The US bomber Enola Gay dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Nicknamed “Little Boy”, it exploded about 600 metres above the city, with a force equal to 15,000 tonnes of TNT.

Tens of thousands died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries or illness in the weeks, months and years that followed.

Three days later the US dropped a second bomb, dubbed “Fat Man”, on the southern city of Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people.

The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime.

The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on 15 August, 1945, bringing an end to World War II.

New faces at the ceremonies

Eighty years on, representatives from 120 countries and regions – plus the European Union – were to attend the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday.

Unlike in previous years, Hiroshima did not select and invite foreign representatives. Instead, it notified all countries and regions that the event would take place.

This allowed the city to reach out to governments Japan does not formally recognise, such as Taiwan and Palestine, both of which are expected to attend for the first time. Belarus is also set to join.

Nuclear powers including Russia, China and Pakistan will not be present.

“The existence of (political) leaders who want to strengthen their military power to resolve conflicts, including by possessing nuclear weapons, makes it difficult to achieve world peace,” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said last week, referring to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Matsui also urged US President Donald Trump last month to visit Hiroshima, after he compared the recent airstrikes against Iran to the atomic bombings of 1945.

“It seems to me that he doesn’t fully grasp the reality of atomic bombings, which, if used, cost the lives of many innocent citizens, whether friend or foe, and threaten the survival of humanity,” the mayor stressed at the time.

In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima. He offered no apology for the attack, but embraced survivors and called for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Matsui has made a point of sending letters to leaders from around the globe, regularly imploring them to stop nuclear testing, abolish nuclear weapons and visit the cities that experienced the bombs first hand.

Survivors carry message of peace

Survivors and their supporters have become some of the loudest and most powerful voices opposing nuclear weapons, including meeting world leaders to press their case.

The Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo urges states to draw on the testimonies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, known as “hibakusha.”

Last year the grassroots movement won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, speaking up for those who battled decades of physical and psychological trauma.

In 2019, Pope Francis met several hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, decrying the “unspeakable horror” and calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

In the centre of Hiroshima, the ruins of a building topped with the metal skeleton of a dome stand is a reminder of the horror of the attack.

“It’s important that many people gather in this atomic bombed city because wars continue” around the world, insists Toshiyuki Mimaki, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo.

“I hope foreign representatives will visit the Peace Memorial Museum and understand what happened” beneath the mushroom cloud, said Mimaki.

Passing on the memory of the hibakusha and the lessons learned from the disaster is a growing challenge for the organisation, with the average age of survivors now 86.

“I believe the global trend toward a world without nuclear weapons will continue. The younger generation is working hard to achieve it,” Kunihiko Sakuma, 80, who was nine months old at the time of the bombing and was 3km from the point of impact, told French news agency AFP.

Sakuma, who is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after the ceremony, intends to press him for Tokyo’s accession to the UN Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons, signed in 2017. Tokyo has refused to sign it, saying its goal is unachievable without the help of nuclear-weapon states.

Reality of a catastrophe

Meanwhile, Nagasaki said that its memorial on Saturday is also expected to draw a record turnout.

This includes Russia, attending for the first time since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Nagasaki’s decision last year to exclude Israel’s ambassador prompted the then US envoy to Japan to boycott the ceremony.

The city said at the time that the move was “not politically motivated” but a safety precaution against potential disturbances like protests over the Gaza conflict.

“We wanted attendees to visit us and know first-hand the reality of what catastrophe a nuclear weapon can bring”, a Nagasaki official told AFP last week.

(with AFP)

“Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants,” said government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said on Tuesday. “In part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation.”

The agreement was signed by US and Rwandan officials in Kigali in June, according to another Rwandan official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, adding that Washington had already sent an initial list of 10 people to be vetted.

The White House, Department of Homeland Security and State Department had no immediate comment. 

The deal comes as former US president Donald Trump pushes to deport millions of people living in the country illegally. His administration has sought to remove migrants to third countries, including deporting convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini.

South Sudan turns US deportations to its diplomatic advantage

Cash for refugees

Under the agreement, Rwanda will receive funding from the US in the form of a grant. The Rwandan official said the grant letter was signed in July but declined to say how much money was involved.

“This is the real surprise in this deal,” said Phil Clark, a professor at SOAS University in the UK who studies Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.

“The previous announcement about this migrant deal showed that the US was trading this policy against a peace deal with the DRC,” Clark told RFI. “Now it shows that Rwanda will also profit financially from this scheme.”

The official said the two countries could agree to expand the scheme beyond the initial 250 people. Migrants sent to Rwanda would be free to leave the country if they chose to.

“Rwanda has already gained hundreds of thousands of British pounds from the failed deal with the UK and now seems to be able to profit from hosting refugees and migrants for years to come,” Clark said.

Rwandan authorities will have the final say on who can be resettled. Kigali has made clear it will not accept anyone who has served part of a prison sentence or who faces criminal charges.

The official said there is no plan to let deportees complete US prison terms in Rwanda, and that child sex offenders would not be accepted.

Makolo said approved migrants would receive job training, healthcare and housing support. “Giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade,” she said.

The US Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration could deport migrants to third countries. But the legal battle is ongoing. A federal lawsuit challenging the policy is underway in Boston and could reach the Supreme Court again.

The US has also pressed other countries to accept deportees. In March, more than 200 Venezuelans accused of being gang members were sent to El Salvador, where they were held until they were later exchanged in a prisoner swap.

Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks to receive migrants deported from the US

Human rights worries

Talks between the US and Rwanda began earlier this year, according to Rwanda’s foreign minister.

While Western leaders often praise Rwandan President Paul Kagame for rebuilding the country after the 1994 genocide, rights groups accuse his government of abuses and of backing rebel groups in eastern DRC. Kagame denies the allegations.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned that some migrants deported to Rwanda could face forced return to countries they fled.

Rwanda, home to around 13 million people, has been criticised by international watchdogs for its limits on free speech and political opposition. Still, the government has promoted the country as a willing partner for Western countries seeking to offload asylum seekers and migrants.

It previously signed a deal with the UK under then-prime minister Rishi Sunak. But no one was deported under the plan due to years of legal challenges. It was officially dropped in July 2024 by the incoming Labour government.

Rwandan opposition deplores UK deportation deal as ‘modern slavery’

Clark said the issue is not limited to Rwanda but reflects a wider shift in policy across the West.

“These countries have now decided that it is acceptable to spend more money sending migrants away than they used to spend in hosting them, which used to be seen as an immoral way to deal with refugees and economic migrants,” he said.

The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as a way to remove people quickly, especially those with criminal records.

Supporters say it helps prevent threats to public safety. Critics say the policy is dangerous and inhumane, sending people to unfamiliar countries where they may face harm or have no connections.

The victim, described as an elderly woman, was found dead in her house in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse as more than 1,500 firefighters battled the blaze that broke out on Tuesday afternoon. 

Seven aircraft dropped thousands of tonnes of water from the air to prevent the flames from reaching homes in the villages of Lagrasse, Fabrezan and Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. Water drops from the aircraft restarted on Wednesday morning as more than 300 firefighters from neighbouring regions were set to arrive as reinforcements.

Several roads were closed to traffic to allow fire engines to pass more rapidly through the region, said the Aude police authorities on Tuesday night.

Early on Wednesday, the A9 autoroute – one of the main thoroughfares between France and Spain – was closed in both directions between Narbonne and Perpignan as thick smoke drifted over the carriageways. 

Maud Bonnel from VINCI Autoroutes told Radio VINCI Autoroutes: “The Lézignan exit on the A61 is closed because the departmental road that continues from there leads to the fire.

“We are awaiting instructions from the fire brigade, but the fire has not been contained.”

Holidaymakers at the Lagrasse and Fabrezan campsites were evacuated as a precautionary measure, along with around 30 houses in the village of Tournissan.

‘Conditions right for fire’

“The fire was spreading in an area where all the conditions are right for it to spread. This fire will keep us busy for several days,” said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture on BFMTV.

Since the beginning of summer, several fires have broken out in the Aude department, which has been affected by drought and high temperatures.

One at the start of July, the largest in the department since 1986, burned through 2,000 hectares and mobilised nearly 1,000 firefighters near Narbonne.

“We’ve gone from losing an average of 300 to 400 hectares per year in the early 2000s to nearly 1,000 hectares today,” Jean-Paul Baylac, head of forest fires at the Aude departmental fire and rescue service, told French news agency Agence France-Presse.

On Tuesday night, President Emmanuel Macron took to social media to call for calm. “All the nation’s resources are being mobilised,” he said.”

(With newswires)

The tariffs were due to begin on Wednesday and would have targeted US exports such as soybeans, cars, aircraft and whisky.

The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that the tariffs would not go ahead, putting the suspension into effect for six months.

“The commission has adopted the necessary legal procedures to suspend the implementation of our EU countermeasures, which were due to kick in on 7 August,” said EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reached a framework agreement with US president Donald Trump on 27 July, just days before the EU’s planned tariffs were set to take effect.

The Commission had prepared a two-part package of countermeasures, valued at 21 billion and 72 billion euros. These were merged into a single list on 24 July after approval by EU member states.

Trump unveils sweeping new global tariffs but delays deadline by a week

‘Talks continuing with US’

“The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July,” Gill said.

While Brussels has suspended its measures, the US has gone ahead with new tariffs. On 31 July, Trump signed an executive order imposing 15 percent duties on most EU imports from 8 August.

That is higher than levels before Trump returned to office, but lower than the 30 percent that had been threatened.

Some industries expected to be excluded were not. The US order did not include relief for cars and car parts, which remain subject to 25 percent tariffs. Aircraft and related equipment were also not exempted.

Gill said the agreement had brought some short-term stability. “A first important foundation is laid for restoring clarity to EU companies exporting to the US,” he said.

A senior EU official, speaking anonymously, said the deal was still being worked out, with more details expected “very, very soon”.

“We put it back into the freezer and we can always take it out if needed, so we can always unsuspend the suspension,” the official said.

EU officials have said they expect more executive orders from Washington to follow soon.

In early August 1995, the Croatian army recatured the breakaway region of Krajina in just 84 hours. Most of the ethnic Serb population fled.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the operation, authorities in the Croatian capital Zagreb held the largest military parade in the country’s history.

On Thursday, 3,500 soldiers, police and war veterans marched along Vukovar Avenue in the capital. They were marking the events of 4 to 7 August 1995, when Operation Oluja – Storm in Serbo-Croatian – crushed the self-declared Serbian Republic of Krajina and restored control over 14 percent of Croatia’s territory.

Tens of thousands of people watched the parade.

They saw some of the army’s newest equipment, including Turkish Bayraktar drones, German-made Leopard tanks and 12 second-hand French Rafale fighter jets. This was only the fourth military parade in Croatia since independence in 1991.

“Today, everyone will have seen the strength of the Croatian state,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on public TV.

President Zoran Milanovic said once again that Operation Oluja was key to changing the course of the 1991–1995 war.

‘Victory for Croatia’

“We are fully aware – and I want those who succeed us to be aware too – that this is a victory for Croatian soldiers, the Croatian people and the Croatian leaders of the time,” said Milanović, who is also head of the armed forces, before the parade began.

More commemorations are planned for Monday 5 August – a key date in the operation and a national holiday in Croatia called Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day.

But the war left deep scars.

The Croatian Helsinki Committee said 677 civilians were killed during Operation Oluja and over 22,000 homes destroyed. Some Serbian sources say around 2,000 people died.

The offensive forced almost the entire Serbian population of Krajina – about 200,000 people – to flee. The Republic of Krajina had been set up in late 1990 by Serb leaders who rejected Croatia’s independence.

Croatian airstrikes and artillery then hit convoys of tractors, buses and cars carrying people to safety in Serbia.

It was not until 2020 – 25 years later – that Croatia officially expressed regret for the crimes committed against Serbs. Milanović said at the time, “We celebrate victory; we hate no one.”

Serbia denounces ‘ethnic cleansing’

Few Serbs have not returned to Krajina. Their families had lived there since the 1600s, when the Habsburg Empire gave them land in exchange for guarding the border with Ottoman-controlled Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Today, there are just over 120,000 Serbs in Croatia – five times fewer than in 1991, just before the war.

In Serbia, Operation Oluja is viewed as a large-scale act of ethnic cleansing. A memorial event is held each year on 3 August, the day before the 1995 offensive began.

This year’s ceremony was called “Oluja is a pogrom, we will remember it forever”. It was attended by President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Duro Macut and the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije.

The Serbian government has also advised citizens not to travel through Croatia between 1 and 10 August.

In both countries, commemorations are marked by nationalism. Each side blames the other and there has been little effort to reconcile.

Attempts at dialogue have often been attacked.

In 2020, Boris Milosevic – a Serb political leader in Croatia – joined official Croatian commemorations. Several ministers in Belgrade called it “shameful” and “humiliating for the entire Serbian nation”.

But some Croatians are also questioning how the event is remembered.

“The Croatian government has decided to celebrate the end of the war by celebrating the war industry,” said the Centre for Peace Studies.

“Tanks do not feed people, weapons do not heal.”

The agreement, which was struck between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron during the latter’s state visit to the UK last month, involves a “one-in, one-out” scheme to curb record levels of irregular Channel crossings.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau signed the final text last week, with the EU Commission giving its “green light on this innovative approach”, the UK Home Office said in a press release.

UK authorities are “operationally ready” and migrant detentions are expected to begin “within days”, it added.

Under the scheme, migrants arriving to UK shores on small boats may be detained and returned to France if they are deemed ineligible for asylum.

In exchange, the UK will accept an equal number of migrants from France who can apply for asylum via an online platform, giving priority to nationalities most vulnerable to smugglers and to people with ties in Britain.

The treaty governing the pilot scheme will remain in force until June 2026, with both countries committed to regularly reviewing the process.

Starmer, Macron unveil migration deal and deeper defence ties

The number of migrants making the dangerous journey in flimsy dinghies this year crossed 25,000 at the end of July – the highest ever tally at this point in the year as Starmer struggles to stem the tide, or the growing domestic discontent.

In recent weeks, anti-immigration protesters and counter-protesters have clashed outside hotels housing asylum seekers in Britain, with some demonstrations turning violent.

But Starmer has tried to hammer home the deal as a diplomatic victory, after years of faltering cooperation between France and the UK on the politically sensitive issue.

“This is the product of months of grown-up diplomacy delivering real results for British people as we broker deals no government has been able to achieve,” Starmer said in a press release.

While the agreement has met with criticism in northern France, where some officials say the scheme is too favourable to the UK, Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party says it does not go far enough to secure Britain’s borders.

The Home Office this week pledged £100 million (€86.9 million) for law enforcement, including additional manpower and technology, to “tackle” gangs who organise the crossings.

Migrants crossing Channel to Britain in 2024 soar by 25 percent

Starmer’s government also said it will make it an offence to promote on social media dangerous immigration routes into the UK, including via the Channel.

Under the new provision, which will be part of a border security bill making its way through the parliament, those found advertising such crossings could be fined and face up to five years in prison.

According to Home Office analysis, 80 percent of migrants arriving via small boats told officials they used social media during the process.

(with AFP)

The purchase will be under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism launched by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month.

Under the scheme, countries pay Washington for defence systems and munitions in US warehouses that are then shipped to Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion since February 2022.

“The Netherlands is now taking the lead in supplying military equipment from American stockpiles,” Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on X.

“By supporting Ukraine with determination, we are increasing the pressure on Russia to negotiate.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof in a call on Monday evening.

“These weapons are badly needed,” Schoof posted on X, highlighting the near-daily drone and missile attacks by Russia.

‘Rewriting history’: Claim filed to ICC over Russian looting of Ukrainian heritage

The Dutch package includes US Patriot missile parts and other systems tailored to Ukraine’s front-line requirements, according to the defence ministry.

Brekelmans called the Russian air strikes “pure terror” and warned that Moscow’s advance into Ukrainian territory could pose a broader threat to Europe.

“The more Russia dominates Ukraine, the greater the danger to the Netherlands and our NATO allies,” he said.

Washington is releasing military support for Ukraine in $500 million tranches under the PURL mechanism.

While other allies have pledged to join the initiative, the Netherlands is the first to transfer funds.

It has already pledged tanks, drones, ammunition and support for F-16 training and delivery to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the move, calling it a vital first step under the new framework. “Great to see the Netherlands taking the lead and funding the first package of US military equipment for Ukraine,” he said on X.

“I thank Allies for getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs to defend against Russian aggression.”

France has been loading aid into its military transport aircraft at a base in Jordan before dropping it off over the Gaza strip. 

The Jordanian army has been assisting France with flight plans and drop locations to avoid accidents when the pallets land. 

The first airdrop took place on Friday, followed by one on Saturday without any hitches, the French army told Franceinfo.

There are still 28 tons of products to be delivered out of the total 40 promised by France.

Concern has escalated in the past week about hunger in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war, which started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a deadly attack against Israel in October 2023.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,430 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.

Defining famine: the complex process behind Gaza’s hunger crisis

Israel has also heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, already under blockade for 15 years before the ongoing war.

According to the United Nations, the Palestinian territory is threatened with “widespread famine,” and would need “more than 62,000 tons of vital aid each month “to cover the most basic humanitarian needs for food and nutrition.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday underlined France’s intention to step up aid delivieries. “We will continue. Without respite. But only the immediate opening of land crossings will allow for massive and unhindered delivery,” he wrote on the social network X.

More than 50 tons of French humanitarian cargo are stuck in Egypt, a few kilometres from the border with Gaza.

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support.

But he insisted that “airdrops are not enough. Israel must grant full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine.”

International organisations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza, including refusing to issue border crossing permits, slow customs clearance, limited access points, and imposing dangerous routes.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – supported by Israel and the United States and opposed by NGOs – has since May become the main channel for distributing food but only has four main sites.

The UN has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory.

Insufficient deliveries

Other European nations such as Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy have also begun delivering aid by air.

Germany staged its first food airdrops into Gaza on Thursday and Friday, which coincided with a visit by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who warned that “the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination.”

At a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wadephul, Wadephul urged Israel “to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality”.

UN says hundreds killed in recent weeks while seeking aid in Gaza

Italy said Friday it would begin air drops over Gaza, becoming the latest European countries to do so. 

“I have given the green light to a mission involving Army and Air Force assets for the transport and airdrop of basic necessities to civilians in Gaza, who have been severely affected by the ongoing conflict,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement.

Italy’s air force will work with Jordan’s military to air drop special containers containing essential goods, with the first drops on 9 August, he said.

Spain on Friday said it had already air-dropped 12 tonnes of food into Gaza.

Meanwhile, the United States special envoy Steve Witkoff promised a plan to deliver more food to Gaza after inspecting a US-backed GHF distribution centre on Friday.

The visit was intended to give “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said.

(with newswires)

Since 21 July, 68-year-old chef Alain Passard has stopped serving meat, fish, dairy products and eggs at L’Arpège, his restaurant in the French capital’s chic seventh district that he has run for nearly 40 years.

The only exception is honey that comes from the restaurateur’s own beehives.

Passard said the switch had been in the pipeline for a year.

“There’s light in this cuisine,” he told AFP. “There are taste sensations that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.”

L’Arpège used to be known as one of the leading rotisseries in Paris. It earned three Michelin stars in 1996, and has held the distinction ever since.

In 2001, Passard caused a stir in the rarefied world of French cuisine by dropping red meat from his menu and saying he would focus more on vegetables grown in his gardens.

The shift made him one of the first ambassadors of plant-based cuisine.

Culinary challenge

While Passard’s new quest is motivated by environmental concerns, it is above all a culinary challenge.

The restaurant’s updated menu includes mesclun praline with roasted almonds and melon carpaccio. Lunch costs €260.

Passard has no plans to become a vegan militant himself.

“I still eat a little poultry and fish,” he said. “But I’m more comfortable with plants. They allow me to learn.”

Fellow French chef Claire Vallée knows from experience that Passard enjoys a challenge.

“It requires a lot more preparation, knowledge and research,” Vallée said of plant-based dishes. “It’s quite a colossal task.”

French chef Claire Vallée’s ONA is first vegan restaurant to win Michelin star

In 2016, she launched ONA – which stands for Origine Non Animale (“Non-Animal Origin”) – thanks to crowdfunding from supporters and a loan from a green bank.

And in 2021, her vegan restaurant in southwest France won a Michelin star, the first for an establishment serving only animal-free products in France.The establishment closed in 2022, and the 45-year-old chef went on to open several pop-up restaurants.

Since then, no other French restaurant serving only animal-free products has been awarded a Michelin star.

‘A major event’

Internationally, vegan haute cuisine is rare.

Eleven Madison Park in New York has kept its three stars after becoming exclusively vegan in 2021.

In the Netherlands, De Nieuwe Winkel’s plant-based menu has earned it two Michelin stars.

Laurent Guez, a food critic for French newspaper Le Parisien and business daily Les Echos, said Passard’s announcement was “a major event”.

But he also warned that not a lot of chefs could excel in the art of high-end plant-based gastronomy.

“It’s exceptional cuisine that not everyone can allow themselves to launch into,” he said.

Michelin Guide unveils new stars for 68 restaurants in France

Michelin guide international director Gwendal Poullennec said he was “delighted” with the transition at L’Arpège, describing it as a “positive approach”.

“We will continue to follow the evolution of L’Arpège, remaining faithful to our criteria,” he told French news agency AFP.

Passard has given himself two years to take his kitchen skills to a new level.

Is he worried about losing his three stars?

“I’ve never thought about that,” he said. “We’re going to have to deliver. If we can maintain this level of quality, then I’m extremely confident.”

(with AFP)

In a letter sent to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday, Macron confirmed France’s intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same. 

To date, about 144 of the 193 UN member states have recognised a Palestinian state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. Only a handful of the 27 EU countries do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.

Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia did so last year.

If Macron keeps his promise, France – a permanent member of the UN Security Council – will become the largest Western power and the first G7 country to recognise Palestinian statehood. 

The decision is mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long sought to establish such a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

But it makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage over the war in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas militants since the 7 October 2023 terror attack.

Why now?

Macron’s announcement on Thursday has been fuelled by the rising global outcry over starvation and devastation in Gaza.

According to the World Health Organization and a number of international aid organisations, Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery have led to mass starvation in the enclave, though Israel blames Hamas for the suffering.

Macron had been leaning towards recognising Palestine for months as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution – traditionally defended by France – alive. But he has speeded up the timetable.

“Emmanuel Macron has realised that, in reality, he cannot, unfortunately, expect French diplomacy to have a knock-on effect,” says Middle East specialist Frédéric Encel. “A few months ago, he had hoped that Saudi Arabia, or at least one Arab state, would recognise Israel as a price for France’s recognition of Palestine. That’s obviously not the case,” he told RFI.

Faced with Washington’s huge influence in the region and France’s diminishing influence there, Macron “decided to take the bull by the horns closer to the date of the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly at the beginning of September”. 

As co-host alongside Saudi Arabia of next week’s UN conference in New York aimed at promoting the two-state solution, France was also under pressure to clarify its stance.

“It’s difficult for France to chair a coalition in favour of a two-state solution if France itself does not recognise one of the two states,” says Hasni Abidi, director of the Geneva-based Centre for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World (CERMAM).

Israel’s war and settlements a strategy to block Palestinian state: legal expert

France still counts

Palestinian authorities in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank have largely welcomed France’s decision.

“At last, France is aligning itself with international law – a system that was invented and built in Europe,” says Anwar Abu Eisheh, the PA’s former culture minister.

“France, like Germany and the United Kingdom, is a major global player with considerable influence,” Eisheh told RFI. “And France is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council – that carries weight. This could help accelerate a genuine state-building process.”

Given that Palestinians have lost faith in the West, after lots of talk about values and human rights but little evidence on the ground, “this could at least help limit the damage”, he argues.

“More than 148 states have recognised a Palestinian state,” Abidi notes. “France can only be part of this march of history. What is happening today in Gaza is the result of international resignation and the lack of interest in the Palestinian question and the Palestinian state. And that, in my opinion, is an important factor that led President Macron to anticipate this decision.”

Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, a Middle East expert and co-author of the Atlas du Moyen-Orient, agrees. “It’s a crucial move. It reasserts the principles of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions calling for a two-state solution. France’s recognition of Palestine is a step in that direction.”

Going it alone

Encel, however, plays down the importance of Macron’s contribution.

“It won’t be a decisive contribution. Firstly, because it will change absolutely nothing on the ground. Secondly, because without the knock-on effect France will lose credibility.”

Macron’s announcement has indeed opened the door for other major G7 nations such as Britain, Germany and Canada to possibly jump on board.

Chagnollaud says that the announcement was initially scheduled to coincide with a conference in New York in June, which was postponed due to hostilities between Israel and Iran. “At that time, French diplomacy was actively seeking support from other players – Canada and the UK in particular. It was clear that France hoped to bring others on board, not just within Europe, but globally.”

In the immediate term, Malta and Belgium have indicated they could be the next EU countries to recognise a Palestinian state but whether bigger international players will follow is far from sure.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that his government would recognise a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France.

After discussing with Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ways to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza, Starmer said he was focused on the “practical solutions” that he thought would make a real difference to ending the war.

Earlier on Friday, a German government spokesperson said it was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and that its priority was to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.

Chagnollaud says Germany “remains paralysed by the historical weight of its responsibility for the Holocaust. 

And without Germany, Encel insists EU pressure on Israel will be minimal.

“As long as Germany, which is Israel’s economic heavyweight and main economic partner within the European Union, does not take this kind of step, the Israeli government will not take the French position into account.”

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

‘Rewarding terrorism’

“Despite the announcement, many Palestinians criticise France for remaining close to Israel, so I wouldn’t call it a breath of fresh air,” Encel says. “As for the Israeli government, it will make little difference –  they’re a far-right coalition that couldn’t care less what France or most European states do.”

Israel has reacted angrily, accusing France of “rewarding terrorism” in reference to Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas welcomed Macron’s decision as a “positive step” towards justice and self-determination for the Palestinian people.

Israel argues French recognition of Palestine will encourage Hamas to hold a harder line in ceasefire negotiations but France insists the announcement – which also called for Hamas to be demilitarised – was not about rewarding Hamas but rather “proving it wrong”.

“Hamas has always rejected the two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France is proving this terrorist movement wrong. It is proving the peace camp right against the war camp,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.

Israel slams French plan to recognise Palestinian state as a ‘prize for terror’

Domestic differences

France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations so any decisions relating to Israel and the Palestinians can have an impact on the domestic front.

Announcing his decision, Macron said “the French people want peace in the Middle East”.

However, a poll last month found that only 22 per cent were in favour of immediate and unconditional recognition while 47 per cent would accept recognition once Hamas had laid down its arms and released all the Israeli hostages.

Opinion among France’s political class is also divided. Jean-Luc Mélénchon, figurehead of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, which has long defended Palestinian rights, described Macron’s decision as a “moral victory”. Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte said that faced with famine and ongoing massacres “the priority is to stop the violence,” adding that recognition of Palestine, while not enough, is a step in the right direction.

The conservative Republicans party (LR) said that while it had “always been favourable” to recognising a Palestinian state, the conditions were not met.

“At present it would give victory to Hamas – a terrorist organisation – while the [Israeli] hostages have still not been freed”, it wrote in a statement. 

The far-right National Rally (RN) party, closely aligned to Israel’s right-wing Likud, said Macron’s decision was “precipitated”.  RN lawmaker Julien Odoul went further saying it legitimised Hamas.

“Be as violent as possible and you’ll be handed a state on a silver platter. The signal this sends to the world, especially from France, is appalling.”

Macron’s supporters within the government back the move as both a principled and strategic step.

When the three military-led states announced their withdrawal in January, Ecowas said their member benefits would continue until the terms of departure were finalised. The bloc called it an act of “regional solidarity”.

So far, the split has had little visible impact on daily life in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. But many practical issues still need to be resolved. 

Malian, Nigerien and Burkinabè officials have been formally dismissed from Ecowas and must leave their posts by 30 September.

Passports and identity cards issued under Ecowas rules remain valid. Free movement and the right to settle still apply. Goods and services continue to move without customs duties. But all of these arrangements are now subject to change.

Three Sahel nations exit West African bloc as regional politics shift

‘Consultations’  

In May, a first round of consultations brought together the foreign ministers of the three countries and ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray.

Both sides said they had discussed “political, diplomatic, administrative and institutional, legal, security and development” issues.

Cooperation on counter-terrorism was also mentioned.

At the end of the meeting, Ecowas and the AES bloc adopted a joint summary outlining next steps for talks.

“The challenge is to protect the people, trade, and what remains of Ecowas,” Malian political analyst Baba Dakono, executive secretary of the Citizen Observatory on Governance and Security (OCGS) in Bamako, told RFI’s Service Afrique.

He said the goal is to avoid undoing decades of regional progress, especially on free movement and trade.

“This withdrawal is a political decision. Now the aim is to ensure that its impact isn’t too severe – whether on the population or on trade between states – so that these exchanges can continue without being dragged back to the level of the 1970s, before Ecowas existed,” Dakono said.

He said the process would take time. All three countries are landlocked, and each is dealing with complex political and security challenges. Protecting civilians must be a priority, he added, along with safeguarding what remains of regional cooperation.

Negotiations are supposed to move to a technical level. But since May, no formal meetings have taken place.

“That doesn’t mean nothing is happening,” a senior official from Ecowas told RFI, without providing further details.

Mali’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to lead talks for the AES. It did not respond to RFI’s requests for comment.

West African group Ecowas turns 50 amid struggle to stay united

Internal reforms

Dakono said the withdrawal also puts pressure on Ecowas itself.

“There’s the issue of internal reform, of democratic transitions, and of course security – especially the spread of jihadist threats toward the coastal countries,” he said.

He said these challenges must be addressed alongside the break with the AES.

The AES countries have said that Ecowas nationals will be allowed to enter their shared territory without a visa. But visa-free access in the other direction has yet to be agreed.

Other rules on the right to settle, do business or trade goods across borders also need to be reviewed.

Ecowas funds and implements a number of programmes in the three countries. These too may now be at risk.

Debt repayments are also on the table. All three states have loans from the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and repayment terms will need to be renegotiated.

Ecowas has said it wants to avoid punishing the people of the Sahel. But it also wants to make clear that quitting the bloc comes with consequences. A deal seen as too soft could reduce the incentive to remain and lead others to follow.

The bloc itself is undergoing internal reform.

So the political, financial and legal disentangling may take years.

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

Growing insecurity

Security in the region has also shifted.

France once played a major role in supporting West African states, but that chapter is now ending. Paris has handed over control of its last military base in the region.

French troops have now left Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Russia is becoming their main strategic partner.

In Mali, Wagner has been replaced by another Russian military group, Africa Corps.

Over the past three years, France has scaled back its military operations in its former colonies, under pressure from local leaders. For years, it had led efforts to fight jihadist groups and armed criminal networks across the Sahel.

But more than a decade of insurgency has displaced millions, destroyed economies and pushed violence further south toward the coast.

The past two months have seen a sharp rise in jihadist attacks – one of the deadliest periods in recent Sahel history.

(with Reuters)

The agency has called for urgent reform to end what it described as a “double punishment” of vulnerable minors caught up in criminal networks. The report, published on Wednesday to mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, highlighted the systematic failure to recognise children forced into crime as victims rather than perpetrators.

“Children who are victims of criminal exploitation are insufficiently recognised and protected as victims,” Unicef France stated. “They are too often prosecuted and criminally sanctioned for offences committed as a consequence of their exploitation.”

Majority from the Africa continent

The report reveals the huge scale of the problem. Data from France’s inter-ministerial mission for protecting women against violence and combatting human trafficking (Miprof) shows that more than two-thirds of people involved in criminal exploitation – including prostitution, drug trafficking, pickpocketing, burglary, charity scams and document fraud – are under 18.

The vast majority of identified minors – 92 per cent – are unaccompanied, with 81 per cent originating from Africa, particularly Algeria and Morocco. A further 19 per cent come from Europe, mainly Eastern and Southern European countries including Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Boys and young men account for 89 per cent of victims.

“The people who exploit them use different strategies: addiction, blackmail, threats, psychological pressure, violence,” said Corentin Bailleul, Unicef France’s advocacy coordinator. “Young people who are exploited are often recruited under false promises or forced to act to survive or repay a debt.”

However, on the ground “their exploitation is little recognised, with few exceptions,” Bailleul added. He cited the January 2024 trial of the so-called “little thieves of Trocadéro” as a rare example of appropriate justice. In that particular case, six Algerian nationals were convicted for supplying isolated teenagers with psychotropic drugs, “initially free of charge”, to control them and force them to steal from tourists. Child protection associations have described the case as exemplary.

French child welfare service accused of allowing kids to fall into prostitution

Legal reform needed

Unicef insists that France’s lack of mechanisms for identifying and referring victims of trafficking makes it impossible to assess the true scale of the phenomenon, and that currently available data is therefore underestimated. In 2022, only 352 victims – both adults and children – were identified by NGOs. This figure dropped to 236 in 2023.

By comparison, in the United Kingdom, where such a mechanism is in place, criminal exploitation is currently the most frequently reported form of child exploitation, with 2,891 children identified as victims in 2024.

Unicef argues that international and European law (UN Convention on the rights of the child, 2005 Warsaw Convention, Palermo Protocol against transnational organised crime) requires these children be recognised and protected as trafficking victims, not criminalised for offences they were compelled to commit.

The organisation call for legal reform, urging France to inscribe in its penal code that “a person who is a victim of exploitation cannot be criminally responsible when the offence committed is a consequence of trafficking“.

Unicef sounds alarm over child poverty in French overseas departments

Unicef also wants amendments to France’s civil code, specifying that “any minor who is exploited, even occasionally, is deemed to be in danger and falls under the protection of the children’s judge”.

(with newswires)

Conservative think tanks, whose influence was once limited to Washington’s corridors of power, are now establishing connections with political actors and organisations in countries such as Poland and Hungary, working to shape Europe’s future.

This report delves into the activities of the Heritage Foundation and its burgeoning alliances with groups including Ordo Iuris in Poland and the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Hungary.

These organisations advocate for conservative cultural and economic reforms, sparking heated debate over national identity, the structure of the European Union and the future of liberal democracy across the region.

Can Europe withstand the ripple effect of the MAGA political wave?

As alliances form and agendas clash, a crucial question looms: are these movements charting a course toward genuine European reform, or steering the continent toward greater division? 

Voices from both sides share their perspectives, revealing the complexity behind this transatlantic ideological exchange.

Our guests: 

Chris Murphy, Senator (D, Connecticut)

Kenneth Haar, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory 

Zbigniew Przybylowski, development director at Ordo Iuris

Rodrigo Ballester, head of the Centre for European Studies at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC)

Negotiators from almost 180 countries are to gather in the Swiss city on Tuesday for another round of United Nations-backed talks, aimed at forging the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution – after previous attempts failed to reach a consensus.

Over the following 10 days, international stakeholders will attempt to resolve more than 300 outstanding points in a draft treaty, ranging from production caps to chemical restrictions.

Global plastic pollution talks extended after nations fail to reach crucial deal

Plastic pollution has become so widespread that microplastics are now found on the highest mountains, in the deepest ocean trenches – and throughout the human body, including in blood and organs.

Ahead of the talks, a new report published in British medical journal The Lancet warned that plastic pollution poses a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger” to human health, with estimated global costs exceeding $1.5 trillion annually.

Comparing the harm done by plastic to that of air pollution and lead, the review calls for urgent legislative action.

Philip Landrigan, a doctor and researcher at Boston College, stressed the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, especially children.

“It is incumbent on us to act,” he said in a statement. “To those meeting in Geneva: please take up the challenge and the opportunity of finding the common ground that will enable meaningful and effective international cooperation in response to this global crisis.”

Oil industry lobbies

The road to Geneva has not been smooth, as talks held last December in Busan, South Korea, ended in deadlock, largely due to a fundamental rift between nations advocating for binding limits on plastic production and mostly oil-producing countries who pushed instead for solutions such as improved waste management.

Environmental advocates are urging negotiators not to shy away from tough decisions. “Governments must act in the interest of people, not polluters,” said Greenpeace’s Graham Forbes, who also expressed concern over the strong presence of industry lobbyists at the talks.

Meanwhile, Ilane Seid of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) reiterated that a meaningful treaty must tackle the entire life cycle of plastics – including production.

According to the OECD, if no action is taken global plastic consumption could triple by 2060. Currently 460 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year – half of it single-use – and less than 10 percent of that is recycled.

At UN ocean summit, 95 countries back ‘wake-up call’ to cap plastic production

Cautious optimism

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is overseeing the talks, warns that plastic waste in soils and waterways could rise by 50 percent by 2040 if current trends continue.

Still, there is cautious optimism. UNEP executive director Inger Andersen believes a treaty is within reach. “Despite the complexity and the brackets in the text – over 300 of them – it’s very possible to leave Geneva with a treaty,” she said.

Yet, the final shape of that treaty remains uncertain. Bjorn Beeler of the IPEN network, which campaigns against toxic chemicals, notes that negotiators are under pressure to avoid another inconclusive round.

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

“The escape hatch is most likely a skeleton that’s going to be called a treaty,” he said, “but it needs finance, guts and a soul to be actually something effective.”

The talks are taking place against a backdrop of shifting global politics, including scepticism over multilateral agreements from major powers such as the United States, under the Trump administration.

Nevertheless, a growing coalition is pushing for ambition. At the UN Oceans Conference in Nice in June, 95 countries – including the European Union member states, Mexico and Senegal – called for a treaty that includes production reduction targets.

(with newswires)

Two billion years ago, the eastern Gabonese region of Lastourville was covered by a vast ocean.

But that has long given way to dense forest and dolomite cliffs dotted with caves, within which scientists have unearthed traces of human life dating back to 25,000 years BC.

Off the beaten track even for archaeologists, the Youmbidi rock shelter, a cavern typical of those chosen by prehistoric humans to set up their homes, is the focus for French geoarchaeologist Richard Oslisly’s team.

Among their finds: a stone tool which could have been used for cutting or making fibres dating to before 10,000 BC.

An arrowhead has also been unearthed, as has a collection of dolomite, quartz and jasper shards, cut up to 10,000 years ago by the cave’s inhabitants.

World’s oldest prehistoric burial site discovered in South Africa

“The vast majority of research in Africa has taken place in open landscapes such as the Sahara, Sahel or Egypt,” said Oslisly, who has spent 45 years working in central Africa.

“They said to me ‘there’s nothing in the forest’ (but) I took up the challenge of finding out what was happening there,” he added.

“We realise there is a very close relationship between man and nature in these forests, where people have lived for a very long time,” Oslisly said.

The Youmbidi cave – where scientists have recorded 12,000 years of continuous human habitation – is an enticing spot for the archeologists.

“We don’t know at all how these people lived, what their way of life was, what their names were, what their languages were,” said Geoffroy de Saulieu from France’s IRD Research Institute for Development.

“Our research will help us to know a little more,” he added.

French cave findings suggest Europe’s first Homo sapiens arrived earlier than thought

Jigsaw puzzle

After a month of digging and careful sorting of every stone, charcoal remnant, bone and other treasure buried below the cave, the team has elements to help decipher the past.

De Saulieu said it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

“You have to… gather the smallest clues, place them end to end to gradually reconstruct a whole universe that has disappeared and which is, nevertheless, at the origin of the way of life in central Africa today,” said the expert, currently attached to the National Agency of National Parks of Gabon.

One of the oldest bits of pottery found in central Africa, which dated to more than 6,500 years ago, is among this year’s finds.

Human-looking teeth that could allow DNA to be extracted in what would prove a significant leap in research have also excited archaeologists.

And, like all the artefacts, a bead likely made between 3,300 and 4,900 years ago from a snail shell also offers precious insight as a “very humble but beautiful witness” of the epoch in question.

Dispelling stereotypical images of prehistoric Man, it suggests people had “real customs, a real civilisation and art of living,” de Saulieu said.

The pottery “shows that these societies weren’t immobile, they had launched themselves into technical innovations”, he added.

The discoveries fan his fascination for the richness of “the social life which existed in the region’s forests”.

Archaeologists announce major Stone Age discovery in Morocco

Resilience

Glimpses into an ancient lost world can also be useful for tackling present-day challenges, the experts said.

During the Holocene period which dates back the past 12,000 years, “central Africa has experienced very significant changes in climate, hydrology and vegetation,” said paleoclimatologist Yannick Garcin, also from the IRD and involved in the Youmbidi dig.

The hope is that the cave will unlock an understanding of “the resilience of human populations in the past and how they were able to adapt to climate changes that could have been drastic”, he said.

Central Africa for that reason “deserves major development in terms of research”, Oslisly argued.

Understanding what happened in prehistoric times can help scientists today react to modern-day issues, he added.

“Good studies on the relationship between Man and the environment in the past will allow us to react better to the environmental changes that are ahead of us,” he said.

In England, the memory of last summer’s riots in Southport still lingers. The unrest began after three young girls were stabbed to death at a dance class in the seaside town on 19 July 2024.

The attack sparked violent protests that quickly spread to Northern Ireland, with riots breaking out in over a dozen towns and cities across the two nations of the United Kingdom.

Far-right activists were blamed for fuelling tensions by spreading false claims that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The unrest, which lasted several days, saw far-right rioters attack police, shops, hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques, with hundreds of participants subsequently arrested and charged.

A year later, the same pattern is repeating. On Sunday 3 August, clashes broke out at protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers in Epping, Manchester, Newcastle and London. Far-right demonstrators clashed with anti-racism groups and local residents. Fifteen people were arrested.

In one such incident in Epping, a London suburb, anti-racism and refugee aid groups and residents opposed to the accommodation of asylum seekers in a local hotel had called for simultaneous rallies on Sunday, 3 August. Hundreds gathered from both sides under heavy police surveillance, following tensions at the site of the hotel the previous week.

On Saturday, a rally was held outside another hotel in Bowthorpe, near Norwich, according to UK media reports. On 21 July, several dozen people had demonstrated in Diss, in the east of England, to demand the closure of another hotel also housing asylum seekers.

UK fears new summer of unrest, year after Southport riots

A few weeks prior, on 9 June, the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland erupted when two teenagers of Romanian origin were arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young girl.

Foreign residents of the town were forced to hide in wardrobes and attics to escape the rioters, with some hanging signs outside their homes declaring that they were Filipino, not Eastern European. Some housing associations warned residents to leave their homes and secure their property. 

A month later, on 9 July, similar scenes played out in Spain after a 68-year-old man was attacked in the town of Torre Pacheco in Murcia, in the southwest.

Rallies held on 19 July in more than 80 towns and cities in Poland on 19 July remained peaceful, but saw protesters marching under “Stop immigration” banners in protest at Europe-wide policies.

Poland’s border clampdown highlights EU tensions as leaders gather in London

“We are witnessing a deliberate erosion of the fundamental principles of democratic coexistence,” according to Gemma Pinyol Jiménez, a professor at the faculty of political science and sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

To continue to regard these demonstrations as isolated events would be “to run the risk of missing the crux of the problem” – namely “the growing normalisation of hate speech and xenophobia,” she said.

The chicken or the egg?

Identity-based rhetoric, generally promoted by the far right, has been present in Europe since the beginning of the twentieth century. But the return of frequent, large-scale and often violent demonstrations signals a resurgence in the popularity of these ideas. But are they the root cause of the riots, or a catalyst for pre-existing tensions? 

According to Pinyol Jiménez, “growing inequality, economic anxiety and social fragmentation” are among the reasons why those affected see identity-based discourse as the answer to their situation.

She added that although they are not the only reason for the re-emergence of xenophobic violence, these positions “foster fear, advocate exclusion and give legitimacy to violent action”. The migrant takes on the role of scapegoat and becomes “a danger rather than a human being”.

“High housing prices, unemployment or precarious working conditions” make it easy to “blame immigrants for all the ills of society”, says Zenia Hellgren, a sociologist at Barcelona’s public university and a member of an interdisciplinary research group on immigration.

In the UK, the youth unemployment rate is around 14 percent, while in Spain it is higher than 24 percent. Both countries are also experiencing a major housing crisis.

From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe’s far right

In the UK, successive governments have kept the idea of a migratory crisis smouldering for years, with far-right figures fanning the flames by playing on collective fears.

Islamophobic influencer Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – known as Tommy Robinson – has regularly used his X (formerly Twitter) account, with its 1.3 million followers, to declare his support for those demonstrating outside what he calls “migrant hotels” – although he is yet to make an appearance at the protests. 

Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, made his voice heard in the Epping protests by reposting misinformation about the police busing in counter-demonstrators.

The role of sectarianism

In Northern Ireland, the sectarianism that is an integral party of the country’s history has a significant part to play in anti-immigration rhetoric, according to Jack Crangle, professor of modern history at Queen’s University Belfast.

The hostility between Catholics and Protestants – republicans who identify as Irish and want to see Northern Ireland reunited with the Republic of Ireland, and loyalists who identify as British and support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK, respectively – manifested as the 30-year ethno-religious conflict known as the Troubles, between the late 1960s and 1998. 

While tensions between the two communities remain, this hostility “has gradually been directed towards a new ‘Other’ as immigration to Northern Ireland has increased” Crangle observed in an article entitled: Northern Ireland has a long history of immigration and diversity. And of racism.

The increase in anti-immigration and xenophobic rhetoric and activity on the part of certain loyalist movements, for whom Britishness is integral to their identity, has been documented for several years now.

On 10 July, a bonfire erected in the village of Moygashel as part of the annual loyalist celebrations of 12 July (commemorating the 1690 Battle of the Boyne in which Protestant King William of Orange defeated Catholic King James II) featured a boat full of black-skinned mannequins at the top of the pyre, accompanied by a sign reading “stop the boats”.

Historical imagery

In Spain too, history is invoked to support the arguments of those opposed to immigration.

Since its rise to prominence in 2019, the country’s far-right Vox party has drawn on “the imagery of the Reconquista,” according to Carole Viñals, senior lecturer at the University of Lille and a specialist in contemporary Spain – referring to the period from 718-1492 in which Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territories previously conquered by Muslim forces.

“They reject any attack on Spain’s territorial unity,” Viñals continued, “which [they say] is jeopardised by the influx of immigrants.”

In the 2023 regional elections, Vox doubled its national score of 12.3 percent in the province of Murcia, reaching 26 percent in the municipality of Torre Pacheco – scene of July’s unrest. The president of Vox in the region, José Ángel Antelo, is currently under investigation for inciting racial hatred in connection with the riots.

Pinyol Jiménez believes the violence observed in various parts of Europe since last summer needs to be viewed as a whole.

While she stresses the need to clamp down on hate speech, she says that above all European governments need to strengthen the welfare state, to respond to “the real needs of the population”, if they want to see the “national preference” rhetoric brandished by the far right extinguished once and for all.

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

President Félix Tshisekedi used the occasion to call on parliament to adopt a resolution recognising the violence in eastern Congo as genocide.

“I solemnly call upon both houses of parliament to examine as soon as possible the adoption of an official resolution proclaiming the recognition of genocide committed on our territory,” Tshisekedi said on Saturday.

He said the deaths of thousands of civilians in the east of the country meet the legal definition of genocide under the 1948 UN convention. He also promised to take the campaign for recognition to international forums.

The annual Genocost commemoration takes place every 2 August. It was first held three years ago. This year, a new memorial was opened near the National Museum in Kinshasa.

From 1960 to present day, 11 dates that explain the conflict in the DRC

Repeated conflict

Eastern Congo, rich in minerals and bordering Rwanda, has faced repeated conflict since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Violence has escalated again since early 2025.

The term “Genocost” was first used in London in 2013 by a member of the Congolese Action Youth Platform (CAYP). It followed the UN’s Mapping Report, which documented large-scale crimes in eastern Congo dating back to 1996. The report said several neighbouring countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, shared responsibility.

For CAYP France, the creation of a national remembrance day is a major step. Gloria Menayame, a legal expert with the NGO, told RFI it was a “victory” but said more needs to be done.

But, she also said that it “feels unfinished”.

“The adoption of the Genocost campaign is something we welcome,” she said. “What we didn’t want was this partial appropriation that only takes what suits the authorities. There’s a lot of talk about international responsibility or the creation of an international tribunal. But they forget to put in place mechanisms to address crimes at the national level. We believe our government has the means, but lacks the will.”

DRC conflict coltan entering EU via Rwandan smuggling routes, report finds

Long road to recognition

The idea of the Genocost began gaining support after 2013, as calls for reparations grew. Civil society groups pointed to a long history of resource-driven violence going back to colonial times.

Supporters of the campaign renamed a square in Kinshasa “Genocost Square” and began holding events there every 2 August. The date marks the start of the Second Congo War in 1998.

But the government only adopted the term officially in late 2022, after the M23 rebel group returned to action and tensions with Rwanda increased.

One key aim of the campaign is the creation of an international criminal tribunal for the DRC.

Tshisekedi also said he would raise the issue at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

DR Congo extends cobalt export ban by three months

Theoretical issues

Some legal experts say the Genocost concept remains controversial. Ithiel Batumike, a researcher at the Congolese think tank Ebuteli, told RFI the term is based on real anger and frustration over decades of violence, but it still needs to be defined more clearly in legal terms.

“All Congolese believe it is time to stop this spiral of violence,” he said.

“The big questions all Congolese are asking themselves: ‘Until when?’ and ‘Why does the international community act as if it doesn’t see everything that is happening in Congo, when it is paying sustained attention to other crises where it has actually intervened to stop the massacres?'”

Another issue is the role of Congolese leaders and military officials in the conflict.

Menayame said some members of the Congolese government have been named in UN reports as being involved in crimes committed in the country.

These include several generals active in conflict zones. She said their actions should not be ignored.

The unrest comes as the country prepares for elections on 25 October. Court rulings have excluded several major opposition figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo of the African People’s Party (PPA-CI) and Tidjane Thiam of the PDCI-RDA.

On Sunday, PPA-CI said six of its members were arrested in what it described as a wave of repression. The party claimed they were “kidnapped and taken to unknown locations” during the night from Saturday to Sunday.

“A wave of repression is sweeping across our leaders and activists,” said Sébastien Dano Djédjé, executive president of the PPA-CI, at a press conference attended by RFI’s correspondent.

He called for the immediate release of the six, one of whom is a substitute deputy for a district in the economic capital Abidjan.

Interior Minister Vagondo Diomandé said on Sunday that 11 people had been arrested by security forces following violence in Abidjan’s Yopougon district on the night of Friday 1 August.

The PDCI-RDA, led by, also protested the arrest of six youth leaders last week. The party said the circumstances were “unclear” and “worrying”.

A struggle for candidates

President Ouattara, 83, confirmed last week that he will seek a fourth term.

But opposition leaders say they have been unfairly targeted. Gbagbo, Thiam, former youth minister Charles Blé Goudé and exiled former prime minister Guillaume Soro have all been struck from the electoral roll by court decisions.

None of them are expected to be allowed to run in October.

Four Côte d’Ivoire opposition figures barred from October presidential election

In a pastoral letter published last week, the Bishops’ Conference of Côte d’Ivoire called for a “fair and inclusive” vote in which all major candidates could take part.

Jacques Ahiwa, Archbishop of Bouaké, told RFI that the church is trying to respond to people’s fears.

“People are worried about a potentially violent election,” he said on Monday. “With every past poll, people have been afraid and this is coming back; people are asking us to pray but also to act. As religious men, we must act to preserve peace.”

He said the lack of plurality was a concern, and warned that excluding major candidates could harm the democratic process.

He called for platforms for dialogue and peaceful debate to prevent further protests and violence.

“We need to use African wisdom to preserve peace and save human life,” he said.

(with newswires)

After 12 days of conflict that killed around 1,000 people and paralysed the economy, Iranians are now battling power cuts, water shortages and soaring prices.

In many cities, water pressure remains low and some dams have dropped to their lowest levels in a century. In Tehran, power cuts continue every day. Officials have warned the capital’s water supply could run out within weeks.

“The power goes out every day,” said Alireza, a man in his sixties interviewed by RFI during the heatwave.

“These last few days, we’ve had two blackouts per day. Now there are cuts in drinking water with new excuses every day. One day it’s a drop in network pressure, next day they say there’s no more water. If electricity and water are cut completely, we don’t know where we’ll go.”

Since mid-July, temperatures above 50C in parts of the country have accelerated the depletion of water reserves and overloaded ageing infrastructure. Business closures caused by power failures have shaken public confidence in an economy already in crisis.

Experts interviewed by RFI said the root causes are poor governance and entrenched corruption.

French couple face death penalty in Iran on spying and conspiracy charges

Water crisis and corruption

“This is not a sudden phenomenon caused by climate change, although it certainly makes things worse,” said Steve Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The real problem is water management. A significant share of water is lost before it even reaches users, due to leaks and lack of investment.”

Iran’s water system is struggling to meet the needs of more than 90 million people. Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iranian economist, told RFI that government policies have worsened the situation.

“The regime set itself a demographic goal of reaching 150 million inhabitants, while also aiming for agricultural self-sufficiency. But rivers and underground sources are drying up, and management is poor. These two policies are incompatible,” he said.

Ghasseminejad also criticised the government for putting military and intelligence spending ahead of basic infrastructure.

“The government prioritised military, nuclear, and intelligence projects. That means less money to solve water and electricity issues,” he said.

He added that large public works are often handed to companies close to power, including those linked to the Revolutionary Guards.

“A large share of funds meant for national investments is diverted. Companies tied to the Revolutionary Guards and the Supreme Leader are systematically favoured, pushing out private firms that work more efficiently. As a result, projects that should take two years end up taking 10 or 15 years,” Ghasseminejad said.

Decades of constant economic instability have pushed many Iranians to convert their savings into dollars or euros. This further weakens the rial and drives up inflation.

Family of French-German cyclist detained in Iran says he is ‘innocent’

Endless inflation

In July, Iran’s inflation rate hit 57.7 percent. “Iranians are struggling to predict whether their income will cover their expenses,” said Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, associate professor of economics at Virginia Tech. “Prices rise every month, but wages are only adjusted once a year.”

After falling sharply from 2013 to 2020, Iran’s GDP has slowly improved over the past five years. In 2024, it reached an estimated $436.9 billion, well below the 2012-2013 peak of $644 billion.

Despite having well-developed sectors in cars, agriculture and manufacturing, Iran’s economy is still heavily dependent on discounted oil and gas sales to China. New US sanctions and ongoing mismanagement kept growth to around 3 percent in 2024 – too low to ease the country’s deeper problems.

While economists say heavy state subsidies have so far prevented a humanitarian crisis, they warn that ongoing inflation is hitting the poorest Iranians the hardest.

The Covid pandemic briefly lifted living standards and lowered poverty rates. But over the past year, those gains have reversed. “It’s very likely that the standard of living has declined,” said Salehi-Isfahani, who reported falling wages among unskilled workers.

One in three Iranians still lives below the poverty line. Per capita income is just $4,800 a year, among the lowest in the region, according to the World Bank. With inflation eating into wages, many families are struggling to afford basic goods – and public anger is rising.

“Inflation is a regressive tax: it hits the poor much harder than the rich. Today, workers have to spend their wages immediately before prices go up even further,” said Hanke.

The rial has lost more than 38.7 percent of its value against the euro, according to Bonbast.com, a site that tracks Iran’s black-market exchange rate. Due to legal restrictions, media cannot publish exchange rates that differ from the official government rate, so many Iranians turn to unofficial platforms.

Businesses are also being hit by the confusion over the currency’s real value. Bonbast told RFI that because the government’s official rate is out of sync with the market, many companies can’t set fair prices.

“Consequently, they rely on our services to determine prices based on real rates,” a Bonbast representative said.

With the heatwave halting production, the impact on employment is worsening. “Many businesses are closing and laying off workers. And even when they keep their jobs, some Iranians are no longer receiving their salaries or are being paid with heavy delays,” Ghasseminejad said.

Turkey walks a fine line as conflict between Israel and Iran cools

Israel, sabotage and cyberattacks

The crisis has been deepened by tensions with Israel. In the past two weeks, a wave of fires and explosions has hit Iranian oil sites, homes and factories. The New York Times reported that officials suspect Israeli sabotage.

“Nothing new here. Israel, alongside the United States, has long applied economic pressure on Iran. It’s part of a long-term strategy,” said Hanke.

Official figures show the 12-day war killed 935 people in Iran. Oil facilities and other key infrastructure were damaged.

The country’s digital services sector, which supports 10 million jobs, lost around $170 million after internet shutdowns ordered by the regime during the war, according to the Geneva-based Digital Watch Observatory.

More than 20,000 cyberattacks were recorded in just 12 days. Many targeted Iran’s financial systems. Some were claimed by pro-Israeli hackers. Digital Watch reported that attacks wiped out crypto-assets and disrupted military salary payments, causing the rial to drop a further 12 percent.

“I am going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump declared at a press conference on 28 July during his visit to Scotland.

“There is no reason to wait 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we don’t see any progress being made.” 

The American president admitted his efforts to end the Ukraine war had failed and that his patience with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was at an end.

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Trump later confirmed 8 August as the date for the new measures. With US-Russian trade down 90 percent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump warned that other countries importing Russian goods would also be hit by secondary sanctions.

“If you take his [Trump] promises at face value, then he should look at all countries that import any Russian commodities that is of primary importance to the Russian budget – this includes, of course, crude oil, and here you have China and India mostly,” explained George Voloshin of Acams, a global organisation dedicated to anti-financial crime, training and education.

Voloshin also claims that Turkey could be a target as well. “In terms of petroleum products, Turkey is one of the big importers. It also refines Russian petroleum in its own refineries,” Voloshin added.

“Turkey imports lots of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline. Turkey is very much dependent on Russian gas and Russian petroleum products.”

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

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ankara insists it is only bound by United Nations sanctions.

Last year, Turkey was Russia’s third-largest export market, with Russian natural gas accounting for more than  40 percent of its energy needs.

Putin has used Turkey’s lack of meaningful domestic energy reserves and dependence on Russian gas to develop a close relationship with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Putin knows that no matter what Trump wants, Turkey is not going to act in any military or sanctions capacity against Russia and Iran. You know, these are Turkey’s red lines. We can’t do it,” said analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners.

“Trump is 10,000 miles away. These people are our neighbours,” added Yeşilada. “So Putin doesn’t think of Turkey as a threat, but as an economic opportunity, and perhaps as a way to do things with the West that he doesn’t want to do directly.”

Ankara is performing a delicate balancing act. While maintaining trading ties with Russia, Erdoğan remains a strong supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Turkey is a major arms seller to Ukraine, while at the same time, Erdoğan continues to try and broker peace between the warring parties.

Last month, Istanbul was the venue for Russian–Ukrainian talks for the second time in as many months. Such efforts drew the praise of Trump.

Trump and Erdogan grow closer as cooperation on Syria deepens

Trump’s pressure mounts on energy and trade

The American president has made no secret of his liking for Erdoğan, even calling him a friend. Such close ties, along with Turkey’s regional importance to Washington, analysts say, is a factor in Ankara’s Western allies turning a blind eye to its ongoing trade with Russia.

“I think Turkey has got a pass on several levels from Russian sanctions,” observed regional expert Sinan Ciddi of the Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

However, Ciddi cautions that Trump remains unpredictable and that previous actions are no guarantee for the future.

“Past experience is not an indicator of future happenings. We just don’t know what Trump will demand. This is not a fully predictive administration in Washington,” Ciddi said.

“We do know right now that he [Trump] is very unhappy with Putin. He blames Putin for prolonging the Ukraine war,” added Ciddi.

Change of stance

“And if he feels sufficiently upset, there is a possibility that no waivers will be granted to any country. Turkey will be up against a very, very unappetising and unenviable set of choices to make.”

Trump has successfully lobbied the European Union to increase its purchases of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), replacing Russian imports. Similar demands could put Ankara in a difficult position.

“If Trump pressures Turkey not to buy Russian natural gas, that would definitely be a huge shock,” warned Yeşilada.

“Trump might say, for instance: ‘Buy energy from me or whatever.’ But I don’t think we’re there yet. There is no way Turkey can replace Russian gas.”

However, Trump could point to Turkey’s recent expansion of its LNG facilities, which now include five terminals and have excess capacity to cover Russian imports, although storage facilities remain a challenge.

Turkey’s energy infrastructure is also built around receiving Russian energy, and any shift to American energy would likely be hugely disruptive and expensive, at a time when the Turkish economy is in crisis.

Putin retains another energy card over Erdoğan. A Russian company is building a huge nuclear power plant in Turkey, which could account for 20 percent of the country’s energy needs.

Ciddi argues Erdoğan is now paying the price of over-relying on Russia.

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

“There is no need to have resorted to making Ankara this dependent on natural gas, nuclear energy, or for that matter bilateral trade. This was a choice by Erdoğan,” said Ciddi.

“The fact it is so dependent on so many levels in an almost unique way is something that Turkey will have to rethink.”

But for now, Erdoğan will likely be relying on his expertise in diplomatic balancing acts, along with his close ties to Trump and Turkey’s importance to Washington’s regional goals, to once again escape the worst of any sanctions over Russian trade – although Trump may yet extract a price for such a concession.

Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered so far and 32 survivors rescued from the wreck in the Gulf of Aden.

According to the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the vessel was carrying 157 people when it sank.

The disaster took place near the coast of Abyan governorate – an area often used by smugglers moving migrants from East Africa to Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Yemeni officials said some of the survivors had been taken to the port city of Aden for medical care and support.

Earlier figures from the IOM reported 68 deaths, but the toll has since risen.

“The fate of the missing is still unknown,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Yemen.

Saudi security forces accused of killing of Ethiopian migrants on Yemen border

Yemen remains hub for migrants

Despite being in the middle of a civil war since 2014, Yemen remains a key transit route for migrants, especially from Ethiopia.

Many take what’s known as the “Eastern Route” – crossing from Djibouti over the Red Sea and into Yemen, hoping to reach wealthier countries.

The IOM said at least 558 people died on this route last year. Of those, 462 were killed in boat accidents.

Last month, at least eight migrants died after smugglers forced them to jump into the sea before reaching the coast.

The IOM and Yemeni authorities confirmed that most of the passengers on the most recent boat were from Ethiopia.

Fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray ends truce as millions need humanitarian aid

Tigray conflict drives displacement

Ethiopia’s brutal civil war in the Tigray region has been a major reason behind the growing number of people leaving the country.

The conflict broke out in 2020 between government forces and fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. It left tens of thousands dead and forced millions from their homes.

Despite a formal peace agreement signed in November 2022, the situation remains fragile, with intermittent violence and a dire lack of access to food, healthcare, and essential services in affected areas.

Many Ethiopians – especially from the Tigray and Oromia regions – have been driven to flee the country in search of safety and stability abroad.

Migration routes through Djibouti and across the Red Sea into Yemen have seen increased traffic as a result – despite the known dangers. 

(with AFP)

The blast, caused by hundreds of tonnes of badly stored ammonium nitrate, killed 235 people and injured more than 6,500. It tore through the capital, flattening homes, damaging businesses and gutting historic neighbourhoods.

It was one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. Beirut was left in ruins. The shockwave could be felt for kilometres. But five years on, there is still no justice, no clear answers and no full recovery.

France leads international push for Beirut reconstruction after fatal blast

Search for accountability

From the outset, the investigation has faced relentless political obstruction. The first judge tasked with the case, Fadi Sawan, was removed in early 2021 after charging two former ministers – Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaïter – both close allies of powerful political figures.

His successor, Judge Tarek Bitar, has shown determination to press on despite enormous pressure. He upheld the charges and issued arrest warrants for numerous politicians, officials, and port employees.

However, Bitar’s efforts have sparked fierce resistance, particularly from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, who claim the probe is politically motivated.

This culminated in armed clashes during a protest in October 2021, tragically echoing Lebanon’s civil war. Since then, dozens of legal appeals have been filed to stall the investigation, with the process grinding to a near halt for over a year.

There is now renewed hope. Since January 2025, under a new government less beholden to political factions, Bitar has resumed his work.

With support from the current prosecutor, several fresh arrest warrants have been issued. There are signs that an indictment could finally be issued before the year’s end, potentially paving the way for long-awaited trials.

Rebuilding against the odds

Justice is not the only thing that’s stalled – so too has reconstruction. In neighbourhoods like Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhaël, once vibrant cultural and commercial hubs, rebuilding has been slow and sporadic.

The ambiguity surrounding the cause of the explosion has left insurance payouts in limbo.

Whether the blast is classified as an accident or a terrorist act significantly affects compensation – delays that have left thousands in financial uncertainty.

Added to this is the collapse of the Lebanese state. Bankrupt, politically paralysed, and deeply mistrusted by international donors, the government has failed to lead a proper reconstruction effort.

French-hosted international conference on Lebanon raises $370 million

Corruption and incompetence have blocked plans and funding, and no cohesive state-led strategy has been implemented.

But amidst the frustration, there is resilience. Many residents and small business owners, refusing to be defeated by bureaucracy or despair, have pressed on with rebuilding on their own, relying on community solidarity and limited private support.

Lebanon is no stranger to hardship. Yet five years since the port disaster, the lack of closure continues to cast a long shadow over the country.

Following a recent government call to help clear beaches swarmed by the seaweed species known scientifically as Rugulopteryx okamurae, several volunteers and charities have stepped in.

“When it washes up, we can’t swim,” said Salim Hemmedi, a 43-year-old vacationer at a beach in Sidi Fredj, where volunteers raked up heaps of the plant.

“We hope the situation will improve so that we can enjoy ourselves… and that children can swim in peace.”

The alga originates from temperate waters around Japan and the Korean peninsula in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

It was first spotted in Algeria in late 2023, according to Lamia Bahbah, a lecturer and researcher at the National School of Marine Sciences and Coastal Planning.

And lately, some have noted that it has been increasingly washed ashore.

Youcef Segni, a marine engineer and biologist, said the algae proliferated at a significantly higher rate than in 2023 and 2024.

“They invade the habitats of other algae in the seabed, which leads to the disappearance of some species,” he said, adding that it can also displace some native fish.

Mediterranean Sea experienced marine heatwaves of ‘record intensity’

Fast reproduction

In France, Spain and Portugal, the Rugulopteryx okamurae species has also been observed.

Earlier this year, Spanish football club Real Betis introduced kits repurposed from the seaweed to raise awareness about the issue.

A 2023 study by the Marine Drugs journal said the alga’s invasive character led to “a replacement of the native biota and an occupancy rate that reached almost 100 percent in some locations” in Portugal.

In Algeria, the plant has been spotted in at least three of the country’s 14 coastal provinces, including the capital where 16 beaches are affected, authorities said.

“Are the waters suitable for swimming? Yes,” said Environment Minister Nadjiba Djilali during the cleanup campaign, adding there were no records of the plant causing allergies.

Researcher Bahbah said stopping its proliferation was “unfortunately impossible at this stage”.

She said the plant reproduces at a high rate, both sexually and asexually.

How Europe’s appetite for farmed fish is gutting Gambia’s coastal villages

The species can reproduce through fragmentation, meaning new individual algae can develop from fragmented pieces of other Rugulopteryx okamurae algae.

The algae spread mainly by clinging to the hulls of boats, and the Mediterranean‘s moderate temperature favours the seaweed’s fast reproduction.

“We are going to fight it,” said Fella Zaboudj, a state engineer in marine sciences, adding that researchers were monitoring its spread, development and evolution.

Zaboudj said research was also under way to determine whether the algae could be repurposed as fertiliser.

Foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot “stressed the unacceptable nature of the comments made by Nour Attaalah, a Gazan student, before she entered French territory”, said the ministry statement.

“Given their seriousness, Ms Attaalah could not remain on French territory. She left France today to go to Qatar to continue her studies there,” it added.

The student’s lawyer, Ossama Dahmane, said Attaalah had chosen to “pursue her studies in another country in a spirit of appeasement and to guarantee her security”, even if “she firmly denies the accusations made against her”.

The young woman, who had received a student visa and a government scholarship as part of a program for Gazan students, had been due to join Sciences Po Lille in the autumn.

She arrived in France on 11 July, according to a French diplomatic source.

But social media posts from the past two years calling for the killing of Jews, since deleted, were discovered.

France halts Gaza evacuations over antisemitic posts by Palestinian student

Judicial probe

That led to a judicial investigation for condoning terrorism, and an inquiry to determine why the posts had not been detected in advance.

AFP was unable to confirm the screen shots attributed to her by internet users and media outlets, but Sciences Po Lille said Wednesday that her social media comments had been confirmed, without elaborating.

Dahmane, the lawyer, said the “alleged facts are largely based on shared tweets, taken out of context”.

Barrot said Friday that France was freezing all its student evacuation programs from Gaza pending the outcome of the investigation into how the posts had been missed.

The foreign ministry would not say how many students have been affected, citing privacy reasons.

France has allowed in several hundred students from Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and the Hamas movement.

Hamas and its Islamic Jihad ally have recently released three clips showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who were seized during the 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

“Abject cruelty, inhumanity without bounds: this is what Hamas represents,” said the French head of state of the “unbearable images”.

“The absolute priority for France is the immediate release of all the hostages,” he added on social media platform X.

In the footage shared by the Palestinian Islamist groups, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished.

The footage of David showed him digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave, triggering particular outrage.

Hamas ‘must be disarmed’

France Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday also denounced the videos as “despicable”.

“Despicable, unbearable images of the Israeli hostages held for 666 days in Gaza by Hamas,” Barrot wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“They must be freed, without conditions,” he added. “Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from ruling Gaza.”

He also called for massive humanitarian aid to be supplied to the people of Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a “famine is unfolding”.

Why is France recognising Palestinian statehood and will it change anything?

Macron, who has said France will recognise a Palestinian state in September, promised to “work without respite” for “the re-establishment without delay of a ceasefire, and to allow the mass delivery of humanitarian aid, still blocked at the gates of Gaza”.

But he also argued that Hamas must have no part ruling coastal strip once the war ends.

“We must have the total demilitarisation of Hamas, its complete exclusion from any form of governance and the recognition of Israel by the state of Palestine,” he said.

49 hostages remaining

Besides Macron, the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also condemned the videos as showing Hamas’s “barbarity”, insisting the Islamist militants disarm and release the dozens of hostages it still keeps in captivity.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga added his voice to the outrage, insisting that “Hamas’s inhuman treatment of the Israeli hostages deserves a very strong condemnation”.

“People in Gaza should not remain suffering because of Hamas’s heinous crimes. It must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately,” Sybiga added on X.

In an interview with the Bild newspaper, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted the videos “show that Hamas should no longer a play a role in the future of Gaza”.

But Merz called on Israel not to “respond to Hamas’s cynicism” by halting humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.

Defining famine: the complex process behind Gaza’s hunger crisis

Braslavski and David are among 49 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Most of the 251 hostages seized in the attack have been released, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. 

Tens of thousands of people had rallied in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday to urge Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining captives.

No respite in fighting

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office late Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and “expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations”.

Netanyahu “told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing”, the statement added.

Israel‘s top general has warned that there would be no respite in fighting if the hostages were not released.

French-Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon among three men freed by Hamas

“I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages,” armed forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement on Saturday, referring to ceasefire talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar which broke down last month.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday met the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

After a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv, the organisation released a statement saying Witkoff had given them a personal commitment that he and US President Donald Trump would work to return the remaining hostages.

Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers those figures to be reliable.

(with AFP)

French pharmaceutical group Servier has entered exclusive talks with BC Partners, a UK-based fund, to sell Biogaran. The deal has drawn attention from both the markets and political leaders.

If completed, it would reopen the debate over France’s so-called “health sovereignty” at a time when drug shortages are becoming more frequent across Europe.

Servier has not disclosed the price, but people familiar with the talks said the offer could be worth between €800 million and €1 billion. That is in line with what BC Partners proposed last year before shelving the deal following political pressure.

Biogaran is France’s leading supplier of generic drugs and plays a key role in the public health system. But its importance has made the potential sale a sensitive issue.

Several lawmakers have warned that handing over such a strategic company to foreign investors could make France more vulnerable to supply problems, especially during ongoing shortages of key medicines.

Drugs shortage sees France restart local production, target antibiotics use

Failed acquisition 

This is not the first time BC Partners has tried to buy Biogaran. In 2023, it joined forces with state-backed bank Bpifrance to put forward a bid. The fund was competing against Indian pharma companies Torrent and Aurobindo.

But the offer was dropped after growing concern that the sale would weaken France’s drug-making capacity. Servier said at the time that the conditions for “value creation” were not met.

Now, in 2025, BC Partners is back at the table – this time without a French partner – and appears to have adjusted its plan.

The fund said it wants to strengthen Biogaran’s position in France and help it grow in areas like biosimilars and over-the-counter drugs.

France could block sale of ‘best-selling’ drug if production doesn’t stay local

Cost cuts and budget shifts

These are seen as important tools to lower prices and improve access to medicine, especially as France’s health budget remains under pressure.

“This project would be perfectly in line with the strategic orientations of Biogaran and Servier,” said Servier chairman Olivier Laureau in a joint statement.

He said the deal could also help Servier focus more on research in cancer and brain disorders – two sectors where it wants to become a leader.

Still, the sale is likely to renew debate over whether France is losing control of its healthcare infrastructure – and whether deals like this could chip away at its pharmaceutical independence.

Just over a year after she won gold for her country at the Paris Olympics in the mountain biking, the 33-year-old, who was competing in the race for the first time, became the first Frenchwoman to win the Tour de France since its inception in 2022.

After blitzing the field to take the penultimate stage and the yellow jersey of the overall race leader on Saturday, the Team Visma-Lease A Bike cyclist dazzled anew over the 124.1km of Sunday’s final stage between Praz-sur-Arly and Châtel in south-eastern France.

She finished the course in three hours, 38 minutes and 23 seconds.

The 2023 race winner Demi Vollering was 20 seconds behind. The defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney was third.

It was the same order after nine days of racing. Ferrand-Prévot completed the 1168.6km in 29 hours, 54 minutes and 24 seconds. 

Vollering, from the FDJ-Suez team was three minutes and 42 seconds behind. Niewiadoma-Phinney, who pipped Vollering to the title by four seconds last year, was four minutes and nine seconds off the pacesetter.

‘So happy’

“I was a bit scared of having the pressure of wearing the yellow jersey,” Ferrand-Prévot told reporters. “I had to stick to the front and just stay there.

“I said to the team’s sporting director this morning, I would like to win in yellow, so I’m so, so happy.”

Ferrand-Prévot seized control of the race on Saturday after a sensational scorch through the mountains between Chambéry Saint-François Longchamp and Col de Madeleine in south-eastern France.

And on Sunday, Ferrand-Prévot negotiated the array of pitfalls before making her move in the last seven kilometres.

She responded to Vollering’s attack and, to the delight of the partisans, surged away. She crossed the finishing line unchallenged.

Among the other race honours, Lorena Wiebes, of SD Worx-Protime, ended as the cyclist with the most points and Elise Chabbey, who rides for the FDJ-Suez team, claimed the polka dot jersey of the “queen of the mountains”.

Nienke Vinke, of the Picnic-Post NL team, won the white jersey as best young rider in the 2025 race.

“I am going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump declared at a press conference on 28 July during his visit to Scotland.

“There is no reason to wait 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we don’t see any progress being made.” 

The American president admitted his efforts to end the Ukraine war had failed and that his patience with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was at an end.

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Trump later confirmed 8 August as the date for the new measures. With US-Russian trade down 90 percent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump warned that other countries importing Russian goods would also be hit by secondary sanctions.

“If you take his [Trump] promises at face value, then he should look at all countries that import any Russian commodities that is of primary importance to the Russian budget – this includes, of course, crude oil, and here you have China and India mostly,” explained George Voloshin of Acams, a global organisation dedicated to anti-financial crime, training and education.

Voloshin also claims that Turkey could be a target as well. “In terms of petroleum products, Turkey is one of the big importers. It also refines Russian petroleum in its own refineries,” Voloshin added.

“Turkey imports lots of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline. Turkey is very much dependent on Russian gas and Russian petroleum products.”

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

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ankara insists it is only bound by United Nations sanctions.

Last year, Turkey was Russia’s third-largest export market, with Russian natural gas accounting for more than  40 percent of its energy needs.

Putin has used Turkey’s lack of meaningful domestic energy reserves and dependence on Russian gas to develop a close relationship with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Putin knows that no matter what Trump wants, Turkey is not going to act in any military or sanctions capacity against Russia and Iran. You know, these are Turkey’s red lines. We can’t do it,” said analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners.

“Trump is 10,000 miles away. These people are our neighbours,” added Yeşilada. “So Putin doesn’t think of Turkey as a threat, but as an economic opportunity, and perhaps as a way to do things with the West that he doesn’t want to do directly.”

Ankara is performing a delicate balancing act. While maintaining trading ties with Russia, Erdoğan remains a strong supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Turkey is a major arms seller to Ukraine, while at the same time, Erdoğan continues to try and broker peace between the warring parties.

Last month, Istanbul was the venue for Russian–Ukrainian talks for the second time in as many months. Such efforts drew the praise of Trump.

Trump and Erdogan grow closer as cooperation on Syria deepens

Trump’s pressure mounts on energy and trade

The American president has made no secret of his liking for Erdoğan, even calling him a friend. Such close ties, along with Turkey’s regional importance to Washington, analysts say, is a factor in Ankara’s Western allies turning a blind eye to its ongoing trade with Russia.

“I think Turkey has got a pass on several levels from Russian sanctions,” observed regional expert Sinan Ciddi of the Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

However, Ciddi cautions that Trump remains unpredictable and that previous actions are no guarantee for the future.

“Past experience is not an indicator of future happenings. We just don’t know what Trump will demand. This is not a fully predictive administration in Washington,” Ciddi said.

“We do know right now that he [Trump] is very unhappy with Putin. He blames Putin for prolonging the Ukraine war,” added Ciddi.

Change of stance

“And if he feels sufficiently upset, there is a possibility that no waivers will be granted to any country. Turkey will be up against a very, very unappetising and unenviable set of choices to make.”

Trump has successfully lobbied the European Union to increase its purchases of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), replacing Russian imports. Similar demands could put Ankara in a difficult position.

“If Trump pressures Turkey not to buy Russian natural gas, that would definitely be a huge shock,” warned Yeşilada.

“Trump might say, for instance: ‘Buy energy from me or whatever.’ But I don’t think we’re there yet. There is no way Turkey can replace Russian gas.”

However, Trump could point to Turkey’s recent expansion of its LNG facilities, which now include five terminals and have excess capacity to cover Russian imports, although storage facilities remain a challenge.

Turkey’s energy infrastructure is also built around receiving Russian energy, and any shift to American energy would likely be hugely disruptive and expensive, at a time when the Turkish economy is in crisis.

Putin retains another energy card over Erdoğan. A Russian company is building a huge nuclear power plant in Turkey, which could account for 20 percent of the country’s energy needs.

Ciddi argues Erdoğan is now paying the price of over-relying on Russia.

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

“There is no need to have resorted to making Ankara this dependent on natural gas, nuclear energy, or for that matter bilateral trade. This was a choice by Erdoğan,” said Ciddi.

“The fact it is so dependent on so many levels in an almost unique way is something that Turkey will have to rethink.”

But for now, Erdoğan will likely be relying on his expertise in diplomatic balancing acts, along with his close ties to Trump and Turkey’s importance to Washington’s regional goals, to once again escape the worst of any sanctions over Russian trade – although Trump may yet extract a price for such a concession.

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 ensure these voices are heard. 

How do you do it?

With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens: 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). An ePOP film is a razor-sharp look at 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!

Click here for all the information you need. 

We expect to be overwhelmed 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 5 July, I asked you a question about an article written by RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow: “Ocean campaigners hail French move to snuff out cigarette butt pollution”. In her article, we learned that cigarette ends, or butts, are filled with microplastics and that when they break apart, they leach chemicals into soil and water.

France has banned smoking on beaches, in public parks, and at bus stops, as well as near schools, libraries, swimming pools, and sports grounds.

You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answer to this question: How many liters of water can a single cigarette butt contaminate?

The answer is, to quote Amanda’s article: “According to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, a single cigarette butt can contaminate up to 500 liters of water.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by long-time RFI Listeners Club member Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State, Nigeria: “What is your favorite prize you’ve received from RFI, and why?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Kanwar Sandhu from British Columbia in Canada, who is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Kanwar.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Karobi Hazarika, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India, and RFI Listeners Club member Mahfuzur Rahman from Cumilla, Bangladesh. Last but not least, there are two RFI English listeners from Bangladesh: Laila Shantu Akhter from Naogaon and Labanna Lata from Munshiganj.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The piano sonata in B flat, K.529, by Domenico Scarlatti, played by Ivo Pogorelich; the “Trout” Quintet in A major, D. 667, by Franz Schubert, performed by the Endes Quartet with pianist Rolf Reinhardt; “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 a medley in honor of Ozzy Osbourne, arranged by Vincent Pora Dallongeville:

“Paranoid”, by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward;

“Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley;

“No More Tears” by Ozzy Osbourne, Zak Wylde, Randy Castillo, Mike Inez, and John Purdell;

“Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osbourne, Jake E. Lee, and Bob Daisley.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “UN gathers to advance two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 6 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 11 October podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

In a highly publicised move, Azerbaijani security forces in Baku recently paraded seven arrested Russian journalists – working for the Russian state-funded Sputnik news agency – in front of the media. Their detentions followed the deaths last month of two Azerbaijani nationals in Russian custody, which sparked public outrage in Baku.

“That was quite shocking for Baku, for Azerbaijani society – the cruelty of the behaviour and the large-scale violence,” Zaur Gasimov of the German Academic Exchange Service, a professor and expert on Azerbaijani-Russian relations told RFI.

“And the Russian-wide persecution of the leaders of Azerbaijani diasporic organisations took place (this month),” he added.

Tit-for-tat tactics

Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan have been simmering since December, when Russian air defences accidentally downed an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft. Baku strongly condemned Moscow’s lack of an official apology.

The deaths in custody, which Moscow insisted were from natural causes, and the broader crackdown on Azerbaijan’s diaspora are being interpreted in Baku as deliberate signals.

“This kind of news had to frighten Azerbaijani society, which is aware of the fact that around two million ethnic Azeris with Azerbaijani and Russian passports are living in the Russian Federation,” explained Gasimov. “So the signal is that we can oust them, and they would come to Azerbaijan. That should be an economic threat.”

Gasimov noted that while Baku may have previously backed down in the face of Russian pressure, this time appears different. “The reaction of Azerbaijan was just to react, with tit-for-tat tactics,” he said.

Shifting power in Caucasus

Baku’s self-confidence is partly attributed to its military success in 2020, when it regained control over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent territories from Armenian forces after a six-week war.

“The South Caucasus is changing,” noted Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Baku-based Centre for Analysis of International Relations.

Shafiyev argues that the era of Moscow treating the region as its backyard is over. “Russia cannot just grasp and accept this change because of its imperial arrogance; it demands subordination, and that has changed for a number of reasons. First of all, due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and second, due to the trajectory of events following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The third very important factor is Turkey,” added Shafiyev.

Turkey, a long-standing ally of Azerbaijan, has significantly increased military cooperation and arms sales in recent years.

Turkish-made drones played a key role in Azerbaijan’s 2020 military campaign. In 2021, the Shusha Declaration was signed, committing both nations to mutual military support in the event of aggression. Turkey also plans to establish one of its largest overseas military bases in Azerbaijan.

“A very strong relationship with Ankara, marked by strong cooperation in the economic and military fields for decades, as also outlined in the Shusha Declaration several years ago, is an asset and one of the elements of Azerbaijan’s growing self-confidence,” said Gasimov.

Azerbaijan and Turkey build bridges amid declining influence of Iran

Strategic rivalries 

Turkey’s expanding influence in the South Caucasus – at Russia’s expense – is the latest in a series of regional rivalries between the two powers. Turkish-backed forces countered a Russian-aligned warlord in Libya, and Turkey-supported factions have contested Russian influence in Syria.

These confrontations have strained the once-close ties between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“No doubt that the Putin-Erdogan relationship is not as good as it used to be because we’ve either instigated or become participants in events in the South Caucasus and Syria,” said analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners.

Growing military buildup in Azerbaijan and Armenia a concern for peace talks

Nevertheless, Yesilada believes pragmatism will prevail – for now – given Turkey’s dependence on Russian energy and trade.

“The economic interests are so huge, there is a huge chasm between not being too friendly and being antagonistic. I don’t think we’ve got to that point. If we did, there would be serious provocations in Turkey,” he warned.

Until now, Turkish and Russian leaders have largely managed to compartmentalise their differences.

However, that approach may soon face its toughest test yet, as Azerbaijan remains a strategic priority for Turkey, while Russia has long considered the Caucasus to be within its traditional sphere of influence.

“We don’t know what will be Russia’s next target. We cannot exclude that Russia might be quite assertive in the South Caucasus in the future,” warned Shafiyev.

“I think the easiest way is to build friendly relationships and economic partnerships with the countries of the South Caucasus. Unfortunately, Moscow looks like it’s not ready for a partnership. But if it’s ready, we would welcome it,” he added.

Conservative think tanks, whose influence was once limited to Washington’s corridors of power, are now establishing connections with political actors and organisations in countries such as Poland and Hungary, working to shape Europe’s future.

This report delves into the activities of the Heritage Foundation and its burgeoning alliances with groups including Ordo Iuris in Poland and the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Hungary.

These organisations advocate for conservative cultural and economic reforms, sparking heated debate over national identity, the structure of the European Union and the future of liberal democracy across the region.

Can Europe withstand the ripple effect of the MAGA political wave?

As alliances form and agendas clash, a crucial question looms: are these movements charting a course toward genuine European reform, or steering the continent toward greater division? 

Voices from both sides share their perspectives, revealing the complexity behind this transatlantic ideological exchange.

Our guests: 

Chris Murphy, Senator (D, Connecticut)

Kenneth Haar, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory 

Zbigniew Przybylowski, development director at Ordo Iuris

Rodrigo Ballester, head of the Centre for European Studies at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC)

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 ensure these voices are heard. 

How do you do it?

With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens: 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). An ePOP film is a razor-sharp look at 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!

Click here for all the information you need. 

We expect to be overwhelmed 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 28 June, I asked you a question about an article written earlier that week by RFI English journalist Alison Hird. She profiled Miguel Masaisai, a young athlete from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who’s riding his bike across several countries in Africa.  Masaisai has a message: peace.

You were to re-read Alison’s article “From Goma to Cape Town, the young Congolese athlete pedalling for peace”, and send in the answers to these two questions: At the time of publication, which countries had Masaisai cycled across, and which countries are still ahead of him?

The answers are: At the time of publication, Masaisai had ridden across the DRC, Zambia, Rwanda, and Tanzania; ahead of him were Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

Since publication, Masaisai has pedaled through Botswana and is in South Africa. Bravo Masaisai!

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Liton Hossain Khondaker from Naogaon, Bangladesh: What is your favorite festival, religious or otherwise?

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim, Germany, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Helmut.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Alomgir Hossen, a member of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and RFI English listeners Shohel Rana Redoy from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Noor, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan. Last but not least, there’s Sadman Al Shihab, the co-chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Cuckoo” from The Birds by Ottorino Respighi, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Istvan Kertesz; an anonymous cycling playlist; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and traditional music from the Kaiabi indigenous people of Brazil, recorded in 1954 by Edward M. Weyer Jr.

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 Paul Myers’ article “Petition seeking repeal of new French farming law passes one million signatures,” which will help you with the answer.

You have until 29 September to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 4 October 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.   

At a ceremony in northern Iraq, PKK commander Bese Hozart announced that the disarmament by 30 fighters – 15 men and 15 women – was undertaken freely and in line with the group’s commitment to pursue a democratic socialist society through peaceful means. The fighters’ weapons were burned as part of the symbolic event.

The move came just days after the release of a video message from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who reiterated his call for an end to the armed struggle and the formal dissolution of the group. It was the first time the Turkish public had heard Öcalan’s voice since his incarceration in 1999.

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded by telling supporters that the country had reached a historic moment. Ankara now expects a complete disarmament of the remaining PKK fighters by autumn.

Since the beginning of the peace process last year, Erdoğan has ruled out making concessions, insisting the rebels are unilaterally surrendering. However, the high-profile nature of the disarmament ceremony is increasing pressure on the government to respond in kind.

“This is a historic moment; this is a conflict that has been going on for nearly half a century. Now it’s the government’s turn to actually open up the political space,” said Aslı Aydıntaşbaş of the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“Both the Kurdish side and the Turkish side are telling their own constituencies that they’re not giving up much—trying to convince their bases, which, in both cases, seem unprepared for such a radical shift,” she added.

Kurdish leader Ocalan calls for PKK disarmament, paving way for peace

Opaque negotiations, rising distrust

As a gesture of goodwill, the government has reportedly improved Öcalan’s prison conditions and allowed communication through a so-called “secretariat.”

However, the PKK continues to press for broader concessions, including an amnesty for its members and the right for ex-fighters to return to Turkey. There have also been calls for Öcalan’s release, alongside the release of tens of thousands of individuals jailed under Turkey’s broad anti-terror laws.

Yet concerns are mounting over the transparency of the peace negotiations. “It’s really difficult even to assess it because we don’t really know what’s going on,” said Zeynep Ardıç, an expert on conflict resolution at Istanbul’s Medeniyet University. “Some negotiations don’t need to be public, but the public should still be informed,” she said.

Ardıç warned that the current polarization in Turkish politics and a legacy of mistrust built over decades of conflict make transparency essential. “There should be a bit of transparency, because people don’t trust state institutions, people don’t trust each other, people don’t trust the government or the judiciary.

So, it’s not easy to succeed under these circumstances. The government needs to reinstall trust – not just among Kurdish people, but among Turkish people as well.”

Politics could undermine fragile progress

Following the disarmament ceremony, Erdoğan announced the formation of a parliamentary commission to oversee the process, including members from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), his coalition partner the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). Notably absent was the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose exclusion is fueling fears that Erdoğan is politicizing the peace process.

Erdoğan requires the support of Kurdish parliamentarians to amend the constitution and potentially remove presidential term limits—allowing him to remain in power indefinitely.

Turkey’s Saturday Mothers keep up vigil for lost relatives

“Erdoğan is trying to juggle two conflicting priorities,” noted analyst Atilla Yeşilada of U.S.-based consultancy Global Source Partners. “A: give the Kurds the least of what they want in return for a constitution that allows him to run again, and B: broaden his war against the CHP. I don’t know how he can finesse that.”

While Erdoğan speaks of a new era of unity between Turks, Arabs, and Kurds, he is simultaneously escalating a legal crackdown on the CHP, even going so far as to label the party a terror threat. This is a risky move, given that the pro-Kurdish DEM party has previously supported CHP candidates in both presidential and mayoral elections.

Kurdish analyst Mesut Yeğen, of the Center for Social Impact Research in Istanbul, warned that Erdoğan may be overplaying his hand. “If Erdoğan’s pressure on the CHP continues, then it’s likely that DEM’s electorate, members, and cadres could grow discontent,” Yeğen predicted.

“They’ll think that if Erdoğan succeeds against CHP, he’ll start a similar campaign against the DEM. So I think they will strike a kind of balance.”

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

Despite the uncertainty, powerful incentives remain on both sides to pursue peace. With the PKK largely pushed out of Turkish territory and facing military defeat, and Erdoğan in dire need of parliamentary support, momentum for a resolution is strong.

But with negotiations shrouded in secrecy, many remain skeptical about what kind of peace this process will ultimately deliver.

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.