Emerging nations, which represent about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output, are set to unite over “serious concerns” about US import tariffs, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP.

Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties. His latest salvo comes in the form of letters informing trading partners of new tariff rates that will soon enter into force.

The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name. But it is a clear political shot directed at Washington from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules,” the draft text says.

It warns that such measures “threaten to further reduce global trade” and are “affecting the prospects for global economic development.”

Xi no show 

Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power.

But the two-day summit’s political punch will be depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.

“I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi’s absence,” said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.

“The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,” said Hass.

The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.

Hass said Putin’s non-attendance and the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a guest of honour in Brazil could also be factors in Xi’s absence.

“Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,” who will receive a state lunch, he said. “I expect Xi’s decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.”

Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.

In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run.

Conflict resolution

Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the BRICS countries were divided over how to respond to the wars in Gaza and between Iran and Israel.

Iranian negotiators were pushing for a tougher collective stance that goes beyond referencing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state and for disputes to be resolved peacefully.

But one diplomatic source said the text would give the “same message” that BRICS delivered in June when Iran was being bombed by Israel and the United States, expressing “concern.”

Finally, Brazil’s president insisted the world must act to stop what he described as an Israeli “genocide” in Gaza.

“We cannot remain indifferent to the genocide carried out by Israel in Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians and the use of hunger as a weapon of war,” he told leaders from China, India, and other nations.

His comments came as Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha, and as pressure mounted to end the 22-month war, which began with Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks.

Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit.

Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, by Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

  (with newswires)

“The gate was locked but they forced themselves in. They were attacking and robbing guys, saying: ‘You are planning protests here’,” the journalist said.

The press conference was being held ahead of Monday’s “Saba Saba Day“, an annual commemoration of pro-democracy protests in the 1990s, that this year coincides with large-scale demonstrations against police brutality and poor governance.

Women’s Collective Kenya, a grassroots rights movement, had helped organise the press conference to call for “an immediate end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of their children for taking to the streets”.

But the meeting had yet to start when the gang of around 20 people attacked, some armed with sticks, forcing many to flee for safety.

“Armed goons have attacked offices of the Kenya Human Rights Commission,” the Women’s Collective posted on social media.

Armed “goons”, as they are widely known in Kenya, have been deployed to attack protesters in recent weeks.

Violence erupts in Kenya as ‘goons’ attack protesters over death in police custody

Protesters marching against police violence on 17 June in Kenya were attacked by hundreds of men on motorbikes armed with whips and clubs.

AFP journalists at the scene saw them working with the apparent protection of police, and some openly said they had been paid by local government leaders.

At least 19 people died on 25 June as another day of protests turned violent, with thousands of businesses looted and destroyed.  

There is deep resentment against President William Ruto over economic stagnation and corruption, and anger has been fuelled by police killings and dozens of illegal detentions since large-scale protests first broke out in June 2024. 

 (AFP)

The African book industry, from authors to distributors and publishers, represents 5.4 percent of the global publishing industry, according to a new report from Unesco – which found that African literature has a growing influence around the world.

The report – which covers the 54 Unesco member states in Africa – demonstrates that this potential is largely underexploited, and examines solutions to increase publishing on the continent.

“The African Book Industry: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Growth” reports that the continent has all the means to develop a lucrative sector that would create jobs.

There are 6,400 publishers in Africa, publishing 86,000 titles per year on average. The continent is home to 8,000 public libraries, 270 annual book festivals and fairs, and 200 professional publishing associations.

Current trends include an increase in formats such as comics and graphic novels, a new focus on publishing for children and young people, and African books being made into films.

Africa has also seen rapid growth in digital reading. “Over the past years, we’ve seen a big push on digital platforms, and particularly in young publishers going this way,” Caroline Munier, culture programme specialist at Unesco, told RFI. “This can play a transformative role”.

Untapped potential

The African book industry is currently worth $7 billion, but according to Unesco has the potential to reach $18bn in revenue.

This includes $13bn from school books, thanks to the continent’s 329 million pupils. School publishing is already the most lucrative segment of the African market, accounting for 70 percent.

Another notable trend is the increase in publishing in local languages. “It’s still weak, but over the past decades, a lot of local publishers have emerged and have tried to put the focus on the local and indigenous languages beyond the official, foreign languages like French, English and Portuguese,” Munier said. “And this is growing.”

Senegal celebrates pioneer of African history Cheikh Anta Diop

Currently the majority of books sold on the continent are imported, and written in English, French or Portuguese – even though Africans use more than 2,000 local languages.

Continental heavyweights, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, are able to supply books to national and regional markets, but other countries are struggling to do so, which explains why Africa as a whole remains largely dependent on book imports, to the detriment of its linguistic diversity.

As a result, millions of children are growing up without access to books in the language they speak at home. Unesco warns this is holding back literacy, education and the telling of local stories, and is encouraging publication in local languages. The UN cultural body is also supporting efforts to build reading and community centres and public libraries, particularly in rural areas.

Unesco recommendations

However, local publishers face an uphill battle. Printing costs are high, public support is limited and global companies dominate the lucrative educational market.

The legal framework regarding copyright, which is either poorly enforced or non-existent in many countries, also ranks among the obstacles to faster growth. The situation is similar regarding the ISBN system, which allows books to be traced – and publishing houses and distributors lack the financial support to strengthen these systems.

For Souleymane Gueye, a bookseller and publisher in Senegal, who founded the Saaraba publishing house dedicated to African literature, distribution is the weakest link in the chain. 

“Today, books are published here, but how do we ensure that readers who need them 200 kilometres from the publishing area can access them?” he told RFI. “Every book industry player, every point of sale, manages on their own and finds informal solutions.” 

‘Towering giant of Kenyan letters’ author Ngugi wa Thiong’o dies aged 87

The Unesco report calls for action in three main areas: the reinforcement of institutional and legislative frameworks; building a strong domestic market in each country, including increasing the production of textbooks and children’s books, and the expansion of readership and access to books. 

Recommendations for achieving the latter include investing in public libraries, increasing the number of bookstores and supporting digital publishing platforms. 

“Because without readers,” said Munier, “you don’t have a book industry.”

Geographically, the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean is made up of four islands: Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mohéli and Mayotte. The first three gained independence from France in 1975, but Mayotte remained under French control – a status that Comorian authorities have never accepted.

Bound by historical, cultural, economic and family ties, many Comorians consider the return of Mayotte a national cause. “Mayotte is Comorian,” successive governments have insisted. Yet critics argue that the Comorian leadership has grown too conciliatory towards Paris.

The rift dates back to a 1974 referendum in which France asked the Comorian people whether they wanted independence. Nearly 95 percent of voters across the archipelago said yes, but more than 63 percent of Mayotte’s electorate voted against it.

How overseas Mayotte became ‘a department apart’ within France

Despite objections from the United Nations, which urged France not to break up the archipelago, in line with international law, the French government claimed the right to keep Mayotte. 

Until 2009, Mayotte had the hazy status of “collectivité d’outre-mer” (overseas collectivity), but in a 2009 referendum it voted overwhelmingly to become France’s 101st department. 

‘Now is the time’

“Some Mahorans don’t even know the Comoros,” Houmed Msaïdié, a former minister and presidential adviser on political affairs, told RFI. “Fifty years have passed. Now is the time. We want serious dialogue with France, but above all, with our brothers in Mayotte. Our goal is clear: territorial integrity.”

Despite strong backing from the African Union and the United Nations – both of which recognise Mayotte as part of the Comoros – the issue has faded from the international stage as Paris and Moroni have strengthened economic and development ties.

Why are people being driven from the postcard paradise of the Comoros?

Dr Mohamed Monjoin, president of the pro-reunification Comité Maore, is critical of the current diplomatic approach. “Bilateral dialogue has failed,” he says. “Moroni must bring Mayotte back to the UN General Assembly. That hasn’t happened in 30 years.”

As the Comoros celebrates half a century of sovereignty, many view this independence as incomplete without Mayotte – a freedom still awaiting its final chapter.

This article was adapted from the original version in French.

The Dalai Lama’s statement, published on 2 July, affirming that he will have a successor is crucial for Tibetans, many of whom had feared a future without a leader – as well as for Buddhists around the world and global supporters who see the him as a symbol of non-violence, compassion and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule.

He and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.

Tenzin Gyatso, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, had previously said the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue only if there was popular demand. He confirmed on Wednesday that he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from the Tibetan diaspora and from Buddhists from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China “earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue”.

Vincent Metten, EU policy director with the NGO the International Campaign for Tibet, spoke about the significance of the Dalai Lama’s decision. 

Vincent Metten: The Dalai Lama in 2011 made the statement, saying that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office of the Dalai Lama, has the authority to decide on the next reincarnation. But he hadn’t decided yet that the institution will continue. So, this is a step forward that he has taken now.

He has made this decision based on requests made by different people, including Tibetans inside Tibet, and he has received a lot of calls, appeals and comments from the diaspora as well to ensure that the institution would go on. This is relevant because since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 and the occupation of Tibet, Beijing is controlling the religious institution in Tibet. 

‘Colonial’ China accused of depriving Tibetans of their own language, education

So, by making the statement, the Dalai Lama is telling Beijing that it is not up to them to decide who the next Dalai Lama is, but to the Tibetan Buddhist community and to [his] office to decide in the future.

RFI: Can you elaborate on the selection process of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama?

The authority to decide on the future and the next, the 15th, Dalai Lama, is under the responsibility of his office, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, which is based in Dharamsala [India]. This body will consult religious representatives from different schools, and they will decide who the next Dalai Lama will be.

The Dalai Lama has indicated that, in view of the situation in Tibet, if he is to be reborn it will not be in China, but it will be abroad in a democratic and free country. 

How is that logical? Assuming that people believe in a universal Buddhist spirit, how would it care about whatever political structure is in place? 

The Dalai Lama has the ability to decide how, when and if he will or will not reincarnate. So that’s his competence, [his] responsibility. That’s how it has always been. It is the Dalai Lama who decides if he wants to transfer his energy to another person. It can be also during his lifetime. Or it can be after his lifetime.

Of course, Beijing has very different views on this. They claim that reincarnated Lama should be endorsed and approved by the state and by the Chinese Communist Party. And we have seen that there are already interferences by the Chinese state on the reincarnation of a previous Lama. And a very obvious example is the Panchen Lama.

In 1995, the Chinese kidnapped the Panchen Lama’s reincarnation, then a six-year-old child. With that, they have cut this important link and connection between the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. It was a very strong attack on the Tibetan Buddhist institution. Today, there is no information, no information at all. Nobody has ever access to him. And the Chinese claim he is living a happy life and does not want to be disturbed. 

Despite 70 years of Chinese oppression, Tibet continues to resist

And what is the Tibetan response to the Panchen Lama, who was appointed by Beijing?

Beijing uses him, sometimes he goes to some Tibetan areas. He is being promoted, he has some political role. But he’s not recognised by the Tibetans, he’s not seen as the real and legitimate successor of the 10th Panchen Lama. So the Tibetans don’t buy into that and reject the one selected by the Chinese.

What are the possible consequences if, as expected, there will be two rival Dalai Lamas, one recognised by Beijing and the other by the Tibetan community in exile?

That there will be two different Dalai Lamas – one legitimate and one which is [a] fake or Chinese Dalai Lama – plays into a political strategy from Beijing to try to control the institution and further control society and religion within Tibet. But the Tibetans will not recognise this Chinese Dalai Lama, they will only recognise the legitimate one. So Tibetans and the international community will not buy into that. 

How do you think Beijing will react to the plan announced by the Dalai Lama to have a succession process take place outside China?

They have already made it clear that it’s up to the Chinese Communist regime to decide, that they have the authority to decide [and] that any other process should be rejected by Beijing.

It’s absurd for an atheist Communist regime to say that they have the pretension to be the one who decides who should be the next Dalai Lama.

Uyghurs, Tibetans urge France to tackle human rights with Chinese president

How important is the role of the Tibetan diaspora in safeguarding the continuity and legitimacy of Tibetan leadership?

The Dalai Lama [gave] up his political power some years ago and transferred it to the elected Central Tibetan Administration. There is a community of around 150,000 Tibetans abroad – mainly in India and Nepal, but also in Australia, in Europe and in the United States. They vote for their political representatives based in Dharamsala.

They work to explain what is happening in terms of human rights in Tibet, where the Chinese have imposed assimilation policies which are very destructive [to] Tibetan culture and identity.

Most of the 6 million Tibetans live in [Chinese-ruled] Tibet, where there is also some resilience. Tibetans are contesting Chinese policies and the fact that the Dalai Lama is abroad. There have been many cases of self-immolation since 2009, to denounce Beijing’s policies and the lack of freedom.

The role of the community in exile is important also because they have the ability to speak, to inform the world about what’s going on. 

France is home to one of the largest Tibetan communities in Europe, numbering between 8,000 and 10,000. What role does that community play in the broader network and the Free Tibet Movement?

They play an important role and demonstrate on a regular basis. They started a lawsuit against the Musée Guimet – which is not using the name “Tibet” anymore in its exhibitions, but “The Himalayan World” – to try and convince them to change this decision, because it’s diluting the Tibetan identity.

The sheriff’s office in Kerr County, Texas said more than 800 people had been evacuated from the region as flood waters receded in the area around the Guadalupe River, about 85 miles (137 km) northwest of San Antonio.

“We will not stop until every single person is found,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference.

At least 23 to 25 people from the Camp Mystic summer camp were missing, most of them reported to be young girls. The river waters rose 29 feet rapidly near the camp.

The US National Weather Service said that the flash flood emergency has largely ended for Kerr County, the epicentre of the flooding, following thunderstorms that dumped as much as a foot of rain early on Friday. A flood watch, however, remained in effect until 7pm for the broader region.

Kerr County sits in the Texas Hill Country, a rural area known for its rugged terrain, historic towns and other tourist attractions.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said up to 500 rescue workers were searching for an unknown number of people who were still missing, including many who had come to the area for an Independence Day celebration by the river.

“We don’t know how many people were in tents on the side, in small trailers by the side, in rented homes by the side, because it was going to be the Fourth of July holiday,” he said on Fox News Live.

US President Donald Trump said the federal government is working with state and local officials to respond to the flooding. “Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best,” he said on social media.

Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, the county seat, told reporters on Friday that the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing advance evacuation orders as the Guadalupe River swiftly rose above major flood stage in less than two hours.

State emergency management officials had warned as early as Thursday that west and central Texas faced heavy rains and flash flood threats, citing National Weather Service forecasts ahead of the holiday weekend.

The forecasts, however, “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told a news conference on Friday night.

The weekend disaster echoes a catastrophic 1987 Guadalupe River flood in which 10 teenagers drowned when trying to leave a church camp, according to the National Weather Service.

 (Reuters)

A day after asking his followers on his X platform whether a new US political party should be created, Musk declared in a post on Saturday that “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote.

The announcement from Musk comes after Trump signed his self-styled “big, beautiful” tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which Musk fiercely opposed.

Musk, who became the word’s richest man thanks to his Tesla car company and his SpaceX satellite firm, spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s re-election and led the Department of Government Efficiency from the start of the president’s second term aimed at slashing government spending.

The first sign of investor dissatisfaction with Musk’s announcement 

followed later in the day. Investment firm Azoria Partners will postpone the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund, Azoria CEO James Fishback said in a post on X.

Fishback is asking Tesla’s board to clarify Musk’s political ambitions and said the new party undermines the confidence shareholders had that he would be focusing more on the company after leaving government service in May.

Musk said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill.

Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk’s companies receive from the federal government.

Republicans have expressed concern that Musk’s on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

Asked on X what was the one thing that made him go from loving Trump to attacking him, Musk said: “Increasing the deficit from an already insane $2T under Biden to $2.5T. This will bankrupt the country.”

There was no immediate comment from Trump or the White House on Musk’s announcement.

The feud with Trump, often described as one between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful, has led to several precipitous falls in Tesla‘s share price.

The stock soared after Trump’s November reelection and hit a high of more than $488 in December, before losing more than half of its value in April and closing last week out at $315.35.

Despite Musk’s deep pockets, breaking the Republican-Democratic duopoly will be a tall order, given that it has dominated American political life for more than 160 years, while Trump’s approval ratings in polls in his second term have generally held firm above 40 percent, despite often divisive policies.

 (Reuters)

France is falling behind on its climate promises as extreme weather claims lives, hits food supply chains and strains public budgets, the country’s top climate advisory council warned on Thursday.

In its annual report, the High Council for the Climate (HCC) painted a bleak picture of France’s fight to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Political instability and stop-start funding are holding back the changes needed to adapt to a fast-warming world, it said.

France’s climate plan has “stalled” this year, the HCC added, blaming a lack of clear leadership and poor coordination between government ministries.

“Is there still a pilot on this plane while the turbulence is getting worse?” the report asked. The HCC, created in 2018, was renewed for five years last year.

It comprises 12 independent experts and is chaired by Jean-François Soussana, an agronomist and the vice-president of France’s national research institute for agriculture and the environment.

Europe is world’s fastest-heating continent, report warns

France warming faster than average

The council’s seventh annual report landed during a heatwave that has swept across France and the rest of Europe – the fastest-warming continent. It shows the country is not on track to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and that it is heating up faster than the global average.

Over the last 10 years, mainland France has warmed by 2.2°C. If the global average rises by 1.5°C, on the current trajectory that will means a rise of around 2°C for France.

If the world reaches 2°C, France could see 2.7°C, and a global rise of 3°C would mean a 4°C rise in France, the HCC said.

France rolls out plan to prepare for 4C temperature rise by end of century

It warned that the occurrence of heatwaves could triple in the next five years, and become five times more common by 2050 compared with the late 20th century.

Pointing to the consequences of rising temperatures, the report said: “In recent years, impacts have reached levels never seen before.”

In 2024, heat caused more than 3,700 deaths during the summer in France. Cereal harvests fell to their lowest in 40 years. The cost of floods last winter reached €615 million.

Cuts in emissions too slow

Although France did meet its second carbon budget, from 2019 to 2023, progress has declined sharply since then. France’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 6.7 percent between 2022 and 2023, but only dropped 1.8 percent between 2023 and 2024.

Next year’s drop is likely to be just 1.3 percent – a figure which needs to be doubled to reach the 2030 target.

The building sector, which contributes 15 percent of emissions, needs to cut emissions nine times faster than it currently does. But sales of gas boilers rose by 15 percent this year, while sales of heat pumps have fallen by 40 percent.

The waste sector has increased its emissions, and must cut them by a factor of 29.

The HCC also said that only one third of emissions cuts came from climate policies this year, with the rest due to temporary factors such as increased nuclear energy, fewer cattle, a mild winter and good rainfall which benefited hydropower.

Global warming accelerating at ‘unprecedented’ pace, study warns

Policy rollbacks

“The strengthening of existing policies would help restart the drop in emissions,” the HCC wrote. But this will need “strong political support” and steady funding, both of which were lacking last year.

The council listed a series of rollbacks: social leasing for electric cars was paused, support for home insulation was cut, low-emission zones were scrapped and rules to protect soil from construction were weakened.

Agriculture too remains a sticking point. The HCC said the French government’s response to farmers’ protests at the start of the year had weakened efforts to cut farm emissions.

“The political response to the farmers’ protests has slowed the sector’s agro-ecological transition,” the report said, adding that new laws risk locking agriculture into high-emission models instead of shifting to greener, more sustainable methods.

Threatened by climate change, France’s forests need billions of euros to adapt

Key plans delayed

In addition, France’s climate plans are behind schedule. The third National Adaptation Plan came out in March but the new Low Carbon Strategy will not be ready before the end of this year, while the new energy plan is expected by the end of summer.

“Without these, France risks missing its 2030 and 2050 targets,” the HCC warned. Diane Strauss, a member of the council and an expert on transport and energy, said: “Government uncertainty weighs on the survival of public policies.”

France’s main planning office for climate action, the SGPE, lost its head in February. Antoine Pellion, who had led the office since it was set up in 2022, resigned over cuts to green policies and lack of political support.

EU confirms 90 percent emissions cut by 2040, with some concessions

Public trust at risk

The Climate Action Network, which brings together 40 environmental groups, released its own list of “more than 43 environmental rollbacks” by the government or parliament over the last six months.

It added a 44th when President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to revisit the EU’s goal to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2040. “Where is the compass of the French government?” the group asked.

Soussana warned that climate policies must benefit everyone to maintain public support, as climate change worsens social divides.

“There is a temptation to polarise the debate on climate and ecology, which could threaten targets and budgets,” he said. “Some people feel policies have not helped everyone equally, so there is some support for tearing them down. But all French people suffer during heatwaves, so we need policies that help everyone.”

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. 

At 20, Ousmane’s future should be unfolding. Instead, he spends his days at a drug point in Grey Bush – a ghetto in the capital Freetown – hunting for money for his next dose of kush.

“This drug, honestly, it makes me angry at my country,” he tells RFI. “Look at how it destroys young people like us. It makes us eat rotten food. A young person like me, in another country, I’d already have a car and a roof. But here, I’m just running around, looking for money to smoke.”

Young people, looking dazed, gather at these so-called “cartels”, exchanging crumpled notes. They smoke, then collapse.

“I lost my whole family since I started smoking in 2018,” said 23-year-old Ramadam. “Back then we bought two doses for 5,000 leones [€0.19]. Now it’s 20,000 for one. Jagaban is the strongest kind, it knocks you out. Even I can’t stay on my feet.”

‘Now we’re trapped’

A synthetic cocktail, kush is usually made from marshmallow leaves soaked in industrial chemicals. It is increasingly mixed with nitazenes – opioids up to 25 times stronger than fentanyl, according to a recent report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.

Kush first appeared in Sierra Leone in the early 2020s and quickly spread across Liberia, Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. The report said kush is likely behind thousands of deaths in West Africa.

Cheap to produce and highly addictive, the Sierra Leonean government declared kush a public health emergency in April 2024, but the drug keeps spreading – overwhelming families, police and the fragile healthcare system.

Its hold goes beyond physical craving. “If I don’t smoke for two or three hours,” Ousmane said, “my bones hurt, I can’t sit, I can’t stand. But if I smoke, I get energy to hustle and then all I want is another dose.”

The young men describe a cycle of hunger, addiction and poverty. “We didn’t ask for this drug,” Ousmane adds. “We were just smoking marijuana. Then they came into the ghetto and said: ‘Try this, it’s better.’ So we tried it just once, and now we’re trapped.”

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Detox treatment  

Calling the crisis a national emergency in April 2024, President Julius Maada Bio promised centres in every district with trained professionals to offer “care and support to people with drug addiction”.

The government recently opened its second official detox centre on a military base in the southern city of Bo, where 50 young men, most under 25, are undergoing four weeks of treatment.

Before entering the centre, residents say goodbye to their families. “I want him to change, to have a goal,” said one mother. “Please, let him become a new man.”

Kneeling down, her son said: “I want to reassure her that after this cure, I’ll be the man she expected me to be.”

Kush addiction is tearing families apart.

“I’m exhausted. I’ve suffered so much. And he’s suffering too,” said Sidora, a single mother and police officer, as she dropped off her 20-year-old son.

She described how he has lived on the streets, disappeared for days and stolen from her to feed his addiction.

As a family support officer with the Sierra Leonean police, she sees similar stories every day. “We get parents who come to report their kids. They’re being robbed by their own children for drug money. We investigate and we take them to court.”

Despite the pain, she refuses to give up on her son. “I know I’m not the only one. This is a national problem,” she said.

Synthetic drug ‘kush’ ravages Sierra Leone’s young

Community support

“Over the last four years, I’ve seen a drastic rise [in kush use]; it’s often due to stress, depression, no jobs,” said Joseph Santigie Bangoura, Dropping Center Manager of Social Linkages for Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL).

He puts the number of young kush addicts at between 6,000 and 7,000, meaning there are “far too few detox centres”.

Faced with the inadequate care, communities are filling the gaps. In Grey Bush, locals have built an informal detox shelter next to a known kush spot.

“See that sign? ‘No smoking’ – that’s our number one rule. No fighting either,” said Nabiu Musa Samuel, who runs the shelter’s community kitchen.

“We talk to them, give them encouragement, share what food we can. This community used to have bright students, now our youth is washing away. Businesses are closing. We’d like to do more, but it’s all we can do.”

Nearby, Souleymane cares for a man with kush-induced lesions. He shows a photo of an open wound exposing the young man’s bones. “That’s from jagaban – the stronger kind of kush. They can’t even walk,” the careworker says.

“Some people say we’re crazy for helping, that we must be users too,” said Ali, another volunteer. “But these are our brothers. We can’t pretend they don’t exist.”

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‘Drug is everywhere’

The Global Initiative report said kush is part of a well-organised supply chain. Chemicals, often ordered from China or Europe on sites like Alibaba, are smuggled into Sierra Leone hidden in food containers or sent by courier.

Local “cooks” prepare the drug, which is sold at hundreds of “cartels”.

“We make kush from marshmallow leaves, add products that come through the port. Some make it milder, some stronger,” said Michael, who runs a kush point near an abandoned construction site at funkia fishing port.

“We have problems with police, sometimes we pay them off, sometimes we run, sometimes they take our drugs.”

Despite police raids, the trade not only survives but spreads.

“The drug is everywhere, even in the police and army… soldiers, students, teachers, they’re all using it,” said Isata Bridget Kallon, one of Sierra Leone’s few social workers focusing on addiction.

“Kush is destroying everything we rebuilt after the war.”

The country still bears the scars of its 10-year civil war. Average annual income was just €423 in 2022, said the World Bank, and its 8.4 million population faces high prices and mass unemployment.

Unless young people find better opportunities the fight against kush will be lost, Bangoura warns.

“After rehab, their bodies are clean. But then what? Many have no home so they go back on the streets. And they relapse. That’s the problem.”

This article was based on an audio report in French by Liza Fabbian, adapted by Alison Hird.

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.

“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.”

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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.

The women carrying the burden of Kenya’s rural healthcare on their backs

‘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.

Luis Enrique’s side beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta with just nine men at the end after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several good saves to help the French treble winners progress to the final four, where they will meet a familiar face in Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.

Captain Marquinhos said his team’s mentality was vital to keep adding silverware to their trophy cabinet.

“It was a game that taught us lessons, a game that brought us out of our comfort zone,” the Brazilian defender told reporters.

“(It showed) the mentality of our group, it’s something we talk about a lot, winning is very hard and to keep winning is even harder.

“That’s our mentality today, to show we are always hungry, that we always want to go further.”

Enrique explained that his team’s work over the past year has contributed to their growing resilience.

“This goes back to the season that we played, we suffered together… we displayed a true team spirit,” said the Spaniard.

“We may win, we may lose, we may have a draw, but our attitude, our actions are there.”

PSG won the Champions League for the first time in their history in May after a tricky run to the final, including a last-16 triumph over Liverpool on penalties.

Donnarumma was the hero as they dug deep at Anfield in March and ousted Arne Slot’s side, who were among the favourites to win the trophy.

“We even went to Liverpool looking for a result — you need a very good mentality. Today again, with two fewer men, we were all together on the pitch, defending as a team, helping each other out there,” said Marquinhos.

“When the (first) red card happened I looked at my team-mates and I saw they were pumped up to defend together.

“We talked to each other, we said we’ll defend, we won’t concede goals, this game is ours and we’ll defend hard to the end.

“I knew nothing would happen — we said that our team is very strong in this moment… it doesn’t matter what happens, mentally we’re ready.”

In fact, with PSG down to nine men and leading through Desire Doue’s goal, they held off Bayern and added a second through Ousmane Dembele.

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‘At all times’   

The Parisians also impressed against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals, resisting Mikel Arteta’s side in the first leg to claim a hard-fought 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

They fell two goals down in the Coupe de France semi-final against Dunkerque, before bouncing back to win 4-2 on the way to claiming the trophy.

Enrique said his squad had a “great ability” to manage difficult moments after that Cup win in April, and the coach again praised his team for their strength to hold on against Bayern.

“It’s a team that has resilience, our supporters, they have great resilience,” said Enrique.

“We are a team that is ready to compete at all times, no matter the result.”

Marquinhos said the former Spain and Barcelona coach’s work was a key reason for the club’s mental strength improving.

Previous PSG sides have been littered with star names but lacked the nous and grit to triumph on the biggest occasions.

“The key is our coach, he has brought his philosophy, he’s brought with him his mentality, he has prepared the team very well from the first day he arrived,” said Marquinhos.

“He was looking to improve the team mentally, to be ready for everything that can happen in a game…

“We went through it all this season, bad moments in which we didn’t get results, when we played well but didn’t score.”

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany recalled the excessive criticism of Luis Enrique after the Germans edged PSG 1-0 in the Champions League first round in November.

However, after they overcame that hardship among others to dominate Europe, hammering Inter Milan in the most one-sided final in the competition’s history, few would bet against them going on to conquer the world.

 (AFP)

The agreement signed last week calls for Rwandan troops to withdraw within 90 days from eastern Congo, where the United Nations says they are supporting M23 rebels who seized the region’s two largest cities earlier this year.

Rwanda denies helping M23 and says its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo’s army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Kagame told reporters in Kigali that Rwanda was committed to implementing the deal, but that it could fail if Congo did not live up to its promises to neutralise the FDLR.

“If the side that we are working with plays tricks and takes us back to the problem, then we deal with the problem like we have been dealing with it,” Kagame said.

He said he was grateful for the involvement of US President Donald Trump’s administration in mediation efforts.

“If it doesn’t work, they aren’t the ones to blame,” Kagame said.

There was no immediate response from Congo which has regularly accused Rwanda of being the aggressor.

Kagame’s remarks were his first in public since 6 June. He was not seen attending events from then until 24 June and there was no activity on the presidency’s usually busy social media accounts during that time.

His absence led to speculation among Rwandan dissidents based outside the country about his health. David Himbara, a former Kagame adviser turned critic living in Canada, said repeatedly on social media that Kagame was ill.

Asked for a response, Kagame brushed off the reports. “Some of my personal health problems might originate from managing you people,” he said, to laughter.

“What is the problem? What would people want me to account for? That I am not human?” added the president who showed no signs of being unwell during the press conference.

Congo‘s government and M23 said on Thursday they would send delegations back to Qatar for parallel talks aimed at ending the conflict.

The Trump administration has dangled the possibility of a separate investment deal that could unlock Western investment in regional supply chains for minerals such as tantalum, gold and copper as an incentive for all sides to make peace.

 (Reuters)

Seventy-three percent of all 1,172 non-marine sites on the Unesco Heritage List are exposed to at least one severe water risk, the Unesco study “Mountains and glaciers: Water towers” showed.

These risks include water stress, drought, river flooding and coastal flooding, as extreme weather events including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves become more frequent and intense thanks to rising temperatures.

“Water stress is projected to intensify, most notably in regions like the Middle East and North Africa, parts of South Asia and northern China, posing long-term risks to ecosystems, cultural heritage and the communities and tourism economies that depend on them,” the report said.

More killer heat and rising seas likely in next five years, UN warns

According to Unesco, cultural sites are most commonly threatened by water scarcity, while more than half of natural sites face the risk of flooding from a nearby river.

In India, the Taj Mahal monument in Agra “faces water scarcity that is increasing pollution and depleting groundwater, both of which are damaging the mausoleum”. While in the United States, “in 2022 a massive flood closed down all of Yellowstone National Park and cost over $20 million in infrastructure repairs to reopen”.

Iraq’s southern marshes – the reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden – “face extremely high water stress, where over 80 percent of the renewable supply is withdrawn to meet human demand,” the report added.

Competition for water is expected to increase in the marshes, where migratory birds live and locals raise buffalo, as the region grows hotter in coming years.

UN chief says aid surge needed to face ‘climate chaos, raging conflicts’

On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Victoria Falls has faced recurring drought and is sometimes reduced to a trickle.

In Peru, the pre-Colombian city of Chan Chan and its delicate 1,000-year-old adobe walls face an extremely high risk of river flooding, while in China, rising sea levels driven in large part by climate change are leading to coastal flooding, which destroys mudlands where migratory waterbirds find food.

(with AFP)

Named Amietia wittei after Belgian herpetologist Gaston-François De Witte, the frog was thought to live only at lower altitudes, so members of an expedition up Kilimanjaro were not looking for amphibians.

“We wanted to observe the scarlet-tufted malachite sunbird – a tiny colourful bird resembling a hummingbird, fond of nectar,” said Dmitry Andreichuk, co-founder of Altezza Travel agency.

“We know it lives between 2,000 and 4,500 metres altitude, so we thought in this part of Kilimanjaro we should definitely find some.”

But it was not a bird that took Andreichuk’s breath away.

“I start descending the slope, and there, I see something jump into the water… I think: ‘Did I really see that?’ Then I move forward again, and I see a second thing jump… and there, I realise it’s a frog!”

That memorable day was in late June on the Shira plateau, at the foot of the memorial to mountaineerer Scott Fischer who died on Everest.

Andreichuk immediately called his brother, who asked him to wait to be sure they were not mistaken. They waited two hours, their feet in icy water, until the frogs reappeared.

It turned out they had seen Amietia wittei, a river frog widespread in Africa but which had never been seen this high before.

Population of critically-endangered thumbnail-sized frogs found in South Africa

Surviving in icy water

In an environment where “even staying 30 seconds with your feet in the water chills you to the bone”, Andreichuk notes, the frogs appear to thrive. The small stream – barely 10 centimetres deep – houses a hundred tadpoles and several adults.

“We immediately knew it was something important. We didn’t yet know if it was a new species, but we knew river frogs normally don’t climb this high.”

Professor Alan Channing, a specialist in amphibians at Northwest University in South Africa, confirmed that it was indeed Amietia wittei. The frog had already been found on several high plateaus of East Africa – notably in Kenya (Aberdare, Mount Elgon, Mount Kenya) and Uganda – but never at this altitude.

“These frogs have an incredible capacity for adapting to the cold,” Channing explains. “Their metabolism works at slow speed. They can survive in icy waters, sometimes even covered with surface ice. They’ve been there for millions of years.”

Melting African glaciers an early casualty of global warming, say experts

Limited escape routes

With global warming, the frogs are moving higher to stay cool. “If streams continue to flow at higher altitude, they could climb even more,” he notes.

The frogs rely on cold water and mountain micro-ecosystems, so they may not keep pace with rising temperatures. “They flourish in cool zones, but if temperatures rise too much, their survival will be compromised.”

Other related species, like Amietia nutti, already live lower down and have fewer options. Kilimanjaro reaches nearly 6,000 metres, but other East African mountains such as Mount Elgon or the Aberdares are lower, leaving limited escape routes.

On these ranges, some frogs already live at the top, and if the planet keeps heating, they will have nowhere left to go.

A 45-day mission to Kilimanjaro is now planned to watch the frogs and learn more about how they survive.

Andreichuk’s discovery could herald others.

“We weren’t even doing research, we were just hiking for pleasure,” he says. “And yet, we made an extraordinary discovery. Imagine what specialised researchers could find.

“Kilimanjaro still has a lot to show us.”

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI’s Christina Okello

In 2022, the Financial Times asked Camille Gaujacq, a specialist in Chinese market research, whether the Beijing-based company Pop Mart, which had recently set up shop in London, could meet its goal of making more than 50 percent of its revenue abroad within five years.

Gaujacq was cautious, saying it was hard to know “to what extent a growth model based on stimulating a consumer trend” would work in the West.

Three years on, customers around the world are queuing overnight – and in some cases coming to blows – to buy a Pop Mart-exclusive product: the Labubu.

These half-cute, half-sinister monsters with pointed teeth and bunny ears were created by Hong Kong designer Kasing Lung and inspired by Norwegian folklore. Sold as plush toys, bag charms and figurines, they have become a global hit – along with the chaos that surrounds them.

UK retailer suspends Labubu toy sales amid safety fears

In Singapore late last year, CCTV footage showed a family stealing Labubu dolls from a vending machine, according to online media outlet AsiaOne, while The Sun newspaper reported that in California a car was broken into and three Labubu toys that had been on display taken.

French news agency AFP reported in May that Pop Mart had pulled the toys from all 16 of its UK stores to “prevent any potential safety issues” after customers, some of whom had travelled from abroad to purchase the dolls, were involved in physical fights over them.

TikTok (another product of China) has paved the way for their popularity, with more than 1.7 million Labubu videos on the platform. Their celebrity fans include Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, a host of K-pop stars and even David Beckham.

And France is not immune to their charms – in Paris, Pop Mart now has stores in the shopping centres Les Halles de Châtelet, Bercy Village and the Carrousel du Louvre, as well as at Opéra.

The element of surprise

Pop Mart was launched in 2010 by Chinese businessman Wang Ning, 38, who as of this month is China’s 10th richest person, with an estimated fortune of $22.7 billion according to Forbes magazine.

A key element of the company’s strategy has been to sell Labubu dolls, which it has produced since 2019, in “mystery boxes”, with the surprise element and the ensuing obsessive quest for particular models driving sales.

As Filipino newspaper The Inquirer notes: “The Pop Mart product range remains attractive to enthusiasts and collectors, all the more so as some items are becoming harder to find. Blind unboxing has created a vibrant community on social networks, where collectors share their unboxing experiences, stimulating engagement.”

The most sought-after models are being resold for exorbitant sums on the second-hand market, and in early June a Labubu figurine sold at auction in Beijing for 1.08 million yuan (€132,000).

Furry ambassadors

Labubus are part of a rising tide of Chinese cultural exports gaining traction abroad, acting as furry ambassadors of a “cool” China even in places where a more negative public opinion of Beijing is usually to be found, such as Europe and North America.

While neighbouring East Asian countries South Korea and Japan are globally recognised for their musical and cinematic contributions to pop culture and their fashion and beauty exports, China’s heavily censored film and music industry means it has struggled to attract international audiences. Meanwhile, the country’s best-known clothing exporter is fast-fashion online retailer Shein.

Faced with stereotypes of low-quality products, Pop Mart is among the few success stories of Chinese companies selling higher-end, desirable goods under their own brands. “It has been hard for the world’s consumers to perceive China as a brand-creating nation,” the University of Maryland’s Fan Yang told AFP.

French Senate approves bill to regulate ultra-fast fashion

However, China is “undergoing a soft power shift where its products and image are increasingly cool among young Westerners,” said Allison Malmsten, an analyst at China-based Daxue Consulting. She believes social media – such as TikTok – is boosting China’s global image, and compared the Labubu effect to that of Pokémon on Japan’s image abroad.

Joshua Kurlantzick, of the Council on Foreign Relations, agreed that: “TikTok probably played a role in changing consumers’ minds about China.” 

However, he added that such a change of image could only go so far. “I don’t know how much, if at all, this impacts images of China’s state or government,” he said, pointing to how South Korea’s undeniable soft power has not translated into similar levels of political might.

China’s FM in Europe to seek closer ties in ‘volatile’ world

But while soft toys alone might not translate into actual power, the United States’ chaotic global image under the Trump presidency could benefit perceptions of China, the University of Maryland’s Yang said.

“The connection many make between the seeming decline of US soft power and the potential rise in China’s global image may reflect how deeply intertwined the two countries are in the minds of people whose lives are impacted by both simultaneously,” she told AFP.

At the very least, Labubu’s charms appear to be prompting interest in China among the younger generation abroad.

“It’s like a virus. Everyone just wants it,” Kazakhstani mother-of-three Anelya Batalova told AFP at Pop Mart’s theme park in Beijing. 

Meanwhile 11-year-old Maryam Hammadi, from Qatar, posed for photos in front of a giant Labubu statue. “In our country, they love Labubu,” she said. “So, when they realise that the origin of Labubu is in China, they’d like to come to see the different types of Labubu in China.”

Despite its popularity abroad, closer to home there may be some who are not so enamoured of the Labubu. The Bloomberg financial news agency reports that the Chinese Communist Party-backed People’s Daily newspaper has published a commentary calling for tougher regulations on “surprise gift boxes” – accusing them of encouraging addiction among children.

Story written with AFP and partially adapted from this article from RFI’s French service.

While Wang is touring Europe and meeting with top decision makers, China’s commerce ministry moved to massively increase some tariffs on EU products.

The Chinese ministry, which announced the measure on Friday, said its investigations had found that EU brandy was being dumped on the Chinese market, threatening domestic producers. The country’s anti-dumping duties of up to 34.9 percent on European brandy imports will take effect on 5 July.

To circumvent these newly imposed tariffs, a number of predominantly French producers – including leading Cognac houses Pernod Ricard, Rémy Cointreau and Hennessy – have consented to sell their products in China at prices no lower than a predetermined minimum.

Starting from 5 July, these firms will be permitted to operate under this pricing scheme as an alternative to paying the duties.

French cognac hit hard by Chinese anti-dumping measures

China’s measure follows the EU’s imposition of up to 35 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) last October, citing unfair subsidies. Beijing has denied the allegations and responded with probes into European pork, dairy, and now brandy.

The dispute has reached the World Trade Organization, which is reviewing the EU’s actions. The timing is particularly sensitive, as China and the EU are set to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties at a summit later this month, although reports suggest Beijing may cancel part of the event amid the tensions.

‘Not very transparent’

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticised China’s “unilateral and often not very transparent” export restrictions on rare earths, which are vital for industries including electric vehicles and electronics.

Since April, China has required export licences for these strategic materials, causing global concern as it controls nearly two-thirds of mining and 92 percent of refining. German businesses have voiced alarm over the uncertainty, which Wadephul warned is damaging China’s reputation as a reliable partner.

Wang defended the controls, calling rare earths “dual-use goods” with both civilian and military applications, and insisted that export management is a matter of sovereignty. He proposed a “green channel” to ease exports to the EU, but the issue remains a sticking point as Europe seeks to reduce its dependency on Chinese supply chains.

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

European security

Security issues have also come to the fore during Wang’s meetings with EU officials. In Brussels, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas accused China of undermining European security by supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, conducting cyberattacks, interfering in democratic processes and engaging in unfair trade practices.

“Chinese companies are Moscow’s lifeline to sustain its war against Ukraine,” Kallas said, adding that these actions “harm European security and jobs”.

Wang rejected the accusations, insisting that China is not supplying lethal weapons to Russia and portraying Beijing as a neutral party seeking peace.

He warned against “confrontation” and urged the EU to pursue a more pragmatic relationship, adding that “China is not the United States” and should not be treated as such.

Despite EU sanctions on Chinese firms accused of aiding Moscow, foreign policy leaders and diplomats from the bloc. including Kallas, admit these measures have failed to shift Beijing’s strategic partnership with Russia.

China’s FM in Europe to seek closer ties in ‘volatile’ world

EU-US trade deal

The backdrop to Wang’s visit is a rapidly shifting global trade landscape, with the EU also facing the threat of higher US tariffs. President Trump’s 9 July deadline for new tariffs is looming, and failure to reach a deal could see levies on EU imports double to 20 percent or more.

Germany, Europe’s industrial powerhouse, is particularly vulnerable, as the US is a key market for its exports.

Recent data showed German industrial orders fell by 1.4 percent in May, a sharper drop than expected, raising concerns about the country’s fragile recovery after two years of recession.

Economists warn that the “sword of Damocles” of US tariff policy hangs over the entire European economy. Peter Leibinger, president of the Federation of German Industries warned that escalating US tariff policies could plunge Germany into its third consecutive year of recession, and have called for substantial reforms to restore competitiveness.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for an EU-US trade deal “as soon as possible, with the lowest tariffs possible,” arguing for open markets rather than protectionism.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic is in Washington for last-ditch talks, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declaring the bloc “ready for a deal”.

However, as Wang’s European tour concludes, the prospects for easing friction appears dim. Trade and security disputes with China are deepening, and the EU’s economic outlook is clouded by both transatlantic and Asian tensions.

With a critical EU-China summit and a US tariff deadline both approaching, Europe finds itself attempting to defend its economic and security interests, squeezed between two superpowers.

(with newswires)

Parisians and visitors looking to cool off this summer can dive in — weather permitting — at three bathing sites, including one a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower.

A few dozen people arrived ahead of the 8:00 am (0600 GMT) opening on Saturday at the Bras Marie zone in the city’s historic centre, diving into the water for the long-awaited moment under the watchful eyes of lifeguards wearing fluorescent yellow T-shirts and carrying whistles.

The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters which were specially cleaned for the event.

The swimming zones are equipped with changing rooms, showers, and beach-style furniture, offering space for 150 to 300 people to relax, lay out their towels, and unwind from the city’s hustle and bustle.

Paris officials say they have taken several measures to ensure swimmers can safely enjoy the long-anticipated reopening, including daily water pollution testing and implementing a swim test for bathers.

“It’s a childhood dream to have people swimming in the Seine,” said Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who visited the bras Marie site on Saturday morning.

But officials reminded swimmers of potential dangers, including strong currents, boat traffic, and an average depth of 3.5 metres.

“The Seine remains a dangerous environment,” said local official Elise Lavielle earlier this week.

To mitigate that risk, lifeguards will assess visitors’ swimming abilities before allowing independent access, while a decree issued in late June introduced fines for anyone swimming outside designated areas.

The promise to lift the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when then-mayor of Paris and future president Jacques Chirac first advocated for its reversal, around 65 years after the practice was banned in 1923.

Quality of life

“One of my predecessors (Chirac), then mayor of Paris, dreamed of a Seine where everyone could swim,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, describing the move as the result of a “collective effort” and a moment of “pride” for France.

Ahead of the Olympic Games, authorities invested approximately 1.4 billion euros to improve the Seine’s water quality.

Since then, work carried out upstream, including 2,000 new connections to the sewage system, promises even better water quality, with one catch.

On rainy days, the mid-19th-century Parisian sewage system often overflows, causing rain and waste waters to pour into the river.

Flags will inform bathers about pollution levels in the water every day, and if it rains, the sites will likely close the day after, said Paris city official Pierre Rabadan.

The presence of the faecal bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci in the Seine will be assessed daily using live sensors and samples.

Swimmers may be in luck this year, though, with weather predicted to be drier than the record rainfall during the Games, which had led to the cancellation of six of the 11 competitions held on the river.

The French capital during the week endured a major heatwave that saw Paris put on the weather agency’s highest alert level during a Europe-wide heatwave.

Hidalgo, who took the inaugural swim last year, said that cleaning up the Seine for the Olympics was not the final goal but part of a broader effort to adapt the city to climate change and enhance quality of life.

With record-breaking temperatures hitting Europe, including France’s second warmest June since records began in 1900, authorities said they expect Parisians to embrace the relief of a refreshing swim.

The swimming spots will be open until 31 August.

 (AFP)

Following starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, every mile of this year’s 21-day course is on French soil, for the first time since the pandemic-delayed edition.

“We decided to bring the Tour home, it was high time after all the foreign starts,” said race director Christian Prudhomme – a former TV executive who has transformed the Tour de France into a global extravaganza broadcast in 190 countries.

Last year’s winner, Team UAE’s Tadej Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike.

The 26-year-old Slovenian has won the Tour de France three times (in 2020, 2021 and 2024), the Giro d’Italia, the world title and nine one-day monument races, and boasts 99 professional wins overall.

Tour de France ‘comes home’ as 2025 route unveiled

However, American former champion Greg LeMond, who won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989 and 1990, told French news agency AFP in a recent interview that it would be a close call.

“Pogacar is like the one in a million, but you can’t count [Danish rider Jonas] Vingegaard out. That’s what’s making cycling so exciting right now.”

Vingegaard’s Visma team boss Grischa Niermann spoke this week of his confidence in the Dane’s plan for this year’s Tour, saying: “We think we can get the best possible result.”

Pogacar claims 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné to lay down marker for Tour de France

Montmartre magic

A total of 184 riders from 23 teams will gather in Lille for the Grand Depart, with local authorities preparing for a massive influx of fans from neighbouring cycling-mad Belgium.

Belgian star Remco Evenepoel will be well supported as the first week takes in the north coast of France at Dunkirk and Caen, before shifting to another cycling heartland in Brittany with its verdant, rolling roads.

The volcanoes of the Puy de Dome will present the riders with their first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.

But before the dash to the finish line on the Champs-Elysées there is one final twist in store. In a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games road race, which drew vast crowds to the picturesque Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre, this year riders on the Tour will climb the Montmartre hill and pass beneath Sacré-Cœur.

Following the men’s race, the women’s Tour de France runs from 26 July until 3 August with nine stages covering 1,165 kilometres, in which 154 riders will push off from the western city of Vannes and finish in Châtel in the eastern Haute Savoie department. 

(with AFP)

Thirty women filed complaints against the gynaecologist, in his 60s, accusing him of sexual assault during medical exams.

The Haute-Savoie Court in eastern France found him guilty on Saturday of raping nine of the plaintiffs, said lawyer, Aurelie Zakar.

Four of the plaintiffs accused the gynaecologist of penetration with his genitals, while others complained of unjustified rectal exams and “vaginal massages” that they said the doctor presented as medically necessary.

“The penetration suffered during consultations was not medical in nature and was, in fact, sexualised,” said Zakar.

“My three clients have been recognised as victims, they have been heard and believed. They can now rebuild their lives,” she said.

French surgeon handed maximum 20-year term in paedophilia trial

The doctor, from the eastern town of Bonneville, has denied all allegations.

The debate was particularly “heated on the notion of intent”, said a lawyer for three other plaintiffs, including two women who were minors at the time.

The defendant presented the acts “as justified or never having happened,” said Patricia Lyonnaz, adding that all the victims came to testify at the trial.

“These are not women seeking revenge,” said Lyonnaz.

The defendant has 10 days to appeal.

 (AFP)

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winners’ names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people.

The ePOP contest is your space to give these voices the reach they deserve.

How do you do it?

With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens, where the spoken word reigns supreme. No tricks, no music, no text on the screen. Just the raw authenticity of an encounter, in horizontal format (16:9). This is the very essence of an ePOP film: a concentrate of humanity that challenges, moves and enlightens.

From June 12 to September 12, 2025, ePOP invites you to reach out, open your eyes, and create that unique bridge between a person and the world. Join the ePOP community and make reality vibrate.

Go to The Sound Kitchen or the RFI English Listeners Forum Facebook pages for all the information you need about creating your video.

We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

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. 

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 7 June, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow’s article “The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery”.

You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answers to these three questions: How many people do the world’s oceans feed per year? How much economic activity is generated by the oceans every year? And, what is the percentage of the ocean’s waters that are formally protected?

The answers are, to quote Amanda’s article: “The ocean feeds 3.2 billion people and generates an estimated 2.6 trillion USD in economic value each year. Yet just 8 percent is formally protected – and only a fraction of that is off-limits to damaging activities.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the most hilarious thing or situation you’ve come across in your life, or what or whom made you laugh the most?”, which 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 Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Jayanta, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Abdur Rakib, the co-president of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Nuraiz Bin Zaman, who’s a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, also in Bangladesh. Last but certainly not least, RFI Listeners Club member Mumtaz Hussain from Odisha, India, and RFI English listener Nowsaba Nuha from Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The theme to Mannix by Lalo Schifrin; the “Aquarium” from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by the Joe Henderson Trio.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Amanda Morrow’s article “Ocean campaigners hail French move to snuff out cigarette butt pollution”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 28 July to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 2 August podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

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

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The medical NGO, known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said a full-scale attack could lead to more bloodshed, as seen in the massacres that struck other parts of Darfur last year.

Its report, published on Thursday, documents killings, sexual violence, looting and attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies.

“People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces and their respective allies – but also actively targeted by the RSF and its allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity,” said MSF head of emergencies, Michel Olivier Lacharité.

UN urges action on Sudan’s ‘forgotton war’ as humanitarian crisis takes hold

Food and water cut off

The conflict in North Darfur has worsened since May 2024. The RSF and its allies have surrounded El Fasher and the nearby Zamzam camp, a large settlement for displaced people just outside the city, blocking people from getting food, water or medical aid.

MSF’s report is based on its own field data, direct observations and more than 80 interviews carried out between May 2024 and May 2025 with patients and displaced people.

One man told MSF that in Zamzam, people sometimes went three days a week without eating.

Another woman said children died from malnutrition and families survived on scraps meant for animals. “We were eating ambaz [the residue of peanuts ground for oil], like everyone, although usually it’s used for animals,” she said.

Fuel shortages have shut down wells, leaving water scarce and expensive.

“Zamzam was completely blocked,” another displaced person said. “Water wells depend on fuel and there was no access to fuel, so all of them stopped working.”

RSF drone strikes pound Port Sudan, putting aid deliveries at risk

Fears of ethnic cleansing

Some witnesses said that RSF soldiers had spoken of plans to “clean El Fasher” – with the goal of removing its non-Arab community.

“In light of the ethnically motivated mass atrocities committed against the Masalit in West Darfur in June 2023, and of the massacres perpetrated in Zamzam camp in North Darfur, we fear such a scenario will be repeated in El Fasher,” MSF humanitarian affairs advisor Mathilde Simon said.

In April, the RSF and its allies launched a ground attack on the Zamzam camp, forcing an estimated 400,000 people to flee in less than three weeks. Many went to El Fasher, where they now remain trapped without aid.

Many who try to escape face huge risks. Roads are dangerous, and men and boys risk being killed or abducted, while women and girls face sexual violence. Witnesses say the danger is even worse for Zaghawa communities.

“Nobody could get out [of El Fasher] if they said they were Zaghawa,” one displaced woman said.

Another described fleeing to eastern Chad: “They would only let mothers with small children under the age of five through. Other children and adult men didn’t go through. Men over 15 can hardly cross the border [into Chad]. They take them, they push them aside and then we only hear a noise – gunshots – indicating that they are dead.”

World court opens hearings on Sudan case against UAE over Darfur war

Healthcare in ruins

Most health centres in El Fasher and Zamzam have been damaged or destroyed in the past year.

“Currently, there is only one hospital with surgical capacity that functions partially, for a population estimated at nearly 1 million people,” Simon said.

One woman told MSF the SAF bombed her neighbourhood by mistake, then came back to apologise. She said SAF planes sometimes struck civilian areas even when there were no RSF fighters. “I saw it in different places,” she said.

Repeated attacks forced the charity to shut down its work in El Fasher in August 2024 and in Zamzam in February this year. Recent promises of a local ceasefire have not changed conditions on the ground, MSF said, warning that time is running out for people trapped in El Fasher.

Goita, 41, burst onto the public scene as a young, relatively unknown military officer when he deposed president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in an August 2020 coup.

“We no longer have the right to make mistakes,” Goita said at the time, cutting a martial figure in fatigues with a khaki shemagh scarf around his neck, as he introduced himself to the public.

Less than a year later the special forces commander launched a second coup, removing the two civilians who had been appointed under international pressure to steer Mali back to democratic rule.

Promise broken

Then in June 2021, dressed in full military regalia, Goita took the presidential oath and promised to stand by Mali’s commitments.

He was now in charge of a country mired in almost a decade of violence by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as other criminal organisations.

But he was celebrated in some quarters as a hero who might bring salvation to his troubled west African nation, particularly as he insisted on Mali’s commitment to the anti-jihadist fight and initially pledged a return to civilian rule.

But Goita ultimately failed to make good on his promise to cede power to elected civilians, which was to occur by March 2024.

The prospect came crashing down further Thursday, when the country’s military-appointed legislative body granted Goita a five-year presidential mandate, renewable “as many times as necessary” and without election.

International investigation reveals Wagner Group’s secret prisons in Mali

Worsening crisis

Under Goita, Mali continues to sink into an economic and security crisis, while jihadists and other criminals have only intensified their offensives, staging bloody raids and incursions.

But there have been some successes: in November 2023, Mali’s army retook Kidal, a stronghold of separatists from the Tuareg ethnic group – a victory the junta presented as a decisive step in regaining territory.

However, the army and its Russian mercenary allies are regularly accused of abuses against civilians.

The junta has meanwhile suspended multiple media outlets, jailed opposition members and critics, and dissolved political parties.

Russian pivot

Goita’s rule has marked a turning point in Mali’s relationship with the West.

The country has broken ties with France and other former allies and pivoted toward Russia.

The junta pushed out France’s anti-jihadist force in 2022 and the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma in 2023.

Alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, which are also led by military juntas, Mali quit the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) earlier this year, accusing the regional bloc of being subservient to colonial ruler France.

The trio set up their own confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States.

Mali dissolves all political parties as opposition figures disappear

Hero or strongman?

The son of a former director of Mali’s military police, Goita studied at the country’s military schools.

In 2002, he went to Mali’s desert north for training, and was subsequently based in the northern cities of Gao, Kidal, Timbuktu, Menaka and Tessalit.

Goita saw action during a Tuareg independence rebellion in 2012, which was quickly commandeered by jihadists.

Mali has since struggled to quell their brutal insurgency, which has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.

Despite Mali’s multifaceted tumult, Goita remains popular with a segment of the population, which views him as an architect of reform and newfound sovereignty.

A colonel who requested anonymity said Goita is not bothered by how people see him.

“He’s a man of action – we saw that in the north,” he said.

Unaccompanied migrant minors are children and teenagers who arrive in France alone, often after dangerous journeys, hoping for safety and a chance at a new life.

Instead of consistent help, they face what two NGOs – Utopia 56 and the Association for Youth Rights and Support Toward Adulthood (Aadjam) – say is a lottery, where their future depends on which department they end up in.

The NGOs carried out a survey between late 2024 and early 2025. They spoke with lawyers, migrant rights groups and other non-profits in 38 French departments.

Psychological trauma, they say, is often ignored and that some children’s ages are judged “at a glance”, adding to unfair treatment.

“Some of these young people have had to survive on the streets for more than a year before being provided shelter and gaining access to their rights,” Angelo Fiore, of Utopia 56, told RFI.

Police evict migrants from Paris theatre after months-long occupation

Unequal support

The level of care depends on each department’s budget and how local authorities choose to spend it.

“For example, some young people are housed in Rennes but have to leave the shelter during the day and rely on meal vouchers to eat,” said Fiore.

“In other facilities, the youth are accommodated 24/7 and supported by social workers. There are even sports activities organised.”

About 397,000 young people are under France’s child protection services, including 31,900 who are legally adults. Departments pay for housing, schooling and other costs but often say it is too expensive.

Unaccompanied minors can ask for protection when they arrive but the report says their “first difficulty” is to “understand where and how to access it”.

Many struggle to find someone to help, especially at night or on weekends.

When shelters are full and councils or charities cannot find a place, some minors are sent to a police station for the night. In other areas, there is no plan B, so they end up sleeping outside.

More than half of the 38 departments did not provide the health checkups these children are meant to have. When local authorities dispute a child’s age, juvenile judges often end up recognising they really are minors.

This story was adapted from the original version in French

The estimated reduction of less than one percent extends a slowdown seen in recent years, said Citepa – a non-profit organisation tasked by France’s ecology ministry with tallying the country’s greenhouse gas inventory.

It comes just a day after France’s top climate advisory body warned that recent setbacks and a slowdown in decarbonisation efforts risk undermining the country’s environmental goals.

France, a major economy seen as a leader in transitioning to a low-carbon future, slashed its output of planet-heating emissions by 6.8 percent in 2023.

But the rate of decline slowed sharply to 1.8 percent in 2024 and is tipped to slip even further in 2025 to just 0.8 percent, said Citepa’s latest progress report.

“This slight decrease in greenhouse gas emissions would confirm the slowdown in momentum observed in recent years,” it said.

France’s emissions for the first quarter of  2025 actually rose slightly, partly due to higher gas and electricity use for heating school and residential buildings, the report found.

The use of carbon-free nuclear power, France’s main source of energy, remains at a historically high level, Cipet said. Fossil fuel use, already low, is likely to stabilise, limiting further gains.  

France falling short of climate targets as emissions dip slows

European trend

France aims to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, although a plan in develoment would raise this goal to 50 percent.

To achieve that, emissions need to be cut by around five percent each year between 2022 and 2030 – well above the current pace.

France’s trend mirrors broader struggles across Europe, with Germany and Britain also struggling to sustain the momentum after posting impressive cuts in recent years.

The US managed just a 0.2 percent cut in 2024.

The slowdown comes amid global pressure for stronger climate commitments in line with international efforts to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

On Wednesday, the EU announced a long-delayed goal of cutting emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, but with contested new flexibilities built in.

EU emissions fell by 8.3 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, and are now 37 percent below 1990 levels.

(with newswires)

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.

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people.

The ePOP contest is your space to give these voices the reach they deserve.

How do you do it?

With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens, where the spoken word reigns supreme. No tricks, no music, no text on the screen. Just the raw authenticity of an encounter, in horizontal format (16:9). This is the very essence of an ePOP film: a concentrate of humanity that challenges, moves and enlightens.

From June 12 to September 12, 2025, ePOP invites you to reach out, open your eyes, and create that unique bridge between a person and the world. Join the ePOP community and make reality vibrate.

Go to The Sound Kitchen or the RFI English Listeners Forum Facebook pages for all the information you need about creating your video.

We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

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. 

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 7 June, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow’s article “The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery”.

You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answers to these three questions: How many people do the world’s oceans feed per year? How much economic activity is generated by the oceans every year? And, what is the percentage of the ocean’s waters that are formally protected?

The answers are, to quote Amanda’s article: “The ocean feeds 3.2 billion people and generates an estimated 2.6 trillion USD in economic value each year. Yet just 8 percent is formally protected – and only a fraction of that is off-limits to damaging activities.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the most hilarious thing or situation you’ve come across in your life, or what or whom made you laugh the most?”, which 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 Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Jayanta, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Abdur Rakib, the co-president of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Nuraiz Bin Zaman, who’s a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, also in Bangladesh. Last but certainly not least, RFI Listeners Club member Mumtaz Hussain from Odisha, India, and RFI English listener Nowsaba Nuha from Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The theme to Mannix by Lalo Schifrin; the “Aquarium” from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by the Joe Henderson Trio.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Amanda Morrow’s article “Ocean campaigners hail French move to snuff out cigarette butt pollution”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 28 July to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 2 August 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.   

France just experienced its hottest June since 2003, with several days of extreme heat at the end of the month that left two people dead and slowed the country down – halting work outdoors and closing schools. The heatwave is a taste of what the future might hold, as global warming leads to more extreme weather conditions. The Human Adaptation Institute has created an immersive experience of what life at 50C would be like. Jeanne Richard reports from the mobile lab as it tours France to raise awareness over the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change, one hot individual at a time. (Listen @0′)

France is Europe’s largest egg producer, yet it’s struggling to meet growing demand from people looking for a cheap source of protein. Eggs are now being imported from Ukraine where environmental, health and animal welfare norms are far lower. Alice Richard, head of the National Egg Promotion Committee (CNPO), talks about the need to increase home-grown production and make it easier for farmers to start or expand their farms. Cyril Ernst, campaign manager with Anima, whose mission is to put an end to laying hens in cages, insists any easing of regulations for new farms mustn’t be at the expense of animal welfare. (Listen @16’45”)

The first line of the Paris metro opened on 19 July 1900, after decades of wrangling between the capital and the state slowed down its development. Today the metro system is 245kms long, with 16 lines covering the entire city and beyond. (Listen @10’30”)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

“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!

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. 

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 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

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.   

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.

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.