France issued humanitarian visas to Alexei Ishimov, 31, and his 29-year-old wife Nadezhda to avoid them being deported to Russia from the United States.

Alexei Ishimov arrived in Paris from Seattle on Monday morning, correspondents from the French agency AFP said.

Nadezhda, a former volunteer for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was expected to arrive on a separate flight from Miami, also on Monday morning.

But she did not show up at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport as planned.

“I am in shock,” a visibly distressed Alexei, who had not seen his wife for more than 20 months, told AFP at the airport.

Olga Prokopieva, head of the Paris-based association Russie-Libertés, which has been assisting the young couple, said Nadezhda was not allowed on the flight because she had a temporary travel document called a laissez-passer instead of a passport.

Russie-Libertes and the Russian Antiwar Committee hope that Nadezhda will be allowed to travel to France soon.

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The couple left Russia in 2022 as the Kremlin ramped up a crackdown on opponents following the invasion of Ukraine.

The couple eventually flew to Mexico and entered the United States in 2024. They were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sent to different detention centres as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Alexei had spent nine months in detention in California and later in the state of Washington. In January 2025, he was released with an ankle bracelet.

Nadezhda has been kept at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center for around 21 months.

To avoid deportation to Russia, Alexei had contacted numerous countries.

“Starting from May 2025, I wrote letters to more than a hundred countries asking for help, and essentially no one responded except France,” he said.

Gratitude to France

He said that French diplomats were “constantly in touch.”

They “worked very closely with ICE representatives, contacted me regularly, and did everything possible to help us obtain a lawful path to safety and reunification,” he said.

“It is hard for me to find the words to express the gratitude we feel,” he added.

Tens of thousands of Russians have applied for political asylum in the United States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many detainees have been subjected to arbitrary detention and not given a fair chance to defend themselves in court.

Russian journalist exiled in Paris has ‘no regrets’ over criticising Ukraine war

About 1,000 Russians, many of them asylum seekers, have been deported back to Russia from the United States since 2022. Some deportees were arrested on arrival.

Dmitry Valuev, head of the Russian America for Democracy in Russia (RADR) group which has followed the couple’s case, said that a US judge had ordered that Nadezhda be deported to Russia. But activists hope she’ll be allowed to fly to France.

Alexei said he would feel at ease only when he sees his wife.

“We are very tired: it has been almost two years of constant stress and pain, and separation is especially hard when you have no idea when it will end.”

 (with AFP)

The visit, from Tuesday to Thursday, is Macron’s fourth since France launched its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018. The strategy is designed to reinforce alliances in the region to counter China’s growing influence.

Macron is leading delegation that includes the heads of major French companies in the energy, nuclear and defence sectors, as well as founders of artificial intelligence start-ups.

A highlight of the visit is expected to be the signing of a contract for the sale of 114 Rafale fighter jets built by Dassault Aviation, after India’s Defence Ministry approved the purchase on Thursday.

Valued at €33 billion, it would be the largest contract in the company’s history.

The French presidency has described the agreement as “historic”.

Since 2016, India has bought 36 Rafale jets for its air force and 26 for its navy.

The deal consolidates Dassault’s presence in one of the world’s most fastest-growing defence markets.

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

For France, which is seeking to diversify partnerships away from the United States and China, the deal reinforces trade ties with India, which is set to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.

According to the French presidency, trade between the two countries currently stands at €15 billion, but there is room for growth.

Macron’s visit follows the conclusion of a landmark free trade agreement between the European Union and India at the end of January.

EU and India seal ‘mother of all trade deals’ as leaders meet in New Delhi

The final part of the visit will focus on artificial intelligence. Macron will attend the AI Impact Summit organised by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who was the guest of honour at France’s own AI summit in Paris at the start of 2025.

The objective is to support alternatives to AI models dominated by the US or China.

The French presidency says France is advocating a vision of AI that serves the public interest, with particular attention to child protection.

France’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, will host an event to promote a laboratory dedicated to online child safety, and to discuss measures such as age verification for access to certain online content.

(with newswires)

The prototype, known as the EuroSuit, is designed to protect astronauts inside spacecraft while making suits faster and easier to put on.

The project brings together the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), start-up Spartan Space, the space medicine institute Medes and sporting goods company Decathlon, which developed the textile and ergonomic elements.

Adenot reached the ISS on Saturday after a roughly 34-hour journey from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a SpaceX spacecraft. The capsule docked with the station, orbits about 400 kilometres above Earth, at 9:15pm Paris time.

“I am proud to bring France and Europe along on this incredible adventure that transcends borders. Count on me to share every step with you and bring a sparkle to the eyes of the French people,” Adenot said shortly afterwards.

Meet French astronaut Sophie Adenot

Two-minute challenge

The 43-year-old – the second French woman to reach space – will test the EuroSuit prototype in microgravity by putting it on alone against the clock in less than 120 seconds.

She will then handle small objects while wearing it, use a touchscreen tablet to assess grip and dexterity, then remove the suit before providing feedback.

Adenot did not wear the EuroSuit for launch because SpaceX provides the suit astronauts wear for take-off. Instead, the prototype will be tested in microgravity aboard the station during the mission.

The CNES is coordinating the microgravity testing for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Spartan Space is leading the work as prime contractor, while Medes is developing real-time monitoring equipment.

Alongside the suit work, Adenot will also test a system that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help astronauts carry out their own medical ultrasounds.

From sportswear to spacesuits

For Decathlon, founded in 1976 and based in Villeneuve-d’Ascq in northern France, the project marks a step beyond sports and leisure equipment into astronaut clothing.

The company was a partner of the Paris Olympic Games, but this time it is working on equipment with far tighter technical constraints.

The teams focused in particular on helmets adapted to each astronaut’s body shape and on ways to adjust the suit’s length to match the way the human body stretches in microgravity.

“About 40 people worked on it,” Sébastien Haquet, head of Decathlon’s advanced innovation division and the project lead, told RFI.

“Engineers, designers, textile specialists, 3D printing experts and mechanical engineers. Passion took hold of everyone. When the project arrived on our desks, it was quite easy to recruit people. We even had to select a ‘dream team’.”

France’s Sophie Adenot to spend nine months on ISS after medical evacuation

Europe’s future missions

The partnership took shape from the end of 2023, Haquet said, when Spartan Space approached Decathlon. They then spent 2024 learning how to work together with CNES before moving into a more intensive design phase.

“From the end of January 2025, we launched a creative sprint, brought the talent together around a table and started designing. We are taking on space standards. We met that challenge by designing a suit in 10 months,” Haquet said.

He added that ESA does not have a design charter for astronaut suits, only a graphic charter, and that defining the aesthetic spirit of the suit was part of Decathlon’s mandate.

ESA is also working with Pierre Cardin on other projects, and NASA is working with Prada.

“It’s interesting to see Decathlon measure itself against long-established luxury brands, when it comes to the strength of its in-house designers,” Haquet said.

Under the suit, Adenot will wear a base layer described as a kind of “layer zero” pyjama made with a seamless process, using a single thread knitted from trousers to top. “You don’t give off any sweat smell with this garment as it absorbs them,” Haquet said.

Being able to suit up independently and shape a suit in under two minutes “does not exist today in the space sector”, he added. “Our suit isn’t yet functional.”

The wider question is how far ESA wants to go on autonomous human spaceflight.

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“By relying on the exceptional expertise of our partners, we are preparing them, when the time comes, to provide this type of suit,” said Sébastien Barde, deputy head of human spaceflight exploration at CNES.

A joint statement from the project partners said the aim is “to imagine the protective and comfort equipment for the European astronauts of tomorrow”.

The suit is designed to improve comfort and speed, and above all to protect the astronaut during “critical phases”. Ground tests are planned through next year and for now the goal is to validate the design and ergonomics.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French by Igor Gauquelin

Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old mathematics student linked to the far-right collective Némésis, died after being severely beaten during clashes in the city of Lyon on Thursday evening.

Némésis is known for high-profile actions opposing immigration and feminism, and for staging protests targeting left-wing political figures.

According to the group, Deranque had been “helping provide security” for its members as they demonstrated near the university Sciences Po Lyon, where Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament from the hard-left party France Unbowed, was holding a conference.

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Clashes between rival political groups

Police sources say an initial confrontation between far-right and far-left supporters escalated into a violent clash roughly 500 metres from the university. Both groups consisted of about twenty individuals. A video acquired by French television channel TF1 shows several individuals beating a man on the ground.

On social media, Némésis has refered to the incident as a “lynching” of its activists, but prosecutors say they are still working to determine the precise sequence of events.

Deranque was later treated by firefighters for a serious head injury. He was hospitalised in critical condition and later declared brain dead on Friday before passing away on Saturday.

Macron hardens attack on ‘far-left’ LFI, says antisemitic rhetoric must be tackled

Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told reporters at a press conference on Monday afternoon that the young activist “was thrown to the ground and beaten by at least six masked and hooded individuals.”

Furthermore, the autopsy “revealed that he primarily suffered head injuries.”

Dran said that a criminal investigation into voluntary homicide is being conducted by the Lyon police department. 

Police have interviewed “more than fifteen witnesses” and are analysing the various videos of the attack, Dran said, adding that Deranque “had no prior criminal record.”

Deranque’s family lawyer has described the attack as a “premeditated ambush”, a claim not yet substantiated by investigators.

Ministers and party leaders trade accusations

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said Sunday that “the far-left had clearly killed” the student.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also suggested that early evidence pointed to involvement of “far-left activists”, mentioning possible links to the Jeune Garde, an anti-fascist group dissolved for its violence in 2025. His claim has yet to be confirmed.

On the right, Marion Maréchal, a far-right member of the European Parliament and niece of Marine Le Pen, accused France Unbowed of responsibility.

Former interior minister Bruno Retailleau echoed similar claims, expressing that  “it is not the police who kill in France, but the far-left”.

French prosecutors stick to demand for five-year ban for Le Pen

Meanwhile, France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon expressed “shock, empathy and compassion” for the family at a rally in Montpellier, while rejecting what he considered “slander”.

“We have nothing to do with this story,” he said, insisting his movement opposes political violence.

PSG go into the tie on Tuesday night at the Stade Louis II following a 3-1 defeat at Rennes in Ligue 1 on Friday night.

“We created as many chances in the game against Rennes as we did in the match against Marseille the previous week,” said Enrique on the eve of the clash.

“Against Marseille, we scored five but we only scored one against Rennes while they were more clinical.

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“I expect the team to be more efficient on Tuesday night because of the individual quality of the players,” he added. 

“When you can create lots of chances it shows that you are better than the opponent – but you have to score. We want to rediscover that ability quickly.”

PSG beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the play-offs for the last-16 in the 2025 competition.

In the following rounds, they carved through the English Premier League teams Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal to reach the final in Munich against Inter Milan.

They annihilated the Italian outfit 5-0 to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.

Champions League: Bayern hold on to beat PSG after Diaz double and dismissal

“There’s no extra pressure or expectation surrounding this game, even if we’re facing PSG in the Champions League,” said Monaco boss Sébastien Pocognoli.

“They are the defending champions, eager to prove themselves again this year and retain the trophy.”

Monaco prepared for the game with a 3-1 romp over Nantes in Ligue 1.

Simon Adingra bagged a brace and Denis Zakaria added the third in a first-half barrage over a side battling against relegation to the second tier.

PSG are second and fighting for a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title and a 12th in the past 14 seasons.

Doué bags a brace as PSG annihilate Inter Milan to claim Champions League

“The reality is that we are the underdogs,” added Pocognoli who took over at Monaco last October.

“And we have to embrace that status and do everything we can to give ourselves a real chance of qualifying.”

Monaco reached the Champions League final in 2004 where they were beaten by Jose Mourinho’s Porto.

More than two decades later, Mourinho takes another Portuguese side, Benfica, to Real Madrid for the first-leg of the play-offs.

In other ties on Tuesday night, Borussia Dortmund entertain Atalanta and Galatasaray host Juventus.

The return legs in the games will take place on 25 February.

The national financial prosecutor’s office said it had opened a preliminary investigation into alleged aggravated tax fraud and money laundering involving Jack Lang and his daughter Caroline Lang.

Lang resigned earlier this month as president of the Arab World Institute, a position he had held for over a decade, after it was revealed that he had corresponded numerous times with the sexual predator.

Lang had previously requested favours from Jeffrey Epstein, including use of the financier’s car or private plane for himself or family members.The former minister’s name also appeared in the statutes of an offshore company founded by Epstein in 2016.

Lang has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was “shocked” to learn of the news. The former minister has insisted that he had known nothing of Epstein’s 2008 conviction of “procuring a girl below the age of 18 for prostitution”.

In a recent interview with a French newspaper, he described himself as “white as snow” and denounced what he called a “tsunami of lies.”

France uncovers Russian disinformation campaign falsely linking Macron to Epstein

Special team of judges

Monday’s office raid comes as Paris prosecutors confirmed over the weekend that they are establishing a special team of judges to study material released by US authorities concerning Jeffrey Epstein’s network.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the new team will work closely with the police and with prosecutors from the national financial crimes unit to determine whether any French citizens had committed crimes.

The aim, according to prosecutors, is to extract any piece of evidence from the Epstein files that could be reused in new investigations.

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

French prosecutors have also announced that they will revisit the case of Jean-Luc Brunel, a former modelling agency executive and close Epstein associate who died in custody in Paris in 2022 after being charged with raping minors. The case against him was dropped in 2023 in the wake of his death.

Prosecutors said Brunel had offered modelling jobs to young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and had engaged in sexual acts with underage girls in multiple locations including the United States, the US Virgin Islands and France.

Ten women have brought accusations against him, including being subjected to forced sexual penetration.

Jeffrey Epstein died in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. US authorities ruled his death a suicide.

(with newswires)

The resolution is to be submitted to the United Nations member states in March, as a “declaration on the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialised enslavement of Africans, described as the most serious crime against humanity,” said the Ghanaian head of state, whose country was the first on the continent to gain independence in 1957.

“This UN resolution is just the first step,” Mahama said at the close of the AU’s annual summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

“We believe that with the consultations we have conducted and the support of the African Union (AU), the truth will finally be recognised: the transatlantic slave trade was the greatest injustice and the greatest crime against humanity.”

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‘Restoring historical truth’

Adopting this resolution is not about erasing history, Mahama insisted but about acknowledging it.

“The trade of enslaved Africans and racialised forms of slavery are foundational crimes that shaped the modern world,” he said.

“Their consequences continue to manifest themselves in structural inequalities, racial discrimination, and economic disparities,” he continued. “Recognising these injustices is not synonymous with division, but with moral courage. This initiative offers us a historic opportunity. An opportunity to affirm the truth of our history.”

He defended his proposal as “an opportunity to acknowledge the greatest injustice in the history of humankind”.

“An opportunity to lay the foundations for genuine reconciliation and real equality. While the past cannot be changed, it can be acknowledged. And acknowledgment is the first step toward justice.”

Benin to give nationality to descendants of those deported as slaves

Slow process

John Mahama’s predecessor as President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, called in November 2023 for a united front to obtain reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and the damage caused during the colonial era.

The transatlantic slave trade organised the trafficking of millions of people from West and Central Africa.

For the Ghanaian head of state, who stated that he was speaking in concert with the countries of CARICOM (Caribbean Community), it is “not just about financial compensation, it is about restoring historical truth.”

“But, for now, our goal is to submit the resolution to the [UN] General Assembly, to allow the world to recognise that this happened and that there has been no greater injustice against humanity in recent history or in world history than the slave trade,” the Ghanaian president emphasised.

Cape Coast Fort in Ghana, a former colonial trading post involved in the slave trade, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

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.”

Stronger protection for marine life as landmark law takes hold on high seas

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.

French scientists map plankton, the ocean’s mysterious oxygen factories

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.

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

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.”

How could countries finance reparations for historical injustices?

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.

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.

“I’ve been telling everyone that I’ve been training hard for these races,” the 23-year-old told broadcaster Eurosport. “Here’s a second silver so I’m clearly at a high level. Another silver gives me the hope and belief that one day I will be ahead of him [Klaebo].

“I train really hard every day with the aim of becoming the best skier in the world,” Desloges added. “I’m not saying that I will be that one day but I am training hard for that objective and we’ll see what the future brings.”

Victory for Klaebo in the 10 km interval start race brought the 29-year-old Norwegian a third title at the Milan Cortina Games and a record eighth gold medal to emulate the exploits of his compatriots Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie

On Sunday, it was déjà vu anew for Mathis as Klaebo anchored Emil Iversen, Martin Lowstrom Nyenget and Einar Hedegart to glory ahead of France in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay.

France scoops up 10 medals in first week of 2026 Winter Olympics

That success made Klaebo the first athlete to brandish nine Olympic golds.

“It feels amazing to do this,” said Klaebo who is competing in his third Winter Olympics.

“I am proud of what I have achieved and it is amazing to get to that point with a team medal. I don’t feel that there’s any better way to do it.

“The fact that I’m at the top by myself … I’m going to try to enjoy that. But I’m not done yet.”

On Wednesday, Klaebo will vie for a 10th gold medal when he pairs up with Hedegart for the cross-country skiing team sprint.

Klaebo is also among the favourites for the men’s 50km mass start classic on Saturday.

“He has showed the best version of himself,” said Bjoerndalen.

The 52-year-old added: “He has been incredible at these Olympic Games. He’s a complete skier now. Before, he was a good sprinter, good in the mass start but not so good in the rest.

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

“Of course, me Bjoergen and Daehlie were operating in a different era,” he added. “There are a lot more competitions now.  When I started in 1993, we had three races in biathlon at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

“But in whichever way you look at it, winning nine gold medals at the Olympic Games is difficult.”

Mathis’ three silvers helped France to 15 medals at the 2026 Games to equal the feats of the delegations that went to Sochi in Russia in 2014 and Pyeongchang in South Korea in 2018.

Hopes of eclipsing that high were put on hold on Monday when Clément Noël, the defending champion in the men’s slalom, came off the course in his second run and rising star Paco Rassat failed to finish his first run.

Steven Amiez’ 18th place completed a miserable day for the alpine ski team who finished without any medals for the first time since 2010 in Vancouver.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said France’s efforts have been “insufficient” and it must make difficult decisions to cut spending to create the “breathing space needed” to spend more on defence.

French President Emmanuel Macron “repeatedly and correctly refers to our pursuit of European sovereignty,” Wadephul told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Monday.

“Anyone who talks about it needs to act accordingly in their own country.”

Under pressure from the United States to build up their defence spending, European Nato members pledged last June to raise it to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.

Europe’s defence dilemma: autonomy or dependence?

Germany, which has exempted most defence spending from constitutionally-mandated limits, anticipates spending more than €500 billion on defence between 2025 and 2029.

France, with its ballooning budget deficit has less room for manoeuvre.

The country has the European Union’s third-highest debt burden as a proportion of GDP after Greece and Italy, almost twice the 60-percent ceiling set in EU treaties.

France and Macron needed to be ready to take difficult decisions, Wadephul said, including possible welfare cuts, to build the “breathing space needed”.

“That is a call that goes out to all European countries,” Wadephul said. “We will have to hold very open, very honest discussions about this here in our European family.”

Eurobonds, a sticking point

Germany has rejected repeated calls from Macron for the EU to issue so-called eurobonds to boost investment, fearing common EU debt would lead to open-ended subsidies to member states with weak finances.

Wadephul reiterated Germany’s opposition, adding that Nato member states had agreed to reach the spending goal by their own efforts.

“We must also say to all our European partners – in a spirit of friendship but with clarity – that what was promised, the five per cent, were commitments to national contributions,” he said.

“We are looking forward to and eagerly await another speech by the French president, I believe on the 27th of this month, where he will comment on strategic issues,” Wadephul added, referring to an upcoming security meeting.

Macron seeks €36bn boost in French defence spending by 2030

The relationship between France and Germany has been strained, not just over defence spending, but also a disagreement over the development of a next-generation European fighter jet, and opposition by France to the Mercosur trade deal between the EU and South American countries, backed by Germany.

In other recent disagreements, Paris also opposed a push by Berlin and Rome to water down a planned EU ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.

A European diplomat last week told AFP that right now “the Franco-German axis isn’t working”.

(with AFP)

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.

Macron tells critics to follow Europe’s lead as leaders seek to reset US ties

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.

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

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)

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.

French leaders condemn felling of tree honouring murdered Jewish man

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)

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.

Stigma and sisterhood: how one Kenyan woman knitted a healthcare revolution

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.”

Kenya: The accidental librarian keeping Kibera’s kids in books

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.

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 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 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

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Susan Owensby

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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. 

Clashes in and around Aleppo have displaced around 170,000 people since mid-January, as the Syrian army seeks to extend its control over previously Kurdish-controlled areas.

Ongoing hostilities between government forces and armed groups continue to trigger displacement in several parts of the country, according to the UN.

While political transition is underway after the fall of Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, reconstruction and recovery efforts are hindered by instability and lack of funding. 

Access to healthcare remains unreliable, and basic services are severely disrupted. A harsh winter and long-term drought are exacerbating the crisis.

More than 16 million Syrians are expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2026 – yet the UN’s response plan is only 33.5 percent funded, leaving a $3.2 billion gap.

“It is an incredibly fragile moment for Syria,” said Slente, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), speaking to RFI on a visit to the Syria, including areas in and around Damascus. 

“This is a country where two out of every three Syrians need humanitarian assistance, and 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.”

A year after Assad’s fall, Syrian hopes for transitional justice are fading

Returning to ruins, landmines

Around 3 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime, over 1 million from other countries and nearly 2 million from within Syria.

“Syria has had a new government in place for the last year,” Slente said, “and it’s time to sort of recap on our programming here and adapt our programming to the new realities on the ground. A vast percentage of the population here are in dire need of humanitarian assistance on the ground.”

Many people are returning to their homes to find almost nothing after more than 13 years of civil war, she added.

One of the DRC’s priorities now is to work on getting rid of the landmines that still litter areas where fighting took place, and pose a deadly threat to returnees.

The organisation recently finished training local teams to help clear mines, Slente said.

“We are helping build the capacity here of the National Mine Action Centre in the Ministry of Emergencies that needs to coordinate that very big endeavour of clearing Syria of unexploded ordinance and landmines. It means that now we can get more jobs done on the ground with the clearing of mines, getting them out of fields and villages, so that people can actually be safe when they move around the territory.”

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

Upheaval in Kurdish north

In north-eastern Syria, near the border with Turkey, civilians say they are still fearful.

After months of tension, Kurdish-led forces have ceded swathes of territory to advancing government troops. Under a deal agreed last week, Kurdish forces and administrative institutions are to be integrated into the state.

It is a blow to the Kurds, who had sought to preserve the de facto autonomy they exercised after seizing swathes of territory in battles against the Islamic State jihadist group during the civil war.

“We are afraid that they will attack our regions and that massacres and genocide will occur,” one woman told RFI’s reporter in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli, where government forces entered on Tuesday.

Another resident said he was hoping for “a positive resolution to the conflict, so that no more bloodshed occurs”.

This episode was mixed by Nicolas Doreau.

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.