezin Öney of the independent Turkish news portal Politikyol suggests Erdoğan may have expected İmamoğlu to follow the same fate as other jailed rivals, whose influence faded once imprisoned. “The government is counting on the possibility that İmamoğlu is jailed, is out of sight, out of mind, and the presidency will have his ways,” explained Öney.

Further arrests as Turkey cracks down on protests over jailed Istanbul mayor

Turkish authorities have persistently sought to curtail İmamoğlu’s presence on social media. His accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky have been frozen following court rulings.

The fate of opposition journalists

Similar actions have been taken against opposition journalists and their supporters. “The operation goes deeper and deeper in recent months; it’s just a very concerted policy to create a blackout in this vibrant society,” claimed Erol Önderoğlu, Istanbul representative of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

The legal crackdown on the Istanbul municipality continues, with further waves of arrests extending even to İmamoğlu’s personal bodyguard. His party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is also under investigation for alleged irregularities at its party congress.

Analyst Öney predicts that further crackdowns are likely, given the potential implications for Erdoğan’s political future. “I am sure this is being calculated and recalculated every day—whether it’s beneficial to throw more cases at him (İmamoğlu), by weakening his party, the Republican People’s Party, weakening him personally, or whatever is convenient. But the sky is the limit,” explained Öney.

Nevertheless, each new crackdown appears only to fuel the momentum behind opposition protests, which continue to attract large crowds across the country—including in Erdoğan’s own political bastions.

Protest movement

The leader of the main opposition CHP, Özgür Özel, has earned praise for his energetic performances and has won over many former sceptics. However, analyst Yeşilada questions whether Özel can sustain the protest movement.

“I feel in the summer months, it’s very difficult to keep the momentum; the colleges are closed, and people are shuffling through the country, so if that (protests) is the only means of piling the pressure on Erdoğan, it’s not going to work,” warned Yeşilada.

Istanbul’s mayorial elections mean more than just running the city

Yeşilada believes the opposition leader must elevate his strategy. “Özel needs to find new tricks. It will take two things: A) hearing what the grassroots are saying, in particular the younger generation, and B) being able to reshuffle the party rank and file so true activists are promoted—so they can energise the base,” he added.

In 2013, Erdoğan weathered a wave of mass protests which largely dissipated with the closing of universities and the arrival of the summer holidays. This year, he may again be relying on summer to quieten dissent. For the opposition, the challenge is to ensure that Erdoğan’s summer is anything but peaceful.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India, Alan Holder from Isle of Wight, England, and Karuna Kanta Pal from West Bengal, India.

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “A Million Roses” by Raymond Pauls and Leon Briedis, performed by L’Orchestre Dominique Moisan; “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar, performed by Aguilar and his orchestra, and “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira, Wyclef Jean and Archie Pena, performed by Shakira and Wyclef Jean.

The quiz will be back next Saturday, 7 June. Be sure and tune in! 

On 26 May, pro-EU centrist Nicușor Dan was sworn in as President of Romania, having vowed to oppose “isolationism and Russian influence.”

Earlier, Dan had emerged victorious in a closely contested election rerun, widely viewed as pivotal for the future direction of the NATO and EU member state of 19 million people, which shares a border with war-torn Ukraine.

The vote followed a dramatic decision by Romania’s Constitutional Court five months prior to annul a presidential election, citing allegations of Russian interference and the extensive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner—who was subsequently barred from standing again.

Although nationalist and EU-sceptic George Simion had secured a commanding lead in the first round, Dan ultimately prevailed in the second-round run-off.

RFI speaks with Claudiu Năsui, former Minister of Economy and member of the Save Romania Union, about the pressing challenges facing the country—from economic reform and political polarisation to the broader implications of the election for Romania’s future, including its critical role in supporting Ukraine amid ongoing regional tensions.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Donald Trump in Washington last Wednesday.

The meeting took place amid tensions over several issues, including the United States’ resettlement of white Afrikaners – whom President Trump has controversially described as victims of “genocide” – and South Africa’s ongoing land reform.

South Africa’s Ramaphosa to meet Trump on high-stakes White House visit

However, the US President defied all expectations of diplomacy by repeating allegations against Ramaphosa and accusing South Africa of the alleged killing of white farmers.

President Ramaphosa remained composed, however, and the visit continued the following day with further discussions on bilateral relations and trade.

To discuss, the recent evolution of the relations between the two countries, Spotlight on Africa has two guests this week:

• Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington DC
• Ivor Ichikowitz, founding director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and keen observer of South Africa’s foreign affairs.

We also visit the Paris Noir exhibition, currently on display at the Pompidou Centre  in central Paris. It showcases the largest collection ever assembled of works by Black artists who created art in the French capital from the 1950s onwards.

Paris Noir is at the Pompidou Centre in Paris until 30 June, 2025.

‘Paris Noir’ exhibition showcases work made in French capital by black artists

Finally, we go on a tour with the black British photographer, writer and broadcaster Johny Pitts, who has himself documented the black and Afropean communities all over Europe for over ten years. 

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

The pledge was made during a meeting of the US-Turkey Working Group in Washington, where diplomats committed to “increasing cooperation and coordination on the security and stability of Syria”.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, who heads the German Marshall Fund office in Ankara, said this signals progress.

“I think it shows us that Turkey and the US can get on the same page when it comes to Syria,” he said. “Disagreements in Syria were part of the problem between Turkey and the United States. There are other issues, but this one was one of the core issues.”

Unluhisarcikli believes the good chemistry between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Donald Trump is playing a role.

“I think it’s significant President Erdogan is one of the leaders that President Trump likes working with and trusts. But of course, this is the case until it’s not,” he said.

Macron urges Syrian leader to protect minorities after deadly clashes

Israeli pushback

The move comes despite a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told Trump during his February visit to Washington that Turkey was a security threat in Syria.

Both countries have troops in Syria and see each other as rivals.

Trump appeared to dismiss Netanyahu’s concerns, speaking to the international media from the Oval Office with the Israeli leader at his side.

“I told the Prime Minister: Bibi, if you have a problem with Turkey, I really think I can be able to work it out,” Trump said. “I have a really great relationship with Turkey and its leader.”

Erdogan, along with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is credited with helping persuade Trump to lift sanctions on Syria. Israeli foreign policy analyst Gallia Lindenstrauss said the decision went against Israel’s position.

She explained that Israel wanted any easing of sanctions to be linked to concessions by Damascus.

“I think the fact the US ambassador to Turkey has been appointed as the envoy to Syria also means the Turkish position will get more attention from the US side,” Lindenstrauss said.

“That in itself makes some concern in Israel. Because here Israel has its priorities with regards to Syria, it wants someone pushing Turkey to be more flexible and not, of course, to build bases throughout Syria. That would be a very threatening scenario regarding Israel.”

Turkey’s rivalry with Iran shifts as US threats create unlikely common ground

Turkish airbases

Israeli warplanes recently destroyed a Syrian airbase that Turkish forces were preparing to take over. Turkey says its growing military presence, including control of airbases, is aimed at helping Syria’s new rulers fight insurgent groups like the Islamic State.

“For Turkey, Syria’s security and stability are of the utmost importance, and Turkey is devoting resources to keep Syria stable because Syria’s stability is so important for Turkey’s security, and that’s what Israel should understand,” Unluhisarcikli said.

But Turkish airbases equipped with missile defences would restrict Israel’s freedom to operate in Syrian airspace.

“Israel has just found an opportunity, an air corridor towards Iran (via Syrian airspace), which it can use without asking for permission from any third party,” Unluhisarcikli said. “If Turkey takes over the bases, then Israel would need to get permission from Turkey, which it doesn’t want to, and I think that’s understandable.”

Azerbaijan has been mediating talks between Israel and Turkey to reduce tensions. The two sides have reportedly set up deconfliction systems, including a hotline.

“There has been progress between Israel and Turkey over Syria. There have been at least three announced talks in Azerbaijan which is positive,” Lindenstrauss said.

PKK ends 40-year fight but doubts remain about the next steps

Iran and the F-35s

Iran’s nuclear programme is another source of friction between Israel and Turkey.

Unluhisarcikli said Trump seems to be leaning more towards Erdogan’s view than Netanyahu’s.

“For Turkey, military conflict with Iran is a very bad scenario. I am not entirely sure that’s how Trump feels, but for him, any conflict should be just a second choice because conflict is not good for business,” Unluhisarcikli said.

“It seems Israel has made the judgment that it is time for military action, the time for talking is over. There should be military action. Trump disagrees. He thinks he does have a chance of negotiating.”

US and Iranian negotiators met in Rome on Friday for the fifth round of talks. Erdogan supports the talks and has also claimed that Trump is open to lifting the US embargo on selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. That would remove Israel’s technical advantage in the air.

Trump’s increasingly close relationship with Erdogan comes amid reports that he is uneasy about Israel’s war in Gaza. But Lindenstrauss warned that Israel is counting on Trump’s unpredictability.

“We know that Trump has a basic favourable view towards Erdogan. This was already in his first term, and it is continuing now. But we also know that Trump can be tough towards Turkey, and he did implement sanctions against Turkey in his first term,” she said.

“So this good relationship depends on whether Turkey is in line with US interests. But of course, Israel is watching.”

However, with Israel’s war in Gaza showing little signs of ending, threatening further diplomatic isolation, Erdogan for now appears to have Trump’s ear, with the two leaders sharing similar agendas.

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.