Data collected by RFI’s Info Vérif investigative unit shows that Russia is using a logistics hub in Guinea’s capital Conakry, on Africa’s west coast.

So far this year, three convoys have been transported by sea from Russia to the port of Conakry, before reaching land-locked Mali by road, RFI found.

Mali’s national news channel (ORTM ) confirmed the arrival of a military convoy made up of several dozen transport trucks, escorted through Bamako by Malian police, on 31 May.

According to the report: “The Malian army has strengthened its operational capabilities through the acquisition of new equipment.”

The source of this equipment was not mentioned in the report, and the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) have not commented officially about the arrival of the convoy.

Wagner replaced in Mali by Africa Corps, another Russian military group

The news came a week before Russia‘s decision on 6 June to pull the paramilitary group Wagner out of Mali and replace it with the Africa Corps, which is more closely controlled by the Kremlin.

Wagner has been building its presence in Africa for a number of years and has profited from a shift in the political landscape brought about by several military coups.

Coups in 2020 and 2021 under junta leader Assimi Goita saw Mali break off ties with its former colonial power France and pivot towards Russia for political and military support.

Sahel alliance

Mali is one of three countries in the Alliance of Sahel States, all of whom signed defence agreements with Russia in 2023 to receive arms and military training to fight against jihadist insurgents.

RFI’s investigative unit obtained exclusive footage and testimonies showing that Russia is going to great lengths to assure its military logistics.

Using ship tracking tools, RFI reports that two Russian cargo ships, both under international sanctions, docked in the Guinean capital between 25 and 28 May.

The ships – the Baltic Leader and the Patria – are part of Russia’s shadow fleet, discreetly transporting weapons to the Kremlin’s various partners. The Baltic Leader was part of the “Syrian Express” – the name given to Russian ships providing naval links between Syria and Russia. 

Sahel ministers in Russia for talks after breaking with western allies

RFI’s Dakar team passed on testimonies which confirmed a sighting of the convoy on 28 May at around 6pm local time, between Kindia and Mamou, on Guinea’s National Road 1, heading for Mali. 

Nearly 1,000 kilometres separate the port of Conakry and Bamako, a journey of around 16 hours.

The timeline of events corresponds with various data RFI collected from open sources.

The lack of amateur footage from Guinea concerning this convoy can be partially explained by the risks involved. “In Guinea, filming or photographing anything related to the army can be very dangerous,” a local source told RFI.

RFI reports that two other Russian-flagged cargo ships – the Siyanie Severa and the Adler, also under Western sanctions – had followed the same route in January.

To track their course, RFI obtained images from the North American company Maxar, which specialises in satellite manufacturing and Earth observation. 

‘Less vigilant’

Geographically, Conakry is an ideal entry point for accessing the Sahel. Russian ships can reach the port without arousing too much suspicion, and all within a relatively short timeframe.

“[Guinea] is a country that is less vigilant in terms of surveillance compared to other places, like Côte d’Ivoire or Cameroon, which would not necessarily agree with the arrival of two sanctioned ships transporting weapons into the region,” Lou Osborn of the All Eyes On Wagner collective told RFI.

“Russia has also established a foothold in Equatorial Guinea and is trying to chip away at this area,” Osborn explained.

Among the many Russian ships present in the Gulf of Guinea, several “have been used by the Russian military since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine to transport weapons from Iran, North Korea and Syria to Russia,” Osborn added.

“This Russian military presence has been partially refocused on Africa, probably to compensate for the logistical deficit caused by the sudden regime change in Syria.”

Types of equipment

At this stage, it is not clear whether the new convoy of military goods is intended to reinforce the Malian armed forces or the Russian soldiers of Africa Corps, as some vehicles have not been observed on Malian soil before.

Yann Boivin, an armoured vehicle expert and host of the blog Blablachars analysed the most recent images and noted in particular the presence of “a BTR electronic warfare armoured personnel carrier, as well as a Vystrel multi-role armoured vehicle equipped with a Shipunov 2A42 automatic cannon”.

The convoy also included Spartak armoured vehicles, several tanker trucks, transport trucks, at least one inflatable boat and several 122 D30 and 152 D20 artillery pieces – compatible with Mali’s current needs on the ground, according to Boivin.

This is in contrast to January’s convoy, which comprised other equipment which Boivin said was more likely to have been used in a European context and transported to Mali to be used by Russian operatives.

This article is based on an original report in French by RFI’s Grégory Genevrier and Olivier Fourt. It has been edited for clarity.

Macron’s comments came as the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, prepared to meet his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva.

“Iran must show that it is willing to join the platform for negotiations we are putting on the table,” Macron said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris.

“It is essential to prioritise a return to substantive negotiations with Iran which include nuclear – to move to zero enrichment – ballistics, to limit Iranian capacities, and the financing of all the terrorist groups that destabilise the region,” Macron said.

He said that the offer to be made by Barrot and his German and UK counterparts to Araghchi on Friday would have four aspects.

The first would forsee a resumption of work by the UN atomic agency, with the capacity to go to all the sites, so that Iran moves to zero enrichment of uranium, Macron said.

The second and third aspects would comprise oversight of Iran’s ballistics activities and how it finances proxies in the region, he added.

The fourth would be the release of jailed foreigners who include two French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris.

Criticism of military action

“No-one should neglect the risk that an Iran with nuclear weapons would present,” insisted Macron who said that presented an existential risk for Israel.

However, Macron also criticised the scope of Israel’s military action whiich has hit targets beyond nuclear and ballistics facilities.

“I consider that strikes that hit civilian or energy facilities and hit civilian populations must absolutely stop. Nothing justifies this,” he added.

Macron also warned Israel that military action alone would not be sufficient to degrade the Iranian nuclear programme.

“No one seriously thinks that this risk can be responded to only through the operations that are currently underway,” he said.

“There are facilities that are extremely well protected we do not know exactly where the uranium enriched to 60 percent is.”

RFI: Your book Making a Palestinian State Impossible: Israel’s Objective Since its Creation begins in the late 19th century, when the Zionist movement was gaining ground in Europe. You write that the Western world “sacrificed” the Palestinian people. What do you mean by that?

Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: The Zionist project to create a state for Jews on Palestinian land was welcomed in certain circles and in certain Western countries. This led to the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the first official step in support of the project. The British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, declared on behalf of the government that it would support Jewish immigration to Palestine, thereby compromising the future of the Palestinian people.

The move was all the more unusual given that Great Britain had no claim to Palestine at the time, and therefore was claiming control over a territory over which it had no authority. In 1917, Palestine was still under the control of the Ottoman Empire. But the British were anxious to share the territories that were under Ottoman control with the other victors in the First World War, which was still ongoing at the time, and to get their hands on Palestine.

The League of Nations mandate over Palestine was granted to Great Britain, which included the Balfour Declaration in its terms. This led to a policy of encouraging Jewish immigration to Palestine – which is at the root of the problem.

The “sacrifice” required of the Palestinian people became even clearer when the United Nations General Assembly voted on the Partition Resolution in 1947, and the Palestinians had more than half their territory amputated. Attempts were made to impose this on them without offering them any compensation or guarantees of safety in the reduced territory that was left to them.

And it was clear that Israel’s territorial claims would not be limited to the part of Mandatory Palestine allocated to it by Resolution 181 of the UN General Assembly in 1947.

France blocks access to Israeli arms stands at Paris Air Show

RFI: In 1948 the UN took charge of the “Israeli-Palestinian issue”, but from the outset it appeared powerless to respond to Israel’s failures to comply with the UN’s clauses, principles and resolutions. Given this longstanding non-compliance, why has Israel never faced sanctions or exclusion from the United Nations?

MCG: The impotence of the United Nations is one dimension of the Palestinian problem. Israel has never respected the UN Charter, UN resolutions or the major international conventions.

In fact, as soon as Israel applied for membership of the UN, the organisation – having already noted the violations of the Charter by the new state – asked its representatives to solemnly undertake to respect the provisions of the Charter, which they did… only to persist immediately afterwards in failing to respect their commitments.

And yet there have never been any sanctions against Israel by the UN, let alone any plans to exclude it. This can be explained by the unwavering support given to Israel by the United States, and by the complicity of many European countries in this support.

But in so doing, these countries are precipitating the profound crisis of the UN and the devaluation of international law that is under way. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is emblematic of this crisis. The UN, dominated by the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and paralysed by their divisions, is no longer in a position to maintain the peace that was its main function.

RFI: The Six-Day War in 1967 resulted in Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. How did this affect the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state?

MCG: The Six-Day War led to the Israeli military occupation of the entire Palestinian territory. Between the departure of the British in 1947 and Israel’s military occupation of Palestine in 1967, the Palestinian territory had been administered by Jordan in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and by Egypt in Gaza. The rights of the Palestinians were “frozen” – but preserved.

Since 1967 and its military occupation, Israel has had complete freedom to methodically develop a project that had been less apparent until then, of very systematic policies to obstruct the possibility of creating a Palestinian State.

When the International Court of Justice was asked in July 2024 to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, it concluded that the occupation, by virtue of its indefinite duration, was illegal and that it was a de facto annexation.

Does Macron’s pledge on Palestine signal a return to France’s ‘Arab policy’?

RFI: You argue that the basic elements of Palestinian statehood – such as territory, population and a government – have been systematically undermined. Despite recognition by 147 countries, why do you think the situation has not changed?

MCG: In effect, Palestine is now a state, since it declared itself as such in 1988, has been recognised by many other states and has been recognised as such by the United Nations General Assembly (although it has decided not to admit it as a member of the UN). But it is only a potential state. It lacks the possibility of becoming a real state because of the Israeli military occupation and the fact that the representatives of the Palestinian Authority have none of the sovereign functions that characterise a state.

RFI: When Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, many saw it as a step toward peace. Do you believe he sincerely supported the creation of a Palestinian state, or do you see him as part of a wider pattern among Israeli leaders who have not backed Palestinian statehood?

MCG: No one today can speculate on Rabin’s sincerity in 1993. But the facts are clear. It was the hardliners of the Zionist movement who gained the upper hand, and none of the elements of statehood were consolidated for the Palestinians following the Oslo Accords.

These negotiations, which took place in several stages, raised high hopes among Palestinians, who believed that a dynamic process would be set in motion and that the Palestinian Authority, authorised to establish itself in the West Bank (whereas until then Palestinian political representatives had been in exile), would be the embryo of a future state. Today, the truth is becoming clear, particularly with the resolution passed by the Knesset [the Israeli parliament] in 2024 never to recognise a Palestinian state.

Given the situation today – including the expansion of Israeli settlements and the division of Palestinian territories – do you think it is still possible for a Palestinian state to emerge? Or is it already too late?

RFI: In your book, you argue that Israel has always opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, and that the land available today is no longer viable. Given that the Palestinian people have also been scattered since 1948, do you believe a Palestinian state with all its necessary components could still take shape? Or is it already too late?

MCG: It is never too late. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice – and, in September of the same year, the UN General Assembly – clearly stated what measures needed to be taken to restore the possibility of a Palestinian state. These are the dismantling of Israeli settlements, the return of Palestinians in exile, and compensation for all the damage done to them.

These measures must now be enforced through sanctions decided upon by the international community. This is only impossible because there is no political will on the part of the international community. This lack of political will is at the root of the problem’s deterioration.

Contrary to what was mistakenly believed before 7 October, 2023, the Palestinian question will not disappear by being silenced. The Palestinian people, who have shown their resilience on many occasions, will never abandon their just national claim.

RFI: You note in your book that Israel treats the Palestinian flag as a security threat. Why do you think a symbol of national identity like a flag is perceived as dangerous by Israeli authorities?

MCG: This example shows how Israel fears any symbol of a Palestinian state. And the arguments of security and anti-Semitism are used by Israel to mask its denial of Palestinian rights. The right to have a flag is perfectly legitimate for a people who were recognised as a state by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.

Tens of thousands rally for Gaza in Netherlands, Belgium

RFI: Recently two legal complaints have been filed in France – one by a grandmother over the deaths of her two grandchildren in Gaza, and another targeting Franco-Israeli nationals accused of blocking humanitarian aid. These are unprecedented cases. Do you think they could mark the beginning of a shift in holding Israel legally accountable?

MCG: These complaints are essential in order to try to put an end to Israel’s impunity. But they are not yet sufficient to achieve what needs to be done to end this. However, it is true that they could represent a glimmer of hope.

Regardless of these legal proceedings, there have been some changes – albeit minimal, but unprecedented – in political positions. The mobilisation of public opinion, despite the repression suffered by pro-Palestinian activists in France and the US, is a factor that could prove decisive.

RFI: As a legal expert, do you believe that Western governments which arm and support Israel could be held responsible for complicity in war crimes or even genocide, in light of what is happening in Gaza?

MCG: Through this support, the West is complicit in all the crimes committed by Israel. The issue of arms and military equipment deliveries is central. The war crimes are proven and massive, and the intensity of the war in Gaza, the methods used, the endless displacement and the famine are part of a genocidal policy.

Justice is slow to be served, but the time will come when Israel and all those who have supported it in its criminal enterprise will be held to account. It is unacceptable that countries are not ceasing their cooperation with Israel and imposing sanctions or measures that would penalise this criminal state.

Arab states too bear their share of responsibility. Behind their apparent support for the Palestinian cause lies a total lack of political will. They have the weapon of oil in their hands, and its use would be decisive.

This interview has been adapted from the original version in French, and lightly edited for clarity.

The decline is linked in part to the United States cutting its support for international medical and social projects, agencies said.

“In a world where conflicts multiply, it remains paramount that states uphold their responsibility to protect people forced to flee, while fostering an environment in which they can thrive and contribute until conditions allow for their safe and dignified return home,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Council of Europe chief Alain Berset added: “Protecting those who have no choice but to flee violence and persecution is both a moral duty and a legal obligation.

Berset, who has led the Strasbourg-based human rights body since last September, said the duty to protect displaced people is grounded in both international and European law.

“Our steadfast commitment to these principles is what unites the Council of Europe and will continue to shape Europe’s democratic future,” he said.

The UN refugee agency estimates that 120 million people are currently displaced – the highest figure ever recorded.

World Refugee Day was first marked on 20 June 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

“There have never been so many displaced persons and refugees on the planet since we started calculating and compiling statistics,” said Jérôme Bobin, director of institutional funding at Handicap International.

“We saw a 10 percent drop in international humanitarian aid last year. We expect much more of a drop in 2025, as the Americans were a major source of humanitarian aid funding.

“The Americans alone accounted for about 45 percent of global humanitarian aid. So, inevitably, when they suddenly stop funding the humanitarian response, there is a huge gap to fill.

“We have serious concerns about 2026, because many countries, such as France, the European Union and Germany, which have traditionally been major funders of humanitarian aid, have announced cuts for 2026 and 2027 as well.”

‘The whole planet is affected’

World Refugee Day 2025 falls on the day when foreign ministers of Iran, France, Britain and Germany met in Geneva to talk about hostilities between Israel and Iran and the country’s nuclear power programme.

“In recent years, we have seen an escalation in conflicts,” added Bobin. “The entire planet is affected by these population displacements, and the numbers are constantly increasing.

“It is clear that states and armed groups find it easier to engage in conflict, and as a result, communities caught in the crossfire are held hostage and forced to move.”

East Africa possesses the largest number of refugees on the continent. Uganda alone hosts around 1.7 million refugees, making it the leading host country in Africa and the third largest in the world.

Its policy of giving refugees access to education, healthcare and even agricultural land has been praised by the UN for enabling integration into Ugandan society.

In 2024, Chad became the continent’s second largest host country, ahead of Ethiopia, with an average of 3,300 Sudanese arriving every day since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of refugees to more than 1.2 million.

Causes of departure

Ethiopia, meanwhile, the third largest host country on the continent, is home to more than one million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea.

The causes of departure are multiple and interconnected, but armed conflict and violence remain the main cause. South Sudan (2.3 million), Sudan (2.1 million), the DRC (1.1 million) and Somalia (nearly 900,000) are among the largest countries of departure.

Instability in the Sahel region has led to an increase in refugees. Numbers tripled between 2020 and 2024, from 215,000 to 643,000.

Malians, Burkinabè and Nigeriens have fled mainly to Mauritania, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.

One trend is clear: 67 percent of refugees remain in countries neighbouring their country of origin.

And more than half are children, often facing malnutrition, violence or lack of access to education.

On Thursday, the UN published an analysis on children and armed conflict which reported a record 41,370 incidents in 2024 of grave violations against children in armed conflict since the inception of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate almost 30 years ago.

Countries with the highest levels of violations in 2024 were Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably the Gaza Strip, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti.  

“When conflicts increase and when domestic needs increase, there is less money to devote to humanitarian aid,” said Bobin. “And so when it comes to making trade-offs, humanitarian aid is inevitably the big loser. “

Ingabire was freed in 2018 after serving eight years of a 15-year jail sentence handed to her in 2012 following her conviction on charges related to conspiring to form an armed group and seeking to minimise the 1994 genocide.

She is now accused of “playing a role in creating a criminal organisation and engaging in acts that incite public disorder,” the Rwanda Investigations Bureau said in a statement late on Thursday.

It did not say when she would be charged in court.

France drops genocide probe against widow of former Rwandan president Habyarimana

Ingabire, who heads unregistered opposition party DALFA–Umurinzi, returned from exile in the Netherlands to contest a presidential election in 2010, but was barred from standing after being accused of genocide denial.

Last year President Paul Kagame, in power for a quarter of a century, won re-election after securing 99.18 percent of the vote, according to the electoral body.

Kagame is lauded for transforming Rwanda from the ruins of the 1994 genocide to a thriving economy but his reputation has also been tainted by longstanding accusations of rights abuses and supporting rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 5.6 billion people have experienced “a decline in their freedom of expression over the last 10 years,” according to Article 19, which published its annual Global Expression Report this week.

Scores have dropped in 77 countries, with only 35 now ranked as “open”.

According to the report, just 4 percent of the world’s total population – fewer than 300 million people – across 15 countries have seen an improvement in freedom of expression over the last decade.

For every one person who has experienced an improvement, 19 people have faced a deterioration.

Article 19 grades freedom of expression using a ranking of five terms – open, less restricted, restricted, highly restricted and crisis.

The three highest ranked countries this year are Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden (with 94, 93 and 93 points respectively) and at the bottom are Belarus, Nicaragua and North Korea (1, 1 and 0 points).

RFI spoke to David Diaz-Jogeix, Article 19’s senior director of programmes.

RFI: What are the main drivers behind the decline in freedom of expression as registered by your report? 

David Diaz-Jogeix: We have an overall trend of authoritarian regimes and authoritarian policies by democratic governments that is really taking [hold]. We have the big perpetrators in terms of repressing freedom of expression, countries like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, India, Egypt, Turkey, Rwanda. These countries continue to persevere in a total repression on terms of freedom of expression and that makes the bulk of the big perpetrators.

But ironically, you see a very clear pattern of deterioration of the freedom of expression in western countries. The United Kingdom, which used to be in the “open” category is now in the “less restricted” category and we have a myriad of countries within the European Union that have gone through a solid deterioration of the freedom of expression.

Can you elaborate on the situation in France, Germany and the UK?

France ranks 19th globally. We would expect France to perform higher. But [Paris issued] pre-emptive bans on pro-Palestine protests in Paris, Lyon and Alençon. We saw how journalists, politicians, human rights defenders, trade union representatives, academics, medical practitioners were victims of gross misuse of counter-terrorism legislation, where they were investigated under the [guise of] terrorism. Those details do matter, because in Western Europe, it’s clearly not going well.

Germany is the seventh top decliner last year – they have gone from scoring 91 out of 100, down to 85. We see this trend also in Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and other countries. In the UK, there’s legislation against the right to protest. 

Are there any countries which have seen notable improvements to freedom of expression in 2025? And what factors have contributed to that?

Brazil – we saw the country going through [the leadership of] Jair Bolsonaro, and then the return of Lula turned that [country’s status] from “restricted” to “open”. It’s not the fact that Lula came back to power, it’s what he does in terms of policies, legislation and reinforcing the checks and balances that has turned Brazil back into an open country.

We’ve seen the same pattern in Poland, where the return of a more pro-democratic government has turned the country back into an “open” country. [Although we note] that the recent election of a new [conservative] president might reverse that pattern.

Guatemala is one of the global advancers, with a government that has led policies to reinforce the rule of law, stop the attacks against journalists, strengthen respect of minorities and come up with policies that create the right environment for freedom of expression.

What specific role do governments, but also tech companies and civil society, play in either advancing or restricting freedom of expression worldwide?

A big role. Governments regulating social media, in terms of the human rights and freedom of expression framework, clearly puts limits on freedom of expression, but those have a very high threshold.

There are the EU Digital Markets Act and the Digital Service Act – a very good way to try to keep a balance between allowing Big Tech to operate, [while] making sure that different views of society can go out without facing censorship.

How do you respond to critics from the extreme ends of the political spectrum, for instance the US Make America Great Again pro-Trump activists, who argue that combating hate speech or disinformation conflicts with promoting freedom of expression?

There are very clear standards for freedom of expression and its limits, how to combat hate speech and speech that incites violence, discrimination and marginalisation. 

Your report refers to the chilling impact of surveillance and censorship. Can you elaborate on how these mechanisms are evolving?

For that we want to look at China or India, where you have highly repressive models in which the state is actually controlling how Big Tech and social media platforms are operating, in order to then be able to control not only the content but also access to the data of millions of people, which infringes the right to privacy.

Our [2024] report, the Digital Silk Road, explains how China exports their telecomms infrastructure into [third] countries, as it is relatively cheap [to do so] and very appealing to the receiving country to accept China’s offer.

But it is not only the creation of the infrastructure, but [the fact that it] comes with a request to [amend local] legislation that would allow China to access all the private data, while pushing for pro-China narratives and legislation that borders on the authoritarian spectrum of these laws.

Countries such as Pakistan are under massive influence from China, to where they export these technologies – AI, facial recognition – really infringing on the right to privacy of so many citizens beyond China.

The victims – mostly from Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire – were hired in Paris and transported to the Marne region by vineyard labour subcontractor Anavim.

In September 2023, police responding to a neighbour’s complaint found nearly 60 workers living in cramped, unsanitary housing in the village of Nesle-le-Repons.

The house had just two toilets, no hot water and exposed electrical wiring. Shared kitchen and living areas were outdoors and left open to the weather. Many workers slept on dirty mattresses or directly on the floor.

One of the workers, Kanouté Mody, told the Catholic daily La Croix that he had responded to a WhatsApp message offering well-paid work.

“We have paid to go work in hell,” he said, adding that each person gave 10 euros to board the bus to Champagne.

Another worker, Mamadou, told the news magazine Politis there was no drinking water on arrival.

“We had to wait 48 hours before they finally brought us a pack of water. For 56 people,” he said. “They took us to the vineyards crammed 10 in vans without windows, from 7am to 6pm. We worked like animals.”

Workers were promised 80 euros a day, but none received payment. Those who asked for a break were threatened with knives, according to the same report.

French champagne makers under pressure to protect pickers after harvest deaths

Human trafficking charges

The trial opened Thursday at the criminal court in Châlons-en-Champagne. The accused include Anavim’s director – a woman originally from Kyrgyzstan – along with two associates, one French and one Georgian. A vineyard cooperative is also being prosecuted as a legal entity.

They face charges of human trafficking, employing foreign nationals without permits, and housing workers in conditions that prosecutors say harmed their “security, health and dignity”.

At a press conference on Monday, public prosecutor Annick Browne said the building failed to meet even basic safety standards. Local officials shut the site down in 2023 after labour inspectors described it as “dilapidated” and “disgusting”.

Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are brought in to pick grapes across the Champagne region’s 34,000 hectares of vineyards. In 2023, the industry came under scrutiny after four harvesters died, reportedly from heatstroke during extreme temperatures.

For the first time, the Comité Champagne – representing 16,200 growers and 370 champagne houses – has joined proceedings as a civil party. In a statement released in March, its director, Charles Goemaere, said the organisation was “firmly opposed to these unacceptable practices”.

The victims’ lawyer, Maxime Cessieux, told daily Le Parisien the accused had shown “total contempt” for human dignity.

David Desgranges, vice-president of the Committee Against Modern Slavery, said in comments reported by the French news agency AFP that “the public should be made aware of the extent of human trafficking in the agricultural sector” and that producers should understand “they may face legal procedures”.

With Israel and Iran exchanging fire for a fifth day, and planned talks on Iran’s nuclear programme called off, there is growing concern about the potential impact beyond the Middle East.

Benjamin Augé, a researcher with the Africa and Climate programme at the French Institute for International Relations spoke to RFI about the practical and diplomatic consequences for Africa.

Benjamin Augé: I think it’s important to recall the historical context of Israel’s and Iran’s relationships with Africa. Israel had extremely strong ties with many African countries during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s – until the Yom Kippur War, when most of them severed diplomatic relations with Israel.

Since [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in 2009, his objective has been to rebuild those relationships. Currently, more than 40 African countries have diplomatic ties with Israel. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Israel wields significant influence in Africa.

Since the 7 October, 2023 attacks [by Hamas on Israel] and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, many of its normally pro-Israel partners – Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Rwanda – have kept their distance. Rwanda even began delivering aid to Gaza as early as 20 October, 2023. So we’re already seeing Israel’s diplomatic position in Africa under significant strain.

The conflict in Gaza further weakens these already fragile ties – which are, in many cases, quite weak or practically non-existent in political and economic terms. So I think the conflict with Iran is not going to have a dramatic impact, given that Israel’s relationships with Africa are already weak and its exchanges with the continent are extremely limited.

Iran hails African countries’ resistance to ‘colonialism’

RFI: What about Iran?

BA: Iran’s relationships with Africa are also extremely weak. The most significant recent development was Niger opening an embassy in Tehran [in January 2024] after its coup against President Bazoum, and negotiations related to uranium – a move that raised alarm in the United States.

But aside from a few embassies with limited diplomatic staffing, mainly in predominantly Sunni areas in East Africa or the Sahel, Iran’s influence is very weak.

Tehran’s main objective in these areas is often related to spreading Shiism, for instance in Nigeria with Imam Zakzaky – a politically controvesial Shiite cleric. Apart from that, Iran, much like Israel, is not putting many resources into its Africa policy or even developing a policy for the continent. So whatever happens in the Middle East, its effects on Africa will be limited due to this weak diplomatic presence.

Nigerian cleric held since 2015 regains freedom

RFI: Are we likely to see any African governments responding to the escalating conflict with policy statements?

BA: It’s not impossible that some governments may view Israel’s actions against Iran as aggression and may speak up – framing their criticism in terms of international law. Iran didn’t attack, Israel did, and that’s a violation of international law. But I don’t think they’ll go much further than that, because there’s nothing for these countries to gain by strongly taking sides.

This is a peripheral conflict for them, and Israel’s image in Africa is already quite poor – not just in predominantly Sunni or Muslim countries, but more broadly. So if there’s a response, it’s likely to be a diplomatic note from the foreign ministry, emphasising international law, and that’s it. Some may align with Iran, but it would be a small and marginal number.

RFI: What about oil and gas? Could the continent be impacted economically?

BA: Yes, there might be a ripple effect for the continent, just as there will be for the rest of the world. The price of oil might increase temporarily due to the conflict. But we shouldn’t forget that the price per barrel is currently quite low and the market is well-stocked. So I think the impact will be limited and short-lived. The main consequence for Africa might be a slight increase in petrol prices in the months ahead – but it would be a small variation, especially when we compare it to periods when tensions were much greater.

Oil prices drop, stocks climb as Iran-Israel war fears ease

Q: What happens if the conflict persists?

BA: If it continues, there might be some upward pressure on prices. But the reality is that the market is well-stocked and geopolitical tensions are not affecting production or delivery. Iran, in particular, is a small oil producer. Because of longstanding sanctions, it produces about 3 million barrels per day and exports roughly 2 million. The global market is currently at 100 million barrels per day. So the conflict’s long-term impact, both in price and in volume, is likely to be limited.

This interview, adapted from the original in French, has been lightly edited for clarity. 

“No more borders between Brest and Copenhagen, nor between Munich and Lisbon… This Europe has begun to see the light of day today, with the abolition of police and customs controls between five Common Market countries.”

When journalists reported with solemnity the signing of the Schengen Agreement on 14 June, 1985, they were not to know that the disappearance of border controls was not to become a reality for another 10 years, when the Schengen Convention came into force – five years after that was signed. 

From agreement to framework

The free movement of people was already enshrined in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, but this agreement only concerned workers. Signed in the village of Schengen in Luxembourg, the 1985 agreement aimed to go further: to do away with physical barriers, and the need to check the identity of people entering a given territory, heralding the freedom of movement that would come to characterise European unity.

However, this ideal of a continent without borders needed a legal framework, to reconcile the abolition of border controls with the national security of the participating states – which is where the 1990 Schengen Convention came in.

States with external borders had to demonstrate that they were in a position to control arrivals on Schengen territory on behalf of all the other member states of the European Union.

Other measures the Convention provided for were the possibility of temporarily reintroducing internal border controls, and the introduction of a Schengen Information System (SIS).

“With the disappearance of internal border controls, there was a technological need to pool data. The setting up of this file, which records alerts on people wanted by the police, stolen objects and people turned away from the Schengen area, is one of the reasons why it was necessary to delay the actual disappearance of borders from 1993 to 1995 – because it was a major undertaking,” explains Tania Rapho, a researcher at the Institute for Public Law Studies at Paris-Saclay University.

France reinstates border checks as immigration policies tighten

The entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999 also marked a turning point – making immigration control, visas, the right of asylum and judicial cooperation in civil matters, which until then had been the sole responsibility of intergovernmental cooperation, a common matter. 

This was further supplemented by the Dublin Convention, signed on 15 June, 1990 – and coming into force on 1 September, 1997 – which determined which EU member state would be responsible for the examination of an application for asylum.

In 2000, Greece joined the Schengen zone, followed by Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden in 2001. In 2007-2008, it was the turn of Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The United Kingdom declined to join, citing security reasons – and subsequently left the EU in 2020. Cyprus, meanwhile, was unable to join due to not being able to control its borders due to Turkey’s presence on the island. Ireland too is not a member of the zone, primarily due to its shared Common Travel Area with the UK.

By this year, the Schengen zone encompassed 29 countries – 25 from the EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

An agreement under attack

Beginning in 2010, the Arab Spring uprisings prompted Tunisians, Libyans and Egyptians to flee for Europe, with the resulting growing tensions at external borders leading to conflict. Some EU member states – including France, in April 2011 – began reintroducing unilateral border controls, which the agreement allowed for on grounds of national security or public order. The discourse around the Schengen Agreement and how – and whether – it should be implemented was reignited.

This debate was intensified by the events of 2015, which saw both the European migrant crisis, and terrorist attacks on French, Swedish and Belgian soil. Five years later, the Covid-19 pandemic did the same, with EU states reintroducing border controls as a means of containment.

The case of Romania, which joined the Schengen zone on 1 January, 2025 after a 13-year wait, encapsulates the questions over the agreement that continue to arise, 40 years down the line. 

EU approves full Schengen membership for Bulgaria, Romania

“Romania is a country that has recently shown the extent to which nationalist and national-populist forces have become important. But this same country was very, very active in obtaining its entry into Schengen. And it is a country in which a very large number of Romanian nationals take advantage of the right to free movement to work in other member states,” says Jérôme Vignon, an advisor to the European think tank, the Jacques Delors Institute.

“So politicians defend the right to control borders, but appreciate the fact that these borders are not confining. That they allow us to live better than if we were completely closed in on ourselves,” he added, explaining that populist and far-right parties find themselves denouncing the Schengen zone as a factor in migratory chaos, but wanting to be part of it.

“This sums up the tensions to come. We will continue to see populist pressure and posturing, which will unfortunately lead to internal border controls. But at the same time, if these decisions go too far, they risk jeopardising the real benefits. Every year, a million European citizens leave their country to work in another. And if these real rights are too obviously thwarted, problems will arise,” said Vignon.

Asylum requests slump as EU borders tighten following shift to far right

Security limits

A major amendment to the Schengen Code was approved in 2024 – one which standardises temporary border closures. These can be for a maximum of two years, and are subject to approval by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers.

In theory, the return of border controls is highly regulated. In practice, however, they are being reinstated fairly freely. 

“When you read the reasons given [for the return of controls], Austria, for example, believes that there is a continuing high level of irregular migration. Yet irregular arrivals fell considerably in 2024. The reality of arrivals is that there are around 200,000 in the whole of the European Union, which numbers 458 million people. In political discourse, migration is overused to justify internal border controls,” says Rapho.

When Germany announced in September 2024 that it was reintroducing internal border controls, this was not an unprecedented move. The country has in fact reactivated these checks on several occasions since the migrant crisis of 2015.

For Rapho, it is also technically impossible to re-establish full control of all internal borders. “There are no longer the human resources, nor the infrastructure, nor the structural and technical resources. A state [would need to] choose to commit its budget to rebuilding its borders. But that seems very complicated to me.”

She added: “The instrumentalisation of this issue by the extreme right within the European Union is threatening the Schengen area, at least in rhetoric. On paper, this raises questions about the durability of Schengen.”

This article has been adapted from the original version in French.

At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice this week, 37 countries led by Canada and Panama signed the first global declaration devoted solely to reducing human-caused ocean noise.

The effort targets the growing din from ships and industrial activity that is disturbing marine life around the world.

“We’re aware of about 130 different marine animals that are negatively impacted by underwater noise,” Mollie Anderson, senior campaign strategist at Canadian NGO Oceans North, told RFI in Nice.

“In some instances, they’re leaving areas altogether where noise is sustained and consistent.”

Sound travels more than four times faster in saltwater than in air, reaching vast distances and interfering with how marine animals communicate, hunt and navigate.

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

Arctic under pressure

The problem is especially acute in the Arctic, where melting sea ice is opening new shipping lanes in waters that were once among the quietest in the world.

“In the Northwest Passage alone, there’s been a 30 percent increase in ship traffic since 2016,” Anderson explained. “That is having a significant impact on the marine ecosystem in the Arctic.”

Species like belugas and narwhals, which rely on sound to survive, are already changing their behaviour.

“These specied are having a hard time communicating with each other, performing bottom dives and other essential functions to feed themselves and to take care of their babies,” she said.

The disruption is not only ecological – it’s also affecting people. As noise drives marine mammals away from their usual habitats, indigenous communities are finding it harder to hunt the animals they have long depended on.

“Many indigenous people, particularly Inuit in the Canadian Arctic, are reliant on marine mammals for food security and cultural continuity,” Anderson said.

Niue, the tiny island selling the sea to save it from destruction

Simple steps, urgent need

The new declaration – known as the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean – is voluntary, but calls for quieter ship design, noise limits in marine protected areas and shared access to sound-monitoring technology.

It also aims to help countries with fewer resources to monitor and manage ocean noise.

Some of the most effective changes are also the simplest, Anderson said. “Even a reduction in speed of a few knots can make a big decibel difference.”

Other measures include re-routing ships away from sensitive zones, using more efficient propellers and switching to electric or hybrid engines.

In a recent pilot project, Oceans North measured the sound of an electric vessel using hydrophones – underwater microphones – and found it was significantly quieter than a conventional ship.

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

From promises to policy

While some ports have introduced voluntary guidelines, regulation is needed. “There’s lots of voluntary measures that procurement and ports can adopt, but there’s no real regulation right now,” Anderson said.

“We regulate the roads that we drive on. I don’t see why it should be different for ships in certain areas. They should go faster or slower … That just seems like practical and good public policy to me.”

Panama Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro said the issue has been “sidelined in global environmental discourse” for too long.

The coalition, he said, signals a commitment to “act decisively” to protect marine biodiversity from what he called an “invisible yet powerful threat”.

Under a marine spatial plan adopted in 2022, Niue’s entire economic zone is divided into five areas – balancing strict conservation with sustainable fishing and tourism.  

“We are the astronauts of the Pacific,” says Coral Pasisi, president of the local nonprofit Tofia Niue and one of the architects of the move to sell 20-year conservation pledges for individual square kilometres of ocean.  

“Our culture is shaped by the ocean around us.” 

Pasisi is in Nice this week in her capacity as a scientist and regional leader. She is also director of climate change and sustainability at the Pacific Community (SPC), where she works with island governments on long-term strategies to manage the impacts of climate change and protect ocean resources. 

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

Identity and survival

Niueans depend on the sea not just for food – which supplies more than 70 percent of their protein – but for stories, identity and survival.  

“We are surrounded by the ocean. We live off the ocean,” Pasisi told RFI. 

When a scientific expedition with National Geographic’s Pristine Seas team filmed the abundance of life beneath their waters in 2016, it brought many residents face to face with their marine heritage for the first time.  

The result was a groundswell of support to protect the island’s 127,000 square kilometre exclusive economic zone. 

Longevity blueprint

Niue’s conservation model is designed not just to protect the ocean, but to fund its guardianship for a generation.

It centres on Ocean Conservation Commitments, which are 20‑year sponsorships that help cover the costs of monitoring, enforcement and local stewardship. 

Within its waters lies the Moana Mahu Marine Protected Area – a zone covering 40 percent of Niue’s waters, where all fishing and extractive activity is banned. 

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

At its heart is Beveridge Reef, a submerged coral atoll teeming with life: schools of grey reef sharks, singing humpback whales and the katuali – a rare venomous sea snake found nowhere else on Earth. 

“On every dive at Beveridge Reef, we saw sharks – up to 80 grey reef sharks at a time,” said Alan Friedlander, chief scientist at Pristine Seas. 

According to the organisation, the reef has “some of the highest densities of this species found anywhere in the world”. 

Generational wisdom

The conservation sponsorships treat the Moana Mahu sanctuary as a shared global asset, absorbing carbon dioxide and preserving biodiversity. 

“What we basically did was democratise that area into square kilometres … to help make sure that this is not a paper park – that we can actually protect it robustly,” Pasisi says.  

Behind Niue’s ocean strategy is a deeper legacy – one rooted in lived experience and generational wisdom.  

“When I take my children out to fish and spearfish, when I teach them what to shoot and what not to shoot, what to take and what not to take, it’s not my Western system of education and learning that taught me that,” Pasisi explains.  

“It is the knowledge that was passed down to me from my father, my mother and their parents. And that’s 4,000 years of knowledge. 

“The ocean made us who we are. Now we’re making sure it’s there for those who come after us.” 

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.

Igor Jesus scored the winner just before half-time at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The 24-year-old latched onto Jefferson Savarino’s through ball, held off PSG defender Willian Pacho before sweeping a shot  past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

PSG thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their opening game at the tournament but their strikers failed to respond to the setback.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “They defended very well. This Club World Cup is very intense and difficult and all the teams are highly motivated, especially when they’re playing against us.”

Botafogo, who claimed the Copa Libertadores last November, moved to the top of Group B with six points after two games.

PSG lie second with three points following their first defeat since annihilating Inter Milan 5-0 to lift the Champions League crown.

“A lot of people were wondering about how good we are,” said Jesus after the victory. “But we showed how strong Botafogo is. It was a difficult game and we had to defend well and we did our job and scored a goal.” 

On Monday, Botafogo play their last tie in the pool against Atletico Madrid who bounced back from their defeat to PSG with a 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Pablo Barrios scored the opener for Atletico after 11 minutes and Axel Witsel doubled the advantage just after the pause.

Albert Rusnak quickly halved the deficit but Barrios struck his second goal of the night and Atletico’s third in the 55th minute.

Atletico can advance to the last-16 with a draw against Botafogo if PSG lose on Monday night against the Seattle Sounders.

Another Messi special

In Atalanta in Group A, seven-time Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi produced a trademark free-kick into the top right hand corner of the goal to take Inter Miami to a 2-1 win over Porto.

Samu Aghehowa gave the Portuguese outfit the lead from the penalty spot eight minutes into the tie at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Telasco Segovia got the equaliser for Inter Miami after 47 minutes and Messi provided the pyrotechnics seven minutes later.

“It’s a huge joy,” Messi told broadcaster DAZN. “The whole team made a big effort and we worked really well, It’s a really important win for us and we have to enjoy it. You can see that we want to compete and we competed against a really good European team.”

Inter Miami have four points from two games, meaning they are level atop the group with Palmeiras.The Brazilians beat Egypt’s Al Ahly 2-0 at MetLife Stadium outside New York.

“We expect the French authorities to use all their influence to bring an end to the bombings, so that there are no more civilian casualties and so that Cécile and Jacques can regain some semblance of safety,” Noémie Kohler told RFI.

“We also expect them to do their utmost by invoking, for example, humanitarian evacuation, which is justified in this situation.”

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

They are being held in section 209 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, an area reserved for political prisoners.

French authorities have condemned the couple’s arrest and detention, describing them as state hostages.

“We have also very recently received a response to the numerous complaints we have lodged with major international bodies such as the UN,” Noémie Kohler added.

“There has been a response from the Iranian government which, for the first time, mentions efforts being made to obtain a pardon for Cécile and Jacques. So we think this is something the French authorities can use to speed up their release.”

France sues Iran at top UN court over citizens detained in Tehran

Iranian missiles hit Israel

On Thursday, at least 47 people were injured after a barrage of Iranian missiles struck a hospital in southern Israel and two towns near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that Iran would pay a heavy price after the attack on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had been ordered to intensify strikes on Iran.

In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the Senate that he had sent messages to the Iranian and Israeli authorities alerting them to the presence of the French pair in Evin Prison and to the need, in the case of the Iranian authorities, to release them without delay to ensure their safety.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with the Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian last Saturday, has also called for the immediate release of Kohler and Paris.

They are officially the last two French nationals held in Iran. Olivier Grondeau, who was detained in October 2022, was released in March 2025.

The move follows the case of Dominique Pélicot, a man convicted by a court in Avignon of drugging his wife Gisèle so he and others could rape her.

The case drew national attention and renewed debate about how rape is prosecuted in France.

The bill passed this week redefines all sexual assaults – including rape – as “any non-consensual act”.

France’s National Assembly approved a slightly different version of the bill in April.

Wednesday’s vote is not the final legislative hurdle. A joint committee of senators and lower-house MPs is expected to draft a joint text prior to the final adoption of the law in both houses.

“Consent is not saying no,” said Equality Minister Aurore Bergé. “It’s saying yes, an explicit yes, freely, without constraint or ambiguity.”

She described the vote as “a decisive step towards a genuine culture of consent”.

The pivotal 1970s trial that rewrote France’s definition of rape

Concerns

The bill passed by both chambers defines consent as “free and informed, specific, prior and revocable”, adding that it “cannot be inferred from the victim’s silence or lack of reaction alone”.

France’s current legal definition of rape defines it as “any act of sexual penetration… by violence, constraint, threat or surprise” but this bill would specify that there is “no consent” under these conditions.

While Wednesday’s vote shows an emerging consensus, some lawmakers and activists have expressed concerns about the change.

Advocates say this will enable the law to better hold perpetrators accountable.

But opponents say they fear the change will lead investigators to focus excessively on the victim’s behaviour and place a burden on them to provide proof.

Consent-based rape laws already exist in several European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

(with AFP)

The text builds on a declaration signed in April and includes commitments to respect borders and stop hostilities in the region, according to the statement released by the two nations, as well as the United States and Qatar, which acted as mediators.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will witness the signing in Washington.

The deal was reached during three days of constructive dialogue regarding political, security, and economic interests between DRC and Rwandan officials in the US capital, it said.

Peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda in progress, US says

The text also includes provisions on disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups and the establishment of a joint security coordination mechanism.

It also takes into account the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as humanitarian access.

The anti-government M23 armed group – which US and UN experts say receives military backing from Kigali – launched a lightning offensive at the start of the year in eastern DR Congo.

Decades of violence

It took control of Goma in late January followed by the city of Bukavu, and has set up governing structures in the regions under its control. Thousands of people have been killed.

The resource-rich eastern DRC, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since the M23 went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.

Rwanda had said last month that a definitive peace agreement to end the crisis with its neighbor would be signed in mid-June in Washington.

Kigali denies it offers any military support to the M23 but says its security has long been threatened by armed groups in eastern DRC, notably the FDLR, a group created by ethnic Hutus who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch accused the M23 of forcibly rounding up more than 1,500 people and sending them to neighbouring Rwanda, which according to UN experts backs the anti-government armed group.

The deportations, which targeted suspected members of the FDLR, Congolese nationals and Rwandan refugees, violated the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which ban forcible transfers of people in conflict zones, the group said.

(with AFP)

The Paris Court of Appeal said Thursday it would issue its ruling on 17 July in what is Abdallah’s umpteenth request for release.

Abdallah was arrested in 1984 in connection with the killings of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. While he was not the gunman, he was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for complicity in their murders.

The assassinations were claimed by the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) – the Marxist-Communist pro-Palestinian militant group Abdallah founded in 1978 after he was wounded during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

LARF had ties to other leftist guerilla movements such as Italy’s Red Brigades and Germany’s Red Army Faction.

Abdallah, a former guerilla with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has never denied his political motivations, calling himself a “fighter” rather than a “criminal”.

Neither has he expressed remorse. “The path I followed was imposed on me by the human rights abuses perpetrated against the Palestinians,” he said at his 1987 trial.

Conditional release denied

Most convicts serving life sentences in France are freed after less than 30 years. Abdallah has now been imprisoned for 41.

A 2021 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights stated that life sentences with eligibility for parole only after 40 years were incompatible with European law.

While Abdallah has been able to apply for parole since 1999, his 11 bids have been denied.

In November 2024, a French court ordered his release, providing he left France. But France’s anti-terror prosecutors, arguing he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision and it was suspended.

Ahead of another appeal court hearing in February this year, 11 Lebanese MPs called on France to immediately release him. But the trial was postponed until 19 June after the court said it needed more time.

Abdullah’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, argued his client was being singled out. “The stance of the court risks creating a de facto life imprisonment,” he said.

He accused the judiciary of “pettiness,” after it insisted Abdallah pay the victims’ families around €16,000 in compensation.

Abdallah has refused to pay compensation directly to the United States. “I will never indemnify the country that drops bombs on Palestinian and Lebanese children,” he reportedly told the court.

Chalanset also insisted on the fact that other extremist groups active in the 1970s and 1980s – including “politicial prisoners” with the French group Action Directe, or Corsican and Basque militants – have been released.

French court orders release of Lebanese militant held since 1984

US interference

Abdallah’s case has become a cause célèbre among some left-wing MPs, activists and human rights defenders. In October 2024, Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux said in a piece in communist daily L’Humanite that his detention “shamed France”.

A number of his supporters claim the real reason for his continued detention lies not in the courts, but in Washington.

“The Americans have interferred in French sovereignty since the beginning,” said Lebanese journalist Pierre Abi Saab. “It’s an imperialist mindset, a kind of revenge. Georges Abdallah is paying for all peoples who have resisted US hegemony,” he told RFI.

US interference is well-documented. In a 1986 declassified US memo, diplomats warned of potential attacks on American interests if Abdallah wasn’t prosecuted.

Former US diplomat Steve Kashkett, who handled anti-terrorism at the US embassy in Paris in the 1980s, confirms Washington’s deep involvement. “When I arrived at the embassy in 1986, Abdallah became my top priority,” he told RFI. “At that stage, it was clear to us that the French government, which was seeking to avoid Middle Eastern terrorism against French targets, had absolutely no intention of aggressively prosecuting Abdallah.”

Washington therefore decided to intervene directly, with the US becoming a civil party in the case and hiring renowned French lawyer Georges Kiejman to represent its interests.

While the second diplomat assassinated by LARF was Israeli, Tel Aviv never formally joined the case as a civil party. “I remember Israel considering it,” Kashkett noted, “but it wasn’t necessary because we were doing it. Israel counted on the US to do the job.”

‘Unique case’

From 1986, the American government took an active role in blocking Abdallah’s release. Another declassified document noted that attacks against US targets were “possible given America’s major role in securing Abdallah’s trial”.

In 2013, WikiLeaks revealed that then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton sent a direct message to France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius, urging him to find a way to prevent Abdallah’s release, even after a court had approved it. That same year, then-interior minister Manuel Valls refused to sign the expulsion order that would have allowed Abdallah to return to Lebanon.

Despite this, Kashkett insists that America’s actions should not be seen as interference given the US was a civil party during the trial. “Since the French invited the Americans to give our opinion, I don’t think we can speak of interference or pressure,” he said. 

Others disagree. One of Abdallah’s early lawyers, Jean-Paul Mazurier, later revealed he was working for French intelligence at the time.

“We bowed down to the United States, which opposed his release,” Mazurier told France Inter radio in 2024.

The late Jacques Vergès, another of Abdallah’s lawyers, referred in court to an “intolerable American diktat”, describing France as “America’s whore” in court documents.

Does Macron’s pledge on Palestine signal a return to France’s ‘Arab policy’?

Awaiting his release

After more than four decades, France may be growing tired of the case, says Abi Saab.

“France wants to get rid of this embarrassing case but it’s unclear whether they have the political will. There’s intimidation, interference. Since 1999, Georges Abdallah has been held hostage outside the rule of law. It’s a unique case.”

A small but vocal group continues to advocate for his release. There were demonstrations in Toulouse in February, near the prison where he is held.  A protest planned in Paris was, however, banned due to concerns over “a tense social and international context”, notably in Gaza.

While Abdallah refuses to compensate the US himself, he has agreed to Lebanon paying damages.

Chalanset, his lawyer, confirmed this week that the funds are now available should the court demand them. “The conditions of the court are met,” he said on 17 June. “We await his release.”

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova was among eight women offered an invitation on Wednesday to the championships, which start on 30 June at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south-west London.

The 35-year-old Czech, ranked 572nd, returned to the tour in February following the birth of her son in June 2024. The other seven wildcards were handed to British players Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Heather Watson and Mingge Xu.

French Tennis Federation (FFT) chiefs gave 22-year-old Boisson a wildcard for the 2025 French Open and in six matches between 27 May and 5 June at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, she sliced up the bottom half of the women’s singles draw.

Three months after returning from the knee injury that deprived her of the chance to compete at the 2024 French Open, she beat the 24th seed Elise Mertens in the opening round.

Boisson knocked out Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine in the second round, while fellow Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot was dismissed in the third round.

Feat for partisans

In the last-16, Boisson outwitted the third seed Jessica Pegula to become the first home-town heroine to reach the quarter-finals since Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in 2017.

In the last eight, Boisson profited from the support of raucous partisans in the centre court stands as well as the meltdown of sixth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the semi-finals.

Coco Gauff, though, was a top 10 player too far. The 21-year-old American deconstructed her 6-1, 6-2 in a display of poise, precision and purpose that would propel her to the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.

Boisson, who entered the second Grand Slam tournament of the season at 361 in the world rankings, left the competition with 660,000 euros in prize money and 780 points to catapult her nearly 300 places up the WTA ladder.

That rise came too late for access to the Wimbledon main draw which was lined up on 19 May when Boisson was ranked 358th – a slot which gave her a chance to play in the Wimbledon qualifying competition.

She is expected to be among the seeded players for that tournament which begins on 23 June at the Community Sport Centre in Roehampton, south-west London.

Grass court feat

On Monday, Boisson posted a video on social media of her first practice sessions on grass, a surface on which she has never competed professionally.

“It’s a very special surface,” said Ivan Ljubicic, the head of elite performance at the FFT.

“If you look at Lois’s technique and her way of using topspin especially on her forehand shots, she can’t do that on grass. Of course, she can always try, but it will be a lot more complicated, so she’s got to adapt her game.”

Should she advance through the qualifiers, Boisson will go into Wimbledon as France’s best female player at number 67 in the world. “It’s not a fantastic ranking, to be honest,” said Ljubicic.

“I thought last year that Lois was capable of doing great things and unfortunately, she got injured.

“This year I think she’s having the career that she should have had last year. So I’m not incredibly surprised by what she did at the French Open.

At ease on clay

“I know Lois’s level and when she played in lower tier tournaments she showed that she had the level to beat very strong players. I hope that the other French players are going to see that everything is possible.”

As she moved through the tournament in Paris, Boisson explained to journalists that she had spent most of her youth practising on clay courts and felt at ease on the surface.

To progress on the grass courts at Wimbledon, she will have to cope with balls that bounce lower and be ready to dominate the net and conclude points with volleys.

“I think that she’s capable,” said Ljubicic. “And with the service that she has, I think she can win a lot of points. Also, she’s got to improve her slice, but I trust her coach totally that they’re going to find a way to be competitive.”

In the absence of the injured Arthur Fils, Ugo Humbert will go into the season’s third Grand Slam tournament as the main male French hope.

Last year Fils, Humbert and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard all reached the last-16 at Wimbledon.

On Tuesday, in Halle, central Germany, Humbert went down to Denis Shapovalov in the first round and at the Queen’s Club in west London, Mpetshi Perricard lost to Brandon Nakashima from the United Sates.

But there was a surprise as Arthur Rinderknech saw off the sixth seed Ben Shelton to reach the last-16.

The 29-year-old will take on Reilly Opelka from the United States on Thursday afternoon.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that this nationwide crackdown will take place over two days, on 18 and 19 June, focusing on train stations and bus terminals.

Speaking on the Cnews TV channel and Europe 1 radio on Wednesday, Retailleau detailed that the mobilisation will include gendarmes, police officers, customs agents, and military personnel from the “Sentinelle” force.

The operation aims to intercept and detain undocumented migrants travelling through France’s major transport hubs, including the busy Gare du Nord in Paris, where the minister was present to oversee some of the checks.

Operation Sentinelle – in place since January 2015, after the attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo – consists of 7,000 troops at an estimated  cost of €400,000 per day.

Enhanced border controls

Since the beginning of 2025, France has reportedly apprehended some 47,000 foreigners in an irregular situation, according to Retailleau, who has made combating illegal immigration a central theme of his tenure.

He highlighted a recent 28 percent rise in the apprehension of undocumented migrants, attributing this to enhanced border and transport controls.

French domestic security Operation Sentinelle to be overhauled

The Interior Ministry has instructed authorities across France to conduct targeted checks on trains heading to neighbouring countries and major French cities – both on arrival and departure.

This follows a similar operation conducted on 20 and 21 May, which resulted in over 750 arrests.

Retailleau emphasised that border controls have been “reintroduced much more tightly than before,” with a dedicated “border force” comprising of police, gendarmes, customs officers, and military personnel.

This marks a shift towards a more stringent enforcement policy aimed at deterring illegal crossings.

“What I want to say is that clandestine migrants are not welcome in France, in the most resolute and definitive way,” he said in a statement.

His rhetoric aligns with the government’s broader approach to immigration, which has sparked debate among political parties and civil society groups.

Increasing pressure

France has faced increasing pressure over migration flows, particularly through its northern transport corridors connecting to the United Kingdom and other European destinations.

The Gare du Nord station in Paris is a key transit point for migrants attempting to reach the UK, often resulting in tense confrontations and humanitarian concerns.

Human rights organisations have criticised the heightened controls, warning that aggressive policing risks infringing on migrants’ rights and exacerbating their vulnerabilities.

But supporters argue that robust enforcement is necessary to maintain order and uphold national sovereignty.

Police evict migrants from Paris theatre after months-long occupation

The two-day operation represents the latest step in France’s ongoing efforts to manage migration amid complex regional dynamics.

As the operation unfolds, further updates are expected regarding the number of arrests and the impact on migration routes.

(With newswires)

On Tuesday, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot called for the immediate immobilisation of all C3 and DS3 models with Takata airbags still in circulation. He said the company’s response had been “unacceptable and scandalous” and had “not matched the scale of the risk”.

Shortly after, Citroën announced it was placing all affected vehicles under a stop-drive order across Europe.

“We have decided to move to a ‘stop drive’ to speed up repairs,” Citroën’s new director Xavier Chardon told the French news agency AFP.

The company said 441,000 affected cars are still on the road in Europe, including 82,000 in France.

Defective Takata airbags prompt mass recall of popular car models in France

Fatal crash in Reims

The latest incident happened on 11 June in Reims. A 37-year-old woman died after the airbag in her 2014 Citroën C3 exploded when the car scraped a motorway barrier.

She had been trying to avoid a lorry. Metal fragments from the airbag struck her in the face. A teenage passenger was also injured.

Stellantis, Citroën’s parent company, said it sent the woman a registered letter on 20 May warning her about the airbag, but the address was incorrect and the letter was returned.

Some models had already been subject to earlier action.

In 2024, Citroën told owners in southern France with C3s built between 2008 and 2013 not to drive them until the airbags were replaced. That stop-drive order was extended to northern France in February 2025.

For later models, including those made from 2014, Stellantis launched a standard recall in May 2025, but without telling drivers to stop using their cars. The company said its analysis had not shown a risk of degradation beyond 2013.

In total, around 690,000 C3 and DS3 vehicles in France were fitted with the faulty airbags. Stellantis said 69.7 percent had been repaired by mid-June.

EU car industry must speed up electric sales or face billions in fines

Takata linked to global deaths

Takata airbags can explode when exposed to heat and humidity, sending metal fragments into the car. The defect has been linked to dozens of deaths around the world.

In France’s overseas territories, at least 17 people have been killed in incidents involving the airbags since 2016. One person also died in March in Guadeloupe. The Reims crash was the second fatal incident in mainland France.

Consumer group UFC-Que Choisir said the latest death “could have been avoided” if Stellantis had acted sooner.

The organisation has filed a legal complaint and called for a parliamentary inquiry. “Failures must be identified and those responsible held accountable,” it told French news agency AFP.

A criminal investigation for involuntary manslaughter has been opened. The case is now being handled by a specialised court in Paris.

Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017. At the time, it had recalled or was expected to recall around 125 million vehicles worldwide by 2019.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Kananaskis, Alberta, to push for stronger international support in the war against Russia. But a planned joint declaration of support was quietly dropped.

A Canadian government source told RFI that Washington wanted to tone down the language.

“We are ready for peace negotiations, for an unconditional ceasefire. For this, we need pressure,” Zelensky said in a post on his Telegram account.

Although he left without meeting Trump, Zelensky secured 1.27 billion euros in new military aid from Canada, including drones and armoured vehicles. Ottawa also joined the UK in tightening sanctions on Russia’s so-called “ghost fleet” – tankers accused of dodging international oil sanctions.

“These sanctions strike directly at the heart of Putin’s war machine,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Still, the G7 did not repeat its past joint condemnations of Russia’s invasion. A summary issued by host Canada said leaders supported Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire and agreed to explore all options to increase pressure on Moscow.

What impact could the Iran-Israel conflict have on the African continent?

Macron and Trump clash

Trump’s exit also exposed tensions with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had suggested the US was trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“False! He has no idea why I am now en route to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire. It’s much bigger than that,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added: “Deliberately or not, Emmanuel never understands anything.”

Back in Washington, Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and urged it to agree to a new nuclear deal “before there is nothing left”.

Macron warned that any attempt at regime change by force would bring “chaos” to the country.

Before Trump left the summit, G7 leaders issued a joint statement calling for “de-escalation” and reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

The statement accused Iran of being “the principal source of instability and terrorism in the region” and said it must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Iran rejected the statement. “The G7 must abandon its one-sided rhetoric and address the real source of escalation: Israel’s aggression,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaïl Baghaï wrote on X.

“Iran is defending itself against cruel aggression. Does Iran really have other choices?”

Trump’s early departure casts shadow over G7 summit amid Middle East crisis

France to host 2026 summit

France will host the next G7 in the Alpine town of Evian-les-Bains from 14 to 16 June 2026.

Macron said that France would “keep unity and work closely with trusted partners to weigh more on the world”.

Evian last hosted the G7 in 2003, the first time Russia had been invited to join what became the G8.

Russia was expelled in 2014 after it annexed Crimea – a move Trump called a “mistake” earlier in the summit, underlining divisions among Western leaders.

Sudan has now endured more than two years of brutal conflict between its national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Despite tireless efforts by international mediators, peace remains elusive.

“Let me be clear, what is happening in Sudan is not only a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity itself,” declared Mona Rishmawi, an expert member of the UN fact‑finding mission, speaking in Geneva on Tuesday.

She highlighted “widespread” sexual violence, children succumbing to hunger, and the tragic blocking of vital aid.

“While bombs and bullets dominate the headlines in Sudan, a quieter but perhaps even more brutal war is being waged on the bodies of women, girls and marginalised communities,” she told reporters, shining a light on the often unseen suffering.

Sudan war sparks ‘biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded’ – IRC

World’s largest displacement crisis

Since April 2023, General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have been locked in fierce hostilities, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of approximately 14 million people – making it the world’s largest forced displacement crisis, according to UNHCR.

The UN mission has raised the alarm over the increasing use of heavy weaponry in civilian areas.

“Civilians continue to pay the highest price,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission’s chair, describing a conflict that is “increasingly complex, brutal”.

Both sides have also been accused of weaponising hunger. “Hunger itself is being used as a weapon. Humanitarian aid, as we just heard, is not simply blocked. It is deliberately manipulated,” Rishmawi warned.

EU and UK call to put an end to ‘horrific’ Sudan war at London conference

France calls for ‘lasting ceasefire’

Despite Sudan’s refusal to grant full access, the UN mission persists in its investigative work, compiling a confidential list of alleged perpetrators of abuses.

In a recent statement, France called for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire” and expressed deep concern for the “devastating consequences of the conflict endured by the Sudanese people”.

The French government has also condemned RSF attacks on civilian camps, declaring: “Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.”

Paris has reiterated its demand for the warring parties to stop using starvation as a weapon and to lift all obstacles to humanitarian assistance.

Since Monday morning, four Israeli booths – Rafael, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and UVision – have been hidden behind black wooden panels.

French authorities said the companies were displaying “offensive weapons”, which were not permitted under a pre-agreed framework with the Israeli government.

Faced with the companies’ refusal to remove the equipment, the booths were fenced off during the night from Sunday to Monday.

Legal threat over losses

“I assure you that we will sue the French government for what they have done to us,” Shlomo Toaff, executive vice president at Rafael, told Euronews.

“We are going to sue them for causing financial damage, for not giving us access to the property that we had rented. We think this is an unjust decision. We’re not getting equal rights like the other exhibitors.”

Toaff also told Politico the firm expects losses “in the mid-double-digit million range”.

He said Rafael had rented the space a year earlier, submitted booth plans months ago, and cleared French customs about a month before the show. Despite that, the company was not given a way to appeal.

France blocks access to Israeli arms stands at Paris Air Show

Government defends decision

French Prime Minister François Bayrou said the ban was a response to the situation in Gaza.

“France considers that this is a terrible situation for the Gazans,” Bayrou told reporters on Monday. “France wanted to demonstrate that offensive weapons should not be present in this show.”

A French official told Politico that Israeli authorities had been informed weeks in advance and claimed the Israeli ambassador in Paris had agreed to the restrictions.

Toaff told the publication the rules were applied unfairly. “If a French company can display offensive weapons, there is no reason we cannot,” he said.

The Israeli Ministry of Defence called the move “scandalous and unprecedented” in a statement on Monday.

Israeli firms faced similar restrictions at France’s Eurosatory defence show in 2024, though later took part in a naval show following a court ruling.

The Paris Air Show runs until Sunday.

French Guiana’s long-held dream of greater self-governance may finally be gathering momentum, as Overseas Minister Manuel Valls promised on Monday to open negotiations on autonomy in the coming weeks – a move that local leaders hope will bring laws better tailored to their region’s unique challenges and opportunities.

Speaking in Cayenne at the headquarters of the French Guiana Territorial Collective (CTG), Valls announced that he would host a delegation of elected officials in early July to lay the groundwork for meaningful talks on statutory change.

A follow-up meeting is also scheduled at the Élysée Palace later that month, where President Emmanuel Macron himself is expected to weigh in on the project.

“I want to meet with you in the first half of July to discuss all the issues facing French Guiana,” Valls told local leaders, acknowledging the community’s growing frustration with rules handed down from Paris and Brussels that often fail to reflect on-the-ground realities in this vast Amazonian territory.

Local media outlet France Guyane posted on X, “the former prime minister [Valls] was welcomed to the CTG as part of his parliamentary mission on statutory developments.”

Push for land reform

French Guiana’s push for autonomy isn’t new, but the latest plan has been carefully refined over several consultations in 2023 and 2024.

The proposal outlines transferring key powers in areas like planning, transport, agriculture, and natural resource management to a future autonomous government.

Security and regional cooperation would, however, remain shared responsibilities with the French State.

Perhaps most pressing for many Guianese is the control of land. Over 90 percent of the territory is still owned by the French State – a situation local leaders argue is a major barrier to sustainable development and local empowerment.

Independent MP Jean-Victor Castor did not mince his words: “We want local regulatory power because the rules from Brussels and Paris are ineffective.”

Macron returns to French Guiana for thorny talks on autonomy and illegal mining

‘Winning over’ French lawmakers

Valls struck a cautiously optimistic tone, praising the depth and coherence of the local proposal but reminding the assembled officials of the significant hurdles ahead.

“I am familiar with your project. It is backed by a well-thought-out plan and economic and social guidelines,” he said. “But it is far from easy to amend the Constitution. We will have to convince the parliamentarians and the President – he alone can truly kick-start a constitutional revision.”

Interim CTG president Jean-Paul Fereira urged his colleagues to prepare thoroughly, saying the territory must present its strongest case if it hopes to win over the President and national lawmakers.

While autonomy remains the headline goal, local leaders hope the process will also reinvigorate the territory’s economy and tackle long-standing social inequalities.

France bans protests in Martinique following riots over soaring prices

Martinique in the spotlight

Meanwhile, in the French Caribbean territory of Martinique, a related sense of empowerment is taking root.

On Friday, the island hosted a popular forum to tackle the crippling high cost of living – an issue that has sparked protests across the French Caribbean in recent years.

Several overseas MPs, experts and community leaders gathered in Rivière-Salée to develop concrete proposals for a new bill that Minister Valls is expected to present to the National Assembly in September.

The Martinique MPs behind the initiative want to ensure that the final legislation has real teeth, addressing price mark-ups that leave basic goods up to 40 percent more expensive than in mainland France.

By pooling expertise from across the overseas territories, they hope to secure fairer prices and stronger economic protection for island communities long burdened by high costs.

The court  ruled that the removal of the 42,000 tons of toxic waste (cyanide, arsenic, mercury among others.) stored at Stocamine, a former potash mine located in Wittelsheim, can no longer be carried out safely, mainly due to the deterioration of the site’s infrastructure.

The court stated in its ruling that permanent containment “now represents, given the best available techniques, the measure most likely to preserve the water resource and, consequently, the right of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This solution involves building concrete barriers around the waste-containing blocks and backfilling the shafts that provide access to them in order to ensure watertightness.

The ruling may be appealed within two months. It marks a new chapter in the long-standing standoff between environmental activists and the French government, which had extended indefinitely what was initially a temporary storage authorisation.

The Potash Mines of Alsace company (MDPA), which manages the site and is 100 percent state-owned, has since begun a large-scale project to pour concrete barriers in the underground tunnels.

Water table at risk

The government’s decision and the ensuing work have sparked opposition in Alsace, a region in northeastern France.

Some officials, local residents, and organisations fear that keeping the waste buried underground, even under concrete, could eventually contaminate the Alsace groundwater table, which supplies drinking water to millions of people.

Their concern lies in the condition of the mine, which they argue is too degraded to prevent water infiltration – something that, upon contact with the toxic waste, could end up polluting the aquifer despite the presence of the concrete barriers.

(with AFP)

Environmental ministers from the bloc’s 27 nations approved a proposal by the European Commission to make sure at least 25 percent of the plastic in new cars has been recycled.

Gathered in Luxembourg, the ministers also extended the requirement to trucks, motorbikes and quadricycles – but delayed its envisaged entry into force.

“The end-of-life vehicle regulation is a game-changer for Europe,” said Paulina Hennig-Kloska, the environment minister of Poland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

“It cuts waste, curbs our reliance on critical raw materials from abroad, and drives our car industry into the heart of the circular economy.”

Vehicle manufacturing is among Europe’s most resource-intensive industries.

It accounts for 10 percent of the bloc’s overall consumption of plastics, and is responsible for 19 percent of demand for the EU’s steel industry, according to Brussels.

Obsolete electronics pile up as e-waste outstrips recycling efforts, UN warns

Raw materials on the cards

Under a phased approach adopted by the European Council representing member states, within six years of the regulation entering force manufacturers will have to make sure 15 percent of plastic in new vehicles has been recycled.

The target will increase to 20 percent after eight years and finally reach 25 percent after a decade.

At least 25 percent of the recycled materials will have to be sourced from old, scrap vehicles.

EU car industry must speed up electric sales or face billions in fines

The text, which also sets requirements to ensure that new vehicles are designed to support reuse and recycling, needs to be negotiated with the European Parliament before it can be voted into law.

It empowers the commission to lay down temporary derogations if there is a shortage of recycled materials or prices are too high, the council said.

The regulation also opens the way to the setting of future targets for recycled steel, aluminium, and critical raw materials, it added.

(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 10 May, I asked you about a scientific summit held earlier that week here in Paris. It was about bringing to Europe US scientists whose research funds were being threatened – and now, many have been canceled – by US President Donald Trump.

The summit, called “Choose Europe for Science”, was attended by EU commissioners, scientists, and ministers for research from member countries, and hosted by Paris’s Sorbonne University. It closed with speeches by French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

You were to re-read our article “France hosts summit to lure scientists threatened by US budget cuts” and send in the answer to this question: Which specific research specialties are the Europeans hoping to attract? Amongst possible others, which specific sectors of research are the Europeans targeting?

The answer is, to quote our article: “Macron’s office said France and the EU are targeting researchers in a number of specific sectors, including health, climate, biodiversity, artificial intelligence and space.”

The first “refugee scientists”, as they’re being called, are on their way here.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you greet friends and relatives? How do you greet people you are being introduced to for the first time? What do these forms of greeting mean to you?” The question was suggested by Jocelyne D’Errico from New Zealand.

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Radhakrishna.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, as well as RFI Listeners Club members Rubi Saikia from Assam, India and Sahadot Hossain Khoka from Sunamganj, Bangladesh. Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Rajesh Dhakal from Mechi, Nepal.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Peaceful Journey” by Imade Suputra; the “Gigue” from the French Suite no. 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Andras Schiff; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and Quatre Bergerettes, four 18th-century French folksongs arranged by Siegfried Behrend and Sharon Isbin, performed by mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer and guitarist Sharon Isbin.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “French Polynesia unveils world’s largest marine protected zone”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 7 July to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 12 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

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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.   

Tundu Lissu is the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition Party for Democracy and Progress (Chadema). He was arrested on 9 April.

Treason charges were brought against him on 10 April, and he could receive the death penalty.

Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, reacted by saying that the Tanzanian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Tundu Lissu, whose arbitrary arrest and detention comes amid a growing crackdown on opposition leaders ahead of the October 2025 general election.

He added, “The authorities’ campaign of repression saw four government critics forcibly disappeared and one unlawfully killed in 2024. The police have also prevented opposition members from holding meetings and other political gatherings, subjecting them to mass arrest, arbitrary detention, and unlawful use of force.”

Tanzanian politician’s lawyers ask UN to declare his detention arbitrary

However, the opposition leader has not been released, nor have the charges been dropped. On the contrary, other members of his party have since been arrested and even subjected to torture.

Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, between 19 and 23 May, after attempting to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

The crisis extends beyond Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, where activists from a rights coalition in Kenya also accused police officers of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month.

In this context, this week on Spotlight on Africa, RFI speaks to Tundu Lissu’s international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, who has lodged a complaint with the UN Working Group as part of a broader campaign of pressure.

This month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Lissu’s arrest as politically motivated. Amsterdam also stated that he intends to petition the US State Department to impose sanctions.

Meanwhile, in Namibia, the first national commemoration was held on 28 May for the victims of mass killings by colonial-era German troops, in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the 20th century.

When first the Herero and then the Nama revolted against the colonial administration, the response from Germany was brutal. An extermination order was sent by the Second Reich, and several concentration camps were built across the country.

Namibia holds controversial first commemoration of German colonial-era genocide

Some organisations representing victims’ descendants have declined to take part.

To discuss what is at stake with this commemoration, for Namibia but also for other former African colonies, we talk to the German historian Henning Melber, of the Nordic Africa Institute, who is also affiliated to the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein in South Africa.

He says that while the announcement of an official Namibian Genocide Memorial Day has been long overdue, the chosen date of 28 May remains controversial, and that communities of descendants were excluded.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

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

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.

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.