Authorities are warning of a “widespread flood event” across France, according to the national flood monitoring service Vigicrues.

Soil moisture levels are at unprecedented levels, and the ground can no longer absorb additional water.

The Garonne River burst its banks in several parts of south-western France, following several extreme weather events, including the violent Storm Nils that tore through France and Spain on Thursday.

Flood levels peaked on Saturday and Sunday in the Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne departments, though Vigicrues warned that the river could continue to flood in the coming hours and could rise again this week with more bad weather.

Record soil humidity

Seventy-seven of mainland France’s 96 departments are under some form of weather alert, most of them for flooding, and several departments have carried out preventative evacuations.

Vigicrues said soil humidity is a record levels after two months of accumulated rainfall.

While flooding is not new in France, the amount and consistency of the recent weather events is breaking records, due to a warming atmosphere that super-charges humidity in storms.

Saturated soils have slowed down work to restore rail service and electricity and phone networks damaged by Storm Nils, which caused extensive damage and at least two deaths in France.

Seine overflows

Heavy rainfall has caused the River Seine in Paris to rise is four metres above its normal level, and it is not expected to fall before Tuesday.

Flooding has forced the closure of riverside motorways and several commuter rail stations. Tourist boat services have been suspended, and only emergency services are permitted to use the river.

(with newswires)

Nuñez is in Algeria Monday and Tuesday to discuss security, migration and the case of jailed French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, in a visit seen as a step toward easing tensions between Paris and Algiers.

The visit comes as cooperation between the two countries is at a low point following months of strained relations.

Nuñez and his Algerian counterpart Saïd Sayoud spoke by phone on Thursday afternoon to prepare the trip. A few days earlier, the interior minister said he had received an invitation from Sayoud for an official visit.

Algeria’s parliament to vote on law declaring French colonisation ‘state crime’

Discussions will reportedly focus on “security issues, the fight against terrorism and against drug trafficking.”

Nuñez is also expected to address intelligence cooperation in counter-terrorism matters, as well as extradition requests filed by Algeria.

Earlier in this month, Nuñez said he was waiting for an answer from Algiers in response to Paris’s requests regarding the repatriation of Algerian nationals illegally residing in France and the case of detained French journalist Christophe Gleizes.

Gleizes, arrested in May 2024 while reporting on Algeria’s most successful football club, JS Kabylie, was sentenced to seven years in prison for “glorifying terrorism”.

Former French minister Ségolène Royal recently visited Algeria, where she was received by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and obtained permission to visit Gleizes. She called for the “reconstruction of the friendship between France and Algeria.”

Former minister meets with imprisoned French journalist in Algeria

A fragile thaw

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory sought by Algeria, back in July 2024.

Earlier that year, the abduction of an Algerian influencer critical of President Tebboune near Paris led to the expulsion of 12 Algerian officials from France and escalated tensions between the two nations.

Former interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, also fuelled tensions by taking a hard line, publicly criticizing the detention of Algeria-born writer Boualem Sansal, who was incarcerated for nearly a year over statements about his country of birth.

The award-winning author received French citizenship in 2024 and was released from prison in November 2025. He currently resides in France.

Sansal has since stated that Algerian authorities have “stripped him of his Algerian nationality”, but Algiers has yet to confirm that claim.

The last visit by a French interior minister to Algeria was in late 2022, when incumbent justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, travelled to the country.

(with newswires)

On 5 February, Fabien Galthié’s side thrashed Ireland 36-14 in Paris and on Sunday night they obliterated Wales 54-12 in Cardiff to take a four-point lead over Scotland in the competition for the six leading rugby union sides in Europe.

“The Grand Slam is what we’ve been preparing for since the start of the tournament,” said France skipper Antoine Dupont. “And that means winning all the matches. The competition won’t be over until the last day,” he added.

“You can see the intensity of all the matches and the best way to get to the end is to take one match at a time and arrive in a position where you can actually do the Grand Slam.”

Since the inception of the Six Nations tournament in 2000, Wales and France have each won four Grand Slams.

After the second round of the games in which Scotland beat England 31-20, only France can achieve the honour this year and stand alone with the record for clean sweeps.

“The way forward to the Grand Slam is to get back to our training centre to prepare for the encounter that awaits us against Italy on Sunday,” Galthié said. “That’s our long-term plan.” 

In the tie against Wales, debutant Fabien Brau-Boirie justified Galthié’s faith with a try in the 15th minute. The 20-year-old Section Paloise centre also made 17 tackles and gains of 90 metres running with the ball in his hands.

Maintaining standards

Standing 1.9m tall and weighing in at 98kg, it took three Welsh players to bring him down towards the end of the match at the Principality Stadium.

“We knew we had to play a serious match and maintain the standards we set ourselves last week,” France winger Théo Attissogbe told French broadcaster TF1 after scoring two tries in the rout.

“We took the game by the scruff of the neck,” he added. “We tried to maintain that level throughout the match and it paid off for us.”

As France basked in the glory of another resounding victory and taking a step closer to a record eighth overall victory in the Six Nations, Welsh rugby union chiefs were contemplating the double whammy of a team that has won only two of its last 25 Tests and the apathy of the public.

Only 57,744 attended the match at an arena that can hold 74,500 people.

It was the lowest Six Nations crowd in Cardiff since Wales started playing at the venue in 1999.

“I’m disappointed with the scoreline,” said Wales boss Steve Tandy. “But you’ve got to tip your hat to France and what they brought.”

With Russia’s war in Ukraine fuelling fears of a wider threat and uncertainty lingering over Washington’s long-term security commitments, the debate over nuclear deterrence has moved decisively into the political mainstream. Across Europe, governments are weighing how to strengthen their defences – and whether a more distinctly European nuclear role is now unavoidable.

Against this shifting backdrop, French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped forward with a signal that Paris may be ready to lead. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, he said he was considering a doctrine that could include “special cooperation, joint exercises, and shared security interests with certain key countries”.

The comments, ahead of a major speech on France’s nuclear strategy later this month, have raised expectations that France could expand its role as a nuclear guarantor for European partners.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz has already held confidential talks with Macron on the issue, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK is “enhancing our nuclear cooperation with France”. Britain and France remain Europe’s only nuclear-armed states, and both are now under growing pressure to adapt their deterrents to a changing security landscape.

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A continent rethinks deterrence

For decades, Europe’s defence has rested on NATO and, crucially, the US nuclear umbrella. That model is now being reassessed.

Russia’s increasingly assertive posture has convinced many European officials that its ambitions may not stop at Ukraine. At the same time, US President Donald Trump’s scepticism towards NATO and transactional approach to foreign policy have unsettled allies, raising doubts about whether American protection can be relied upon in all circumstances.

A report presented at the Munich Security Conference captures the mood starkly, warning that “the era in which Europe could afford strategic complacency has ended”. The authors argue that Europeans must stop outsourcing their nuclear thinking to the United States and instead confront a “new nuclear reality”.

The challenge, however, is formidable. The United States and Russia each possess thousands of nuclear warheads, while the combined British and French arsenals amount to only a few hundred. This gap makes it unrealistic for Europe to fully replace US deterrence in the near term.

Even so, the direction of travel is clear. Nuclear policy – long politically sensitive in many European countries – is now the subject of open and increasingly urgent debate.

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Difficult choices ahead

The Munich report outlines five potential paths for Europe, while cautioning that none are straightforward or risk-free.

Maintaining reliance on US deterrence remains the most credible option in the short term. But other possibilities are gaining attention: strengthening the role of British and French nuclear forces, developing a joint European deterrent, allowing more countries to acquire nuclear weapons, or investing heavily in conventional military power as an alternative.

Each route comes with complications. Expanding French and British deterrence would raise sensitive questions about who ultimately controls nuclear weapons. The financial costs of building or scaling capabilities would also be significant.

There are practical constraints too. Britain’s nuclear system depends heavily on US technology, meaning there is currently “no sustainable future” for its deterrent without American cooperation, according to experts.

Despite this, there is a growing sense that Europe must act. Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said increased investment in existing nuclear capabilities would be welcome, even if replacing the US role entirely is not realistic at present.

Analysts believe Macron’s forthcoming speech could prove a turning point. By setting out how France might extend its nuclear umbrella – even in a limited or cooperative way – he has the opportunity to give clearer direction to a debate that is rapidly gaining momentum.

(With newswires)

France has sharpened its rhetoric against Russia after new forensic findings into the death of Alexei Navalny, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot accusing President Vladimir Putin of being willing to deploy biological weapons against his own people.

In a strongly worded post on X, Barrot said the conclusions drawn by France and four European partners showed that Navalny’s 2024 death in prison was “the result of poisoning with one of the deadliest nerve agents”. He added that the case demonstrated a chilling readiness by the Russian president “to use biological weapons against his own people to stay in power.” 

The remarks mark one of Paris’s most direct accusations yet and signal a broader European effort to frame Navalny’s death not as an isolated incident but as part of a pattern of state-backed repression.

France says Navalny paid with his life for resisting ‘oppression’

European unity hardens stance

France joined the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands in a joint statement unveiled at the Munich Security Conference, where officials said they were confident Navalny had been killed using a “rare toxin” – identified through laboratory analysis as epibatidine, a substance found in the skin of South American dart frogs.

According to the five nations, the evidence points squarely at the Russian state.

“Given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death,” the statement said, adding that Navalny died in custody – meaning Russia had the “means, motive and opportunity”.

London went a step further, with the Foreign Office stating bluntly that it held Russia responsible. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the findings helped “shine a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice”.

For Paris, aligning closely with its European partners reinforces a coordinated diplomatic push – one that blends scientific evidence with political pressure.

Macron hails ‘courage’ of Russians risking arrest to honour Navalny

‘Science-proven facts’ and renewed scrutiny

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said the latest findings transformed long-held suspicions into certainty.

“Two years ago I said that it was Vladimir Putin who killed my husband,” she told attendees in Munich. “Back then it was just words. But today these words have become science-proven facts.”

The European countries have now referred the case to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, raising concerns that Russia may not have fully dismantled its chemical arsenal in line with international commitments.

Moscow has consistently denied any involvement, maintaining that Navalny died of natural causes after falling ill during a walk in his Arctic penal colony. However, the new analysis – and the unity behind it – is likely to intensify scrutiny.

Navalny, Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, had already survived a previous poisoning in 2020 involving the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. After recovering in Germany, he returned to Russia in 2021, where he was immediately arrested and later sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Even behind bars, he remained a powerful symbol of dissent, continuing to criticise the Kremlin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His anti-corruption campaigns had once drawn tens of thousands onto the streets – a scale of protest that has since become exceedingly rare amid a sweeping crackdown on opposition.

(With newswires)

The United States Justice Department on 30 January published nearly 3 million government documents related to Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor and died by suicide in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

The mention of a name in the files does not, in itself, imply wrongdoing by that individual. However, the material has shown how Epstein embedded himself in elite international circles – through introductions, group emails and investment activity.

While some of the public figures named have stepped down from their positions, others have downplayed or denied ties to Epstein.

For Frédérique Sandretto, a professor of American civilisation at Sciences Po university in Paris, the release of such a large number of documents could do more harm than good without proper analysis.

Members of France’s political and cultural elite named in Epstein files

RFI: How has the publication of these documents by the US administration been received by the public?

Frédérique Sandretto: It was eagerly awaited. It was something [US President Donald] Trump had announced, but he had always backed down, fuelling conspiracy theories that there was something to hide. Finally, the Transparency Act was passed in 2025, with unprecedented consensus between Republicans and Democrats. When you see the documents, there are more than 3 million of them. And you don’t know where to start. You feel like you have access to declassified data, which is true. So the gesture is good, but the question is: what do we do with this material? 

RFI: How has their publication reignited conspiracy theories surrounding the Epstein case? 

FS: It’s very visible on social media. We are seeing a resurgence of old conspiracy theories, such as “Pizzagate”, which claimed that the campaign manager of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had organised child sex trafficking in a pizzeria.

On platforms such as Reddit, if you type in the word “pizza” you’ll see all sorts of conspiracy theories pop up based on the idea of a network of elites working together against the people and a paedophile ring.

Why? Because in the files leaked in recent days, the word “pizza” appears 911 times. It is indeed strange. Some see it as a code word. And that’s enough to revive “pizzagate”, a conspiracy theory that emerged nearly 10 years ago, leading some to say, ‘we told you so, that’s what it was’.

France uncovers Russian disinformation campaign falsely linking Macron to Epstein

RFI: What are the particulars of the Epstein case that fuel such conspiracy theories?

FS: Conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein really began after his death. Many people said to themselves: this man knew too much, he could have blown up the planet, he couldn’t have committed suicide, it must have been a disguised suicide…

Added to this are his connections with powerful figures in Silicon Valley, Bill Gates, [the former] Prince Andrew and politicians in Europe. This fuels the idea of a transnational conspiracy, led by powerful elites against the people – especially since the victims were often young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Here we see classic conspiracy theory patterns: the idea of a deep state, a radical opposition between elites and the people, and an anti-Semitic narrative superimposed on top of it all. This has led to theories claiming that Epstein was a Mossad agent.

Finally, the mass declassification of documents gives the impression of a vast web of connections, with new names emerging every day, further fuelling the conspiracy sphere. 

RFI: Has the release of the documents, without full context, fuelled conspiracy theories, even if it was intended as a move towards transparency?

FS: There is a very strong desire for transparency, with the declassification of 3 million documents, which is a first in the United States. But what we are seeing is that releasing documents like this, in their raw state, can be counterproductive. It has also reignited all the conspiracy theories.

At the same time, everyone wanted these files and it is very good that the US Department of Justice has published them. They should have been sorted through. Now, anyone can log on and do a search. There are photos that may be shocking, and people whose names are mentioned who are not necessarily connected to Epstein. This can create an association between the name referenced and Epstein. And that can quickly turn into a witch hunt.

The fact that certain passages have been redacted also fuels the conspiracy theory: we are being given information, but not all of it. So we are really on the borderline between the US Congress’s desire for transparency and the conspiracy theorists who say, ‘see, these documents prove we were right’. It’s all very well to have a right to information, but we also have a right to be cautious. The question remains: what do we do with all this? 

Former French diplomat faces inquiry over Jeffrey Epstein links

RFI: Is it still possible to dispel the climate of suspicion surrounding the Epstein case?

FS: Trump said that now that he has given everything he had, he hoped we could turn the page. I don’t think that’s the case.

On the contrary, I think this is the beginning of something much bigger. Everyone wants to find out, to tell themselves that it’s not possible that all this has been published without there being something to discover.

I just think that what we’re seeing is the tip of the iceberg, and that there will be many more names that will be [thrown about], much more evidence that will come out. It’s just a matter of time. All these documents need to be analysed. 

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Aurore Lartigue.

French President Emmanuel Macron has described France Unbowed (LFI) as a far-left movement in which “antisemitic expressions” are emerging and “must be combated”, in an interview with Radio J – a Paris-based radio station aimed at France’s Jewish community – that has reignited tensions with the opposition party.

“I think it’s no secret that they are on the far left,” Macron said in the interview, recorded on Friday and published on Sunday. The classification mirrors a recent decision by the interior ministry – one strongly disputed by LFI.

“I note that in the positions they take, particularly on antisemitism, they contravene the fundamental principles of the Republic,” the head of state added.

Macron said that “clearly antisemitic expressions are emerging” and should be tackled “wherever they come from”. He also pointed to similar concerns on the opposite end of the political spectrum, noting that some parliamentarians within the far-right National Rally (RN) “use expressions and defend ideas” that run counter to republican values.

The interview comes amid heightened political tensions following the death of a 23-year-old man linked to the far right, who was fatally beaten this week on the sidelines of a protest against an appearance by LFI MEP Rima Hassan in Lyon. Macron condemned what he described as an “unprecedented outburst of violence” and called for “calm, restraint and respect”, as the incident fuelled fresh clashes between far-right and hard-left groups ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

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Push for tougher sanctions

The president’s remarks come amid a broader push to address antisemitism in France. On Friday, during a tribute to Ilan Halimi – a young Jewish man kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006 – Macron warned of an “antisemitic hydra” insinuating itself “into every crack” of society.

He reiterated on Radio J that the government would introduce legislation imposing a mandatory ban on holding office for elected representatives found guilty of antisemitic, racist or discriminatory acts or remarks. Macron said he was confident the measure could be adopted by parliament and enter into force before 2027.

Asked about LFI MEP Rima Hassan, who has been the subject of a complaint by Le Parisien daily following a post on X targeting one of its journalists, Macron pointed to existing legal tools. “Criminal circulars have been issued by the justice minister to combat all forms of antisemitism and all antisemitic remarks,” he said. “They will be enforced.”

On the role of the media, Macron declined to single out Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, saying he did not wish to “stigmatise”. However, he warned that some content – whether online or broadcast – can, “under the guise of covering international news, fuel and exacerbate hatred of Jews and create divisions in our society”.

Macron warns Netanyahu ‘the fight against anti-Semitism cannot be exploited’

LFI rejects “extremist” label

On Sunday, LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard hit back, arguing that “it is not up to the President of the Republic to classify his political opponents”.

Speaking on the LCI news channel, Bompard accused Macron of borrowing from Donald Trump’s playbook: “If you disagree with him, you’re an extremist.” He also rejected allegations of antisemitism, stressing that “no [France Unbowed] activist has ever been convicted of antisemitism”.

Macron also used the interview to defend the importance of institutional checks and balances, responding to recent comments by conservative politician Bruno Retailleau on the “excesses of the rule of law”. While acknowledging that rules may at times need to evolve, he cautioned that the rule of law “guarantees us the possibility of living freely and together”.

He added that France’s challenges should not be addressed by undermining constitutional foundations or suggesting they are the source of the country’s problems.

Retailleau responded swiftly, saying the president “is wrong” and that “France needs a break with the past”. In a message on X, the leader of Les Républicains portrayed Macron as “an advocate of an immobile France” who “has failed to reform the country and would like nothing to change after 2027”.

(With newswires)

The report, The Business of Despair, by the investigative collective All Eyes On Wagner, documents recruitment networks operating across Africa and Russia.

Founded in 2014, Wagner is a Russian state-funded private military company that conducts covert military operations outside Russia.

With the war in Ukraine entering its fifth year and recruitment from prisons largely exhausted, Russia has increasingly turned to foreign nationals to sustain its military effort.

Families seeking answers

The investigation lists 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries, who enlisted between 2023 and mid-2025. Some joined voluntarily because of the salaries offered, while others were deceived by false job offers or pressured into signing military contracts.

Compiled through NGOs and the Ukrainian programme “I Want to Live”, the non-exhaustive list shows a death rate exceeding 22 percent, not including those wounded or missing.

The recruits are aged between 18 and 57, with an average age of 31.

Egypt has the highest number of recruits, with 361 recorded. Cameroon has suffered the heaviest losses, with 94 deaths among 335 fighters listed. Among Gambian recruits, 23 of 56 contract soldiers have died.

Nairobi sounds alarm over recruiters luring Kenyans into Russian war effort

Far from being marginal, this recruitment forms “the backbone of a strategy built around fighters to be injected into the waves of assaults used to overwhelm Ukrainian defence lines”, the report said.

All Eyes On Wagner’s Lou Osborne said the publication of the list should “enable families, who have often been without news for months, to find out the fate of their loved ones, to contact their national authorities to request the return of remains and stranded persons, and to take action against these recruitments, which have become increasingly numerous as the invasion of Ukraine drags on”.

The story of Joël and Linda

Joël (not his real name), a 24-year-old, is recorded as having been killed on 24 May, 2025 after going missing 10 months earlier while serving in the 255th Motorised Infantry Regiment.

His wife Linda, also using a pseudonym, told RFI last month she lost contact with him on 26 July, 2024, weeks after he arrived in Russia following promises of a well-paid job that would allow him to support his sick parents and two-month-old baby.

A Cameroonian recruitment agency had promised him travel to Poland, but after a stop in Russia and without enough money to continue the journey, he was forced to enlist in the Russian military.

After two weeks of training, he was sent to the frontline in Donetsk and never contacted his family again. Linda said she now wants to know whether his body was buried and if there is a grave.

Despite requests for comment from RFI, the Cameroonian government has not responded to the reports of its 94 nationals killed in Ukraine, or the testimonies from families of missing citizens.

In March 2025, the country’s defence ministry referred to “clandestine departures” and banned uniformed personnel from leaving the country without ministerial authorisation.

‘We come here to die’: African recruits sent to fight Russia’s war in Ukraine

Students and migrants recruited

The investigation documents several recruitment pathways, including fake job offers and pressure on foreign students to enlist.

Malick Diop from Senegal travelled to Nizhny Novgorod to study but is now being held prisoner by Ukrainian forces, according to the report.

One 25-year-old Egyptian graduate of a language programme in Russia was forced to sign a military contract in order to renew his visa.

Togo has said young Togolese citizens were misled by promises of work or education. Illegal migrants arrested in Russia have also been offered residency papers in exchange for joining the army.

The presence of fighters from Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, previously documented, was confirmed by the investigation.

All Eyes On Wagner identified recruitment networks involving travel agencies in Russia and Africa offering “fast-track procedures” to obtain visas within weeks.

Recruiters used social media platforms and messaging services including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok to promote life in Russia through images of Moscow skyscrapers and luxury cars.

They promised signing bonuses worth several thousand dollars, monthly salaries of €1,600 or more for specialists, health insurance and simplified access to citizenship.

Several fighters who returned or remain in Russia reported unpaid wages or salaries lower than promised.

A report by French Institute of International Relations researcher Thierry Vircoulon estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Africans were among 18,000 to 20,000 foreign fighters in the Russian army.

“These abusive and deceptive recruitment practices are akin to a form of human trafficking, the most tragic consequence of which is sending amateur mercenaries to the front lines as cannon fodder,” the report said.

Another recruitment channel targeted young women aged 18 to 22, particularly from Côte d’Ivoire, according to the investigation.

How Moscow is reinventing its influence machine across Africa

Kenya pushes back

In Kenya, civil society organisations have protested against recruitment networks, while families and fighters have circulated videos calling for repatriation.

On Tuesday, Kenya’s foreign minister announced a visit to Moscow to “curb” the recruitment, while a senior official denounced “a pattern of luring people and killing them”.

All Eyes On Wagner said two Kenyan companies, Global Face Human Resources Ltd and Ecopillars Manpower, had been dismantled.

According to the investigation, victims signed payment agreements, worth between €10,000 and €15,000, with a foreign company responsible for visas and travel arrangements. The companies’ manager was arrested and a Russian entrepreneur based in Nairobi was deported.

The published list identifies 45 Kenyan recruits. Hundreds more are believed to have passed through Russia, according to reporting cited in the investigation.

Ukraine has also stepped up online campaigns aimed at discouraging Africans from joining the war, including videos showing drone strikes and Russian footage containing racist content.

The All Eyes on Wagner investigation can be read here. This article has been adapted from the original version in French by François Mazet.

Some of the Greenland sharks swimming today were alive during the French Revolution, and a few may even date back to the time of Shakespeare. Yet despite their age, scientists still know remarkably little about them. Where they reproduce, for example, remains a mystery. So does their number, and how their populations are changing.

For decades, these sharks were believed to be almost blind. Their eyes, often cloudy and covered in parasites, helped reinforce that view. Along with their slow movements and life far below the surface, this fed the idea of a sluggish scavenger drifting through the darkness.

That assumption has now been turned on its head. In research published in January, scientists examining Greenland sharks estimated to be 100 to 134 years old discovered that their eyes showed no signs of the damage normally associated with ageing.

“Usually tissue just kind of degrades over time. But we found evidence that there is a functional visual system in the Greenland shark, and it seems to be really well adapted for life in dim light,” Lily Fogg, a marine biologist at the University of Basel, who led the research, told RFI.

“With ageing, the DNA in the cell usually starts to break. So we did a test and we couldn’t find any evidence for it. This suggests there’s no ongoing cell death in the eye, which is quite incredible for an animal that’s over a century old.”

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Hidden lives

Despite their name, Greenland sharks are not geographically confined to Greenland. They roam both the Arctic and Atlantic oceans in waters that remain near freezing. Their presence has been observed from the surface down to depths of more than 2 kilometres.

Fully grown, the sharks can reach up to 7 metres in length and weigh more than a tonne. Much of what scientists know comes from animals caught accidentally in fishing gear.

Studying them under controlled scientific conditions, however, is challenging. Their habitat is remote, research expeditions are expensive and handling animals of such size is a daunting task in itself.

However, the research on their eyes offers a clue as to why these animals remain so mysterious: a visual system that works for more than a century doesn’t evolve quickly, and neither does anything else about them. Greenland sharks are fine-tuned for stability.

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The cost of longevity

Greenland sharks grow extremely slowly, and scientists believe their gestation period may last between eight and 18 years, although firm data is lacking. The last pregnant Greenland shark documented was caught back in 1950, and more than 70 years later scientists have yet to discover where they breed.

They do know, however, that they produce very few offspring.

“They live a very, very long life. But this life is also linked to a very, very late sexual maturity – about the age of 150 years,” explained Alessandro Cellerino, an evolutionary biologist at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy.

He’s part of the team that sequenced the Greenland shark’s genome in an effort to better understand how an animal can live for centuries. 

While living for so long may sound like an advantage, it also comes with risks.

Cellerino says the sharks likely inhabit the entire bottom of the ocean, an icy abyss where temperatures remain more or less constant – meaning they could simply retreat to deeper waters as surface conditions change.

“It is very difficult for us to foresee what the effect of climate change could be on this specific species,” he told RFI. “Unless their reproduction grounds are in regions that are getting warmer, which we don’t know.”

Their slow biology also means the species may take generations to recover from population losses. A shark caught before it reaches maturity never reproduces. Even small losses can echo for generations.

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A fast-changing world

When an animal’s environment shifts in the space of decades, that kind of biology can become a weakness – and the pressure on Greenland sharks is growing.

As Arctic sea ice contracts, previously inaccessible waters are opening to commercial fishing, exposing the sharks to greater bycatch risk. Around 3,500 are caught each year in nets set to catch cod and halibut.

Scientists do not know how many survive after being released.

“For any species, the rapid human-caused changes to the planet are going to present nearly unprecedented challenges,” Catherine Macdonald, a marine ecologist at the University of Miami, told RFI.

“But for Greenland sharks that have such long generation times, those challenges are going to be even greater because the timescales on which evolutionary processes can act are so much longer.”

Even low levels of mortality can have serious effects on a population that replaces itself so slowly. “It takes so long for adults to mature that the loss of reproductive adults is going to be really harmful,” Macdonald said. In 2020, the Greenland shark was listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Scientists encounter Greenland sharks in Arctic waters partly because shrinking sea ice changes where both animals and researchers can operate.

With researchers studying the places that are easiest to access rather than those where animals may actually spend most of their lives, Macdonald compares deep-sea research to “looking for lost keys under a street lamp, because it’s light there”.

A white stoat sniffs the wind and frolics with its brown companion amid a blizzard, in animated scenes introducing Tina and Milo, the mascots for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

But this charming spectacle in the Italian Alps is becoming increasingly unrealistic, due to irregular snow cover from year to year – according to biologist Marco Granata.

“Around November, the stoat’s brown fur turns white for camouflage,” he explained to RFI.

“The problem is that with climate change, snowfall is becoming increasingly rare and irregular. More and more often, the stoat is white in a world that is no longer white, making it an easy target for predators.”

According to Granata, the stoat population’s winter survival rate is currently estimated at 10 percent.

Moving to higher ground

Granata – a doctoral student at the University of Turin – is testing innovative methods to study small mustelids such as the stoat, ermine, weasel and polecat in the Alps, as part of his Ermlin Project research programme.

At the headquarters of the Maritime Alps Natural Park in Entracque, northwestern Italy, he has set up a camera trap – which automatically films when triggered by movement – to monitor the small animals in their natural habitat.

While artificial snow may be suitable for skiers, this is not the case for stoats – so they are moving to higher altitudes in search of snow cover.

“The problem with moving up is that the stoat won’t find enough food,” said Granata.

“It eats almost exclusively, and exclusively in winter, rodents.” The stoat’s prey doesn’t benefit from venturing to higher ground, because it has learned to live at lower altitudes.

Shrub studies show Alps suffering disastrous decline in snow cover

Elsewhere in Europe, some stoats remain brown all year round. But Granata believes it unlikely that in Italy, the stoat will stop shedding its coat in winter. Molting is a genetic trait, he explains.

He said that if stoats that do not molt, or only partially molt, are favoured by external factors, then the species could gradually adapt to a higher survival rate.

However, at this stage he says he is unaware of any non-molting species in the Italian Alps, and it is therefore difficult to hypothesise that this development will happen any time soon.

Preserving the planet’s glaciers is a ‘matter of survival’ says UN

Lack of data

In 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the stoat, once prized for its fur, as a species of “low concern”.

Granata contests this classification, which he says is based primarily on a lack of data.

“According to our models, since the stoat is expected to lose nearly 40 percent of its suitable habitat by 2100, it should be classified as a vulnerable species.”

Researchers from the University of Turin asked the Milano-Cortina 2026 Foundation, which funds projects tied to the Games, for funding to study and protect this elusive animal – but their bid was unsuccessful.

It seems that while Milo and Tina take centre stage at the Games, their real-life counterparts will not be receiving the same attention for now.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Pauline Gleize.

Known for carved wooden homes and woodcraft recognised by Unesco as intangible cultural heritage in 2008, the Zafimaniry are being forced to adapt to survive.

For generations, forests shaped Zafimaniry homes, beliefs and daily life. Much of that environment has now disappeared, changing how communities live and work.

These questions were at the centre of a public debate organised in Antananarivo last month by the French Institute of Madagascar – a cultural organisation that promotes debate and the arts – on Zafimaniry identity in the face of globalisation.

Johnny Andriamahefarivo, the only magistrate from the Zafimaniry community and a former justice minister, remembers growing up surrounded by carved wood in his village.

“We are a people of the forest. We live from the forest, so you see wooden buildings everywhere,” he told RFI. “The door, the shutters, the windows, the chairs – everything is carved, and every carving has a particular meaning.”

These carvings express spiritual beliefs as well as knowledge and faith within the community, he explained.

Madagascar’s youth revive ancestral rites in search of identity

Forest under pressure

Deforestation is forcing the community to rethink ways of living that once depended entirely on nearby woodland.

“Even though we stayed deep in the bush, today that bush has been cleared by deforestation,” Andriamahefarivo said. “We have to leave and try other ways of making a living.”

For this minority community living in relative isolation on the island, adaptation has become essential. Forest engineer and photographer TangalaMamy has worked alongside the Zafimaniry for more than 10 years, documenting their culture through photography.

“Thirteen years ago, there was no mobile network – you had to climb a mountain to get a signal,” he said. “Now everyone has a smartphone, everyone has a satellite dish. It’s a normal transformation. The world is changing and they are adapting.”

Practical realities are also changing housing. “They are not going to live permanently in wooden huts when wood now requires travelling kilometres to find,” TangalaMamy added.

A photographer’s journey into Malagasy ancestral rituals

Traditions endure

Despite these changes, TangalaMamy said many customs continue.

“Even in brick houses today, the ancestors’ corner is still there,” he said. “Offerings are made there. When a child is born, the name is only given after the umbilical cord falls off.”

The Zafimaniry are also known for distinctive cultural practices such as hair braiding, a silent form of communication. Seventeen types of braids have been identified, each carrying a meaning understood by the entire village.

The question now is how much of this heritage can survive as lifestyles evolve.

Some traditions are already disappearing, raising concerns about how to pass them on to future generations.

“We must safeguard part of this identity that is disappearing without us being able to pass its memory on to our children,” said Malagasy writer and newspaper columnist Vanf – calling on Madagascar’s culture ministry to support preservation efforts.

“We should create a visible space – even a ‘marketing’ space, and it’s not a problem to use that word – where one or more traditional houses can be restored and set apart,” he added.

“That way both Malagasy people and foreigners can help pass on this memory culture.” 

This story was adapted from the original version in French by Sarah Tétaud.

“This isn’t just a heist: it’s a rescue mission,” the trailer for Relooted tells its audience.

Developed by the South African studio Nyamakop, it was released on 10 February on several platforms.

Relooted is set in the late 21st century, in a context where political powers have signed a treaty promising to return genuine African artefacts held in museums.

When these museums learn that only the works on public display will be returned, they gradually remove them from exhibitions in order to avoid having to hand them over.

But they haven’t banked on the game’s heroes – a group of people from different African countries, ready to discreetly re-loot 70 artefacts, including a Yehoti mask from Burkina Faso, Congolese ishango sticks and a Ngadji drum from Kenya.

Reflecting diversity

On paper, Relooted incorporates all the classic elements of the heist video game: a motley crew of thieves, a bit of strategy, plenty of acrobatics and, above all, the thrill of the robbery.

“But is it really theft if it was already stolen?” asks one of the characters, summing up the game’s premise.

French bill clears path to return artefacts looted during colonisation

Beyond Relooted‘s political themes, the game’s creators say they went to great lengths to ensure that African and Afro-descendant players felt represented, in an industry that remains predominantly white.

“From the beginning, it was clear to us that the characters had to be Black, African… because they are searching for the heritage of Black Africa,” Ben Myres, co-founder of the Nyamakop studio, told RFI.

“We also thought it was a great opportunity to work on the design of characters from all over the continent. For example, we have a Cameroonian character with a francophone African accent, and another character from Angola with an English-African accent. It’s very important for us to create truly interesting and deeply authentic characters, based on a very specific region and ethnicity.”

Myres also stressed that special attention was also paid to the musical elements of the game.

“We excluded Western instruments or the symphonies and orchestras that are often heard in video games,” he said.

“Here, there are only traditional African instruments and modern synthesizers. The idea is that African culture is magnificent, incredible and profoundly interesting. Most people in the world don’t know enough about it, and this game is really an entry point to learn more about the continent and its cultures.”

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Restitution on the radar

For the game’s producer, Sithe Ncube, simply telling a story written by Africans for a global audience already constitutes activism.

“As someone who has worked in the video game industry for years, I know that our stories, experiences and art are not authentically represented in games. And it is very difficult for African developers to compete with large Western studios in the same markets,” she said.

Despite Relooted‘s message of empowerment, the game has sparked debate among players since the free trial version was released in September, with some accusing the developers of racism. They claim making African characters thieves is counterproductive. 

‘Titanic’ task of finding plundered African art in French museums

Ncube says if nothing else, the game offers an excellent opportunity to discover or rediscover the history of real artefacts now on display at places like the British Museum or the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.

Globally, more than 85 percent of African heritage is located outside the continent. An estimated 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa are housed in museums in France alone.

The restitution of cultural items has been on the political radar for some time now in France and other European countries.

During a visit to Burkina Faso in 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to return “African heritage to Africa” within five years, pushing other former colonial powers, including Belgium and Germany, to launch similar initiatives.

This article was adapted from this article by Léa Boutin-Rivière and this article by Jennifer Lufau, from RFI’s French service.

Many in Lebanon believed Assad wanted to dominate their country or even annex parts of it, but his fall in December 2024 has not improved relations between the two neighbours.

Lebanese officials say relations will take time to improve after decades of mistrust. They accuse Syria’s new authorities of maintaining the same approach as under Assad – putting what they describe as “security considerations” ahead of economic cooperation.

For Lebanon, resolving long-standing disputes such as the demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border should come first.

Trade routes under pressure

Syria remains a crucial trade corridor, serving as Lebanon’s land gateway to Iraq, Jordan, Gulf countries and Iran. Lebanese agricultural exports rely heavily on transit through Syrian territory, as do goods arriving via the ports of Beirut and Tripoli.

Lebanese businesses have also expressed interest in participating in Syria’s post-war reconstruction, either through direct investment or by sharing expertise.

Instead of easing trade, Syria’s new authorities introduced measures that Lebanese officials say have harmed Lebanon’s interests.

Caught between conflict and crisis, Syria faces ‘incredibly fragile moment’

Syrian authorities imposed a flat $1,500 fee on every container transiting Syria to Arab countries, introduced tariffs on certain agricultural products – including a $55-per-tonne tax on bananas – and tightened procedures for trucks crossing the border.

Lebanon has meanwhile sought to show goodwill. President Joseph Aoun met Syria’s transitional president Ahmed al-Charaa twice, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam travelled to Damascus in April 2025 with a ministerial delegation.

Lebanon also appointed a new ambassador to Syria, Henri Qastoun, who waited three months before he was allowed to present his credentials to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

Syria limited its representation in Beirut to Iyad el-Hazaa, its top diplomat in Lebanon, who previously oversaw political relations in the coastal province of Latakia.

Prisoner dispute

During meetings with Lebanese officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, Syrian leaders repeated the same message: improving relations depends on two issues – Syrian prisoners in Lebanese jails and supporters of the former Assad regime allegedly present in Lebanon.

Damascus is demanding the release of nearly 2,500 Syrian detainees, including hundreds of Islamists accused of terrorism or crimes against state security. Many have been held for years without trial, alongside others accused of rape or murder.

Lebanese leaders consider the demands unacceptable. They say transferring detainees awaiting trial would require a law passed by parliament, which they believe has no chance of being adopted.

As Syrian workers return home from Turkey, local businesses feel the loss

On 30 January, the Lebanese government approved an 18-point judicial agreement between Lebanon and Syria allowing the transfer of convicted prisoners to their country of nationality.

The agreement excludes detainees awaiting trial and limits transfers to prisoners already sentenced. Those convicted of rape or murder would be eligible only after serving 10 years of their sentence.

Some 300 Syrian detainees could be affected. The agreement also provides for reciprocity, allowing Lebanese nationals convicted in Syria to be transferred to Lebanon.

The deal represents a compromise between Syrian demands and Lebanese concerns. It does not meet Damascus’s initial request to transfer all detainees, but it goes further than Lebanon’s earlier refusal to allow prisoner transfers.

Standoff deepens

During visits to Beirut, Syrian delegations included justice and interior ministers as well as security officials, reflecting Damascus’s focus on security issues.

In mid-December, a Syrian intelligence delegation visiting Beirut went to two seaside restaurants in the capital frequented by businessmen once close to the former Syrian regime. The delegation also handed Lebanese officials a list of 200 Syrian officers, politicians and business figures close to Assad believed to have taken refuge in Lebanon.

Days later, Lebanese and Arab media outlets, including Al Jazeera, reported alleged plots by Assad supporters operating from Lebanon to destabilise Syria’s new leadership.

Lebanese leaders sought US mediation to try to ease tensions with Damascus. “We have been surprised that the Americans showed understanding toward Damascus’s demands,” said a source close to President Aoun, speaking anonymously.

Facing pressure from Syria and limited support from Washington, Lebanese leaders began looking for compromises.

Syrian Army seizes northeast as US abandons Kurdish-led forces

Security operations

At the start of January, the Lebanese army carried out large-scale searches in Jabal Mohsen, an Alawite neighbourhood in the northern city of Tripoli, and in five other localities near the Syrian border inhabited by members of the same religious community.

After the March 2025 massacres in Syria’s coastal provinces, at least 60,000 Syrian Alawites fled to Lebanon. Many settled in areas where Lebanese Alawites live, in Christian villages in Mount Lebanon and in predominantly Shia regions.

Municipal councils in the five localities later said in a joint statement that “the Lebanese army carried out search and inspection campaigns in all camps housing displaced Syrians”.

“No person belonging to a military organisation or preparing armed operations was apprehended during these searches, which formally contradicts the report broadcast on the subject by Al-Jazeera,” the statement said.

It remains unclear whether Damascus will consider these steps sufficient to open talks on economic and trade relations between the two countries.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI correspondant Paul Khalifeh.

Macron’s comments come as tensions between Paris and Niamey continue to simmer following Niger’s 2023 coup – and as fresh accusations and counterclaims underscore a deepening diplomatic rift between the two countries.

On Friday evening, Niger’s junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, renewed allegations that France was behind the 29 January attack on Niamey airport, an assault claimed by Islamic State in the Sahel.

He described the incident as part of a “sick agenda of destabilisation”, while maintaining that its apparent objective – to cripple Niger’s air capabilities – had ultimately failed.

Paris has repeatedly denied any involvement, with French armed forces spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet calling the accusations “clearly information warfare”.

Macron’s stance has reinforced that position, signalling France’s continued refusal to be drawn into what it sees as politically motivated claims.

Niger accuses France, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire of sponsoring airport attack

Security tensions and shifting alliances

General Tiani, who seized power in July 2023, has frequently criticised France, accusing the former colonial power of financing jihadist groups active in the Sahel – a charge Paris strongly refutes. France, which previously led counterterrorism efforts in the region, was forced to withdraw troops following a wave of coups across West Africa.

The January airport attack has become a focal point in this dispute. Tiani said it was meant to be followed by seven simultaneous assaults in the Tillabéri region, a long-troubled area near Niger’s western border. While he acknowledged a “flaw” in airport security, he praised the response of Nigerien forces, saying the attack had been “valiantly repelled”.

Notably, Russian soldiers – reflecting Niger’s shift towards Moscow as a key partner – reportedly assisted in countering the assault. This growing relationship highlights a broader geopolitical shift, as Niger seeks new alliances after cutting ties with France.

Despite the heated rhetoric, there are signs of resilience within Niger’s security apparatus. Tiani emphasised that defence and security forces are “ready to take on any challenge”, projecting confidence in the country’s ability to manage ongoing threats.

Niger to float its uranium on international market in break with France’s Orano

Uranium dispute adds economic dimension

Beyond security concerns, the standoff between Niger and France has taken on a significant economic dimension – particularly over uranium, one of Niger’s most valuable resources.

The junta has moved to assert control over the sector, nationalising Somaïr, a subsidiary of French nuclear fuel company Orano. The decision is part of a broader push to reclaim sovereignty over natural resources, which Niger’s leaders say have long been exploited.

Tiani struck a somewhat conciliatory note on Friday, stating he was prepared to “send” France its share of uranium extracted from Somaïr at the time of the coup – estimated at around 100 tonnes. However, he was unequivocal about future production, insisting that “everything that has been produced since then is Nigerien and will remain Nigerien”.

The issue has tangible consequences on the ground. Around 1,000 tonnes of “yellow cake” – uranium concentrate – has been sitting at Niamey airport for weeks, awaiting export. Its fate remains uncertain, symbolising the broader stalemate between the two countries.

France has challenged the move in court, with Orano launching legal proceedings against the nationalisation. For Niger’s leaders, however, it is a step towards greater economic independence and a key part of their post-coup agenda.

(With newswires)

Just after sunrise, Miriam Otieno lifts her two-year-old son on to her back and locks the door of her one-room house in Nairobi’s Eastlands. By 7am she will be at a stall in the market, carefully arranging pyramids of tomatoes.

For years, Miriam’s son would go to work with her, tied to her back while she sold on the stall. Some days, she paid a neighbour to watch him. Some days neither was an option and she would stay at home with him, losing a day’s income.

Across Kenya’s cities, informal markets keep the economy moving – and women make up the majority of traders.

Yet the system around them rarely addresses childcare. Markets are built for business, not children. Workdays are long, profits are small and childcare, when it exists, is often unsafe or too expensive.

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Dr. Mercy Wanjiku, an early childhood development specialist, explains: “Childcare has been seen as a private family matter. But in urban, low-income areas that assumption falls apart. When care fails, children face risks and mothers bear the economic and emotional burden.”

But in recent years, childcare spaces have begun to appear at Nairobi’s markets, formed through partnerships between traders, caregivers and organisations such as Wow Mom Kenya.

The small rooms with their low tables, plastic chairs and mats on the floor may not look like anything special but for mothers like Miriam, they are life-changing.

She now leaves her son in a childcare room a few minutes from her stall. “I still check on him,” she says. “But my mind is not divided anymore.”

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Impact on development

“We separate work and care as if they exist in different worlds,” says Professor David Ochieng, an urban planning scholar. “But for informal workers, especially women, those worlds overlap constantly. Planning that ignores this reality creates inequality.”

Kenya’s cities have grown rapidly, outpacing social support structures. Public childcare is limited and private options are beyond the reach of most informal workers. In the resulting gap, care arrangements become dependent on informal networks that can fail unexpectedly.

The consequences of this lack of childcare go beyond the effect on family incomes. Research in early childhood development shows that inconsistent care affects nutrition, safety and cognitive growth during a key stage of development.

“The first five years are crucial,” says Wanjiku. “When children spend long days in unsafe or unstimulating places, the effects can last a lifetime.”

The rocket builder sending Kenyan kids’ imaginations into orbit

‘Care work is undervalued’

At the childcare centre at Gikomba Market, the staff start the day by making porridge. Most are women from the local community, trained but still earning modest wages.

They know how much trust is placed in them. “These children are someone’s everything,” one worker says.

The work is challenging, with space limited and resources scarce, and demand often outstrips capacity.

For Asha Abdalla, a clothes seller and single mother, this childcare space allows her to work without leaving her daughter alone. “People think we are strong because we survive,” she says. “But surviving is not the same as being supported.”

Wow Mom Kenya argues that childcare should be viewed as vital urban infrastructure, as essential as water or transport. Their research and pilot projects are beginning to influence policy discussions, although the pace of change is slow.

“What’s lacking is not evidence – it’s political priority,” Ochieng says. “Care work remains undervalued because it is seen as feminine and invisible.”

As evening comes, Miriam picks up her son and weaves through the crowd towards home. Tomorrow, she’ll be back at her stall and he’ll be back at the childcare space.

While the city around her hasn’t changed, this small oasis of support allows her to get on with her working day.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Macron pushed back against what he described as a growing tendency to caricature Europe as weak, divided or repressive.

Instead, he presented the continent as a unique political success story – a collection of sovereign states that have turned centuries of conflict into lasting peace through cooperation.

“Europe is a radically original political construction,” he said, arguing that its blend of sovereignty and integration offers a model worth emulating.

His remarks set the tone for a summit dominated by calls to rebuild trust between Europe and the United States while adapting to a changing geopolitical landscape.

More than 60 leaders gathered in the Bavarian city amid lingering tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s sharp criticism of European allies, including threats last month to annex Greenland and complaints about Europe’s defence spending.

Although Washington has since softened its stance on Greenland and entered talks with Denmark, the episode has left unease on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Transatlantic ties under strain

European leaders responded in Munich with a mix of reassurance and resolve. Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “a new transatlantic partnership”, stressing that cooperation remains vital in an era of intensifying global rivalry. “Even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,” he said, underlining the mutual benefits of NATO.

At the same time, there was a clear push for greater European self-reliance. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to describe Europe as a “sleeping giant” in his speech on Saturday, urging the continent to shoulder more responsibility for its own defence while strengthening – not weakening – ties with Washington.

Macron echoed that balance, insisting that a stronger Europe would ultimately make for a better partner to the United States. “It will be a partner taking its fair share of the burden,” he said, adding that such a Europe would also command greater respect.

Russia’s war against Ukraine – now approaching its fifth year – loomed large over the discussions. European leaders reaffirmed their support for Kyiv and emphasised the need to boost defence spending in response to the threat posed by Moscow.

EU seeks stability after Trump steps back on Greenland and tariffs

Ukraine and the search for security

Macron said France backed Trump’s push for a negotiated end to the conflict, but cautioned that any settlement must come with robust safeguards. Europe, he argued, would need to define clear rules of coexistence with what he called “an aggressive Russia” to prevent future escalation.

Talks on Ukraine continued on the sidelines of the conference, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting European leaders including Macron and Merz. Zelensky also used the occasion to press the case for a stronger European defence industry, saying the continent must build greater independence even as it maintains close ties with the United States.

Diplomatic activity extended beyond Europe and the US. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a series of meetings in Munich, including talks with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to Beijing, Wang stressed that “dialogue is better than confrontation” and called for more cooperative relations – a notable message amid heightened tensions between the two powers.

Rubio also met Danish and Greenlandic leaders in what Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described as “constructive” discussions following last month’s dispute over the Arctic island’s future.

Despite the challenges, the mood in Munich carried a cautiously upbeat undercurrent. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe was “stepping up” and taking on more leadership within the alliance – a shift he suggested would ultimately reinforce the transatlantic bond.

(With newswires)

African heads of state and government will convene in the Ethiopian capital on 14 and 15 February, following the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), held from 11 February.

Burundi is set to assume the rotating presidency, with President, Évariste Ndayishimiye to be named the AU chairman for 2026.

The issue of water as a vital resource is the official theme of this year’s summit. Addressing the executive council meeting this week, chairperson of the AU Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasised its critical importance.

“In the face of observed climate disruptions, the prudent use of water in all aspects of daily life is a major imperative. This vital resource must be perceived as a collective good, to be preserved at all costs, and as a vector for bringing our states closer together and for peace.”

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‘Heightened global uncertainty’

With contested elections, repression of dissent and prolonged states of emergency seen across the continent, conflict and security are expected to top the agenda.

“The Summit comes against a backdrop of intensifying global fragmentation, shrinking multilateralism, escalating conflicts, deepening debt distress, and growing climate stress,”  Desire Assogbavi, an international development strategist and advocacy advisor for Africa at the Open Society Foundations wrote on his blog ahead of the summit.

This week, Youssouf met with United Nations secretary-general António Guterres at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss strengthening multilateralism at a time of war he called “heightened global uncertainty”.

Youssouf also expressed concern over “political instability, security crises, and unconstitutional changes of government, noting progress in Gabon and Guinea but setbacks in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, while underscoring the persistent terrorist threats in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, according to a statement following the meting.

“While there has been regression and progress is minimal, our mediators are active,” he said.

AU-EU summit ends with pledges on trade, minerals and migration

Internal weaknesses

However, Clionadh Raleigh, director of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data organisation and a professor of African politics and conflict at the University of Sussex, cast doubt on the AU’s ability to tackle these crises. 

“It’s totally incompetent. Totally. It has a singular job to represent a coalition of African states. It can’t do that internally,” she told RFI. “And It certainly can’t do that externally.”

She said the organisations; internal processes are “factionalised and bureaucratic and just generally incompetent” and added: “And people are able to see this [from the] outside.”

“If you’re an organisation, a business, or a government, such as the Trump administration, you’re going to try to make sure that you benefit from [that factionalisation] or those vulnerabilities within the system.”

‘A defining test’

In addition to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel and Libya, others have reemerged in South Sudan and Ethiopia,  exposing the limits of security solutions.

AU Commission spokesman Nuur Mohamud Sheekh told reporters: “The AU has helped de-escalate political tensions and support dialogue before situations descend into violence,” citing the work done to prevent war between Sudan and South Sudan over the flashpoint region of Abyei.

South Africa confirms temporary withdrawal from G20, as US takes the helm

However, a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) notes the AU’s limited scope to act, saying: “At a time when the AU is needed the most, it is arguably at its weakest since it was inaugurated.”

KinkohHubert  of UK think tank Chatham House said this weekend’s summit was “an opportunity for decisive AU leadership on Sudan”, which he called a defining test for the AU.

Writing on the Chatham House site, he said: “The 2026 AU summit presents a narrow but critical window to reset the continental response. Without decisive action, Sudan risks irreversible fragmentation: de facto regional administrations could consolidate, national institutions could collapse entirely, and cross-border spillovers could intensify.”

French biathlete Julia Simon emerged from a conviction for fraudulently using a teammate’s credit card to cover herself in glory with two Olympic titles during the first week of competition at the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy.

Simon, 29, was given a three-month suspended prison sentence and fined €15,000 in October 2025 for racking up €2,000 on the cards of fellow athlete Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a team physiotherapist from 2021 to 2022.

Four months on from her brush with the law, she anchored the squad of Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Lou Jeanmonnot to the top prize in the mixed relay. 

On Wednesday, Simon took the individual honours in the women’s 15km individual event, just ahead of Jeanmonnot. Braisaz-Bouchet finished 80th.

“I have a lot of pleasure, when I train, when I race, when I compete, so it’s the most important thing for me,” Simon said.

“I know I had a goal. I put all my energy in this goal, in myself. It was difficult over many months but I’m really proud of myself and today was a perfect race for me.”

Fillon Maillet, 33, claimed the men’s 10km sprint on Friday to take his 2026 tally up to two golds. His total haul from three Winter Olympic Games now stands at seven medals.

African athletes have blazed a trail at Winter Olympics for over 60 years

Skating scandals

Meanwhile, skater Guillaume Cizeron landed a second gold in the ice dancing amid recriminations from former partner Gabriella Papadakis.

He and Papadakis won the event at the Beijing Games in 2022, four years after claiming silver in South Korea.

But on the eve of the 2026 Olympics, Papadakis published a book in which she claimed she had been under Cizeron’s “control” during their partnership, which ended following their fifth world title in 2022.

Cizeron, 31, has denounced the book as “defamatory” and announced that he was “handing over the case to lawyers”.

The flurry failed to distract Cizeron and new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry, who is herself fresh from a troubled former pairing.

The 33-year-old Canadian-born skater – who was granted French nationality last November – was on the lookout for a new teammate after her partner on and off the ice, Nikolaj Sorenson, was accused of sexual misconduct and banned by Canadian skating chiefs.

Friends since a skating camp in Germany while they were teenagers, Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry wowed the judges at the Forum di Milano. The duo narrowly beat the American world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates into second.

As he soaked up the plaudits, Cizeron told French broadcaster Franceinfo he had not yet decided whether he would seek a hat trick of golds at the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps four years from now.

“Laurence and I came together only a year ago because of our love for the sport and our affection for each other,” said Cizeron.

“We’ve had these Winter Olympic Games in Milan as the target for the last year and we’ve only been thinking about that,” he added. “It’s a bit soon to be talking about the 2030 Games in France. But we’ll think about it.”

Cizeron cools talk of defending title at 2030 Olympics, after taking gold in Milan

Silver skier

Of the six other French medals, Mathis Desloges bagged two silvers in cross-country skiing – one in the men’s 10km interval start free and the other in men’s 10km+10km skiathlon.

In both instances, the 23-year-old – who is appearing at his first Winter Olympics – finished behind Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo from Norway.

Klaebo, 29, also won the men’s sprint classic to increase his medal collection to eight golds.

The victory made him only the fourth Winter Olympian to achieve the feat. Before the Games end on 22 February, Klaebo will vie in the men’s relay, men’s team sprint and 50k marathon with a chance to stand alone.

The US space agency NASA launched the Crew-12 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:15am EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The pre-dawn launch was delayed by two days because of adverse weather forecasts across the US East Coast, including high winds that could have complicated emergency manoeuvres.

The astronauts are expected to arrive at the orbiting ISS at about 3:15 pm on Saturday. They will spend nine months there.

Crew-12 is composed of Americans Jessica Meir, the mission commander, and Jack Hathaway, the pilot, along with French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, a mission specialist.

They will replace Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January one month earlier than planned in the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history.

The ISS, a scientific laboratory orbiting 400 kilometres above Earth, has since been staffed by a skeleton crew of three.

NASA declined to disclose details about the health issue that cut the mission short.

All systems are go as France zeros in on space ambitions

‘One day that will be me’

Once the astronauts arrive, they will be among the last crews to live aboard the football field-sized space station.

Continuously inhabited for the last quarter century, the ageing ISS is scheduled to be pushed into Earth’s orbit before crashing into an isolated area of the Pacific Ocean in 2030.

Adenot, an astronaut at the European Space Agency, will become the second French woman to fly to space, following in the footsteps of Claudie Haignere, who spent time on the Mir space station.

France’s second woman in space prepares for launch after 30-year wait

When Adenot saw Haigneré’s mission launch, she was 14 years old.

“It was a revelation,” the helicopter pilot said during a recent briefing. “At that moment, I told myself: one day, that will be me.”

Adenot will carry out more than 200 scientific and medical experiments in microgravity while completing intensive training and maintenance work in space.

Among other research, she will test a system that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to allow astronauts to carry out their own medical ultrasounds.

(with newswires)

The 10-year energy planning ‌law (PPE) will be pushed through by decree on Friday after almost three years of disagreement among ⁠lawmakers.

In addition to cutting wind and solar power targets, it reverses a previous legal mandate for state-run EDF to shut down 14 nuclear reactors. 

President Emmanuel Macron promised to shutter the reactors in his 2017 presidential campaign but later changed course – supporting nuclear expansion with a plan for at least six ‌new ones.

French Finance ​Minister Roland Lescure ​said on Friday that the PPE has ‌set the ⁠target for decarbonised ‌electricity production at between 650 ⁠and 693 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2035, from ​a current ‌level of 540 TWh.

The growth plan ‌is ambitious but realistic, ​he told reporters. 

“We need both nuclear and renewables,” Lescure had said on Thursday.

France’s Flamanville nuclear reactor reaches full power for first time

Nuclear backbone

The move to pare back renewables is designed to help shield EDF, which operates France’s fleet of 57 reactors.

The company is struggling to remain competitive as abundant wind and solar in Europe have pushed down power prices and forced reactors to lower output.

“Nuclear is the backbone of our electricity system,” said Lescure, adding that a first new reactor should be inaugurated by 2038.

EDF CEO Bernard Fontana welcomed the proposal, saying it would allow the company to advance toward its objectives.

The PPE lowers wind and solar ​targets to 105-135 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2035 from drafts that had called for 133-163 GW.

Environmental non-profit Greenpeace France said the change represented a step backwards.

“If this PPE is more than two years late on paper, it’s at least a decade behind ​in its vision of an energy transition,” it said in a statement.

Solar power overtakes nuclear and wind to lead EU energy mix for the first time

Far-right opposition

The law had triggered fierce debate among lawmakers – pitting support ‌for renewable subsidies against financing new nuclear at a time when France is struggling with high debt.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) parliamentary group, sent a letter to French MPs saying ​the new power targets pursued and intensified “a policy that will impoverish the French people and ruin our economy, particularly our industry and agriculture”.

She invited all MPs to file a “cross-party no-confidence motion” by next Thursday in reaction to the new energy law, adding that her party will, by default, ​file its own.

(with newswires)

After months of uncertainty, the government said its pledge for the 2026-2028 cycle will fall from €1.6 billion in the previous funding period to €660 million.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has helped save nearly 70 million lives worldwide.

Vincent Leclercq, executive director of Coalition Plus, an international network of organisations dedicated to the fight against AIDS, told RFI that this decrease in funding will have serious consequences.

“There is a direct impact between the budget they are able to raise and the number of lives they are able to save,” he said, pointing to interventions including antiretroviral treatments for HIV, malaria prevention nets, condoms and testing services.

The Global Fund dispensed antiretroviral treatments to 25.6 million people in 2024.

World AIDS Day highlights major innovations amid decline in global funding

Rural populations at risk

“This decrease [in funding] will translate directly into disaster,” Leclercq warned, adding that the first people to suffer will be vulnerable and communities and those that are harder to reach.

“If budgets are cut, community-based workers won’t be able to provide testing in rural areas,” he said. “A decrease in testing will turn into an increase in infections.”

While private foundations may increase contributions, Leclercq calls the idea that they could offset such cuts “an illusion”.

After a lull during Covid, France sees rise in tuberculosis cases

France’s overall development aid contribution is set to fall by €800 million in the 2026 budget, down 18 percent from 2025 and 38 percent compared to 2024.

In a joint statement, several NGOs – including Coalition Plus – criticised what they called a historic reduction.

Camille Spire, president of the French non-profit AIDES, said the cut amounted to a “desertion” by France in the fight against these diseases, adding that previous funding reductions have already seen “devastating effects”.

Malaria fight under threat as US funding cuts raise fears in Africa

“We are revolted by France’s abandonment of the sick, its international commitments and multilateral cooperation,” she said.

The organisations also noted that the move comes despite a unanimous resolution in the French National Assembly on 3 February calling on the government to strengthen support for the global fight against HIV.

Many were drawn into fighting for Moscow through employment promises but ended up on the front line of a conflict they did not choose to fight.

President Cyril Ramaphosa raised the return of South Africans fighting with Russian forces during a Tuesday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The call followed Russia’s statement that it supports a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Ukraine.

“In this regard, teams from both sides will continue their engagements towards the finalisation of this process,” the South African presidency said.

Ukraine war videos raise questions over Russia’s recruitment of Africans

Recruitment claims

The South African government said in November 2025 it had received “distress calls” from 17 men trapped in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.

The group All Eyes on Wagner, an investigative organisation that tracks mercenary activity, released a report on Wednesday listing 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who joined the Russian army between 2023 and mid-2025. It said 316 had died.

A December 2025 report by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) said young Africans were being lured by false promises of training and employment.

The report said Russia’s recruitment campaigns target “poor urban youth” seeking a better life, and that many realise “that Europe is an increasingly inaccessible destination”.

IFRI described Russia’s recruitment practices as a form of human trafficking.

Political accusations

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, is facing several lawsuits accusing her of recruiting South African men to fight in the war on Ukraine. Her sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, is among those who filed a criminal complaint.

“They were fooled to fight in a terrible, barbaric war that Africa has nothing to do with,” said Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, in November 2025. “And it’s a colonial war, so seeing Africans fighting a colonial war against a free country is especially insane.”

He added that “if it is true that some South African politicians were been involved, then it makes the whole situation even more precarious”.

Scherba also urged South Africans not to get “involved to fight in this barbaric, unfair, unjust war”.

Regional concern

In Kenya, the government condemned the use of Kenyan recruits as “cannon fodder on the war front” and estimated about 200 citizens are fighting for Russian forces.

Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said he would travel to Moscow in March for talks aimed at “conclusively resolving the matter and identifying sustainable solutions”.

Mudavadi said he would also seek the release of Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine and verify the condition of those hospitalised.

In a modest studio on the sixth floor of a building ravaged by war, Emad Nour’s voice echoes.

The presenter, who works for Sawt Al Quds radio, tells listeners the good news: electricity is slowly coming back.

Gaza had around 20 local radio stations before Israel began its offensive in response to deadly attacks by Hamas in October 2023.

All ceased broadcasting as Israeli strikes intensified – cutting off a vital source of information about which areas had been hit, where aid was being distributed, or even health advice in a territory where people have limited access to media.

“In the aftermath of a devastating war, people living in difficult conditions told us they were sorry we weren’t covering their struggles and suffering anymore,” said Nour.

“They told us they loved us and needed our voice.”

‘Nowhere in Gaza is safe’ says RFI correspondent amid call for global media access

From FM to internet

The station resumed broadcasting in January, starting with a tribute to colleagues killed, injured or imprisoned during the war.

With almost all FM antennae destroyed, its shows are broadcast online.

Listener Reema Salem said: “I recently saw videos of the Sawt Al Quds team on social media, and when I heard the sound of their programme, I was so moved.”

Podcast: The power of radio during British-mandated Palestine

The radio station Voice of the People is also limited to broadcasting pre-recorded programmes online for now, said its journalist Ramzi Abdallah.

“We want to return to FM, but the transmitter isn’t ready,” he said. “Some equipment was lost in the war, mainly during Israeli raids.”

With regular internet outages, Gazans’ access to radio remains spotty. Only one station, Zaman FM, has so far returned to broadcasting over traditional FM.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French by Remi El Meghari in Gaza and Aabla Jounaïdi in Paris.

University gates and residences at the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in the capital Dakar have remained closed since a second-year medical student was killed in unclear circumstances during a police intervention.

The student, Abdoulaye Ba, died on Monday following injuries sustained during a security intervention at the UCAD campus. 

UCAD’s academic council said late Thursday that it had been “deeply affected by this tragedy” and, for safety reasons, had decided to “suspend, on a precautionary basis and until further notice, the student associations”.

Videos posted on social media showed scenes of chaos, with security forces entering university grounds and firing tear gas into buildings while students retaliated by throwing stones.

In one video, authenticated by France’s AFP news agency, police are seen beating a screaming man with batons.

Senegal says student’s death in clashes with police a ‘tragedy’

Family calls for clarity

An autopsy report of the victim circulating in the media details multiple traumas, including haemorrhages in one lung and left kidney, bleeding in the brain caused by concussion and a ruptured spleen.

A source who witnessed the autopsy confirmed to RFI that Ba had suffered multiple haemorrhages.

It is still unclear what caused the student’s injuries.

On Thursday, in a brief statement to the press, the victim’s uncle Mamadou Dioulde Ba called on judicial authorities to “clarify the circumstances surrounding Abdoulaye Ba’s death”.

A number of social media posts relayed a photo of the young medical student in the lab.

Student becomes first death in growing Senegal election protests

Unpaid grants

The government has called Abdoulaye Ba’s death a “tragedy” and admitted to “police brutality”.

But Senegal’s Interior Minister Mouhamadou Bamba Cisse also defended the police intervention, accusing students of attempting to damage campus infrastructure.

A student association collective said it held Senegal’s president, prime minister and other government officials responsible for the deadly violence.

Senegalese students have been rallying over outstanding stipends for years, with demonstrations sometimes leading to clashes with police.

The country’s university academic calendar is often disrupted by student and faculty strikes. As a result, students can go months without receiving their stipends.

(with newswires)

Organisers expect more than 60 heads of state and government, and around 100 foreign and defence ministers, to gather in Munich’s Bayerischer Hof from Friday through Sunday. In total, more than 1,000 delegates from 120 countries are set to attend.

The 2026 Munich Security Report, titled “Under Destruction” and published last Monday, sets a stark tone.

It argues that the post-1945 order led by the United States is now being actively dismantled by “wrecking-ball politics” – not only by revisionist powers, but by movements inside Western democracies that favour demolition over reform.

The most powerful of the “demolition men”, it contends, is US President Donald Trump, whose administration has slashed foreign aid, walked away from key multilateral bodies and imposed sweeping tariffs that defy World Trade Organization rules.​

According to the report, Trump’s second term has seen a “renunciation of core elements” of traditional US strategy: faith in multilateral institutions, support for an open trading system, and the role of “leader of the free world”.

Instead, it sketches an emerging order of transactional deals, regional spheres of influence and “neo-royalist” elites, in which private interests increasingly trump public ones.​

How Trump’s trade threats have reshaped Europe’s global strategy

European dependence

For Europeans, Munich comes at a moment the report describes as “a prolonged era of confrontation”.

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, now approaching its fourth year, has shattered the post-Cold War security settlement, while Moscow steps up hybrid operations across the continent from cyber attacks to sabotage.​

At the same time, Washington’s “gradual retreat, wavering support for Ukraine, and threatening rhetoric on Greenland” have exposed Europe’s dependence on the US security umbrella, according to the MSC report.

It notes that US military assistance to Ukraine has dropped sharply since early 2025, forcing European allies and partners to shoulder most of the burden – including via a new NATO mechanism that channels European funds into US-made weapons for Kyiv.​

Europe’s defence dilemma: autonomy or dependence?

European leaders will arrive in Munich keen to show they are finally shifting from “security consumers” to security providers, pointing to steep increases in defence spending and efforts to coordinate industrial policy.

But the report warns of “multiple speeds” within Europe, as fiscally stronger northern and eastern states surge ahead while more indebted southern economies struggle with the new informal NATO goal to spend 5 percent of GDP on defence by 2035.​​

Beyond Europe, the report highlights China‘s economic and military dominance in Asia. It contrasts Washington’s growing unease over Chinese pressure on Taiwan and in the South China Sea with US policies that hover between confrontational language, harsh tariffs and overtures to Beijing.​​

Major test

The MSC report notes that in most NATO countries surveyed, majorities now see the US as a less reliable ally, and the West as less united than a decade ago.

The conference will again be a major test of transatlantic ties.

Last year’s incendiary appearance by Vice-President JD Vance, who claimed that mass immigration posed the most urgent danger to Europe, shocked many in the hall. This year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads a large US delegation that includes some 50 members of Congress.

Some 5,000 police officers will be on duty in Munich, with reinforcements from France, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Airspace over the city will be closed for the duration of the event.​

Outside the secure zone, 21 demonstrations are officially planned, including two large rallies against Iran’s government and a separate protest by opponents of the conference itself that could draw up to 4,000 people on Saturday.

Police also expect significant numbers of people for the Iran protests, with demonstrators arriving from across Europe.​

In a conspicuous display of military strength, Turkish F-16 fighter jets roared over the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in late January.

According to Turkish officials, the deployment was aimed at protecting Turkish interests and supporting Somali efforts to counter an insurgency by the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab. 

It follows Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in December, which Ankara condemned as a threat to Somalia’s territorial integrity.

Turkish international relations expert Soli Ozel said the jets send a message to Israel: “Don’t mess with our interests here.”

Somalia is poised to become the latest point of tension between the countries, he predicts. “I don’t think they will fight, but they are both showing their colours. Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and the Turks sending F-16s and drones are attempts to set limits to what the other party can do,” he said.

“Could it get out of hand? I don’t know. It may.”

The risky calculations behind Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Mutual suspicion

The episode reflects broader strains in Israeli-Turkish relations, which remain fraught over Ankara’s support of Hamas and Israel’s war in Gaza.

“It’s a new chapter in the competition between the two countries, which are now the dominant military powers in the Middle East,” said Norman Ricklefs, CEO of geopolitical consultancy Namea Group.

According to Gallia Lindenstrauss, an Israeli foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel is not seeking to challenge the interests of Turkey or Somalia.

Instead, she argues Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and its commitment to deepening cooperation are motivated by the breakaway’s state strategic location facing Yemen, where Houthi rebels launched attacks against Israeli cities last year.

“The Houthis were the last ones who were still launching missiles against Israel, from the Iranian proxies. This is the most major threat for Israel,” she said. 

However, Lindenstrauss acknowledges that both sides increasingly view each other’s actions with suspicion. “What Israel sees as defence, Turkey sees as something against Ankara.”

Rival blocs

Turkey’s suspicions could grow if Israel deploys military hardware in Somaliland to counter threats from Yemen, a move an anonymous Israeli expert suggested is Israel’s aim.

Ricklefs warns Israel needs to tread carefully, given the significant investments Turkey had made in Somalia over the past 15 years. Turkey has its largest overseas military base and embassy in Somalia, while Ankara has signed agreements with Mogadishu to explore potential energy reserves, as well as a naval accord.

“Turkey is running the [Mogadishu] port, counterterrorism training, charities, NGOs, and all that kind of stuff. So it appears very important to Turkey’s regional strategic ambitions,” said Ricklefs. He noted that Somalia’s location on the Horn of Africa, with coastlines in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, makes it “key for regional influence”.

With Somalia naval deal, Turkey steers into strategic but volatile region

Lindenstrauss observed that the Turkish-Israeli rivalry over Somalia is further complicated by the emergence of two competing axes: “On the one hand, you see Greece, Cyprus, Israel, the UAE. On the other hand, you see Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar,” she explained.  

“They are loose axes, but you do see that on many issues, these two axes think differently. And that’s also a cause of the rising tensions.”

Ricklefs noted that tensions have already spilled over into confrontation elsewhere. “We’ve already seen the pretty strong competition leading to violence in Libya, between blocs aligned with the Emirates and, on the other side, blocs aligned with Turkey in Libya,” he said.

As for whether the same could happen in Somalia, Ricklefs said he doesn’t believe the situation has yet reached that point. 

“I don’t think we’re there just yet with Somaliland and Somalia,” he said. “And frankly, the only party that can play a mediating role, a conflict-reducing role, in this situation is the United States.”

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 winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all

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 for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

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 on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score.

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 breaking 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 excellent staff of 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 all 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. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 17 January, I asked you a question about our article “France launches recruitment for 10-month voluntary national military service”. You were to send in the answer to these two questions: How many volunteers will be accepted into the 2026 program, and what will their jobs be? 

The answer is, to quote our article: “From September, around 3,000 volunteers will join the army, navy, or air and space force for missions carried out exclusively on French soil.

Tasks will range from helping out during natural disasters and providing support for counter-terrorism surveillance, to more specialized jobs such as drone operation, mechanics, electrical work, baking, or medical support.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is the most romantic thing that has ever been said to you? Or the most romantic action? Or the most romantic gift?

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI English listener Murshida Parveen Lata, who is the Co-Chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Murshida is also the winner of this week’s bonus question Congratulations on your double win, Murshida.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ashraf Ali, a member of the International RFI DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Sumara Sabri, a member of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; Sameen Riaz – also from Pakistan, this time from Sheikupura city – Sameen is a member of the RFI Listeners Club in that fair city, and last but not least, RFI Listeners Club member Sami Mossad from Giza, Egypt.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Fast Bob” by Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg, played by the Rosenberg Ensemble; “La Marseillaise” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, arranged by Claude Bolling and performed by the Claude Bolling Big Band; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “You’re the Top” by Cole Porter, sung by Ella Fitzgerald.  

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 “Cambridge University Museum set to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 March podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

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Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

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Recent data shows one in two university students in France are skipping a meal each day and relying on food handouts. In response, the government is extending a 1-euro meal scheme – introduced during Covid for those on bursaries – to all university students as of May. Student union rep Marian Bloquet outlines why the problems go far beyond food. We also report from the Cop1ne community kitchen in Paris. Run by students for students, it provides cheap, home-cooked food, but also company and solidarity.  (Listen @3’20”)

As France prepares to ban children from social media, kids weigh in on their use of the platforms and how they would like to see them regulated. Cybersecurity expert Olivier Blazy considers the technical challenges and privacy issues raised by such a ban. (Listen @20’20”)

The adventurous life of the French explorer Alexandra David-Néel, who in the winter of 1924 became the first European woman to reach Lhasa, Tibet’s “forbidden city”. (Listen @14’10”)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

Wednesday’s meeting in Ankara between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the latest in a series aimed at improving relations.

It stems from the 2023 Athens Declaration, a formal statement of friendship that led to better economic cooperation and a cooling of military tensions over the disputed Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas.

Mitsotakis’s visit comes at a critical time for the process. “I think it’s very important, the meeting has been postponed twice in the past,” says former Greek foreign ministry advisor Panayotis Ioakimidis, who now teaches at the University of Athens.

“There are some people within the [Greek] governing party, and outside it, who have serious reservations about improving or even talking about relations with Turkey,” he notes. “So it’s very important for the meeting to happen, to keep cooperation going; otherwise, relations risk sliding into conflict.”

Claims on the Aegean

The talks come as tensions over the Aegean Sea – believed to have vast untapped energy reserves – are on the rise.

In January, the Greek foreign minister, George Gerapetritis, announced Greece’s intent to exercise its right under international law to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean from six to 12 nautical miles, to create a marine park.

Erdogan is expected to remind his Greek counterpart that any extension of territorial waters is a red line for Turkey. “Mitsotakis will get some lectures in Ankara,” predicts international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

In 1995, the Turkish parliament passed a motion declaring that Greece unilaterally extending its waters beyond six miles was a casus belli – cause for war. “Twelve miles [of] territorial waters for Greece means the Turkish ships cannot go one kilometre outside of Turkish territory. Turkey cannot accept this,” says Bagci.

In response, Athens is using Greece’s European Union veto to prevent Turkey from joining the EU’s SAFE defence procurement programme until Turkey withdraws its threat of war.

Turkey and Egypt’s joint naval drill signals shifting Eastern Med alliances

Alliance with Israel

Adding to tensions, last December Greece and Cyprus signed a series of defence agreements with one of Turkey’s fiercest rivals – Israel.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of seeking to encircle Turkey, while Turkish media dubbed it an “axis of evil”.

Mitsotakis is expected to try to allay such concerns during his visit to Ankara. “The Greek side thinks it can separate these issues and keep them quite separate from the bilateral issues between Greece and Turkey,” says Ioakimidis. “But it’s a very likely scenario to take the countries into very dangerous waters.”

Israel’s military support of Greece is to blame for Athens’ more assertive stance in the Aegean, argues Murat Aslan of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a Turkish pro-government think tank. He says that Greece acts more boldly when backed by others: “Once they enjoy the support of another, material or narrative, they are much more courageous to challenge.”

If Greece maintains this approach, Aslan suggests, Turkey will likely go back to increasing its military activity.

Prior to recent attempts at rapprochement, Turkish and Greek warplanes often challenged each another in mock dogfights in the disputed airspace over the Aegean.

Turkey flexes naval muscles as neighbours fear escalating arms race

Trump effect

However, Trump could provide an impetus to contain tensions.

With the American ambassador to Greece announcing this week that the US president will visit Athens, both Erdogan and Mitsotakis will be wary of Trump’s involvement in their bilateral affairs.

“I think both countries are concerned about this destabilisation to the international order that the Trump administration has brought,” says Ioannis Grigoriadis of Ankara’s Bilkent University, a specialist in Greek-Turkish relations.

“It may be a strong incentive for both sides to declare that things are OK, so let’s keep Trump’s intervention away from Turkish-Greek relations. I don’t think that any side would like that to happen, given the circumstances and the unpredictability of such an intervention.”

Wednesday’s meeting is set to emphasise the economic benefits of rapprochement and regional cooperation. However, amid persistent Aegean tensions and Turkey’s concerns over Israel’s role, expectations for progress remain low.

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 winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all

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 for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

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 on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score.

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 breaking 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 excellent staff of 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 all 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. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 13 December, I asked you a question about Paul Myers’ article “Nigeria power past Mozambique into quarterfinals at Africa Cup of Nations”.

Nigeria had just beaten Mozambique 4 to 0. Paul noted in his article that the win was the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since the Africa Cup in 2010. And that was one of your questions: you were to tell me which countries played in the Africa Cup semi-finals in 2010, and who won that knockout tie by 4 to 0.

The second question was: In the Nigeria/Mozambique match, what is the name of the Nigerian player who scored the fourth goal?

The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “Akor Adams, fed by Lookman, thrashed in Nigeria’s fourth goal 15 minutes from time to notch up the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since Egypt battered Algeria 4-0 in the semi-finals at the 2010 tournament in Angola.” So, Egypt/Algeria, and Akor Adams are the correct answers.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from West Bengal, India: “How do you deal with jealousy when your friend achieves something you secretly wished for?”

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: Amir Jameel, the president of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan.  Amir is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Amir.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sharifun Islam Nitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Faheem Noor, the president of the WULO RFI Club in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. There are also two RFI Listeners Club members: Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark, and S. J. Agboola from Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Heer on Sarangi”, traditional music from Pakistan performed by Ustad Sultan Khan; “Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti, performed by Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70; “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 the traditional Andalucian “La Saeta del Larios”, sung by Diana Navarro.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “French DJ wins Grammy for Lady Gaga remix”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 2 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 March 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 find out how you can 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.