In France, fieldwork has been banned during the hottest hours to protect workers and cut fire risks. Farm operations were halted as temperatures soared past 39C in parts of the country. 

Spain and Portugal recorded some of their highest June temperatures ever, with El Granado hitting 46C and Mora reaching 46.6C. Italy placed 21 cities, including Rome and Milan, on red alert as heat topped 38C. 

Wildfire warnings remain in place in southern France, Spain and Greece. 

From ruin to revival as Malawi’s banana growers plant a new future

Potato sector under strain 

The European potato sector is bracing for lower yields if the heat continues.  

Extreme heat can damage tuber growth, reduce yields and disrupt harvest schedules. Farmers in Spain, Italy and southern France are relying heavily on irrigation to prevent crop failure. 

Meteorologists cited by the farming website Wikifarmer warn that if the marine heatwave in the Mediterranean pushes sea temperatures up to 9C above normal, inland weather could stay unstable well into July, putting additional pressure on already struggling farms. 

The heat comes on top of what is already a costly challenge for Europe’s farmers.  

A European Commission study found that droughts and heatwaves already cost EU farms and livestock producers around 28 billion euros a year.  

That is about 6 percent of total agricultural production. The commission expects this to rise to 10 percent by 2050 if extreme weather events become more frequent. 

African cotton producers rally against climate shocks and low prices

Water and health strain 

French hospitals are treating more cases of heat exhaustion and dehydration, especially in rural areas. Meanwhile the government brought in driving restrictions in big cities to cut air pollution and shut a nuclear plant to prevent its cooling system from overheating. 

People this week were urged to stay indoors during peak heat, drink plenty of water and check on elderly neighbours. 

Farmers face a double challenge – crops need more water, but extreme heat makes it harder for plants to use what little moisture remains in the soil. 

New normal? 

The UN has warned the extreme heat is “no longer unusual – it’s the new baseline”. 

Climatologists say the “heat dome” trapping hot air over Europe is part of a wider trend of longer, hotter spells linked to climate change. Dry soils and shifting weather patterns are making future heatwaves more likely. 

Forecasters warn the heat could stick around for the first half of July.  

For farmers, the damage may stretch well beyond this summer, with lower harvests adding to the strain. 

New Caledonian elected officials, along with economic and civil society representatives, have agreed to join the talks at the president’s invitation.

Macron said last week the discussions would last “as long as necessary” to deal with major issues.

“Beyond major institutional topics, I would like our discussions to touch on economic and societal matters,” Macron said.

New Caledonia has been ruled by France since the 1800s. Many indigenous Kanaks still resent Paris’s control and want more autonomy or independence.

Key dates in New Caledonia’s history

Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous, long-term residents – something Kanaks fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence. 

The riots – the most violent since the 1980s – led to the death of 14 people and caused billions of euros in damage. 

The president’s decision to host talks alongside the overseas minister Manuel Valls comes after a French court freed independence leader Christian Tein in June. 

Tein, who is a Kanak, had been held in custody in eastern France since June 2024 over the rioting.

Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government, according to a source close to the case. 

The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population. 

The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence.

Anniversary of French occupation exposes rifts over New Caledonia’s future

‘Future of the territory’

Since the 2021 referendum – which pro-independence campaigners had wanted to be rescheduled – the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock. 

Valls led negotiations in May between pro-independence and anti-independence groups, but they did not reach an agreement about the institutional future of the territory. 

The president declared in early June that he wanted a “new project” for New Caledonia. 

(with AFP)

The 330-page report, released on Wednesday, says children at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school suffered violence “in the absence of action that the former education minister had the means to take”, Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier, the two co-rapporteurs, wrote.

Bayrou, who served as education minister from 1993 to 1997, has denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations a campaign of “destruction” against him.

His office told BFMTV he ordered an inspection “the day after a complaint for a slap” appeared. They said the inspection “resulted in a positive report for the school” and claimed “all documents are online on Bayrou.fr”.

French PM Bayrou denies covering up sexual abuse at Catholic school

‘Absolute sadism’

Fatiha Keloua Hachi, who led the commission of inquiry, said lawmakers heard shocking testimony over three months from 135 people, including survivors of abuse at schools across France.

“This commission of inquiry was a thorough investigation into the unthinkable – children, all over France, subjected to monstrous acts,” Keloua Hachi said.

She said survivors described sexual violence and “physical violence too, sometimes of an unprecedented severity, of absolute sadism”.

Since February last year, around 200 legal complaints have been filed accusing priests and staff at Bétharram of abuse between 1957 and 2004. Some former boarders said priests visited boys at night.

Bayrou’s eldest daughter, Hélène Perlant, has said a priest beat her at a summer camp linked to Bétharram when she was 14. She said her father did not know about the incident.

French clergy acknowledge responsibility in school sexual abuse scandal

Systemic failings

The report found the violence at Bétharram could not be reduced to isolated incidents and said it was – at least in part – kept in place by influential supporters, including some in government.

The co-rapporteurs said Bétharram was far from unique and that similar violence still happens in other schools, especially private Catholic ones, where a strong culture of silence remains.

Lawmakers described France’s system of checks as virtually non-existent and said efforts to prevent abuse remain inadequate.

The report said many victims were ignored for decades and left with lasting anger because so few adults took action while abusers went unpunished.

French former Catholic priest convicted of raping and sexually abusing four boys

Proposals for reform

The commission recommended 50 measures to address the violence. These include creating a compensation fund for victims and recognising the state’s failings that allowed the abuse to continue.

It also proposed annual inspections of boarding schools, stricter checks in private schools at least every five years and a nationwide hotline for staff and parents to report abuse outside the usual school channels.

Other ideas include a clear ban on corporal punishment and humiliating treatment, criminal checks for all staff every three years and lifting the secrecy of confession when priests hear of abuse against children under 15.

The commission called for better training for teachers, nurses and school counsellors and regular reminders that staff must report suspected violence.

Bayrou survived a vote of no confidence on Tuesday. His position could come under more pressure as France’s minority government faces tough budget talks later this year.

The suspect, identified as Timothy G., was arrested near a high school in the Saint-Étienne region carrying two knives in his bag. Sources close to the case told the French press agency AFP that he intended to target women and openly identified with the “incel” ideology.

“Incel” is an English acronym for “involuntary celibates” — men who believe they are rejected by women and harbour resentment towards them and feminism, which they blame for their personal failures.

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) confirmed on Tuesday that an investigation has been opened against the 18-year-old, who self-identifies with the incel movement.

Timothy G. has been charged with terrorist criminal conspiracy with intent to commit one or more violent crimes against persons and has been remanded in custody, the PNAT said.

French government to ban knife sales to minors after deadly school attack

Described as youthful and shy, with a nearly clean-shaven face and slender build, Timothy G. appeared before a judge on Tuesday evening and was detained, AFP journalists reported.

‘Not a militant’

His lawyer, Maria Snitsar, told AFP: “I met a suffering adolescent, not a militant preparing for action. The investigation will put this case into its proper perspective regarding the charges and the personality of the accused.”

Sources indicate that Timothy, who aspired to be an engineer, had consumed misogynistic videos online, particularly on TikTok.

This is the first time the PNAT has handled a case solely involving the incel movement, which had previously appeared marginally in two other terrorism-related cases.

One involved a young man from northern France linked to the far right, charged in September 2023 with plans for violent acts. He was described by sources as “an unstable, frustrated young adult rather than an ideologue.”

Another case involved four young men, one planning to travel to Syria, two glorifying Hitler and Nazism, and three communicating with a woman who dreamed of bombing a church.

Two admired “great replacement” conspiracy theories and mass killers associated with the far right, including Anders Breivik, Brenton Tarrant, and Dylan Klebold. Timothy G. had also shown interest in some of these incidents.

The Netflix series “Adolescence,” which aired this spring to wide acclaim, highlighted the toxic and misogynistic influences young men encounter online. Among prominent figures in these online circles is the male influencer Andrew Tate, who has nearly 11 million followers on X and faces rape allegations.

The incel movement has been claimed by several mass killers, and attacks targeting women motivated by this ideology have occurred before. Notably, in 1989, a 25-year-old self-declared antifeminist opened fire at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, killing 13 female students and a secretary before taking his own life — one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings.

(With newswires)

The summit followed a familiar script. Between calls for bigger defence budgets pushed by US President Donald Trump and talks on threats from Russia and Iran, climate change did not make the priority list.  

But military and civilian researchers working with NATO say warming seas could deeply change underwater warfare. 

In 1989, The Hunt for Red October hit cinemas. Based on Tom Clancy’s novel, the film told the story of a nearly invisible Soviet nuclear submarine tracked by the US Navy. Sean Connery played the rebel captain, Alec Baldwin the CIA agent trying to find him. 

It felt like fiction, but the idea came straight from the US Navy. Finding stealthy submarines has always been a top job for big navies. Now climate change is making that hunt harder. 

US – Europe partnership must remain strong, says visiting US Senator

Sound as a weapon 

Submarines are tracked mainly by sonar. Some sonar sends out sound waves and waits for echoes. Others just listen for noise in the water. Both depend on how sound moves under the sea. 

The problem is that sound speed and reach change with temperature, pressure and salt levels.

As the planet warms, oceans heat up, ice melts and billions of tonnes of fresh water mix with salt water. These shifts mess with sonar – the systems cannot “hear” as far as they used to. 

A study by the NATO Defence College, led by Andrea and Mauro Gilli in March tested how bad this could get. They used old ocean data from 1970 to 1999 and compared it to climate forecasts for the end of the century, from 2070 to 2099. 

They looked at two key places: the North Atlantic, which is vital for NATO, and the Western Pacific, where China is growing its navy. 

Turkey steps into EU defence plans as bloc eyes independence from US

Dramatic detection drops 

Their results, the study says, are clear and worrying. In the North Atlantic, sonar could lose much of its reach.  

Right now, a submarine might be picked up from 60 kilometres away. By the century’s end, that could drop to just 35 kilometres. In the Western Pacific, the drop is smaller but still real – from 10 kilometres to seven kilometres. 

These numbers matter for strategy. The study says if submarines get harder to find in the Atlantic, Russia could use that advantage to boost its underwater patrols.

NATO might then have to redeploy more ships and planes back there, at the expense of the Pacific where its focus has been growing. 

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

A threat multiplier 

NATO has already called climate change a “threat multiplier” and has committed to take into account in its activities the necessity of mitigating it. But this is the first time its effect on the core of military operations has been modelled in such detail. 

There will be new costs and tech headaches. The NATO Defence College study says navies may need new sonar, more underwater drones or different patrol zones. All of this needs careful planning and more funding. 

The researchers call for more teamwork between ocean experts, military engineers and climate scientists – crossing oceanography, military engineering and climatology, a field still little explored. 

At the summit last week, Trump and others pushed NATO countries to spend more on defence. But the study says extra money might not just pay for tanks or jets. It could go towards ocean research, smarter sonar and better underwater drones. 

For now, navies are only starting to grasp how climate change could reshape underwater warfare. As the seas keep warming, that learning curve could decide how hard it is to find the next real-life Red October lurking beneath the waves. 

This story was adapted from the original version in French by RFI’s Simon Roze. 

“We obtained a visit today from our charge d’affaires in Iran,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers.

A French foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the visit had taken place earlier in the day.

But the ministry did not specify where the visit occurred, amid uncertainty over the couple’s whereabouts.

The fate of Kohler and Paris had been unknown since Israel targeted Tehran’s Evin prison in an air strike last week, before a US-proposed ceasefire between the Middle East foes came into force.

Israeli strike on Tehran jail was ‘irresponsible’: French prisoner’s sister

Iran‘s judiciary said the Israeli strike on the prison had killed at least 79 people.

It has also said the Iranian prison authority transferred inmates out of Evin prison, without specifying their number or identifying them.

Several women prisoners have been transferred to Qarchak prison for women outside Tehran, which has a notorious reputation for its conditions.

‘Proof of life’

On Friday, the families of Kohler and Paris demanded “proof of life”, while a lawyer denounced their “forced disappearance”.

Kohler, 40, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject.

Family of French couple jailed in Iran pleads for humanitarian evacuation

Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicised, in what some Western governments including France describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.

Three Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the current conflict, two of whom are accused of spying for Israel, according to the authorities.

(with AFP)

According to the Polish press agency PAP, Court President Krzysztof Wiak said that a huge number of election protests filed with the court against the election result “had not strengthened the significance of their charges” adding that “confirmed irregularities had not affected the overall voting result.”

In the country’s highly polarised political landscape, concerns have also been voiced over the legitimacy of the court chamber which will issue the verdict.

Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, scored 51 percent of votes to win the June 1 runoff election, according to official results – a major blow for the pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and LGBTQ rights campaigners.

Nawrocki took 369,000 more votes than his rival, Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, the candidate put forward by the government.

Prosecutors allege the vote count was falsified in Nawrocki’s favour at some polling stations, fuelling calls for a national recount.

Conservative Nawrocki narrowly wins Poland’s presidential election

PiS has dismissed doubts about the vote as an attempt to “steal the election”.

According to the Polish constitution, the Supreme Court must validate the ballot before the winner can be sworn in at a joint session of parliament — a ceremony planned for August 6.

However, European courts and legal experts have questioned the legitimacy of the Exceptional Supervision and Public Matters Chamber, the Supreme Court body which will issue the ruling on Tuesday.

The European Court of Human Rights said in 2023 the Chamber does not fulfil the definition of “an independent and impartial tribunal established by law”.

Tusk has criticised the Chamber, but recognised Monday that “it is the Supreme Court’s responsibility to rule whether an election is valid or not”.

“It is not possible…for the Supreme Court to be replaced in this matter… by the Prosecutor General or the government,” the prime minister said.

‘Paralyse the Supreme Court’

The Supreme Court has received around 56,000 election protests since the second round of voting.

Judges have already dismissed, without taking further action, over 50,000 complaints, many of which were based on protest templates shared on social media.

Supreme Court chief justice Malgorzata Manowska decried sending template-based protests as an “operation meant to… paralyse the Supreme Court”.

Still, the court ordered the results from 13 polling stations to be recounted earlier this month.

National prosecutors later said that in some of those polling stations votes were transferred from one candidate to another, mainly in Nawrocki’s favour.

Government coalition lawmaker Roman Giertych authored one of the protest templates, claiming votes had been reassigned to Nawrocki and alleging ballot rigging.

Giertych and several experts have demanded a national recount and called for the presidential inauguration to be postponed in order to clarify the alleged irregularities.

These experts assert that the previous nationalist government and outgoing president Andrzej Duda introduced reforms which have undermined the rule of law in Poland.

The reforms have long put Poland at odds with the European Commission, but the victory of a pro-EU coalition in October 2023 parliamentary elections mitigated the conflict.

Parliament speaker Szymon Holownia, like other members of the ruling coalition, has so far firmly rejected the idea of postponing the presidential oath ceremony

Independently, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who is also the prosecutor general, has ordered a group of prosecutors to examine “irregularities” in the vote counting.

“It is the prosecution’s role… to inquire everywhere, where there is a suspicion of crime,” Tusk said.

(With newswires)

Every morning, Mama Evans places a plastic chair outside her mabati house in Kayole and waits. It’s the same spot where her 22-year-old son, Evans used to sit before he vanished during last year’s protests driven by Gen Z (generation of people born between 1997 – 2012).

“One year. No answers. No body. Just silence,” she says, gripping a worn photograph of him in a graduation gown. “If he’s gone, let them give me his body. I just want to bury my son.”

The 2024 finance bill was the spark that set off what was already an explosive social situation.

It proposed sweeping tax hikes on essential goods and digital services burdens falling squarely on a young population already grappling with unemployment and rising living costs.

‘Fearless’

By June 2024, thousands of young Kenyans, many in their early 20s, had taken to the streets, organised not by political parties or unions, but by spontaneous online coordination, carried by hashtags and influencers.

“Gen Z did what older generations feared: they called out the system with no apologies,” Dr. Samora Mwaura, a youth policy expert based in Nairobi tells RFI.

“They were the heartbeat of a new kind of politics: raw, informed, and fearless.”

The protests quickly spread from Nairobi to Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa, and Nakuru. But what began as peaceful marches soon turned deadly.

A trail of trauma

In Mathare, Kevin Otieno is learning to walk again. A year ago, the 25-year-old boda boda (motorcycle taxi) rider was caught in police crossfire on his way to make a delivery.

“They shot me in the leg. I wasn’t even part of the protest that day,” he says, lifting his jeans to show the metal brace screwed into his thigh. “Since then, I’ve lost my job, my independence, and my peace.”

Kevin’s story is echoed in hospitals, homes, and informal settlements across the country.

According to local human rights groups, at least 39 protesters were killed, hundreds injured, and scores went missing during the police crackdown.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights called for investigations, but prosecutions have been slow or nonexistent.

“We’ve documented arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and excessive force,” says Mary Wanjiku, a legal officer. “Yet accountability remains elusive.”

Kenya protests reignited by custody death, but ‘Gen Z’ movement remains divided

From protests to political power

Despite the pain, the protests ignited something lasting. For the first time in decades, youth particularly Gen Z became a decisive force in shaping national discourse.

Their activism led to the recall of several tax proposals and forced President William Ruto’s administration into dialogue.

Politicians, once dismissive of social media activism, began hosting X (formerly Twitter) Spaces and TikTok forums to engage young voters.

“Something shifted,” explains Lydia Wanjiru, a professor at the University of Nairobi. “Gen Z became both a moral and political voice. They know their power now and the country knows it too.”

Grassroots movements born in the protests have since evolved into civic tech platforms, voter registration drives, and online watchdog groups. A year later, Gen Z’s presence remains visible not just in protests, but in policy.

Can Kenyan youth protests spark real police reform one year on?

Cry for justice

Yet for families like Mama Evans’, the political wins offer little comfort.

“People move on. But for me, every day is July 2024,” she says, brushing a tear from her cheek. Her home is now a shrine of sorts Evans’ clothes folded neatly, his phone untouched, his slippers by the door.

Authorities initially promised DNA testing of unclaimed bodies at City Mortuary. She submitted samples. Months passed. Still nothing.

“Just tell me the truth. I can take it,” she whispers. “This waiting is the hardest part.”

Then, after a pause, her voice hardens: “For years we’ve cried for justice and they’ve given us more coffins.”

What Next?

As Kenya marks the one-year anniversary of the Gen Z uprising, the country stands at a crossroads. The youth movement has cracked open the political conversation but the state’s reluctance to deliver justice threatens to undo the trust it inspired.

“There can be no healing without accountability,” says Dr. Mwaura. “Otherwise, we are just postponing the next eruption.”

One year on, the fire has not gone out. Across Nairobi, Kisumu, and parts of the coast, small pockets of protests have flared again, this time against ongoing extrajudicial killings and police brutality, particularly in connection to the death of teacher Albert Ojwang in custody.

From placards to petitions, Kenya’s youth continue to demand an end to state violence.

Mama Evans agrees. But for now, her revolution is quiet, a candle burning next to Evans’ photo, a prayer whispered every night, a hope that somehow, one day, someone will knock on her gate with the truth.

The exhibition brings together 275 objects and works of art from across the Mediterranean region, loaned by more than 70 French and international institutions such as the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Glyptothek in Munich, and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv.

Organised into thematic chapters, the exhibition draws on art history, gender studies, and postcolonial research to explore the Mediterranean’s cultural exchanges.  

RFI talked to Nicolas Misery, curator of the exhibition and director of the museums of Marseille.

RFI: Has tattooing been used in the Mediterranean more than elsewhere?

Nicolas Misery: Actually, it’s mostly about identifying these tattooing practices, which have remained relatively unknown and largely unnoticed among specialists.

There have been projects dedicated to tattooing, but they focused more on Oceania, the Americas, sometimes on Russia and Eastern Europe.

In fact, what specifically dealt with the Mediterranean has remained somewhat neglected in research – even though many Mediterranean cultures have been practising tattooing in various forms and with specific characteristics for several millennia. It was time to highlight this for the public.

RFI: What is the link between tattooing and the city of Marseille?

NM: It turns out that Marseille plays a central role in the art of tattooing.

Today, in Marseille – perhaps more than anywhere else – people get tattoos to evoke a person they love, a friend, family, or a romantic attachment. People also get tattoos to celebrate their city. Perhaps also to celebrate their football club.

I believe this is the sign of a unique relationship to the body. It reflects the light and the warmth of Marseille by the sea.

It is also a sign of how cosmopolitan Marseille is, since the bodies in Marseille tell us, through tattooing, about the movement of individuals and communities from antiquity to today. They ultimately come together and engage in a dialogue on the skin of individuals.

RFI: Why is this exhibition being held at the Vieille Charité in Marseille?

NM: The Vieille Charité centre is more than just a museum – it’s a cultural hub where heritage collections come together, notably those of the Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Museum of African, Oceanian, and Amerindian Art.

It’s also a place that, in recent years, has been dedicated to contemporary creation. Right now, we’re presenting an exhibition by Laure Prouvost in the Chapel of the Vieille Charité.

It’s a space where we host concerts, talks, film screenings – and I believe tattooing fits perfectly within this transdisciplinary approach.

RFI: A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the practice of tattooing in North Africa – particularly in the Amazigh culture.

NM: We wanted to discuss these ancient tattooing practices in North Africa, notably among the Amazigh societies and cultures who practised tattooing and still do, especially among women. It was for protection but also for identification, a sign of social status, or the age of an individual for example.

It is an extremely complex practice but one that exists in all countries of the Maghreb and allows for the identification of ancient traditions passed from one generation to the next.

RFI: Is there a particular room in the exhibition that speaks to you personally?

NM: I would like to highlight a section dedicated to creation in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Since the 1960s, following decolonisation, many artists have been inspired by the graphism of tattoos to invent a new art form.

They are fully engaged in the artistic questions of that time, notably with regards to abstraction, while simultaneously breaking away from Western models in favour of the traditional North African practices.

This has resulted in marvellous and original creations by artists such as Choukri Mesli, Baya, Samta Benyahia and Farid Belkahia – artists rarely shown in France.

We were even fortunate to welcome the artist Denis Martinez who created an unprecedented work for this exhibition.

Denis Martinez is one of the founders of the Avant-Garde in Algeria in the 1960s, notably of the group Aouchem, an avant-garde group whose name means “tattoo”.

► “Tattoo – Histories of the Mediterranean” runs until 28 September, 2025 at the Vieille Charité in Marseille.

“The future of the world depends on the United States and Europe being partners in everything,” according to Chris Murphy, a Senator representing the US Democrats from Connecticut, speaking to RFI ahead of a crucial two-day NATO summit held in the Netherlands last Tuesday. 

“Partners in the defence of democracy, partners in trying to stop China from controlling the piping of the international economy, partners in technological development and advancement.”

Murphy, who visited Paris earlier this month, met President Macron’s top national security advisor Emmanuel Bonne.

He also lectured at Paris’ prestigious Sciences-Po and attended the Paris air show before heading to Romania for a meeting with the newly elected, pro-EU president Nicusor Dan. 

‘Picking fights’

Worried that US President Donald Trump is estranging the US’s EU partners, Murphy’s is keen to smooth over any concerns harboured by European policy makers.

“It’s painful to watch President Trump pick fights with Europe, to look to our adversaries like Russia as his closest companions,” he told RFI.

Trump has clearly divided the European, with Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni both vocally supportive of him – while others are more wary.

“It’s an open secret that Trump’s political infrastructure has been working with Orban,” Murphy says.

“Trump doesn’t want American democracy to persevere. He wants to transition America to some form of quasi-democracy, quasi-autocracy. He’s learned lessons from people like Viktor Orban and [Turkey’s Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who have engaged in this transition. He’s copying what they have done.”

Meloni positions herself as Europe’s ‘trump card’ on visit to White House

Despite this political shift, and Trump’s threats to pull away from certain partnerships, Murphy says “there are still a lot of folks in Congress, mostly Democrats, but Republicans too, who really want to grow this partnership” with the EU.

He admits that “Europe and the United States aren’t going to agree on everything,” but stressed that there is ” just no way to solve any of the big challenges today that confront the globe without the United States and Europe being partners.”

‘Underlying tensions’

One of the main pillars symbolising the US-EU relationship is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

The alliance’s summit in The Hague resulted in a historic defense spending pledge, with member countries agreeing to invest 5 percent of GDP annually by 2035 – 3.5 percent for core defense capabilities and 1.5 percent for related infrastructure and innovation.

This marks a significant increase from the previous 2 percent target, aiming to strengthen NATO’s collective defense and support for Ukraine amid ongoing security challenges.

Despite this financial commitment, the summit revealed underlying tensions, notably the alliance’s dependence on US leadership under Trump and differing views on burden-sharing.

NATO backs defence hike as Trump claims victory, but doubts linger

Some members, like Spain, rejected the new spending target, while others sought exemptions, highlighting challenges in maintaining unity.

The summit prioritised economic investment over detailed strategic planning, reflecting a shift in NATO’s approach to security amid evolving geopolitical dynamics.

Looming tariffs deadline

On the economic front, Trump’s administration could extend a 9 July deadline when higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries are set to kick in, the White House said last week.

While Trump has imposed a sweeping 10 percent tariff on most US trading partners this year, he unveiled – then halted – steeper rates on dozens of economies while negotiations took place.

The EU has put a zero-percent tariff proposal on the table – but it’s widely seen as a non-starter in talks with Washington.

 According to several diplomats, the goal at this point is rather to let Trump claim victory without agreeing a deal that would significantly hurt Europe.

Trump’s first 100 days: Trade, diplomacy and walking the transatlantic tightrope

One diplomat suggested leaders would be happy with a “Swiss cheese” agreement – with a general US levy on European imports, but enough loopholes to shield key sectors such as steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and aeronautics.

This would be less painful than the status quo with European companies currently facing 25-percent tariffs on steel, aluminium and auto goods exported to the United States, and 10 percent on a majority of EU products.

 If no agreement is reached, the default tariff on EU imports is expected to double to 20 percent or even higher – Trump having at one point threatened 50 percent.

Unlike Canada or China, which hit back swiftly at Trump’s tariff hikes, the EU has consistently sought to negotiate with Trump – threatening retaliation only if no agreement is reached.

“We will not allow ourselves to be provoked, we will remain calm,” said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever last week, urging the EU to avert an all-out trade war with Washington.

“I come from a region that has been deeply affected by war and displacement, but I wanted to use my body, my legs, my bike to send a message of peace across Africa,” said Masaisai, speaking to RFI from the Zambian capital Lusaka, where he arrived after 26 days on the road.

The triathlete, coach and lifeguard left Goma on 17 May and has completed around 2,700km of his journey.

Goma fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in January but Masaisai’s “Pedals for Peace” project was planned in 2023, long before the latest crisis. It aims to showcase a different side of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – the one hidden behind the headlines.

Bringing the overlooked impact of DR Congo’s displacement crisis into focus

“I wanted to show the world that in our region, in our country, there isn’t only war, we also have very strong, very dynamic young people. And I want to say to them, use your talent to look for peace, not for war or violence.”

He hopes to unite youth across Africa, saying: “Everywhere I pass, that’s the message I carry.”

So far Masaisai has travelled through Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. He’s travelling alone, sporting a jersey in the colours of the DRC, with a backpack weighing around 20kg.

Whenever he sees young people along the route he stops to try and start a conversation. In Tanzania he went to a high school to share his project with the students. “I tried to talk with them, to inspire them. And many, when they hear my story, they’re curious,” he says.

Masaisai was unable to find sponsorship for his project but decided to go ahead regardless – another message he wants to spread. “People say to me, oh we thought you need to have millions or sponsorship to start a project like this, but your project is successful, you inspire us.”

‘Beauty exists everywhere’: Ballet builds hope for future in Nairobi slum

The kindness of strangers

The challenges have been immense. He spoke of dangerous roads shared with massive trucks speeding by with little regard for a cyclist, and the scorching sun in Zambia and Tanzania – a shock compared to the milder climes of his native Goma.

He recalls six hours spent crossing 120km of wildlife park in Tanzania – a long and risky stretch, especially when one of your tyres bursts. “It was very difficult, there was no one to help me, you could meet wild animals or bad people.”

“Tanzania changed me,” he wrote on Instagram. “Its tough roads, long distances and heat taught me perseverance. That country made me stronger.”

What’s kept his spirits up is the goodwill he’s encountered along with way. Without sponsorship, relying entirely on the kindness of strangers, he’s discovered that African hospitality is alive and well.

“I arrive in villages, try to talk to people in Swahili, Lingala, Bemba, French or English. I explain my situation and even if they don’t know me, they give me a place to sleep, food to eat. When I see that, I realise my project is successful. I see there is this unity, this other image of Africa.”

He remembers a particularly joyful moment when, approaching Lusaka, young people who had been following his journey on social media came out to meet him and escort him into the capital.

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‘I cannot give up’

Pedalling an average of six hours a day can be a lonely business. But he takes heart from all the messages of encouragement he receives on social media. And he keeps in mind the reason he’s on his bike.

“I think of the pain of the place I’m coming from, from Goma. I have all my sweat, my fatigue, but I remember that all my pedalling is for peace, for the displaced mothers and children. It’s for them. I cannot give up.”

As Masaisai continues south into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, to reach his final destination in around a month’s time, he is seeking support to complete his mission.

For him, every kilometre pedalled is one more toward proving that Africa’s youth can unite, across borders, whatever the language and despite conflicts.

Follow and support Miguel Masaisai and his Pedals for Peace project on Facebook and Instagram.

The result is a growing crisis for West African coastal communities, where fish is both a staple food and a way of life. 

“The ocean is not just about livelihood – it’s part of people’s identity,” Gambian journalist and researcher Mustapha Manneh told RFI at last week’s UN Oceans Conference in Nice. 

Manneh has spent years documenting how industrial fishing – much of it European – is depleting Gambia’s waters and destabilising lives. 

“Fishermen go out and come back with almost nothing,” he said. “They have no other skills. If you take away the fish, you take away their future.” 

Feeding fish, not people 

Each day, Gambian fishermen cast their nets in search of sardines and bonga – small, oily fish that have fed families for generations. Now they return empty-handed, after being forced to venture further out to sea and burn more fuel for ever-dwindling catches. 

“You used to need just 20 litres of gasoline to get a good catch. Now it takes 60 to 80 litres just to find enough fish,” Manneh said. 

Three fishmeal factories in Gambia process hundreds of tonnes of these fish each day, grinding them into powder and oil used to feed farmed fish in Europe and China. 

Manneh has seen the process up close. Inside the factories, he watched fresh, edible fish – still fit for local markets – dumped into grinding machines and transformed into fish feed. He described the experience as deeply confronting. 

Outside the factories, locals often complain about pollution, noise and a powerful stench. 

“The most troubling thing is seeing fresh fish that’s supposed to be on the plate of local people being processed and sent to countries that don’t even know where it’s coming from,” Manneh said. 

“You’re processing raw fish that’s meant for human consumption just to feed another fish.” 

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Depleted stocks 

A report by the advocacy group FoodRise estimates that nearly one million people in west and southern Africa could eat a 200-gram weekly portion of fish using the same catch that is currently diverted to fish farms in Greece alone. 

It often takes several kilograms of wild fish to produce one kilogram of farmed fish because the farmed fish aren’t efficient at converting the fishmeal into body mass. 

FoodRise found that, globally, if wild fish were eaten directly by people instead of fed to farmed fish, more than 300,000 tonnes could be kept in the ocean to support ecosystems.  

Those extra fish stocks would then go on to feed a quarter more people. 

A poisoned coast 

Fishmeal factories in Gambia release untreated wastewater and fish processing waste directly into the Atlantic Ocean. This pollution has turned once-pristine coastal waters toxic, damaging marine ecosystems that local fishers depend on.  

“The sea used to treat skin conditions. Now people are getting rashes. Even the fish porters are affected,” Manneh said. 

But the pollution is only one threat among many. With local fish stocks plummeting, fishermen must venture further offshore, risking dangerous encounters with industrial trawlers.

Their nets and boats are often damaged or lost in these clashes – gear they cannot afford to replace. For some, the struggle is too much and they give up fishing altogether.  

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Fishers forced into smuggling 

As fishing incomes collapse, an increasing number of fishermen are using their boats for human smuggling – a risky but more profitable alternative.  

Manneh has spoken with young fishers who say a single smuggling trip can bring in more money than years spent struggling at sea. 

One man told him: “Mustapha, my one trip is more than my entire life of fishing.” 

Weathered wooden fishing boats are being packed with hundreds of migrants – mostly young men risking everything for a chance at a better life – who embark on a perilous journey across the Atlantic toward uncertain futures.

Migrants pay between €600 and €1,000 each for the trip, Manneh said – adding that more than 200 people can be packed into a single vessel. 

This means one smuggling trip can generate roughly €200,000. 

Women pushed aside 

The crisis is hitting women hard too. Across West Africa, women are at the heart of fish processing – smoking, drying and selling fish at local markets. It’s gritty, hands-on work that puts food on tables and money in pockets. 

But with more and more fish going to industrial fishmeal factories, women’s stalls and ovens are sitting empty. Losing this catch doesn’t just cost jobs – it breaks long-standing traditions. 

Fish-smoking centres built with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation now sit abandoned.  

“The fish women used to smoke is now diverted to the fishmeal factories,” Manneh said. “They [commercial companies] promote their farmed fish as sustainable but never say where the feed comes from.” 

The rise of fishmeal factories has left many women without work – making life even harder for coastal communities.  

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Communities fight back 

But the pressure is also fuelling resistance. Young Gambians are now challenging the traditional power structures that have allowed the fishing industry to expand unchecked. 

“Young people are demanding change,” Manneh said. 

In some places, frustration has boiled over and fishmeal factories have been set on fire. Others are calling for Gambia to cancel its fisheries agreement with the EU. 

“It may line the pockets of a few, but it does nothing for the country as a whole,” Manneh said.  

‘Time for transparency’ 

Fish farming in the EU – especially in Greece – has surged in recent decades, turning quaint Mediterranean coastal towns into hubs for industrial-scale aquaculture. 

FoodRise reports that seabass and seabream production in Greece has increased by 141 percent since 2000.  

But this growth, the group warns, is far from the sustainable solution it is often presented as – particularly since it depends on wild fish taken from communities thousands of kilometres away, like those in Gambia, which are already struggling with food insecurity. 

“People believe they’re eating sustainable salmon or seabass,” Manneh said. “But they don’t know what it really costs.”  

He’s calling for full transparency in global seafood supply chains – with a sharp focus on the origins of fish feed. 

“If you stole my job, you stole my future,” Manneh said. “The only option I have is to struggle – even if it costs me my life.”  

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.

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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.

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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”.

One week after a ceasefire ended Israel‘s 12-day war with Iran, the two men on Tuesday also discussed Tehran’s nuclear programme, with Macron suggesting Moscow and Paris work together to de-escalate tensions.

Fighting still raged on the ground in Ukraine more than three years after Russia’s full-scale February 2022 invasion of its neighbour sparked the war, with efforts to agree a truce at a standstill.

Ukrainian drones hit the Russian city of Izhevsk on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding dozens in one of the deepest strikes inside Russia of the conflict, authorities said.

The talks lasted for more than two hours and Macron and Putin agreed to hold more contacts on Ukraine and Iran in the future, the French presidency said.

Macron “emphasised France‘s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “called for the establishment, as soon as possible, of a ceasefire and the launch of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a solid and lasting settlement of the conflict”, said the Elysee Palace.

A Kremlin statement said Putin reminded Macron that “the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western states”.

Putin added that Western states had “for many years ignored Russia’s security interests” and “created an anti-Russian bridgehead in Ukraine”.

The Kremlin said Putin told his French counterpart that any peace deal should be “comprehensive and long-term, provide for the elimination of the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities.”

Macron had alerted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of his plans to speak with Putin, and talked to him afterwards, Macron’s office said without providing further details.

‘Coordinate efforts’ on Iran

On Iran, “the two presidents decided to coordinate their efforts and to speak soon in order to follow up together on this issue”, the French presidency added.

Macron has previously urged Iran to ease tensions by moving to “zero enrichment” of uranium in its nuclear programme.

Russia, which like France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a cordial relationship with Iran’s clerical leadership and has long urged a diplomatic solution to the standoff over the Iranian nuclear programme.

“He expressed his determination to seek a diplomatic solution that would allow for a lasting and demanding settlement of the nuclear issue, the question of Iran’s missiles and its role in the region,” the Elysee said.

The Kremlin said Putin emphasised “the lawful right of Tehran in developing a civilian” nuclear programme.

It said both presidents agreed that the conflict over Iran’s nuclear activities and other Middle Eastern conflicts should be solved “exclusively” by diplomatic means and that the two leaders would “continue contacts” on this.

Macron tried in a series of calls in 2022 to warn Putin against invading Ukraine and travelled to Moscow early that year.

He kept up phone contact with Putin after the invasion but talks then ceased, with the last call between the presidents dating back to September 2022.

Macron has over the last year toughened his line against Russia, saying its expansionism is a threat to all of Europe.

In April 2024, Russia’s then defence minister Sergei Shoigu and French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu, a close confidant of Macron, held talks focused on security in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Paris.

That was the last official high-level contact between the two countries.

Stalled peace efforts

Izhevsk, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the front line, has arms production facilities including factories that make attack drones and the Kalashnikov rifle.

A Ukraine security services source said Kyiv had targeted an Izhevsk-based drone manufacturer and that the attack had disrupted Moscow’s “offensive potential”.

Russian forces in turn struck the town of Guliaipole in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, causing “casualties and fatalities”, Ukraine’s southern defence forces said, without specifying numbers.

Macron’s call with Putin comes as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled in recent weeks.

Pressed by US President Donald Trump to find a solution, the two sides held direct talks almost a month ago but Moscow has since stepped up deadly strikes on Ukraine.

Russia’s army has ravaged parts of east and south Ukraine while seizing large swathes of territory.

An AFP analysis published Tuesday found that Russia dramatically ramped up aerial attacks in June, firing thousands of drones to pressure the war-torn country’s stretched air defence systems and exhausted civilian population.

That month, Moscow made its biggest territorial gain since November while accelerating advances for a third consecutive month, according to another AFP analysis based on data from US-based Institute for the Study of War.

But as Šefčovič prepares for the uphill task of securing a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration, tensions are already flaring on the European side – and none more so than from French President Emmanuel Macron, who has sharply criticised aggressive tariff policies as “blackmail.”

Speaking at a conference in Seville this week, Macron didn’t mince his words.

While stopping short of naming the US directly, he went close. “Barriers and tariffs, devised by the strongest, are often used as instruments of blackmail, not at all as instruments of rebalancing,” he said, calling for a more equitable global trade system.

Macron’s criticism reflects mounting European frustration with Trump’s hardball tactics, which some see as less negotiation and more coercion.

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Avoiding a trade war

Sefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission and now tasked with trying to avert a transatlantic trade war, is heading into a particularly fraught moment.

The US has given the EU until 9 July to reach a trade agreement – or face hefty new tariffs on a wide swath of European goods.

If talks collapse, tariffs on EU exports could double to 20 percent, or even reach 50 percent, according to past threats by Trump.

“The ninth of July is around the corner,” Sefcovic acknowledged in Brussels on Monday.

He’s set to hold meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, hoping to squeeze negotiations into a tight window before the US Independence Day holiday on 4 July pauses official business.

But progress so far has been limited. While both sides are reportedly working towards a framework agreement, EU diplomats say the latest US proposal was strikingly one-sided – outlining demands from Washington with little in the way of reciprocal concessions.

Sefcovic described the talks so far as “intense,” but it’s clear the EU faces a delicate balancing act.

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Time is running out

Brussels is pushing for immediate tariff relief in sensitive sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and medical technology.

These industries have been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, with new duties looming unless a deal can be struck.

EU negotiators are also demanding the rollback of existing 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were raised to 50 percent in June.

Time, however, is running short. A technical EU team is already in Washington, and Sefcovic is joined by the Commission president’s chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert.

The goal: lock in a deal that prevents further damage while safeguarding Europe’s key economic interests.

Even if an agreement is reached, Brussels is bracing for what it calls an “asymmetric” outcome – likely accepting some level of US tariffs to avoid an all-out trade war.

If talks falter, options are grim – accept a lopsided deal or prepare countermeasures.

“Bringing back a trade war and tariffs at this moment in the life of the planet is an aberration;” Macron added.

(With newswires)

French President Emmanuel Macron brought diplomatic urgency to the fore during a recent phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, urging Tehran to respect the ceasefire with Israel and resume cooperation with the IAEA.

Macron called for a return to negotiations addressing both ballistic missile and nuclear concerns, while pressing for “the swift resumption of the IAEA’s work in Iran to ensure full transparency.”

President Pezeshkian has defended Iran’s decision to halt cooperation with the IAEA, blaming what he described as the agency’s “unjustified, unconstructive, and destructive conduct.”

According to Iranian state media, Pezeshkian told Macron the IAEA’s perceived double standards had contributed to instability in the region, and that the recent parliamentary bill to suspend cooperation was a natural response to the watchdog’s behaviour.

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Claims IAEA ‘works for Mossad’

The diplomatic tensions come amid escalating rhetoric in Iran, where the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper – known for its ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – accused Grossi of acting on behalf of Israel’s Mossad and called for him to be tried and executed.

While the Iranian government has not officially endorsed the article, it has refused to condemn the rhetoric and has hardened its stance against Grossi.

On Monday, France, Germany, and the UK issued a joint statement voicing support for the IAEA and Grossi, saying, “We condemn threats against the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the Agency and the DG in carrying out their mandate.”

They urged Iran to reverse steps suspending cooperation, warning that halting inspections would undermine global non-proliferation efforts.

“We call on Iranian authorities to refrain from any steps to cease cooperation with the IAEA,” the statement continued, calling for Iran to honour its legally binding obligations.

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Restoring nuclear inspections

Grossi has not directly addressed the newspaper’s accusations, but reaffirmed that his focus remains on restoring inspector access to Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran, however, has said it cannot guarantee the safety of inspectors in the current climate.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters that with Iran’s nuclear sites recently struck by Israeli and US forces, it was “unrealistic” to expect Tehran to ensure inspector security.

“One aspect of this issue is how to ensure the safety and security of the agency’s inspectors, in a situation where there is still no accurate assessment of the severity of the damage,” he said.

He added that the IAEA had failed to condemn the attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, further justifying Tehran’s decision to curtail cooperation.

Sansal, 80, was first sentenced to five years behind bars on 27 March on charges related to undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity over comments made to a French media outlet.

The appeals court confirmed the sentence after prosecutors sought to double his jail term, a French news agency AFP journalist reported from the hearing.

Sansal was informed he has eight days to file a further appeal before Algeria‘s supreme court.

His newly appointed French lawyer, Pierre Cornut-Gentille, said he would consult with his client before deciding whether to pursue another legal challenge.

The case against him arose after he told the far-right outlet Frontières that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period from 1830 to 1962 – a claim Algeria views as a challenge to its sovereignty and that aligns with longstanding Moroccan territorial assertions.

Sansal was detained in November 2024 upon arrival at Algiers airport. On 27 March, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ( 3,160 euros).

French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal sentenced to five years in prison

‘Unacceptable’

Following the verdict, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said he hoped Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune would grant Sansal a pardon.

“Now that the sentence has been handed down, we can imagine pardon measures, particularly in view of our compatriot’s health, will be taken,” said Bayrou, calling the situation “unacceptable”.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also urged Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” to the author.

Some of Sansal’s relatives have voiced hope he could be pardoned on Saturday, the 63rd anniversary of Algeria’s independence.

Appearing in court without legal counsel on 24 June, Sansal said the case against him “makes no sense” as “the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience”.

He defended his remarks by citing the African Union’s post-independence declaration that colonial borders should remain inviolable.

When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: “Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?”

Diplomatic rift

Sansal’s family has expressed fears prison could jeopardise his health, noting he is receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

Authorities in the North African country maintain that due process is being respected.

Commenting on his health on Tuesday, Cornut-Gentille said he saw Sansal a day earlier and that “he is fine”.

The writer’s conviction further strained already tense France-Algeria relations, which have been complicated by issues such as migration and Macron’s recent recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

Last month, the French National Assembly passed a resolution calling for Sansal’s immediate release and linking future EU-Algeria cooperation to respect for human rights.

(with AFP)

Temperatures in France were expected to hit a peak on Tuesday, according to the Météo France weather agency, with the highest extreme heat warning in place in 16 departments across the country, including the Paris region.

A total of 68 others were on the second-highest level of orange.

Météo France forecast very high minimums ranging from 20-24 degrees Celsius “or slightly higher in some localised areas, and maximums reaching 36 to 40C with some peaks at 41C”.

Operators of the Eiffel Tower in Paris shut the summit of the 330-metre high landmark at 1100 GMT on Monday and said it would remain closed on Tuesday and Wednesday “due to the current heatwave”.

Access to the first and second floors remained open but operators still urged caution.

“Remember to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated. Water fountains are available in the walkways leading to the esplanade,” they said.

Regulated traffic, schools closed

Across the Ile-de-France region which includes Paris, police said all but the least polluting vehicles would be banned from the roads from 0330 GMT to 2200 GMT because of high ozone pollution levels.

Speed limits of 20 kilometres per hour would also remain in some places.

Across the country, the government said it expected nearly 1,350 schools to be partially or completely shut – nearly double the number on Monday – with teachers complaining of overheated and unventilated classrooms making students unwell.

Warnings were issued for young children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.

Scorching weather grips France as southern Europe faces first heatwave of summer

As of Tuesday, new workplace health and safety rules come into force across France to deal with heatwaves.

Employers must adapt schedules, particularly for arduous, outdoor work and adjust rest periods.

Workstations must also “be designed to cushion the effects of solar radiation and heat accumulation,” and the employer must ensure that employees have access to drinking water.

“Heatwaves are deadly,” said Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, west of London.

“We need to treat extreme heat with the same seriousness we give to dangerous storms.”

Red alerts across Europe

Mediterranean countries from the Iberian peninsula through France and Italy to the Balkans and Greece have been sweltering in a heatwave for several days, prompting health warnings and alerts about increased risk of wildfires.

Portugal will see some respite on Tuesday after two days on red alert in several regions, including Lisbon, and warnings will be downgraded to orange alert in all but eight areas inland.

But temperatures were still expected to reach 40C in the central city of Castel Branco, Beja and Evora in the south, and 34C in the capital.

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Similar temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s were forecast in Spain after they soared to 46C in the south – a new record for June, according to the national weather agency.

Red alerts have been issued for 18 Italian cities in the coming days, including Rome, Milan, Verona, Perugia and Palermo, as well as across the Adriatic on the Croatian coast and Montenegro.

Italy also experienced another type of extreme weather event on Monday when a flash flood in the northern region of Piedmont caused by heavy rains killed a 70-year-old man.

Authorities announced on Tuesday that France-Italy train travel would be suspended for “at least several days” after storms.

“We are increasingly faced with emergency situations due to weather events that we used to call exceptional but are now more and more frequent,” said the president of the region, Alberto Cirio, on social media.

The Mediterranean Sea itself recorded a new June high of 26.01C on Sunday, according to French weather service scientist Thibault Guinaldo, citing data from EU monitor Copernicus.

The risk of forest fires remains high in a number of Portuguese regions. On Monday night, some 250 firefighters were tackling a blaze in the southern Aljustrel area.

In Turkey, rescuers evacuated more than 50,000 people threatened by a string of wildfires, most from the western province of Izmir, where winds of 120 kilometres per hour fanned the blazes.

France and Greece have also been tackling wildfires.

(with AFP)

The coalition, which also brings together Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Antigua and Barbuda, said it would work to increase the number of countries taxing plane tickets, including business-class travel, and private jets.

The announcement came during a UN development conference in Spain that aims to deliver fresh impetus for a sector reeling from severe cuts to foreign aid, which have repercussions for poor countries’ battle against climate change.

The air industry is a major source of the polluting emissions that contribute to global warming, which inflicts its worst impacts on vulnerable developing countries that are least responsible.

Green groups push for ‘frequent flyer tax’ to cut France’s aviation emissions

Ahead of November’s UN climate summit in Brazil (Cop30), the French presidency said in a statement the group would work on making the aviation sector contribute more to funding climate adaptation.

The aim would be to plough at least some of the tax proceeds into “resilient investments and fair transitions” and help poorer countries raise more domestic revenue, a key factor for development, the statement added.

France, Kenya and Barbados have previously lobbied for such “solidarity levies” to raise money for climate action, suggesting taxes on shipping, fossil fuels, plastic and cryptocurrency.

Bold action needed

The group has suggested levies on flying could raise up to €187 billion ($220 billion) if they were applied across the board.

Greenpeace welcomed an “important step” to raise more money from “the most elite and polluting form of travel”, which has remained “undertaxed”.

World powers fail to reach climate targets as UN deadline passes

“Bold, cooperative action that makes polluters pay is not just fair – it’s essential,” Greenpeace’s global political lead Rebecca Newsom said in a statement.

Wealthy nations that have historically done the most to drive climate change are obliged to provide finance to help poorer countries adapt to its consequences under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Guterres told the opening of the conference in Seville that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 were “lagging” and more than $4 trillion of annual investment were needed to achieve them.

He urged nations to “change course” and “repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment” in “a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts”.

(with AFP)

Wang Yi’s tour will take him to the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels as well as France and Germany as China seeks to improve relations with the bloc as a counterweight to superpower rival the United States.

But deep frictions remain over the economy, including a massive trade deficit of €313,5 billion between China and the EU, and Beijing’s close ties with Russia despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“The world is undergoing an accelerated evolution of a century-old change, with unilateralism, protectionism and bullying behaviour becoming rampant,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday, likely referring to the United States under President Donald Trump.

In that context, Guo said, Beijing and the European bloc must “keep the world peaceful and stable, safeguard multilateralism, free trade, international rules, fairness and justice, and act firmly as anchors of stability and constructive forces in a volatile world”.

The week-long visit got underway on Monday with a gathering of the France-China Investment Dialogue, a cooperation created in 1997 by the French Chamber of Commerce to promote France-Chinese commercial ties. The meeting was sponsored by the China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS.)

Speakers included former French PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, Minister Chen Dong, the Chinese Chargé d’Affiares, and industry representatives, including Marc-Antoine Jamet, LVMH secretary general, CEO’s of Chinese pharmacy groups, and others. 

Strategic dialogue in Brussels

The second and more formal part of the visit will occur in Brussels, where Wang will meet the head of EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, for “high-level strategic dialogue”.

The trip comes ahead of expected summit of Chinese and the EU leaders later in July, to be hosted by Beijing.

In Brussels, Wang will also have talks with Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot.

In Germany, he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on diplomacy and security. It is Wang’s first visit to the country since Berlin’s new conservative-led government took power in May.

Later on in France, Wang will meet minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, who visited China last March.

As Trump imposes trade barriers, China and France seek closer ties

The war in Ukraine will likely be high on the agenda, with European leaders having been forthright in condemning what they say is Beijing’s backing for Moscow.

China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia’s more than three-year war with Ukraine.

But Western governments say Beijing’s close ties have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support, and they have urged China to do more to press Russia to end the war.

Trade tensions

Ties between Europe and China have been under pressure as the EU seeks to get tougher on what it says are unfair economic practices by Beijing.

After the European bloc placed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, China retaliated with its own duties, including on French cognac.

An agreement on cognac has been reached with Beijing but not formally approved by the Chinese commerce ministry, a source in the French economy ministry told the French press agency AFP.

How the EU’s reliance on China has exposed carmakers to trade shocks

The source said finalisation was partially linked with the EU’s ongoing negotiations over electric vehicles.

Tensions flared this month after the EU banned Chinese firms from government medical device purchases worth more than €5 million, in retaliation for limits Beijing places on access to its own market.

The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covered a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth €150 billion in the EU.

In response, China accused the European Union of “double standards”.

EU puts massive China investment deal on hold

Another sticking point has been rare earths.

Beijing has since April required licences to export these strategic materials from China, which accounts for almost two-thirds of rare earth mining production and 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.

The metals are used in a wide variety of products, including electric car batteries, and there has been criticism from industries about the way China’s licences have been issued.

China has proposed establishing a “green channel” to ease the export of rare earths to the EU, its commerce ministry said this month.

(With newswires)

The new rules, which came into effect at the weekend, prohibit smoking on beaches during bathing season, in public parks, and at bus stops during operating hours.  

Smokers are also barred from lighting up near schools, libraries, swimming pools and sports grounds. Anyone caught breaking the ban faces a fine of €135, which can rise to €750 for serious cases. 

Tonnes of waste 

Each year French smokers toss away up to 25,000 tonnes of cigarette butts – more than twice the weight of the Eiffel Tower. 

The filters are made of plastic, not cotton, and break apart into tiny fibres that leach chemicals into soil and water. 

By stopping cigarette litter at the source, the ban should make a noticeable difference, said Chris Dorsett, vice president of conservation at Ocean Conservancy. 

The US-based non-profit, which works to protect the world’s oceans, has run its International Coastal Cleanup – a global network of volunteers who collect rubbish from beaches and waterways – since 1986. 

Calls for France to follow UK with generational tobacco ban

In that time more than 63 million cigarette butts have been collected worldwide. In Europe alone, more than 320,000 were picked up from coasts and waterways last year. 

“Cigarette butts are unfortunately a problem across the globe in terms of the number we find,” Dorsett said.  

“The two big problems are that they are made up of microplastics that break down into smaller pieces and pose a problem for marine wildlife.  

“Microplastics can interfere with the digestive systems of fish species.”  

The butts also leak nicotine, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals into sand and water. According to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, a single cigarette butt can contaminate up to 500 litres of water. 

Single-use plastic 

The filters in cigarette butts are classed as single-use plastics under EU rules.  

While the EU has not banned cigarette filters outright, it does make tobacco companies pay for clean-ups under the “polluter pays” rule.  

France was the first EU country to force this cost onto the industry, but local councils still spend about €100 million each year clearing up discarded butts. 

Environmental groups say many smokers still see filters as harmless waste rather than plastic pollution – something Ocean Conservancy wants to change. 

Cigarette butts, the plastic pollution that’s hiding in plain sight

Few people realise that filters are plastic waste, said Anja Brandon, Ocean Conservancy’s director of plastics policy. 

“Many people are surprised to learn that cigarette butts are also single-use plastics. In fact, they are the most common single-use plastic found polluting beaches and waterways worldwide,” Brandon said. 

Bans can be an effective tool – especially when combined with other awareness measures, she added.

“When it comes to preventing plastic pollution, we know that bans work. A recent study that analysed plastic bag bans showed these policies lead to a 25 to 47 percent reduction in plastic bag pollution on beaches and waterways where they are implemented.” 

‘Smoke-free generation’ 

France wants to create a “smoke-free generation” by 2032 – meaning fewer than 5 percent of 18-year-olds smoking daily. The main aim of the ban is to protect children from second-hand smoke, said French Health Minister Catherine Vautrin.  

France has one of the highest smoking rates in Europe, with about 23 percent of adults lighting up every day and around 15 percent of 17-year-olds smoking regularly.  

In Paris alone, about two billion cigarette butts end up on the streets each year. Despite the “polluter pays” rule, clean-up costs remain high and awareness is still lacking.  

French smokers give up on quitting as 12 million people light up daily: study

“It’s easy to toss a cigarette butt on the beach or into the water,” Dorsett explained. “But when people know these generate microplastics, leach chemicals and that children play on the beach, that’s when we see changes in behaviour.” 

Environmental groups, however, want France to go further. Café terraces are not included in the new ban and electronic cigarettes are still allowed. 

Dorsett said he hopes France’s move will push other countries to act too.  

“When countries or municipalities have the courage to take these kinds of measures, you tend to find that others will as well,” he said. 

The Uganda Law Society raised the alarm over the “enforced disappearance” of Barnabas Tinkasiimire, a lawyer and MP, after his family told them on Sunday that he had been picked up by “heavily armed, drone-operating security operatives” at a petrol station in the capital Kampala.

Tinkasiimire’s wife said he had since been found in a suburb of the city.

“They dumped him in Namungoona in the early morning hours,” she said, adding that he went missing on Friday.

“He is alive but very weak. We have taken him for medical attention,” she said.

Tinkasiimire’s wife later told the law society that he had “torture marks on his body”, according to its vice-president, Anthony Asiimwe.

“We are concerned that a legislator and an advocate can be tortured,” Asiimwe told news agencies.

“It is disturbing and we demand that the government get to the root of what happened to him,” he added.

Ugandan opposition denounces brutal crackdown ahead of 2026 elections

Outspoken critic

Though Tinkasiimire is a member of Museveni’s ruling party, the National Resistance Movement, he has been an outspoken critic of some aspects of the president’s rule in Uganda.

In a post on social media, opposition leader Bobi Wine said Tinkasiimire “has been very critical of Museveni’s effort to impose his brutal son on our country, which his family believes is the reason he is being persecuted and held incommunicado”.

Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is the head of the Ugandan army and widely seen as the likely successor to his father.

Kainerugaba last month boasted on social media that he had kidnapped one of Wine’s aides and was torturing him in his basement.

The United Nations and several rights organisations have expressed concern about repression against opposition groups ahead of the election.

“Enforced disappearances are currently a serious problem in many parts of Uganda,” the law society said.

Kenya slammed as ‘rogue state’ over Ugandan opposition leader kidnap

Almost half a century in power

Meanwhile, Museveni has confirmed he intends to contest in next year’s presidential election, potentially extending his rule in the east African country to nearly half a century.

In a post on social media, late on Saturday, Museveni said he had “expressed my interest in running for… the position of presidential flag bearer,” for his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

The 80-year-old has been ruler of Uganda since 1986 when he seized power after leading a five-year guerrilla war.

The ruling party has changed the constitution twice in the past to allow Museveni to extend his rule, and rights activists have accused him of using security forces and patronage to maintain his grip on power. He denies the accusation.

Museveni said he is seeking reelection to grow the country to a “$500 billion economy in the next five years.” Uganda’s GDP currently stands at about $66 billion, according to the finance ministry.

The country will hold its presidential election next January, when voters will also elect lawmakers.

 (with newswires)

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, announced last week that this mission could not go ahead “until – and unless – the funds are available.”

“The situation is very worrying,” a UN employee in the DRC confirmed.

In an email sent to RFI journalists, the High Commissioner wrote that he regretted that the next stage of the process could not be completed given that voluntary contributions are down by $60 million (€51 million) this year.

The major cash crunch is caused by some countries failing to fully pay their contributions, compounded by major cuts in foreign aid by the United States under President Donald Trump.

Washington was still the institution’s largest donor last year, with a payment of $36 million (€33 million), but its contribution to the mission’s funding fell to zero as of 31 May.

Türk warned that the funding cuts to his office only “serve to consolidate the position of dictators and authoritarian leaders.”

Plagued by violence

The mission was launched in February following the adoption of a Human Rights Council resolution calling for the urgent establishment of a fact-finding mission and a commission of inquiry composed of three independent experts.

The work in eastern DRC had begun work with $1.1 million in funding from emergency reserves with an overall budget estimated at $3.9 million (€3.3 million).

The procedure aimed to “collect, gather and analyse evidence” of allegations and human rights abuses committed in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

The fact-finding mission had already resulted in the collection of “a large amount of evidence from victims and witnesses in the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, as well as other countries,” Turk, said.

The resource-rich eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for 30 years and all parties involved have committed human rights abuses, some possibly amounting to war crimes, the UN office has said.

The Congolese rebel group M23, backed by Rwanda, launched a lightning offensive at the beginning of the year, taking control of key cities Goma, followed by Bukavu, and has set up to govern the regions under its control.

Horrific crimes

The United Nations found that the M23 arbitrarily arrested police officers and large numbers of other civilians, including children during this time.  

According to witnesses, those captured were, and are, still being held in “inhumane conditions,” and many were forcibly recruited into the ranks of the M23.

The UN report also looked into cases of summary and extrajudicial killings as well as the “horrific” use of sexual violence by all parties as a means of reprisal against communities.

The evidence found by the commission can be used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court.

DR Congo and Rwanda on brink of historic US-brokered peace deal

Meanwhile, the President of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, said Monday that a peace deal with Rwanda aimed at ending the violence paves the way for “a new era of stability”.

After several attempts at negotiation, Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers inked an agreement in Washington on Friday.

The text – negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office – does not explicitly address territorial gains by the M23.

(with newswires)

The small boat had departed France early on 14 December, 2022, carrying people from Afghanistan, Albania, India and Senegal.

Four people died and four went missing after the boat capsized a few kilometres from the English coast with only one of the bodies identified – an Afghan man.

Rescuers saved 39 people from the shipwreck.

At least four migrants die, dozens rescued in latest Channel crossing tragedy

A court in the northern city of Lille sentenced three men to eight years behind bars. They included an Afghan being tried in absentia and thought to be the mastermind of the smuggling operation.

It handed the rest seven-year sentences over the disaster, including two Afghan brothers accused of financing the operation.

Another Afghan admitted to summoning passengers for the crossing, although he claimed he did it after being threatened.

The court ordered all to pay €50,000 to €100,000 in fines, and to leave French territory at the end of their sentences.

A tenth man who is being held in Belgium is to be tried at a later date.

Lucrative illegal trade

A British court has already sentenced a Senegalese minor who drove the boat to nine years in jail, French prosecutors said.

During the trial earlier this month, the prosecutor said the dinghy involved in the accident had been “completely unsuitable for navigation on high seas”.

She said the defendants had been benefitting from a “highly lucrative” illegal trade, with migrants paying on average €3,500 euros ($4,000) for the crossing.

Migrant deaths hit new record in 2024 with at least 8,938 lives lost

According to the investigation, several people heard a loud bang that sounded like the dinghy had been punctured before the departure.

The smugglers told the passengers not to worry and that the boat was the only one available for the crossing.

But the sea was rough and there were not enough life jackets for all the passengers.

Those who died were not wearing any, according to the testimony of survivors.

After one or two hours, the boat filled with water and panicked passengers stood up to get the attention of another ship.

But the hull of the capsizing boat burst under the weight of the water, throwing the passengers into the freezing sea.

Perilous journey

The 2022 accident was one of the deadliest in the Channel in recent years.

In November 2021, another deadly incident killed 27 people off the French coast, in a case that has not yet gone to court.

At least 17 people have died attempting the perilous Channel crossing from France to Britain this year, after a record 78 lost their lives last year.

As part of efforts to stem migrant crossings, French authorities intervene on land to try to prevent boats leaving.

They also intervene at sea but only to rescue passengers if a boat asks for help.

Paris says it is now considering also stopping migrant boats in its shallow coastal waters, though the move raises both safety and legal issues.

(with AFP)

French MPs from seven political parties want to fix the problem. They plan to submit a bill to the National Assembly to tackle what the Foundation calls a “social, ecological and health emergency”.

In the northern suburbs of Paris, Yasmine and her husband live on the 13th floor of an 18-storey building. Their flat is like a “boiler” because it is badly insulated.

“It’s very hot in here. We sweat a lot, so we take at least five showers a day,” Yasmine told told RFI.

“The sun comes directly into the apartment and we don’t have shutters, so we’re forced to put up blackout curtains to get a bit of shade inside,” she said.

She added that the air is very stifling. “Right now it’s 30C. But if it’s 40C outside, it’ll be 42C or even 43C inside.”

A heatwave in Europe last year killed nearly 50,000 people, the study found.

The foundation says it has warned for three years about homes that become uninhabitable for weeks each year because of extreme heat.

Heat caused nearly 50,000 deaths in Europe last year, study finds

New bill

Maïda Olivier, who works on climate and housing policy at the foundation, said many buildings do not have proper shutters.

“The building is part of the 40 percent of housing in France that doesn’t have proper shutters,” Olivier said.

“With this law, this woman, if she is a tenant, will be able to demand that her landlord install sun protection, whether it’s a private or public landlord.”

“And the law will also provide financial assistance to encourage landlords to implement these types of solutions,” she said.

People living in low-income neighbourhoods are among the most exposed to overheating homes.

The proposed law includes a year-round ban on cutting off electricity so no one is left unable to use a fan. It will also require the “summer comfort” score from the energy performance certificate to be shown in all housing ads.

Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are gathering in the city of Seville for a four-day conference opening on 30 June, to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit aid sector.

But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change.

Guterres told delegates at the opening of the conference that two-thirds of United Nations sustainable development goals set for 2030 were “lagging” and more than $4.0 trillion (€3.4 trillion) of annual investment would be needed to achieve them.

US President Donald Trump’s gutting of his country’s development agency, USAID, is the standout example.

Germany, Britain and France are also making cuts while they boost spending in areas such as defence.

International charity Oxfam says the cuts to development aid are the largest since 1960.

US grant cuts could affect two million worldwide, disrupt HIV aid in Kenya

More than 800 million people live on less than $3.0 a day, according to the World Bank, with rising extreme poverty affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular.

Disruption to global trade from Trump’s tariffs and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty.

The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres.

He urged the international community to “change course” and “repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment” in “a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts”.

A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed the delegates to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling.

Reforming international finance

Kenya’s William Ruto, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan were among prominent Global South leaders in Seville.

Among the key topics up for discussion is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that inhibits their capacity to achieve progress in health and education.

The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data.

Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South.

World Bank cuts growth forecast on trade tumult

Painstaking talks in New York in June produced a common declaration to be adopted in Seville that only went ahead after the United States walked out.

The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions.

The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion.

‘Rising global inequality’

Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called “Seville Commitment“, which is not legally binding.

But campaigners have criticised the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality.

Hundreds of demonstrators braved the sizzling heat in Seville on Sunday to demand change in international tax, debt and aid policies.

“Global South countries will never be able to decide how they want to do development if they are bound to the new colonial debt,” protester Ilan Henzler, 28, told French news agency AFP.

(with AFP)

Tehran has accused Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, of “betrayal of his duties” for not condemning the Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, and Iranian lawmakers this week voted to suspend cooperation with the agency.

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn threats against the director general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the agency,” foreign ministers Jean-Noël Barrot, Johann Wadephul and David Lammy said in a joint statement.

“We call on Iranian authorities to refrain from any steps to cease cooperation with the IAEA,” they added.

“We urge Iran to immediately resume full cooperation in line with its legally binding obligations, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of IAEA personnel.”

Excuse

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Grossi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites was “meaningless and possibly even malign in intent”.

Iran has said it believes an IAEA resolution on 12 June that accused Iran of ignoring its nuclear obligations served as an “excuse” for the war that Israel launched on 13 June and that ended with a fragile ceasefire last week.

Iran nuclear sites suffered ‘enormous damage’, IAEA chief tells RFI

Argentina, Rafael Grossi’s home country, has also slammed “threats” against him from Iran.

None specified which threats they were referring to, but Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed.

Speaking to US broadcaster CBS on Sunday, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani denied there was any threat to nuclear inspectors in Iran, insisting they were “in safe conditions” but their work was suspended.

Downplayed damage

Questions remain as to how much damage the US strikes did to Iran’s nuclear programme, with President Donald Trump and his officials insisting it had been “obliterated”.

On Sunday, however, The Washington Post reported that the United States had intercepted calls between Iranian officials who said the damage was less than expected.

That followed an early “low confidence” US military intelligence report that said the nuclear programme had been set back months, not years.

Trump says US attack ‘obliterated’ Iran nuclear sites

Israel has said Iran’s programme was delayed by years, while Tehran has downplayed the damage.

The IAEA said Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent, far above the levels needed for civilian nuclear power, although Grossi previously noted there had been no indication before the strikes that Iran was working to build an atomic weapon.

On Saturday, Grossi told CBS Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months,” despite damage.

Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own nuclear arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads.

(with AFP)

“We welcome the news that an agreement has been reached on the establishment of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which came late last night,” Erdogan said before departing for the NATO summit in The Hague.

Israel’s war on Iran had put Erdogan in a tricky spot – maintaining his hostility towards Israel without damaging his ties with Trump.

On Saturday, Erdogan slammed Israel, calling it a “terrorist state”, while warning that the war on Iran threatened to plunge the region into chaos. The speech, delivered in Istanbul at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, was just the latest in what has become an almost daily verbal assault on Israel.

But the United States bombing of Iran just a few hours after Erdogan spoke drew little reaction from Ankara beyond a short statement expressing its “concern” over the attack.

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

Words versus actions

Erdogan’s actions have also not always matched his rhetoric.The Turkish leader resisted opposition calls to close the US-operated NATO Kurecik radar base near the Iranian border.

“Turkey is not interested once again in going into conflict with America because, if you close Kurecik, then it is a NATO issue, and Israel has close relations also with NATO,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

The Kurecik radar station, Bagci said, is important to Israeli security.

“Turkey signed the acceptance (agreement) that Israel should take information from Kurecik,” Bagci added. “There is no in an article in the case of war that Turkey would not provide the information. So, this is why Erdogan, based on this fact, is not undertaking any steps against Israel.”

Earlier this month, Erdogan lobbied Baghdad not to follow Tehran’s calls to intercept Israeli warplanes using Iraqi airspace to strike Iran. All moves that are likely to play well with Trump. Erdogan values what Trump has called a “great friendship”.

The two leaders are expected to meet for the first time since Trump’s re-election on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, where Erdogan will likely be seeking an invitation to Washington.

With Turkey and Iran long-time regional rivals, competing for influence from the Caucasus to Central Asia and the Middle East, Ankara also shares the West’s concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“Turkey definitely doesn’t want a nuclear-armed Iran, because that is going to trigger a proliferation process in the Middle East,” said Serhan Afacan, head of the Center for Iranian Studies, a research organisation in Ankara.

Interim president Sharaa weighs up Ankara and Riyadh in power struggle for Syria

Refugee fears and regional risks

The United States bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities – which Washington claims has ended Tehran’s atomic programme – drew no condemnation from Ankara. But the risk of a wider conflict has raised fears of growing instability and the possibility of a refugee wave into Turkey from Iran.

Trump’s surprise move to broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel will come as a relief to Ankara, said regional expert Professor Zaur Gasimov of the German Academic Exchange Service in Istanbul. He warned the ceasefire came just as signs were emerging of a refugee exodus.

“What we see now is already now is the mobility of people within Iran, leaving Tehran and other bigger cities, going to different directions, that is a challenge for the entire region. And maybe Turkey is a country that is about to observe a refugee influx coming from Iran by the border,” said Gasimov.

He warned Ankara is likely not prepared for such an exodus.

“That is a challenge. So, Turkey is currently observing the situation with great attention, and certain answers to this challenge is not ready yet,” said Gasimov.

Azerbaijan and Turkey build bridges amid declining influence of Iran

Economic toll

Turkey, which borders Iraq and Syria, has struggled for decades with chaos on its southern frontier. It currently hosts as many as five million refugees and has paid a heavy economic price through the loss of valuable regional markets.

Ankara will likely be eyeing the potential rewards of a weakened Tehran in the long-running competition for regional influence.

“A weak Iran is good for Turkey always, but not a dead Iran,” said Bagci.

“Iran is important for connectivity. They [Iran] have many neighbours like Turkey. They are close to Russia, Central Asian republics, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, you name it. And the destabilisation of the region is in nobody’s interest.

“That is why China and Russia are very careful in their statements, and everybody is trying now for a diplomatic solution.”

How long Trump’s brokered ceasefire will last remains to be seen. But for Ankara, the hope is that wider regional chaos has been avoided – and that it has managed, at least for now, to balance its competing interests.

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!

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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. 

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This week’s quiz: On 24 May, I asked you a question about our article “EU and UK reunite in London for talks on diplomacy and defence” – that week, talks were held between France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer – after five years of rather tense relations between the two countries, following Britain’s exit from the EU in 2020.

I asked you to send in the answer to this question:  Which three issues – aside from defense and security partnerships – were also discussed – issues which are still quite politically sensitive?

The answer is: Fishing rights, food checks, and youth mobility.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Rafiq Khondaker: “What is your favorite animal, and why?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State in Nigeria, who is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Nasyr.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Debakamal Hazarika, the president of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India, as well as RFI Listeners Club members Sharifa Akter Panna from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh; Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Rodrigo Hunrichse from Ciudad de Concepción, Chile.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The overture to L’Italiana in Algerie by Giacchino Rossini, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic; “Round Midnight” by Thelonius Monk, performed by the Thelonius Monk Quartet; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and the Act I finale of L’Italiana in Algerie by Giacchino Rossini, sung by Marilyn Horne and Paolo Montarsolo with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by James Levine.

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 Alison’s article “From Goma to Cape Town, the young Congolese athlete pedalling for peace”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 21 July to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 26 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

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Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club.   

This week, we go to East Africa where Kenyans are protesting to denounce police brutality, exactly a year after a wave of protests organised against an unjust tax, that led to police violence.

This year’s protests were triggered by the killing by the police of a teacher and blogger in his cell. Albert Ojwang, 31, had been arrested for criticising a policeman online.

On Monday (23 June), Kenyan prosecutors said they were charging six people, including three police officers, with murder over his death.

To better understand the issues surrounding this incident, Spotlight on Africa podcast spoke to Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Principal Policy Analyst, Governance Department, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA).

Africa Basel 

We also head to Switzerland for a new artistic event known as Africa Basel.

This first edition of a contemporary African art fair was created to coincide with the largest fair in the world, Art Basel, in Switzerland. It was held from 17 to 22 June, with over 30 galleries and dozens of artists.

Spotlight on Africa spoke with the two co-founders of the event, as they opened the first days of the event in Basel: Benjamin Füglister, artist and cultural entrepreneur born in Switzerland, and now the director of the Africa Basel and Sarah Hachi-Duchêne, curator at unx.art.

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Cecile Pompeani.

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

Earlier this month, EU and Turkish officials met under the bloc’s Common Security and Defence Policy for the first time in three years.

The talks are part of a push to develop a more independent European defence system, amid concerns that a second Donald Trump presidency might weaken NATO’s guarantee to protect Europe.

Many see Turkey as well-placed to help meet the EU’s defence goals.

“We have huge potential for cooperation with Turkey,” said Federico Donelli, an international relations expert at Trieste University.

He pointed out that Turkey has the second-largest army in NATO, and that “many European defence systems are in some way compatible with Turkish military hardware because the majority of EU members are NATO members”.

Donelli said Turkey’s fast-growing defence sector could help the EU’s efforts to rearm.

“Turkey is one of the emerging players in the security market. One of Turkey’s key assets is producing efficiently at a lower cost compared with American or Israeli companies.”

Ankara’s expanding military

Turkey was recently admitted to the EU’s €150 billion Safety Assistance for Europe arms procurement programme.

While Turkey is not yet one of the top 10 global weapons producers, it has made major advances in certain areas. It is one of the world’s biggest producers of military drones and has developed a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.

Last year, Turkish company Repkon built a munitions factory in the United States using technology designed to speed up production.

And this month, Turkey’s drone maker Baykar signed a deal with Italy’s Leonardo to develop drones together. The deal is expected to help Baykar meet EU rules that require 65 percent of the value of any arms contract to go to an EU firm.

Sinan Ciddi, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said Turkey brings valuable assets to the table.

“Turkey has a vast ability not only to procure and manufacture but also to supply these, that’s readily available. So, on the physical side, it’s great,” said Ciddi.

Concerns over Turkish politics

But Turkey’s position on the war in Ukraine has raised eyebrows. Ankara has kept ties with both Kyiv and Moscow, and Ciddi said this creates a dilemma for the EU.

“On the political side, it puts the EU in a rather precarious position of having to rely on a country like Turkey simply because, you know, Turkey has been playing both sides of this conflict, so it’s a double-edged sword,” he said.

Greece and Cyprus are also worried about closer defence ties between the EU and Turkey. Both have territorial disputes with Ankara.

While relations between Athens and Ankara have improved, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis insists that any defence deal with Turkey must include a clear promise to drop threats of war.

Turkey has said for 30 years it might use force if Greece extends its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea. Athens says it has a legal right to do so under a UN maritime convention.

Turkey has rejected the demand, saying the issue should be resolved through talks. Mitsotakis is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of this month’s NATO summit.

Greek, Cypriot objections sidelined

Greece and Cyprus still have veto powers in the EU and have used them against Turkey in the past. But Federico Donelli said Russia’s actions have changed the mood in Europe.

“Nowadays, I think the priority of European countries – and the European Union as a whole – is more important than any concerns from Cyprus and Greece,” said Donelli.

“I don’t think they will be able to halt this process,” he added. “Honestly, the priority for European countries is security: to increase production and to cooperate with all actors who can help in the defence sector.”

In a move widely seen as a way to get around Greek and Cypriot opposition, the EU has now made decisions on arms procurement subject to majority voting.

Even so, Greece and Cyprus could still slow things down diplomatically. But with France and Germany pushing hard to boost Europe’s defences, deeper ties with Turkey are likely to move ahead.

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 17 May, I asked you about the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival, which opened that week.  RFI English journalist Ollia Horton was there, and I asked you a question about her article “Ukraine, Gaza and #MeToo in the spotlight as Cannes Film Festival opens”. You were to send in the names of the three documentaries about the Ukraine conflict – as well as the names of the filmmakers – that were screened on the opening day.

The answer is: Zelensky, made by Yves Jeuland, Lisa Vapné, and Ariane Chemin; Notre Guerre (“Our War”) by Bernard-Henri Lévy and co-director Marc Roussel, and 2,000 metres to Andriivka by Mstyslav Chernov and Alex Babenko.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Khondaker Rafiq Ul from Naogaon, Bangladesh: “What was your happiest moment in your radio – or your DXing – history?”

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Paresh Hazarika, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India, and RFI Listeners Club members Ataur Rahman Ranju, the president of the Alokito Manush Cai International Radio Listeners Club in Rangpur, Bangladesh, and Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India. Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Rabiul Awal from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Gente Humile” by Garota, played by Baden Powell; “Stairway to Heaven” by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, played by Tetiana Mazur and Serhii Shamra; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Cities in Dust” by Susan Ballion, Peter Edward Clarke and Steven Severin, performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

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 “Togo suspends French broadcasters RFI, France 24 for three months”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 14 July to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 19 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.   

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

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club.   

Madhya Pradesh is often referred to as the Heart of India. Located right in the middle of the country, the Indian region shows everything India has to offer through its abundant diversity. The IFTM trade show, which took place in Paris at the end of September, presented the perfect opportunity for travel enthusiasts to discover the region.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board, sat down to explain his approach to sustainable tourism.

“Post-covid the whole world has known a shift in their approach when it comes to tourism. And all those discerning travelers want to have different kinds of experiences: something offbeat, something new, something which has not been explored before.”

Through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shukla wants to showcase the deep history Madhya Pradesh has to offer.

“UNESCO is very actively supporting us and three of our sites are already World Heritage Sites. Sanchi is a very famous buddhist spiritual destination, Bhimbetka is a place where prehistoric rock shelters are still preserved, and Khajuraho is home to thousand year old temples with magnificent architecture.”

All in all, Shukla believes that there’s only one way forward for the industry: “Travelers must take sustainable tourism as a paradigm in order to take tourism to the next level.”

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

Also known as the Land of the Beautiful Islands, Malaysia’s landscape and cultural diversity is almost unmatched on the planet. Those qualities were all put on display at the Malaysian stand during the IFTM trade show.

Libra Hanif, director of Tourism Malaysia, explained the appeal of the country as well as the importance of promoting sustainable tourism today: “Sustainable travel is a major trend now, with the changes that are happening post-covid. People want to get close to nature, to get close to people. So Malaysia being a multicultural and diverse [country] with a lot of natural environments, we felt that it’s a good thing for us to promote Malaysia.”

Malaysia has also gained fame in recent years, through its numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Kinabalu Park and the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley.

Green mobility has also become an integral part of tourism in Malaysia, with an increasing number of people using bikes to discover the country: “If you are a little more adventurous, we have the mountain back trails where you can cut across gazetted trails to see the natural attractions and the wildlife that we have in Malaysia,” says Hanif. “If you are not that adventurous, you’ll be looking for relaxing cycling. We also have countryside spots, where you can see all the scenery in a relaxing session.”

With more than 25,000 visitors at this IFTM trade show this year, Malaysia’s tourism board got to showcase the best the country and its people have to offer.

In partnership with Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. For more information about Malaysia, click here.