Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday condemned “with force and anger” the “acknowledged murder by the Israeli army” of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif in Gaza, who the armed forces admitted they had targeted.

The Paris-based press freedom group referred to al-Sharif was “one of the most famous journalists from the Gaza Strip (and) the voice of the suffering Israel has imposed on Palestinians in Gaza”.

The organisation has urged the UN Security Council to convene under Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists and pressed for “strong action” to halt such attacks.

RSF said the Israeli army’s allegations that al-Sharif was a Hamas operative were made “without evidence”, accusing it of repeating a “well-known tactic” against Al Jazeera staff.

RSF says Israel responsible for one-third of journalist deaths in 2024

28-year-old al-Sharif – hailed by colleagues as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists” – was killed alongside four colleagues, when a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City was struck on Sunday.

Gaza officials and Al Jazeera reported that the four other staff members killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, also a correspondent, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. 

A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya.

Israel’s military claimed al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas cell and had been involved in launching rockets at Israeli targets. Al Jazeera firmly rejected the allegation, as did al-Sharif himself before his death.

The broadcaster described the strike as a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza.”

France’s top diplomat calls for foreign press access to Gaza

Pulitzer-prize winner journalist

Al-Sharif’s career had been marked by courage and international recognition. As part of a Reuters team, he contributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning photography covering the Israel-Hamas war in 2024. 

Known for his sharp reporting and compelling images, he built a following of over half a million on X, where he shared updates from the front lines until minutes before the fatal strike. 

His final post described intense bombardment of Gaza City lasting more than two hours. 

Journalist and human rights organisations condemned the killings. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which had warned in July that Al Sharif’s life was at risk, said Israel had failed to produce credible evidence to substantiate its claims. 

CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa director, Sara Qudah, accused Israel of a “pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence” and raised “serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom.” 

The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, had previously said Israel’s accusations against al-Sharif were unsubstantiated. 

Al Jazeera also revealed that he had prepared a message for posthumous publication: “I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent.”

International investigation reveals ‘attack on press freedom’ in Gaza conflict

Allegations of militant affiliation dismissed

This is not the first time al-Sharif’s name has been linked to such allegations. 

Last October, Israel’s military claimed he was one of six Gaza journalists affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing what it said were training and salary records. 

Al Jazeera dismissed the evidence as fabricated at the time. 

Hamas condemned the latest strike, claiming it was part of an Israeli plan to launch a major new offensive in Gaza City. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to dismantle remaining Hamas strongholds in the enclave, where hunger is spreading after 22 months of war. 

According to Gaza’s government media office, 237 journalists have been killed since the war began on 7 October 2023. 

The CPJ records at least 186 deaths among journalists during the conflict. 

“Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” Al Jazeera said in its statement. 

Expanding the war

International reporters are prevented from travelling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional tightly controlled trips with the military.

The strike on the journalists came with criticism mounting over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand the war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli plan for Gaza takeover must be halted immediately: UN rights chief

The security cabinet voted last week to conquer the remaining quarter or so of the territory not yet controlled by Israeli troops, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, the area designated a safe zone by Israel where huge numbers of Palestinians have sought refuge.

The plan, which Israeli media reported had triggered bitter disagreement between the government and military leadership, drew condemnation from protesters in Israel and numerous countries, including Israeli allies.

(with newswires)

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas underlined Sunday that any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine must include Kyiv and the bloc, as she called for an emergency meeting of EU ministers.

 “Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” Kallas said. “I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss our next steps.”

Macron, Zelensky reaffirm anti-corruption drive amid Kyiv legislation outcry

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict.

Europe insists Ukraine must be part of talks.

“President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” Kallas said in a statement.

“I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss our next steps,” she said. The meeting will take place online.

Any deal ‘stillborn’ without Ukraine’s involvement

A White House official said on Saturday that Trump was open to Zelensky attending, but that preparations currently were for a bilateral meeting with Putin.

The Kremlin leader last week ruled out meeting Zelensky, saying the conditions for such an encounter were “unfortunately still far” from being met.

Trump said a potential deal would involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both [sides]”, a statement that compounded Ukrainian alarm that it may face pressure to surrender more land.

Zelensky says any decisions taken without Ukraine will be “stillborn” and unworkable.

France’s Macron calls for major hike in defence spending, citing Russia threat

On Saturday the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said that any diplomatic solution must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.

“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” Kallas said.

She also warned any deal “must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe“.

 (with newswires)

“The Federal Republic of Germany has stood by Israel’s side for 80 years,” Merz told broadcaster ARD. “Nothing about that will change.”

“We will keep on helping this country to defend itself,” he added.

Merz said Friday that Germany would halt the export of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip in response to Israeli plans to take control of Gaza City.

Merz’s partial arms embargo sparked public criticism from members of Merz’s conservative CDU party, including its youth organisation which said the move broke with the core principles of Germany and the party.

The chancellor said he had reassured Israel’s president earlier on Sunday that Germany was not breaking with its traditional friendship with Israel.

“We have one point of disagreement and that concerns Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “That is something which a friendship can withstand.”

Until recently Israel has enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum in Germany, a country still seeking to atone for its murder of more than six million Jews in World War II.

Unlike France, Britain and Canada, Germany has no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, arguing that recognition could come only at the end of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

France welcomes Canada’s plan to recognise Palestinian state at UN

But Merz’s tone towards Israel has sharpened in recent months as the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with United Nations experts warning that famine was taking hold in the war-ravaged territory.

EU brokers deal with Israel to allow ‘substantial’ humanitarian aid into Gaza

He told ARD on Sunday that though Germany had solidarity with Israel, this did not mean that “we have to think that every decision which a government reaches is good and support it to the point of offering military aid including weapons”.

Israel’s 22-month offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures the UN says are reliable.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

 (AFP)

Firefighters and local officials remain on high alert after France’s largest wildfire in decades was brought under control this weekend in the south of the country.

With scorching temperatures still in the forecast, there are fears that the flames could reignite.

Over the course of three days last week, the blaze swept through more than 160 square kilometres of the Aude wine region, claiming one life and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.

Record-breaking heat, ferocious wildfires, devastating floods… August has only just begun, yet extreme weather events are already cropping up across the northern hemisphere.

According to the European Copernicus programme, this July was among the hottest on record. 

French wildfire ‘under control’, but wine region faces long road to recovery

1.5C climate goals ‘beyond reach’

It’s becoming a familiar pattern as each summer brings with it a fresh batch of worrying climate milestones.

Early August 2025 is no exception, with Canada grappling with exceptional drought and fires; Pakistan and Hong Kong battling torrential rain; and Finland and Sweden sweltering under Mediterranean-style heatwaves.

Globally, the outlook isn’t much more reassuring. The Copernicus climate service, which monitors the state of the planet year-round, has confirmed that July 2025 was the third hottest month on record – just behind July 2024 and July 2023, which still hold the all-time high.

Over the past 12 months, the average global temperature has been 1.53C above pre-industrial levels – surpassing the 1.5C target set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

While this figure alone doesn’t confirm a long-term climate shift, the trend has experts worried.

In June, a group of leading French scientists – formerly with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – publicly agreed for the first time that the Paris target is now out of reach as countries have failed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

UN court rules countries must treat climate change as an ‘existential threat’

Vietnam swelters under unprecedented heat

In Hanoi, locals are doing their best to keep cool – seeking shade, avoiding the midday sun, and adjusting to the sweltering conditions.

Northern Vietnam has been scorched by record-breaking August temperatures, with highs of over 40C on Sunday 3 and Monday 4 August – unheard of for this time of year.

According to RFI’s correspondent in Hanoi, Jean-Pierre Fage, the temperature on the city’s main roads feels several degrees hotter, with the dense traffic adding to the oppressive heat.

The Red River Delta – normally a humid, fertile hub for agriculture – saw humidity levels plunge to just 52 percent last Monday, intensifying drought conditions and prompting concerns among farmers.

Many have begun working earlier or later in the day to avoid peak heat and are ramping up irrigation efforts, according to national media.

July already brought three heatwaves to the region, with temperatures sitting 0.5 to 1.5C above seasonal norms.

A brief respite may be on the horizon, with the mercury expected to fall and storms brewing in the mountains.

But meteorologists are warning that another widespread heatwave could hit as early as this week, affecting the entire north.

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

Iran faces blackouts and water shortages

Meanwhile, the situation in Iran continues to deteriorate. In provincial towns and parts of Tehran, residents are now experiencing two two-hour power cuts each day.

Water shortages are becoming increasingly severe, as reported by RFI’s correspondent in Tehran, Siavosh Ghazi.

A drought – worse than anything seen in the past five years – has tightened its grip, crippling power generation and industrial output in some regions.

Electricity in key industrial zones has been cut for days at a time, severely affecting productivity.

Authorities have now issued a stark warning: Tehran and neighbouring Alborz province – home to more than 20 million people, or a quarter of Iran’s population – could run out of drinking water within six weeks.

Protests have already erupted in several cities, and unless conditions improve, the coming weeks could see further unrest.

The fire has ravaged a vast area of France’s southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others.

Authorities said that hot, dry winds on Sunday — similar to those on the day the blaze began — and a heatwave would make the work of firefighters more difficult.

“It’s a challenging day, given that we are likely to be on red alert for heatwave from 4:00 pm, which will not make things any easier,” said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department.

The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare area, said Christophe Magny on Saturday, chief of the region’s firefighter unit, adding it would not be under control until Sunday evening.

But the blaze will “not be extinguished for several weeks,” he said.

Some 1,300 firefighters were mobilised to prevent the blaze from reigniting amid fears that the tramontane wind, which officials said picked up overnight Saturday to Sunday, could fan lingering hot spots.

Temperatures this weekend are expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, and Monday is forecast to be the “hottest day nationwide,” according to national weather service Météo France.

In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames.

Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury.

Wildfire in southern France kills woman and forces mass evacuations

‘Extremely angry’

Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.

The blaze — the largest in at least 50 years — tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said.

For livestock farmers in Fontjoncouse, the fire has ravaged grazing land and wiped out much of their flocks, fuelling outrage among those who said they did not have time to evacuate their herds.

France sends firefighters to help Greece battle blaze raging near Athens

Emmanuelle Bernier said she was “extremely angry” when she returned to a devastating scene, finding the pen that had housed her herd of goats in ruins, with 17 animals — some close to giving birth — lost in the fire.

“I will definitely change jobs. This will change my whole life,” she said.

Bernier’s property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she had to temporarily entrust her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, as the damage to the farm was so extensive that they could no longer stay.

“Everything here was built around the sheep, and seeing the flock leave was incredibly difficult for me,” she said.

But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Bernier voiced some hope for the future.

“There’s still a little life left,” she said.

 (AFP)

The national fire service said it had 12 teams on the ground and six Canadair planes fighting the blaze, which has torn through the national park in southern Italy since Friday.

Reinforcement firefighters were on their way from other regions and the onsite teams were using drones to better monitor the spread of the fire, the service said on Telegram.

“For safety reasons and… to facilitate firefighting and cleanup operations in the affected areas, all activities along the Vesuvius National Park trail network are suspended until further notice,” the park said in a statement Saturday.

Nearly 620,000 people visited the volcano’s crater in 2024, according to the park.

The smoke from the fire could be seen from the Pompeii archeological site, which however remained open to tourists.

Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to wildfires due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.

In southern France, firefighters have contained a massive wildfire but local officials warned on Sunday that scorching heat and dry conditions could reignite the blaze, as parts of the Mediterranean region face a heatwave.

The fire has ravaged a vast area of France’s southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others.

A fire at a historic mosque-turned-cathedral in Cordoba in southern Spain also caused damage.

The spectacular blaze broke out on Friday at about 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), raising fears for the early medieval architectural gem and evoking memories of the 2019 fire that ravaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

France sends firefighters to help Greece battle blaze raging near Athens

And in Greece, hundreds of firefighters battled a deadly wildfire near Athens for a second day Saturday, with strong winds raising fears it could spread.

A fire department spokesman said more than 260 firefighters with nearly 80 fire engines and 12 aircraft were deployed near Keratea, a rural area some 43 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of Athens.

“The fire has weakened but there are still active pockets,” the spokesman told AFP.

A new fire broke out close to the nearby town of Kouvaras on Saturday but was quickly brought under control.

 (AFP)

“Since three days ago, there have been arrests linked to an attempt to destabilise the institutions. There have been at least around 20 arrests,” a Malian security source told AFP.

A separate source within the army confirmed an “attempt at destabilisation”, adding: “We have gone ahead with the necessary arrests”.

Among those arrested was General Abass Dembele, a former governor of the central Mopti region and a respected military officer.

“Soldiers came early this morning (Sunday) to arrest General Abass Dembele in Kati,” on the outskirts of the capital Bamako, a figure close to the officer said.

“They have not told him why he was arrested.”

A member of the National Transition Council, the junta-backed parliament, spoke of “around 50 arrests”.

“All are soldiers. Their objective was to overthrow the junta,” the lawmaker said.

Since seizing the reins in Mali through back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, the west African country’s junta has ramped up repression of its critics in the face of widespread jihadist unrest.

Sahel countries navigate uncertainty following split from Ecowas bloc

‘Grumblings within the ranks’    

Since 2012, Mali has been wracked with crises on various fronts, with militants linked to the Al-Qaeda or Islamic State groups carrying out violent attacks across the Sahel nation.

Criminal and sectarian violence are likewise rife, while the economy is in dire straits.

After the coups, the junta turned its back on France, arguing that the country should be free of its former colonial ruler, as have its fellow military-run allies in Niger and Burkina Faso.

Macron’s Africa ‘reset’ stumbles as leaders call out colonial overtones

It has forged ties with new allies, notably Russia, whose mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group and its successor Africa Corps have helped the military fight jihadists and other internal adversaries.

Yet, like Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali has continued to struggle to contain the jihadist threat, while the regular army and its Russian allies are frequently accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

For Malian sociologist Oumar Maiga, this latest purge was “proof that the officers are struggling to control the situation. There are grumblings within the army’s ranks”.

“Some soldiers are not happy with the treatment given to the Russian mercenaries at the expense of Malian soldiers,” Maiga added.

 (AFP)

Moldova’s pro-European leader, President Maia Sandu, has warned that Moscow is orchestrating an “unprecedented” campaign to sway the outcome in its favour.

“The Russian Federation wants to control Moldova from the autumn,” she declared at a press conference on 30 July. “They are preparing massive interference to get their people into the next parliament.”

Sandu, who has been a vocal critic of the Kremlin, particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, outlined a broad playbook of alleged interference tactics: vote-buying funded through cryptocurrencies, violent protests, cyberattacks and information manipulation – all coordinated from a “single command point” in Moscow.

France strengthens support for Moldova as Russian destabilisation efforts persist

Diaspora targeted

With the country’s European Union accession talks officially launched in June 2024, the outcome of the parliamentary vote could cement, or derail, Moldova’s Western trajectory.

The ruling centre-right Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), led by Sandu, is currently polling at 39 percent, with the pro-Russian Socialist party trailing at just under 15 percent.

However, a sizable 30 percent of voters remain undecided.

“It’s clear Russia is pulling out all the stops,” said Stanislav Secrieru, Moldova’s national security adviser, in an interview with Politico.

He pointed to a “renewed blitz” targeting Moldovans abroad, with nearly a quarter of a million voters outside the country eligible to cast their vote.

“The campaign is designed to demobilise diaspora voters – encouraging them to stay home – and to manipulate those who do vote into supporting a fake pro-EU force.”

Moldova’s diaspora overwhelmingly supported Sandu in last year’s presidential vote, which was also dogged by accusations of Russian meddling, including a cash-for-votes scheme and staged protests abroad.

Pro-Russian governor imprisoned

In a move that has stirred controversy both at home and abroad this week, a Moldovan court sentenced pro-Russian regional governor Evghenia Gutul to seven years imprisonment for illegal party financing – a ruling the Kremlin quickly condemned as “politically motivated”.

Gutul, the outspoken governor of the autonomous Gagauzia region in southern Moldova, was found guilty on Tuesday of channelling illicit funds to the now-banned Shor party, once led by fugitive businessman Ilan Shor.

Prosecutors say she helped transport undeclared money from Russia to Moldova between 2019 and 2022, while serving as the party’s secretary.

Gutul has denied the charges, calling the ruling a “political reprisal” and accusing the government of trying to silence opposition voices ahead of September’s election. Her lawyer pledged to appeal the verdict, branding the trial “a public execution”.

The sentencing sparked protests in the Moldovan capital, with dozens of Gutul’s supporters chanting “Shame!” and accusing Sandu of stifling dissent.

Gutul, 38, has frequently travelled to Moscow and maintains close ties to Russian officials – even appealing directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year after she was briefly detained at the capital’s airport.

European leaders meet in Moldova in show of unity against Russia

‘Strategy of chaos’

Experts say the Kremlin’s interference has aims far beyond the coming elections. Speaking to RFI, Christine Dugoin-Clément, a researcher at IAE Paris-Sorbonne, described Moscow’s approach as a calculated “strategy of chaos”.

“Russian operations exploit the weaknesses of democracies and the echo chamber of social media to destabilise, confuse and polarise,” she said. “It’s not just about winning elections – it’s about undermining democratic processes over the long term.”

At the centre of the alleged interference is the Social Design Agency (SDA), a Kremlin-linked firm whose internal workings were exposed in a major data leak.

The SDA has been implicated in several influence operations, including “Doppelgänger” – an effort to impersonate reputable European media outlets to spread disinformation.

“SDA evolved from a small provincial consultancy into a key service provider for the Kremlin’s digital interference operations,” said Kevin Limonier, an expert in Russian cyberspace.

Speaking to RFI, Limonier said: “The leak shows how deeply integrated these firms are into Moscow’s political warfare strategies, but also how vulnerable they can be to exposure.”

Moldova’s vote on EU membership in deadlock as president cites ‘foreign interference’

Over recent months, Moldovan police have arrested dozens of paid demonstrators and shut down scores of pro-Russian Telegram channels – which Sandu has criticised for ignoring reports of electoral manipulation.

Police have also released videos warning voters about apps such as Taito, allegedly used to facilitate vote buying. Moldovan media outlet NewsMaker reported earlier this week that police alerted the public to a scheme involving illegal financing and paying for votes, allegedly coordinated from Russia via the Taito app, which runs on the Telegram platform.

Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate has also advised citizens to avoid using the app and to refrain from sharing any personal information.

AI-generated content too is playing a role, with Moldova becoming a testing ground for new forms of hybrid warfare – from synthetic media to cyber sabotage and even Russian missile overflights designed to stoke fear and instability.

Synthetic media is content generated or manipulated by AI to appear convincingly real. This includes fabricated news videos, deepfake social media profiles, and digitally altered images that mimic credible outlets or public figures to spread false narratives.

Authorities have flagged examples of AI-generated reports designed to look like European media outlets, pushing anti-EU disinformation to confuse voters and suppress turnout, particularly among the diaspora.

At the same time, Russia continues to deploy intimidation tactics in the physical realm. On Thursday, several Russian cruise missiles reportedly flew through Moldova’s airspace en route to targets in Ukraine – a violation that has become symbolic of the Kremlin’s disregard for Moldova’s sovereignty. Though no physical damage was done, officials warned that the incursions were intended to create a climate of fear and uncertainty ahead of the elections.

Moldova hosts first EU summit as leaders tackle Russia’s interference threat

Wider European concern

There are fears too that what happens in Moldova won’t stay in Moldova. “This election is no longer just about our country,” said Secrieru. “It’s a European election by proxy.”

The EUvsDisinfo project – the EU’s counter-disinformation arm – has labelled Russia’s campaign as a “coordinated effort” to discredit Sandu, manipulate public discourse and weaken Moldova’s democratic resilience.

The July arrest of fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc in Athens has added another twist to the tale.

Suspected of working with Kremlin power broker Dmitry Kozak – the architect of a 2003 federalisation plan that would have split Moldova – Plahotniuc is alleged to be plotting a return to power by reactivating his old political networks.

The former lawmaker is one of the chief suspects in Moldova’s “theft of the century” – the disappearance in 2014 of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system, the equivalent at the time of 12 percent of the country’s GDP.

For now, the PAS government is hoping that transparency, security and international support will counter the Kremlin’s plans. But with disinformation swirling and digital attacks intensifying, the road to 28 September promises to be anything but smooth.

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) said the location is likely being used as a rear base for RSF operations in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The study, titled How we found an RSF military camp in the Libyan desert, shows that vehicles spotted in the Libyan camp later appeared in the Zamzam displacement camp, where the RSF carried out an attack in April.

At least 100 people were killed in the assault, including more than 20 children and at least nine aid workers, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

“Attacks on civilians, on humanitarian workers, and on civilian infrastructure are grave violations of international humanitarian law,” she said. “Such acts are abhorrent and inexcusable.”

CIR said it also identified a direct link between the Libyan site and a senior RSF commander who was later seen in Zamzam, the country’s largest displacement camp, home to nearly one million people uprooted by the war.

‘Convoys equipped with weapons’

The investigation shows large convoys of Toyota Land Cruisers fitted with weapons, filmed at different times in the desert. The same vehicles, parked in a rocky area in southern Libya, were later seen in Zamzam.

CIR said the Zamzam camp is now being used as a base by Colombian mercenaries and other foreign fighters involved in RSF offensives against El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The city has been surrounded by the RSF for 18 months.

The findings emerged as a court in Port Sudan charged RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, two of his brothers and 13 others in absentia with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges relate to an April 2023 attack on El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

One of the accused, Abd al-Rahman Jumaa, is charged with leading the attack on El Geneina, overseeing the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abkar in June 2023, and carrying out acts of genocide against thousands of Masalit people, including burying some alive.

According to the special court for combating terrorism and crimes against the state, the other defendants instigated the attack and committed rape, torture and looting.

‘Presence of top RSF generals’

The CIR investigation also establishes the presence of General Hamdane al-Kajli, head of security for Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s second-in-command.

He is seen on several occasions, notably in a vehicle spotted in Zamzam in April.

Researchers say al-Kajli was seriously wounded near El Fasher in early April while travelling in an armoured vehicle. He was evacuated to the Turkish hospital in Nyala, South Darfur, where RSF casualties are treated.

Other men directly responsible for Dagalo’s security were killed, say the CIR investigators. 

Some of the videos show RSF camouflage uniforms and shoulder patches. The vehicles, which do not carry number plates, have matching features – same model, same weapons, same water containers.

Spray-painted numbers on bonnets and doors were used to help track the vehicles across locations.

According to the CIR investigation, RSF military equipment is being transported on a large scale through Libya.

The revelations support the findings of UN experts, who highlighted violations of the arms embargo in 2024, citing a supply route from Abu Dhabi to Darfur via Chad and also via Libya.

Last April, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hit out at the continued flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan and called for an end to all external support.

In June, the RSF seized land in north-western Sudan along the border with Libya and Egypt. The group now uses the area to bring in supplies from Libya without interference.

French athletes won 16 golds in a tally of 64 medals during the 2024 Olympics, while at the Paralympics they took 85 – their best showing at the event since 1984.

Politicians from across the spectrum lined up to salute the achievements of the French stars of the Games, including cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, swimmer Léon Marchand, judoka Teddy Riner and table tennis players Alexis and Félix Lebrun at the Olympics and Paralympic swimmers Ugo Didier and Alex Portal.

Local sports clubs braced themselves for a flurry of applications, inspired by French success. 

Philippe Bana, president of the French Handball Federation, told RFI: “The Olympic effect was spectacular. It wasn’t a boom, it was an explosion. All our clubs were full. We were unable to take on any more members. We had to divide the pitches in half to accommodate more teams.”

How the Paris Olympic Games transformed the Porte de la Chapelle

The French Olympic and Paralympic committees – the CNOSF and CPSF – vowed to work towards even greater sporting glory.

“The Games have created a strong momentum that the CNOSF will continue to build on with the aim of changing mindsets and behaviours for a long-term impact.” said Gilles Erb, head of the legacy commission at France’s National Sports Agency, who is high in the ranks of the CNOSF.

“Having worked to lay the foundations for the legacy of the Games, it is now up to the CNOSF, alongside other French sports institutions, to strengthen this legacy and make it a success that benefits everyone,” said Erb.

“The Games have enabled the creation of programmes that bring people together, have an impact and encourage commitment and which have mobilised a large part of the French population – particularly the youngest audiences.”

Cutbacks in public spending

However, in January 2025, François Bayrou’s administration announced that the sport budget would be slashed from €1.7 billion to €1.4bn, as part of general cutbacks in public spending.

A petition signed by 400 leading athletes, including Riner, hit out at the plans.

“This is not just a matter of economics, it is sabotaging our ability to live together,” the signatories wrote. “With the [Olympic and Paralympic] Games, we have proven that sport is a powerful lever for education, health, social cohesion and physical and mental wellbeing.

“There is a desire to betray the ambition and vision of the Paris 2024 Games, which have succeeded in uniting and bringing together all French people, across all regions of the Republic.”

In a statement to sports newspaper L’Equipe Macron said that he agreed with the athletes, adding: “Since 2017, I have ensured that the sports budget has increased every year. We must keep our commitments and provide the necessary resources for our athletes so that the legacy of the Games benefits everyone.”

Trump to lead LA Olympics task force overseeing security and visas

In June, the government came under further attack when it announced changes to the Pass Sport scheme, established in 2021 to help children from low-income families join sports clubs. 

Nearly 1.7 million youngsters between six and 17 were benefitting from the €50 payment when Sports Minister Marie Barsacq outlined the amendments. But many will now find themselves ineligible.

Under the new system, which is set to start in September, the scheme will offer €70 to young people aged 14 to 17 whose families already receive the means tested ARS back-to-school allowance.

Children and teenagers between six and 19 with disabilities, whose guardians get the AEEH disabled child education allowance will also be able eligible for the €70, as will young people aged 16 to 30 who receive the AAH disabled adult allowance.

Students under the age of 28 who receive CROUS scholarships and bursaries will also be allowed to claim the cash.

“At the age of 14, nearly one in five secondary school students does not participate in regular sports activities, mainly due to cost constraints,” said Barsacq. “Pass Sport is an essential tool for overcoming this obstacle. I encourage young people and parents to take advantage of it to discover or rediscover a sport of their choice.”

Backlash

However, bosses at the French Football Federation have questioned the move, intended to save around €40 million.

Last year, 375,000 of its nearly 1 million members under the age of 14 joined clubs with the help of the money from the Pass Sport.

“We hope that solutions can be found to maintain this valuable aid for many families,” said the FFF. “There is an educational and social function to sport, which must be able to welcome as many children as possible, without discrimination, particularly financial discrimination.”

In an open letter to Macron and Bayrou, the 73 members of the Association of Mayors of Towns and Suburbs of France said: “The Pass Sport has put an end to financial discrimination in access to sport. It has led to a boom in sports enrolments among young girls. In large families, it has meant that we no longer have to prioritise sport for one child over another.

“By abolishing it for 6-13 year-olds, we are creating a sporting divide.”

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, who respectively head the CNOSF and the CPSF, have also hit out at the changes to the scheme.

“It is a harmful decision that will deprive thousands of children of access to sports, which are known to improve physical and mental wellbeing, as well as cognitive and academic performance,” Oudéa-Castéra, who was Sports Minister during the Olympics before taking over at the CNOSF from David Lappartient in June, wrote in a message on LinkedIn.

She added that sport had already made too many sacrifices.

Paris Olympics and Paralympics cost taxpayer nearly €6bn

“We must reverse this decision, which will deprive many children of access to sport and put many sports clubs in difficulty,” said François Piquemal, MP for Toulouse from the far-left France Unbowed party.

‘It’s an incomprehensible move,” he added, “but one that’s common in the world in which the president lives. As soon as there is a rare good idea that starts to get traction, back-pedalling is the order of the day when commitments cannot be honoured. However, these decisions have major consequences.”

Ronald Duart, president of a BMX club in Yvelines, west of Paris, said: “Before, three-quarters of our members in that age group of six to 13 used the Pass Sport.

“This is the first year that people have started asking us if they can pay in three or four instalments,” Duart added. “It feels that something like this is really going in the opposite direction of supporting sports participation.”

Refusing to support the repressive regime of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad, Amjaad and her husband Firas decided they had no choice but to flee it. 

Having studied in France between 2005 and 2011, in 2014 the couple – he an IT specialist, she a maths teacher – settled in north-west France and quickly obtained French citizenship.

From their adopted city of Rouen, the Abou Latif family – Amjaad, Firas and their two children – witnessed the fall of Assad’s regime in December 2024. As for most Syrians, this was cause for celebration – and time to plan a return trip.

Amjaad and Firas, who are both part of the Druze community, a branch of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. They decided to go back to their native Sweida, a Druze-majority province in the south of Syria, for the summer holidays. 

For the couple, this would be a reunion with their families, while for their children, aged five and 15, it would be a discovery of their homeland. 

New legal action launched against Syria’s Assad after French court ruling

Stranded in Swedia

“We left on 5 June,” says Amjaad. “We arrived in Damascus and then went to Sweida, where we had planned to stay for two months to spend the holidays there. We had a great first month with the family. Then, in the space of two days, it all came crashing down.”

On 13 July, Amjaad recalls that there were clashes between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in Sweida which left 37 people dead.

Similarly deadly clashes had already occurred in April and May, pitting Syrian security forces against Druze fighters. At that time, local and religious leaders concluded agreements aimed at containing the escalation and better integrating the Druze fighters into the country’s new post-Assad power structures.

Amjaad, her husband and children found themselves stranded with her parents-in-law in the centre of Sweida.

“The children started to get very scared and my husband told me to leave the city with them, to go to my parents who were in a village a long way from Sweida.”

Amjaad and the children arrived in Qanaouat, seven kilometres to the north, with the plan being that they would stay there until the situation calmed down in the provincial capital.

France condemns reported atrocities against civilians in Syria’s Sweida

But the fighting continued and her husband Firas could not find a way to leave Sweida. Tanks rolled into the town centre, and regime men entered houses and looted everything in sight.

Firas and his brother-in-law took refuge in one of the rooms in the family’s house. “On Wednesday, 16 July, before 9am, my husband sent me a text message to say that the tanks had entered the neighbourhood, but that everything was fine with him. At 10am, he sent a text message to the neighbourhood group saying: ‘We’re trapped here, help, help.” From 10.30am onwards, communication was interrupted.”

Firas and his brother-in-law were both shot dead. Then five rocket-propelled grenades hit the house, before it was burnt down.

‘There were corpses all over the town’

Amjaad was told what had happened by neighbours who had managed to hide. On 17 July, the remains of her brother-in-law’s head were found, along with Firas’s watch.

With the security situation in the town becoming increasingly catastrophic, Amjaad and her children had to wait a week before they could return and take refuge in an uncle’s house.

They were stuck there for almost two weeks, unable to return to Damascus from where they could take a flight to France. The town was surrounded by jihadists, recalls Amjaad. “There was no drinking water, food or medicine left. There were corpses all over the town, especially around the hospital.”

A ceasefire put an end to a week of deadly clashes on 20 July, but the situation remains tense and access to the province is difficult. Government troops have set up roadblocks on the access roads, and will only let authorised vehicles through.

Amjaad’s brother, who also lives in France, called the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the family’s behalf. The French embassy in Lebanon then told him to contact the Syrian White Helmets – the country’s humanitarian and civil defence volunteer organisation – who offered to collect the family from outside the town.

“I said no, it was impossible,” Amjaad says. “We couldn’t do it. Because to get to the meeting point they had given me, we had to go through villages that were in the hands of jihadists. What’s more, we had no petrol. I said we’d have to find another solution and they told me: ‘It’s the embassy, that’s the way it is, there’s no other way.'”

Syria’s interim president vows justice for Druze after deadly clashes

‘We don’t want jihadists’

In the end, Amjaad and her children managed to leave with the help of a family friend. On 30 July, thanks to their foreign passports, the Syrian Red Crescent took charge of them and transferred them out of the town.

With them were many other foreign Druze, including a large number of Venezuelans, all of whom had also come to Syria to be with their loved ones for the summer holidays, taking their first chance to come back to the country for years. 

“We, the Druze, had always refused to fight alongside Assad, we were part of the opposition, and now [Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s new president] comes along and imposes Islamism on us,” Amjaad said, angrily.

“In Sweida, we didn’t accept the jihadists taking power. We saw what they did against the Alawites in March,” she added, referring to the killing of members of the country’s Alawite religious minority, followers of an offshoot of Shia Islam, to which former president Assad belongs.

On Thursday, 31 July, Amjaad and her two children left for Paris, travelling via Istanbul.

She’s in shock over what has happened, but she’s also angry. “I’m trying to find the strength to respond to what’s happened, here in France – to file complaints, to speak out about the reality in Syria today. So that the government that replaced Assad leaves, like he did. We don’t want jihadists.”

On the same day Amjaad returned to France, the Syrian Ministry of Justice announced the formation of a commission to investigate the deadly inter-communal violence in the Sweida province.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), the violence has left more than 1,400 people dead, including by summary execution – the majority of whom were Druze.

The OSDH claims that “the authorities are imposing a blockade on the province of Sweida to make its inhabitants comply”.

Several aid convoys have entered the province since the ceasefire, including one sent on 31 July by the United Nations, which has warned the humanitarian situation is “critical”.

This article was adapted from the original version in French.

The historian and author used his swearing-in speech to parliament to make his position clear: “No to illegal immigration, no to the euro.”

Nawrocki’s election campaign was marked by a rise in nationalist rhetoric and repeated criticism of Ukrainian refugees living in Poland. His victory has unsettled many at home and abroad.

His rhetoric is making it easier for people to express anti-Ukrainian views, warned Oleksandr Pestrykov of the Ukrainian House Foundation in Warsaw – calling it a form of social segregation.

“Seeing Nawrocki speak in this way, someone who doesn’t like Ukrainians but would have been ashamed to say so, can now say it openly,” Pestrykov said.

On the campaign trail, Nawrocki described Ukrainian refugees as “ungrateful” and a “burden on society”. His slogan “Poland First, Poles First” came with pledges to give citizens priority in healthcare and education, cut pensions for Ukrainians and restrict benefits to Poles only.

Supreme Court confirms validity of Poland’s presidential election

Calls for unity mask deep divides

Despite his hardline message, Nawrocki has also tried to appear as a unifier. In a video released before the inauguration, he urged Poles to “unite” and spoke of “a new chapter in the history of our beloved Poland”.

He said he would be an “active president” from the outset, ready to propose laws and push government action.

But cooperation with Tusk’s government may prove difficult. The prime minister has already expressed doubts about Nawrocki’s intentions. “I have no doubt that Mr Nawrocki will do everything to annoy us,” Tusk said. He also warned that he would not let the president “demolish” his government.

Nawrocki, who has no prior experience in elected office, narrowly defeated liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski in the 1 June election. The close result revealed deep divisions in Polish politics.

Although the president does not run the government, the role comes with real power – including veto rights and a say in foreign and defence policy.

Nawrocki had the backing of former US president Donald Trump during his campaign. But analysts say he lacks international experience. With Ukraine a key issue, this could become a source of friction.

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

Foreign policy split

Nawrocki’s support for Ukraine appears conditional, said Jean-Yves Potel, a historian and political scientist. “Nawrocki seems to want to impose conditions on the Ukrainians, particularly regarding Ukraine’s entry into NATO and the European Union. He wants to exert pressure on this issue,” Potel told RFI.

Still, he said Tusk remains Poland’s key foreign policy actor. “He is not going to follow Nawrocki,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Nawrocki after his win and expressed hope for continued cooperation.

Following a phone call between the two, Zelensky said they had agreed to exchange visits and work together on practical matters. He said he was “thankful for the readiness to work together”.

Even so, Nawrocki’s remarks about Kyiv’s “lack of gratitude” and his opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine suggest a cooler relationship than under former president Andrzej Duda. The shift could affect Poland’s role in the regional response to Russia’s war.

Polish nationalists stage anti-immigration demonstration ahead of polls

Abortion deadlock 

Tensions are also expected to continue in the lead-up to Poland’s next parliamentary elections in 2027. Nawrocki has openly attacked the Tusk government, calling it “the worst in the history of democratic Poland”.

One major fault line is abortion. In predominantly Catholic Poland, the procedure is only allowed in cases of severe foetal abnormalities or when the mother’s life is at risk. Tusk wants to relax the law. Nawrocki has said he will block any such move.

“He promises to block any law in this direction,” said Potel. “But on the other hand, within Tusk’s coalition, there are Christian Democratic currents that refuse to liberalise abortion.” As a result, no major change may be possible, despite public pressure.

Not all observers think the situation will spiral into open conflict. Piotr Trudnowski, from the Klub Jagiellonski think tank, said “both parties should realise that engaging in intense confrontation is obviously not the way forward.”

The months ahead will show whether compromise is possible – or whether Poland’s political divide grows deeper under Nawrocki’s presidency.

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.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.

Announcing the summit last week, Trump said that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides, without elaborating.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace.

“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he said on social media.

“Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added.

Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

European leaders issued a joint statement overnight Saturday to Sunday saying that “only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed”.

They welcomed Trump’s efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically — by maintaining support to Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia.

“The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations”, said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details.

They also said a resolution “must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests”, including “the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they said.

National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.

French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations.

In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”

A ‘dignified peace’

Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.

Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.

Ukraine’s leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.

The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

Putin-Trump summit: what we know so far

Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

Zelensky said of the location that it was “very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people”.

The Kremlin said the choice was “logical” because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their “economic interests intersect”.

Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later.

Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could.

Fighting goes on

Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other’s positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday.

A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine’s frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16.

The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia.

In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, despite not having full control over them.

As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.

 (AFP)

The Clean Cookstove Initiative is focused on cutting wood fuel demand and reducing the health risks linked to smoke inhalation – particularly among women and children. It also aims to help curb climate change and protect forests.

The programme is targeting smallholder farmers and rural households in five regions: Western, Central, Ashanti, Eastern and Upper West. There are plans to extend it to more parts of the country.

The stoves are designed to use around 60 percent less wood than traditional models. They are being developed and distributed in partnership with Envirofit International, a US-based clean energy company.

The project is one of six climate mitigation schemes in Ghana backed by the KliK Foundation, a Swiss organisation that has pledged about $850 million in funding.

Cleaner cooking could save 4.7 million lives in Africa by 2040, IEA says

Community impact

So far, more than 180,000 families have taken part in the programme. Many have reported saving money on fuel and noticing fewer health problems linked to smoke.

Aminatu Hakim, a mother of six from Pullima near Tumu, in the Upper West Region, says the savings she has made from using the new stove have allowed her to reinvest in her small business. 

“I’ve invested the savings in my onion business,” she told RFI. “The proceeds are now supporting my family’s daily needs.”

She described the clean cookstove as fast, efficient and significantly less reliant on charcoal than traditional cooking methods.

Ghana unveils West Africa’s largest floating solar project, boosting renewable energy ambitions

Dr Daniel Tutu Benefoh, head of Ghana’s Carbon Market Office, said the cleaner cookstoves would ease pressure on household budgets and improve public health. “The technology reduces smoke and toxic emissions in individual households by as much as 80 percent,” he said.

The government plans to distribute another 500,000 clean cookstoves over the next three years, with a continued focus on rural and underserved areas.

Across Africa, around four in five people still cook with polluting fuels such as firewood, charcoal and kerosene – often over open flames in poorly ventilated spaces.

The World Bank estimates that this leads to around 600,000 premature deaths each year, making dirty cooking a bigger killer on the continent than malaria.

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) said the location is likely being used as a rear base for RSF operations in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The study, titled How we found an RSF military camp in the Libyan desert, shows that vehicles spotted in the Libyan camp later appeared in the Zamzam displacement camp, where the RSF carried out an attack in April.

At least 100 people were killed in the assault, including more than 20 children and at least nine aid workers, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

“Attacks on civilians, on humanitarian workers, and on civilian infrastructure are grave violations of international humanitarian law,” she said. “Such acts are abhorrent and inexcusable.”

CIR said it also identified a direct link between the Libyan site and a senior RSF commander who was later seen in Zamzam, the country’s largest displacement camp, home to nearly one million people uprooted by the war.

‘Convoys equipped with weapons’

The investigation shows large convoys of Toyota Land Cruisers fitted with weapons, filmed at different times in the desert. The same vehicles, parked in a rocky area in southern Libya, were later seen in Zamzam.

CIR said the Zamzam camp is now being used as a base by Colombian mercenaries and other foreign fighters involved in RSF offensives against El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The city has been surrounded by the RSF for 18 months.

The findings emerged as a court in Port Sudan charged RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, two of his brothers and 13 others in absentia with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges relate to an April 2023 attack on El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

One of the accused, Abd al-Rahman Jumaa, is charged with leading the attack on El Geneina, overseeing the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abkar in June 2023, and carrying out acts of genocide against thousands of Masalit people, including burying some alive.

According to the special court for combating terrorism and crimes against the state, the other defendants instigated the attack and committed rape, torture and looting.

‘Presence of top RSF generals’

The CIR investigation also establishes the presence of General Hamdane al-Kajli, head of security for Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s second-in-command.

He is seen on several occasions, notably in a vehicle spotted in Zamzam in April.

Researchers say al-Kajli was seriously wounded near El Fasher in early April while travelling in an armoured vehicle. He was evacuated to the Turkish hospital in Nyala, South Darfur, where RSF casualties are treated.

Other men directly responsible for Dagalo’s security were killed, say the CIR investigators. 

Some of the videos show RSF camouflage uniforms and shoulder patches. The vehicles, which do not carry number plates, have matching features – same model, same weapons, same water containers.

Spray-painted numbers on bonnets and doors were used to help track the vehicles across locations.

According to the CIR investigation, RSF military equipment is being transported on a large scale through Libya.

The revelations support the findings of UN experts, who highlighted violations of the arms embargo in 2024, citing a supply route from Abu Dhabi to Darfur via Chad and also via Libya.

Last April, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hit out at the continued flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan and called for an end to all external support.

In June, the RSF seized land in north-western Sudan along the border with Libya and Egypt. The group now uses the area to bring in supplies from Libya without interference.

Nigeria is fresh off a win at the finals of Women’s AfroBasket, their fifth-consecutive championship at the continent’s top hardwood tournament, while last month the Super Falcons clinched their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations football title.

The football team’s successes in particular have come in the face of pay disparities compared to their male counterparts – when they get paid at all.

The women receive a training camp allowance but the bulk of their pay comes from per-match bonuses, which vary depending on the team’s results.

Both the women’s basketball and football teams have been plagued by late or unpaid match bonuses for years, despite their records as arguably the best teams on the continent.

But when the Super Falcons landed in Abuja after their 3-2 WAFCON victory over host Morocco last month, none of the players answered questions shouted by an AFP reporter in the press scrum about whether they would ask the president, who was welcoming them at his villa, about being paid the same as the men’s team.

Nigerian journalists on the scene said the question was useless: it was far too politically charged.

“If you speak up against what’s going on, you completely lose the possibility of getting what you’re entitled to, you could actually be blacklisted,” Solace Chukwu, senior editor at Afrik-Foot Nigeria, later told AFP.

Tour de France feats place Le Court Pienaar and Mauritius on the cycling map

Strikes over late payments

Not that there aren’t clashes: in 2021, basketballers called out the authorities when they topped Africa, protesting against unpaid match bonuses.

The Nigeria Basketball Federation at the time denied any wrongdoing, blaming the issue on clerical errors.

Like the basketball team, the women’s football team has found remarkable success, stemming in part from the country’s population of more than 200 million — the largest on the continent, complemented by a widespread diaspora.

They also benefited from early investments in women’s football at a time when other African countries focused on men’s teams, Chukwu said, helping the Super Falcons win the first seven editions of the WAFCON, from 1991 to 2006.

Yet they only played a handful of test matches before they landed in Morocco for this year’s competition, cobbled together at the last second.

The Super Falcons haven’t been completely silent in the face of mismanagement and disinterest from authorities.

But rocking the boat too much appears to come with a cost.

“Players who lead or dare to protest… always risk not being invited or sidelined outrightly,” said Harrison Jalla, a players’ union official.

After Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie – now a commentator – led protests over unpaid wages at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, she was stripped of her captaincy and was not called up for the 2022 tournament.

Former men’s coach Sunday Oliseh — who himself was let go from the national squad amid protests over backpay in the early 2000s – called the situation a case of “criminal” retaliation.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) at the time denied that it dropped Oparanozie over the protests.

The NFF and the Super Falcons did not respond to an AFP request for comment on the allegations that players are afraid to speak out.

France’s Ferrand-Prévot wins 2025 women’s Tour de France

‘Sky is the limit’

Players still have hopes for women’s sports to expand.

“I think the sky is the limit,” Nigerian point guard Promise Amukamara told AFP in Abuja, fresh off her AfroBasket win.

“Obviously, more facilities should be built around Nigeria. I feel like maybe, one year we should host the AfroBasket.”

Aisha Falode, an NFF official, meanwhile, called on the government to “invest in the facilities, invest in the leagues and the players, because the women’s game can no longer be taken lightly”.

Despite the challenges, women’s sports are still finding a foothold among younger fans.

Justina Oche, 16, a player at a football academy in Abuja, told AFP that the exploits of the team inspired her to pursue a career in the sport.

“They say what a man can do, a woman can do even better,” said the youngster, whose role model is six-time African Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala.

“The Super Falcons have again proved this.”

French athletes won 16 golds in a tally of 64 medals during the 2024 Olympics, while at the Paralympics they took 85 – their best showing at the event since 1984.

Politicians from across the spectrum lined up to salute the achievements of the French stars of the Games, including cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, swimmer Léon Marchand, judoka Teddy Riner and table tennis players Alexis and Félix Lebrun at the Olympics and Paralympic swimmers Ugo Didier and Alex Portal.

Local sports clubs braced themselves for a flurry of applications, inspired by French success. 

Philippe Bana, president of the French Handball Federation, told RFI: “The Olympic effect was spectacular. It wasn’t a boom, it was an explosion. All our clubs were full. We were unable to take on any more members. We had to divide the pitches in half to accommodate more teams.”

How the Paris Olympic Games transformed the Porte de la Chapelle

The French Olympic and Paralympic committees – the CNOSF and CPSF – vowed to work towards even greater sporting glory.

“The Games have created a strong momentum that the CNOSF will continue to build on with the aim of changing mindsets and behaviours for a long-term impact.” said Gilles Erb, head of the legacy commission at France’s National Sports Agency, who is high in the ranks of the CNOSF.

“Having worked to lay the foundations for the legacy of the Games, it is now up to the CNOSF, alongside other French sports institutions, to strengthen this legacy and make it a success that benefits everyone,” said Erb.

“The Games have enabled the creation of programmes that bring people together, have an impact and encourage commitment and which have mobilised a large part of the French population – particularly the youngest audiences.”

Cutbacks in public spending

However, in January 2025, François Bayrou’s administration announced that the sport budget would be slashed from €1.7 billion to €1.4bn, as part of general cutbacks in public spending.

A petition signed by 400 leading athletes, including Riner, hit out at the plans.

“This is not just a matter of economics, it is sabotaging our ability to live together,” the signatories wrote. “With the [Olympic and Paralympic] Games, we have proven that sport is a powerful lever for education, health, social cohesion and physical and mental wellbeing.

“There is a desire to betray the ambition and vision of the Paris 2024 Games, which have succeeded in uniting and bringing together all French people, across all regions of the Republic.”

In a statement to sports newspaper L’Equipe Macron said that he agreed with the athletes, adding: “Since 2017, I have ensured that the sports budget has increased every year. We must keep our commitments and provide the necessary resources for our athletes so that the legacy of the Games benefits everyone.”

Trump to lead LA Olympics task force overseeing security and visas

In June, the government came under further attack when it announced changes to the Pass Sport scheme, established in 2021 to help children from low-income families join sports clubs. 

Nearly 1.7 million youngsters between six and 17 were benefitting from the €50 payment when Sports Minister Marie Barsacq outlined the amendments. But many will now find themselves ineligible.

Under the new system, which is set to start in September, the scheme will offer €70 to young people aged 14 to 17 whose families already receive the means tested ARS back-to-school allowance.

Children and teenagers between six and 19 with disabilities, whose guardians get the AEEH disabled child education allowance will also be able eligible for the €70, as will young people aged 16 to 30 who receive the AAH disabled adult allowance.

Students under the age of 28 who receive CROUS scholarships and bursaries will also be allowed to claim the cash.

“At the age of 14, nearly one in five secondary school students does not participate in regular sports activities, mainly due to cost constraints,” said Barsacq. “Pass Sport is an essential tool for overcoming this obstacle. I encourage young people and parents to take advantage of it to discover or rediscover a sport of their choice.”

Backlash

However, bosses at the French Football Federation have questioned the move, intended to save around €40 million.

Last year, 375,000 of its nearly 1 million members under the age of 14 joined clubs with the help of the money from the Pass Sport.

“We hope that solutions can be found to maintain this valuable aid for many families,” said the FFF. “There is an educational and social function to sport, which must be able to welcome as many children as possible, without discrimination, particularly financial discrimination.”

In an open letter to Macron and Bayrou, the 73 members of the Association of Mayors of Towns and Suburbs of France said: “The Pass Sport has put an end to financial discrimination in access to sport. It has led to a boom in sports enrolments among young girls. In large families, it has meant that we no longer have to prioritise sport for one child over another.

“By abolishing it for 6-13 year-olds, we are creating a sporting divide.”

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, who respectively head the CNOSF and the CPSF, have also hit out at the changes to the scheme.

“It is a harmful decision that will deprive thousands of children of access to sports, which are known to improve physical and mental wellbeing, as well as cognitive and academic performance,” Oudéa-Castéra, who was Sports Minister during the Olympics before taking over at the CNOSF from David Lappartient in June, wrote in a message on LinkedIn.

She added that sport had already made too many sacrifices.

Paris Olympics and Paralympics cost taxpayer nearly €6bn

“We must reverse this decision, which will deprive many children of access to sport and put many sports clubs in difficulty,” said François Piquemal, MP for Toulouse from the far-left France Unbowed party.

‘It’s an incomprehensible move,” he added, “but one that’s common in the world in which the president lives. As soon as there is a rare good idea that starts to get traction, back-pedalling is the order of the day when commitments cannot be honoured. However, these decisions have major consequences.”

Ronald Duart, president of a BMX club in Yvelines, west of Paris, said: “Before, three-quarters of our members in that age group of six to 13 used the Pass Sport.

“This is the first year that people have started asking us if they can pay in three or four instalments,” Duart added. “It feels that something like this is really going in the opposite direction of supporting sports participation.”

Protesters gathered from Saturday morning in Yopougon, a densely populated suburb of the capital Abidjan, holding banners with messages such as: “Enough is enough!” and “No true democracy without true justice.”

“We are millions saying YES to Gbagbo and Thiam” said another banner in the crowd.

Côte d’Ivoire, a nation of 32 million that is the biggest economy of francophone West Africa, is due to hold a presidential vote in October.

Earlier this year four main opposition figures, including former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running by the electoral commission.

Gbagbo and Thiam joined forces earlier this year to challenge incumbent President Alassane Ouattara.

The 83-year-old leader announced last month that he would seek a fourth presidential term. His candidacy is contested after he changed the constitution in 2016 to remove presidential term limits.

“We don’t want a fourth term, and we want the electoral roll revised, that’s what we are asking for,” said Sagesse Divine, an activist who participated in Saturday’s march. “We want all candidates’ names included, and we want to go to the elections in peace, that’s all we want.”

There was no immediate comments from Ivorian authorities.

Thiam, president of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), won the party’s primary in an uncontested vote in April. Seen as Ouattara’s main rival, he has been barred from running on the grounds that he was still a French citizen at the time he declared his candidacy, even though he later renounced his French nationality. Ivorian law bans dual nationals from running for president.

Elections in Côte d’Ivoire have usually been fraught with tension and violence. When Ouattara announced his bid for a third term, several people were killed in election violence.

Ouattara is the latest among a growing number of leaders in West Africa who remain in power by changing constitutional term limits.

Ouattara justified his decision to run again by saying that the Côte d’Ivoire is facing unprecedented security, economic and monetary challenges that require experience to manage them effectively.

Over the past decade, groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been spreading from the Sahel region into wealthier West African coastal states, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin.

 (AFP)

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, two Caucasian countries embroiled in a territorial conflict since the fall of the USSR, met Friday and signed a peace treaty under the watch of US President Donald Trump.

In Yerevan, however, few of the people asked by AFP were enthusiastic.

‘Acceptable’

“It’s a good thing that this document was signed because Armenia has no other choice,” said Asatur Srapyan, an 81-year-old retiree.

He believes Armenia hasn’t achieved much with this draft agreement, but it’s a step in the right direction.

“We are very few in number, we don’t have a powerful army, we don’t have a powerful ally behind us, unlike Azerbaijan,” he said. “This accord is a good opportunity for peace.”

Maro Huneyan, a 31-year-old aspiring diplomat, also considers the pact “acceptable”, provided it does not contradict her country’s constitution.

“If Azerbaijan respects all the agreements, it’s very important for us. But I’m not sure it will keep its promises and respect the points of the agreement,” she added.

Armenians warn ethnic cleansing risks being forgotten – again

‘Endless concessions’

But Anahit Eylasyan, 69, opposes the agreement and, more specifically, the plan to create a transit zone crossing Armenia to connect the Nakhchivan region to the rest of Azerbaijan.

“We are effectively losing control of our territory. It’s as if, in my own apartment, I had to ask a stranger if I could go from one room to another,” she explains.

She also hopes not to see Russia, an ally of Armenia despite recent tensions, expelled from the region.”

Anahit also criticises Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for “making decisions for everyone” and for his “endless concessions to Azerbaijan”.

“We got nothing in exchange, not our prisoners, nor our occupied lands, nothing. It’s just a piece of paper to us,” she fumes.

Shavarsh Hovhannisyan, a 68-year-old construction engineer, agrees, saying the agreement “is just an administrative formality that brings nothing to Armenia.”

“We can’t trust Azerbaijan,” Hovhannisyan asserted, while accusing Pashinyan of having “turned his back” on Russia and Iran.

“It’s more of a surrender document than a peace treaty, while Trump only thinks about his image, the Nobel Prize.”

Azerbaijan flexes its muscles amid rising tensions with Russia

‘More stability… in the short term’

According to President Trump, Armenia and Azerbaijan have committed “to stop all fighting forever; open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations; and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

For Olesya Vartanyan, an independent researcher specialising in the Caucasus, the Washington agreement “certainly brings greater stability and more guarantees for the months, if not years, to come.”

But given the long-lasting tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, “I fear that we will have to plan only for the very short term,” she said.

 (AFP)

The court in N’Djamena jailed Masra, one of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno,’s fiercest critics, for his role in inciting inter-communal violence in which 42 people were killed on 14 May.

Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, according to the court. On Friday, the state prosecutor had called for a 25-year sentence.

“Our client has just been the object of a humiliation,” lead defence lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye told AFP.

“He has just been convicted on the basis of an empty dossier, on the basis of assumptions and in the absence of evidence,” he added.

What we had witnessed, he said, was the weaponisation of the courts.

Activists with his Transformers Party said they would put out a “special message” later Saturday.

Masra was arrested on May 16, two days after the violence, and charged with “inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson and desecration of graves”.

He stood trial with nearly 70 other men accused of taking part in the killings.

Presidential candidate

Originally from Chad’s south, Masra comes from the Ngambaye ethnic group and enjoys wide popularity among the predominantly Christian and animist populations of the south.

Those groups feel marginalised by the largely Muslim-dominated regime in the capital N’Djamena.

During the trial, Masra’s lawyers argued that no concrete evidence against him had been presented to the court.

He went on hunger strike in jail for nearly a month in June, his lawyers said at the time.

Like other opposition leaders, Masra had left Chad after a bloody crackdown on his followers in 2022, only returning under an amnesty agreed in 2024.

Trained as an economist in France and Cameroon, Masra had been a fierce opponent of the ruling authorities before they named him prime minister five months ahead of the presidential election.

He served as premier from January to May last year after signing a reconciliation deal with Deby.

Masra faced off against Deby in the 2024 presidential elections, winning 18.5 percent against Deby’s 61.3 percent, but claimed victory.

Of the May 14 killings, one local source said they were thought to have sprung from a dispute between ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and local Ngambaye farmers over the demarcation of grazing and farming areas.

Conflicts between pastoralists and sedentary farmers are estimated by the International Crisis Group to have caused more than 1,000 deaths and 2,000 injuries in Chad between 2021 and 2024.

 (AFP)

Thousands of Africans travel from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden every year, hoping to reach Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia to work as labourers or domestic workers.

The Eastern route is one of the world’s most dangerous, according to the International Organization of Migration (IOM), which documented at least 558 deaths in 2024, including 462 from shipwrecks.

Overall, the United Nations agency estimates that 3,400 people have died using this route over the past 10 years.

On Sunday a boat carrying nearly 200 people sank off the Yemeni coast, killing more than 90 of them, with some still missing.

Death roll climbs in Yemen migrant boat sinking with dozens still missing

Ethiopia’s permanent mission in Geneva responded by urging its citizens to “avoid irregular routes”.

The IOM said that it was “working with partners to mobilise resources and deliver humanitarian assistance to protect people on the move, as well as to support the government to respond to migration crisis”.

In March, at least 180 people were reported missing off the Yemeni coast, the majority of them from Ethiopia.

Abdusattor Esoev, the IOM’s head of mission in Yemen, told RFI that: “A network of cross-border smugglers exploits the desperation of people who need better jobs and better opportunities.”

Lack of interest

The IOM estimates that 60,000 people landed in Yemen in 2024 alone.

Marina de Regt, an anthropologist at the Free University of Amsterdam who specialises in migration in this region, agrees that “the numbers are enormous”. 

“In many cases, migrants pay and don’t even know they have to cross the sea and then go through Yemen before arriving in Saudi Arabia,” she told RFI.

She is concerned about the lack of interest shown by the international community in this busy and dangerous migratory route.

“These migrations between countries in the South are not considered important by political decision-makers, particularly in Europe. All that matters to [them] is that the migrants do not end up on [their] territory.”

She explains why Ethiopians represent the highest number of people trying to reach the Persian Gulf countries, saying: “Ethiopia is going through a very difficult time. The Tigray War (2020-2022) is over, but instability persists and there is a lot of poverty.”

UN food agency forced to halt aid in Ethiopia for 650,000 women and children

Caught in conflict

Crossing the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden in rickety boats isn’t the only danger for migrants making the journey. In Yemen, a country gripped by civil war, they face an increased risk of violence.

“In addition to the war situation, which results in a lack of food and great insecurity, the exploitation of migrants and refugees is common,” said de Regt. “People are sometimes kidnapped by gangs and migrant women are sexually exploited by criminals.”

Last April, East African migrants also found themselves caught up in the military escalation between the United States and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Sixty-eight people were killed and dozens more injured in US strikes on a migrant detention centre in Sanaa, a rebel stronghold.

Thirty-eight migrants found drowned after shipwreck off Djibouti

In 2023, the NGO Human Rights Watch revealed that Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, between March 2022 and June 2023.

“The guards at the checkpoints shoot randomly at migrants trying to cross. Crossing the Saudi border is a very risky undertaking,” said de Regt.

While some manage to find work in Saudi Arabia, many migrants remain in a precarious situation, at risk of arrest and deportation.

“Sometimes men are deported to Ethiopia – but they start again, even though they know how risky the journey is,” she said. “They will start again because they are desperate.”

This story has been adapted from the original RFI report in French.

After nearly 28 months of siege, the UN’s children agency Unicef and the World Food Programme (WFP) say famine could soon take hold in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

“The situation in El Fasher is completely catastrophic; the city’s population is on the verge of starvation,” said Leni Kinzli, WFP’s spokesperson in Sudan, speaking to RFI this week

“It is besieged, cut off from the rest of the country, and humanitarian access is extremely difficult.”

WFP says it has not been able to deliver food to the city for over a year. In the meantime, it has carried out cash transfers, but the blockade has made those nearly useless.

“Since the city is under blockade, the prices of basic necessities have skyrocketed, and people cannot even buy enough to make one meal a day,” Kinzli said.

Some residents are reportedly now eating animal feed and rubbish to survive. “And this is despite the fact that we are ready to intervene with food trucks if we are allowed to pass,” Kinzli added.

WFP is again calling for aid convoys to be allowed through.

Two years of devastation: Sudan’s war claims thousands and displaces millions

‘Skin and bones’

The Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, recaptured Khartoum state in May, but widespread hunger continues to grip the heart of Africa’s third-largest country.

Many children in Sudan are now “skin and bones”, UN officials said this week, and thousands of families in El-Fasher, more than 1,000 kilometres west of Khartoum, are at risk of starving.

“Everyone in El-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Eric Perdison, WFP’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa, on Tuesday.

RSF forces have surrounded the city since May. It is the last major urban area in Darfur still under army control.

“People’s coping mechanisms have been completely exhausted by over two years of war,” Perdison said in a statement. “Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.”

WFP says food prices in El-Fasher are now 460 percent higher than in the rest of the country. Soup kitchens have shut down, and aid remains blocked.

Unicef’s Sheldon Yett, who recently visited Sudan, warned of growing malnutrition.

“Malnutrition is rife, and many of the children are reduced to just skin and bones,” he said. Around 25 million people across Sudan face severe food insecurity, according to the UN.

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

Acute hunger, limited access

Famine was first declared in the surrounding displacement camps last year, especially in Zamzam. The UN said the crisis would likely spread to the city itself by May.

Only a lack of reliable data has prevented a formal famine declaration for the wider region.

Aid agencies say insecurity is making it nearly impossible to act. In June, five humanitarian workers were killed when their UN convoy to El-Fasher was attacked.

“We have not had access to the horrible situation unfolding in El-Fasher, despite trying for months and months and months,” said Yett. “We have not been able to get supplies there.”

Nearly 40 percent of children under five in the area are acutely malnourished, UN data shows.

Residents often shelter in makeshift bunkers to avoid shelling as the RSF continues its push to take full control of Darfur.

In April, an RSF attack on Zamzam camp killed hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands to flee to el-Fasher and the nearby town of Tawila. A deadly cholera outbreak is now spreading there.

“Every day the conflict continues in Sudan, innocent lives are lost, communities are torn apart, and trauma continues to haunt generations,” said Radhouane Nouicer, the UN’s expert on human rights in Sudan. “The ongoing war has devastated civilian lives and turned daily survival into a constant struggle.”

Children in crisis

Relative calm has returned to Khartoum, but children there still have only “limited, but growing access to safe water, food, healthcare and learning”, according to Unicef’s Yett.

In the two hardest-hit areas of Khartoum state, Jebel Awliya and Khartoum proper, “children and families in the neighbourhood are sheltered often in small, damaged or unfinished buildings”, he added. 

“We are on the verge of irreversible damage to an entire generation of children.”

The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands across Sudan, displaced millions and left the country’s healthcare system in ruins.

The UN describes the conflict as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

(with newswires)

Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace — after boasting he could end the war in 24 hours — but multiple rounds of peace talks, phone calls and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough.

Here is what we know about the summit so far:

When and where

On his Truth Social site on Friday, Trump announced that his meeting with Putin would be held in the far-north US state of Alaska on 15 August, which was later confirmed by the Kremlin.

The announcement came after days of both sides indicating the two leaders would hold a summit next week.

The Kremlin confirmed the summit in Alaska on Friday, calling it “quite logical.”

“They would like to meet with me, I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing,” Trump said on Thursday, speaking of both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

At the White House Friday, Trump said “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details.

Why Alaska?

The meeting will be held in Alaska, which Russia sold to the United States in 1867.

The western tip of the state is not far — just across the Bering Strait — from the easternmost part of Russia.

“Alaska and the Arctic are also where our countries’ economic interests intersect, and there are prospects for large-scale, mutually beneficial projects,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement on Telegram.

“But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” he added.

Ushakov also expressed hope that next time the two presidents would meet on Russian territory.

“A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US president,” he added.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin — which obligates members to detain the Russian leader if he visits their country — had been thought to narrow the potential number of venues.

Putin had previously mentioned the United Arab Emirates as a possible host for the talks, while media speculated Turkey, China or India could be possible venues.

Will Zelensky be involved?

Zelensky has been pushing to make it a three-way summit and has frequently said meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting when he held talks with Putin earlier this week, but the Russian leader has appeared to rule out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart.

At talks in Istanbul in June, Russian negotiators said a Putin-Zelensky meeting could only take place at the “final phase” of negotiations, once the two sides had agreed on terms for peace.

Asked if Putin had to meet Zelensky as a prerequisite for their summit, Trump said on Friday: “No, he doesn’t.”

When did they last meet?

Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January.

Putin previously held a summit with Trump in Helsinki in 2018. Trump raised eyebrows at the time by appearing to side with Putin over the US intelligence community’s finding that Russia had interfered in the US election to support the New York tycoon.

The last time Putin met a US president in the United States was during talks with Barack Obama at a UN General Assembly in 2015.

Negotiating positions

Despite the flurry of diplomacy and multiple rounds of peace talks, Russia and Ukraine appear no closer to agreeing on an end to the fighting.

Putin has rejected calls by the United States, Ukraine and Europe for an immediate ceasefire.

At talks in June, Russia demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, demanded Ukraine commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.

Kyiv wants an immediate ceasefire and has said it will never recognize Russian control over its sovereign territory — though it acknowledged securing the return of land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.

Kyiv is also seeking security guarantees from Western backers, including the deployment of foreign troops as peacekeepers to enforce any ceasefire. 

 (AFP)

Since 2022, Mission Bougainville has been turning French Navy ships into floating science labs.

Recent graduates from the Sorbonne are stationed on board as biodiversity cadets. They work alongside the crew, collecting and studying plankton as the ships patrol thousands of kilometres of open sea.

One of those ships, the Champlain, sailed in June to the Scattered Islands near Madagascar – a remote string of French territories the Navy supplies and protects. The vessel usually patrols for illegal fishing and drug trafficking. Now, it also carries young scientists and plankton-sampling gear.

These minuscule organisms may be invisible to the naked eye, yet their role is immense. They absorb carbon dioxide, produce around 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe, and form the base of the marine food chain. Yet much remains unknown, especially how plankton responds to environmental change.

Mission Bougainville focuses on France’s vast Exclusive Economic Zones in the Indo-Pacific – a maritime area that spans from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific and gives France one of the largest ocean territories in the world.

The project also has researchers aboard other Navy ships operating between French Polynesia and New Caledonia, territories that offer access to far-flung waters still largely unstudied.

Nations vow to cut shipping noise as sea life struggles to be heard

Charting life on the move

The mission builds on work by the Tara Ocean Foundation, which changed how scientists understand plankton. But Bougainville takes it further by using the Navy’s existing routes to access under-researched zones and collect data over time.

“The big difficulty with plankton is that you have to study it everywhere. It moves fast, adapts fast and you cannot understand it without worldwide study. It’s all interconnected,” said Colomban de Vargas, a marine biologist with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and co-founder of the mission.

Scientists have studied plankton for more than a century. But Bougainville’s scale and regularity are what set it apart.

Multiple Navy ships are now involved, including the Champlain and vessels operating in the South Pacific. The mission aims to gather around 100 samples per ship each year through to 2030 – enough to build a global database covering millions of square kilometres.

A major focus is what researchers call the “island effect”. The Indo-Pacific is dotted with islands and underwater mountains. In many parts of the ocean, nutrients are scarce. But land masses release material that acts like fertiliser – triggering blooms of phytoplankton.

These blooms can float for weeks and are large enough to be seen from space.

“Islands change the composition of plankton over tens, hundreds of kilometres. They create an ecosystem that moves through the ocean for weeks before disappearing, then being created again. They’re like moving forests,” said de Vargas.

These ecosystems move across the ocean, then vanish and reappear elsewhere. Scientists are now trying to understand how they form, whether they follow patterns, and how they change over time.

Plankton don’t choose where they go – they drift with the currents. That makes each island a kind of natural lab. “Each of these islands is a test tube, ideal terrain for science,” said de Vargas.

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

Climate and geopolitics

By taking repeated samples across different seasons and locations, researchers can learn how plankton adapt to changing conditions – from rising temperatures to shifts in ocean chemistry.

“Differences in plankton composition will affect the entire ecosystem, consequently affecting the economy of different territories and therefore global geopolitics,” said de Vargas.

But researchers stress that this work is still in its early stages. It will take years of sampling and analysis before the full picture becomes clear.

“You have to understand the basic functional aspects of plankton before talking about its evolution or adaptation,” de Vargas added.

Mission Bougainville is set to continue through to 2030.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI’s Titouan Allain

The case has raised concerns among government critics, including opposition leader Bobi Wine and rights groups, about a crackdown ahead of Uganda’s national election early next year in which President Yoweri Museveni, 80, is seeking re-election.

The government denies targeting opposition figures and says all those who have been detained have committed crimes.

Bobi Wine’s fight for democracy in Uganda continues on the big screen

A former ally and personal physician of Museveni, Besigye has stood and lost against Museveni in four elections. He has not said whether he is running again.

Besigye, who denies any wrongdoing, was forcefully returned to 

Uganda from neighbouring Kenya in November last year, and initially charged in a military tribunal, before his case was transferred to a civilian court.

Kenya investigates alleged kidnapping of Ugandan opposition leader Besigye

His lawyers argued he should be automatically released on bail because he has spent more than 180 days in jail without his trial starting.

One of Besigye’s lawyers, Erias Lukwago, labelled the ruling “absurd”.

“For the Judge to rule that Besigye and Lutale have not spent 180 days on remand, discounting the days on remand since November last year, is a miscarriage of justice,” he told AFP.

Another defence lawyer, Eron Kiiza, told AFP he was not surprised by the ruling.

“There is a total breakdown in the constitutional order in this country,” he said.

Judge Emmanuel Baguma said on Friday the 180-day maximum period before mandatory bail is granted only began when he was remanded in the civilian court on 21 February, which means he falls short by 12 days in order to secure bail.

Rights groups have said that Besigye’s abduction and trial for treason are linked to next January’s elections, when Museveni will seek to extend his term.

 (with newswires)

The plan runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination, Turk said in a statement.

Israel‘s political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war.

Former Israeli ambassador and French historian urge Macron to sanction Israel

Earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip.

“On all evidence to date, this further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes,” Turk said.

“Instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid.

“The hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups.”

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Hossen Abed Ali from Rangpur, Bangladesh and a composition written by SB Leprof from Winneba, Ghana.

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Epitaph” by Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake and Michael Giles, to lyrics by Peter Sinfield, performed by King Crimson, and “Ginger Milk” by SB Leprof.

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 a 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!

“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.   

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.