In a first reaction, Nga’s lawyer Bertrand Repolt told journalists: “We are not surprised, but obviously disappointed.”

He said that the decision reflected a “bad interpretation” of jurisprudence when it comes to corporate immunity, showing that the companies in question have a lot of leeway.

Like in 2021, the Paris appeals court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to judge a case involving the wartime actions of the United States government, on whose orders the chemical companies supplied Agent Orange.

Repolt stressed that the judgement is not “final” and that the battle will continue in the Court of Cassation, France’s top appeals court.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry, quoted by the daily Vietnam News, said that Hanoi found the ruling “very regrettable”.

“While the war in Vietnam has long ended, its tremendous implications continue to linger on the country and people of Vietnam, including the long-term severe consequences of Agent Orange,” spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told reporters.

Through the generations

Nga, who was born in Vietnam when it was under French occupation, has been battling the chemical giants in court for a decade.

She was exposed to Agent Orange at age 24, when it was used by the US military to destroy the forests that sheltered Vietcong guerrilla fighters.

Her first daughter died of a heart defect after 17 months, while her two other daughters and grandchildren suffer from serious health conditions that she ascribes to her exposure to the defoliant.

Now 82, Nga herself suffers from “recurrent tuberculosis, cancer, and type II diabetes”, according to Vietnam Dioxin, a collective that fights for the rights of the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

In 2014 Nga filed a lawsuit in Paris against 14 firms that allegedly made or sold the highly toxic chemical, including the Dow consortium and Monsanto, now owned by German giant Bayer.

Backed by several NGOs, Nga accuses the companies of being responsible for injuries sustained by her, her children and countless others, as well as for damage done to the environment.

But in 2021 a court dismissed the case, ruling that the companies were protected from prosecution because they had acted on behalf of a sovereign government.

• French court dismisses case over Agent Orange defoliant use in Vietnam War

Millions of victims

According to a 2003 study published in the journal Nature, “between 1961 and 1971, the American army dumped some 80 million litres of chemicals on the country by air, above the forests of former French Indochina”.

The aim was to destroy Vietnam’s dense jungle vegetation where communist fighters of the Vietcong were thought to hide.

According to the study, data revealed that “millions of Vietnamese were likely to have been sprayed upon directly”. Vietnam Dioxin estimates that the chemical caused more than three million victims.

Apart from human casualties, Vietnam’s ecology was also badly affected.

According to some estimates, a fifth of South Vietnamese forests were chemically destroyed, and more than a third of mangroves disappeared.

In 1984, 15,000 American veterans who said they suffered from cancer, liver disease and nervous disorders after being exposed to Agent Orange were awarded the equivalent of €225 million in compensation in a settlement with Monsanto and Dow Chemical, the main producers of the substance.

But Vietnamese victims were never compensated. In 2005, petitions filed by an association representing them were dismissed by US courts and eventually by the Supreme Court, which argued that Agent Orange was a herbicide and not a chemical weapon.

“We strongly support the efforts of Agent Orange victims to urge chemical companies in charge of producing and supplying Agent Orange or dioxin to the US in this war against Vietnam, which has caused millions of Vietnamese people to become victims, to take responsibility, and address their relevant consequences,” commented foreign ministry spokesperson Hang after Thursday’s ruling.

(with newswires)

In a joint letter, the three countries denounced the “open and assumed support of the Republic of Ukraine for terrorism internationally, particularly in the Sahel”.

The countries asked the UN to “take responsibility” for Ukraine’s actions and to prevent “subversive acts” that threaten regional and continental stability.

The letter was dated 19 August and circulated to the 15-member Security Council the following day, diplomats told Reuters news agency.

The text was also posted on the Malian foreign ministry’s social media account.

The complaint marks a new stage in the deterioration of relations between these countries and Ukraine, according to experts.

Accusations

The row arose over comments by a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency about fighting in northern Mali that killed dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group in late July.

Both ethnic Tuareg separatists and jihadist insurgents operate in the region.

Speaking to Ukrainian media, spokesperson Andriy Yusov said rebels had received “all the necessary information they needed” to conduct “a successful military operation against Russian perpetrators of war crimes”.

Mali interpreted the remarks as an admission of Ukraine’s direct involvement in the conflict, accusing the country of supporting terrorist groups.

Mali’s military government consequently cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in early August, followed days later by Niger.

Along with Burkina Faso, the neighbours are allied by a mutual defence pact signed last year.

• Niger follows Mali, cutting ties with Ukraine over support to rebel groups

Russian presence

Ukraine said it regretted the “short-sighted and hasty” decision by Mali and Niger to sever ties.

The Ukrainian government has since repeatedly called the allegations groundless, while an alliance of Tuareg rebels denied receiving its support. 

But a Western security source confirmed to French news agency AFP this week that contacts exist between Ukrainian military authorities and Malian separatists, without specifying the nature of Kyiv’s possible support.

The source also ruled out a Ukrainian presence on the ground.

Ukraine has been locked in heavy fighting with Russia for more than two years, while Moscow has become a strong ally of the three juntas in power in the Sahel.

Russia has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Africa in recent years in a bid to compete with the West in countries traditionally viewed as its allies.

• Concerns mount as Russian troops take over US base in Niger

Public pressure

The UN Security Council does not have a mandate to manage disputes between states.

For their complaints to be successful, the three West African countries would have to go instead to international courts, Johann Soufi, a lawyer specialising in international relations, told RFI.

The letter to the UN aims primarily to put more pressure on Ukraine, he believes, as well as speaking to the population at home. 

“I don’t think it’s going to achieve anything,” he said.

(with newswires)

As they finalise their preparations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, members of the Refugee Paralympic Team have been training in Reims, eastern France.

Organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the training camp is the first time the athletes have come together as one team.

“It has been fantastic to bring the team together for the first time to benefit from such world-class sport facilities,” Paralympian and mission leader Nyasha Mharakurwa told the IPC.

“I’m really proud of how quickly the athletes have come together,” he said.

“On paper, we thought this might be a challenge bearing in mind the diversity of the team and the differences in language and culture.

“In reality, however, they have built relationships and shown support for each other from day one, united by the fact that at Paris 2024 they are part of something much bigger than themselves.” 

Refugee Olympic Team flies the flag for resilience at Paris Games

‘Message of perseverance’

The team of eight athletes and two guide runners is the largest Refugee Paralympic Team in history. They will compete in six different sports: para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis, para-taekwondo, para-triathlon, and wheelchair fencing.

Among them is Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian athlete who will be competing in para-triathlon. Al Hussein lost his right foot and parts of his left foot in 2012 during the civil war that ravaged his country and forced him to flee to Greece.

“I left Syria in a wheelchair and I want to send a message of perseverance and hope to everyone who feels miserable or bad about themselves,” Al Hussein told the Associated Press in Reims.

Living in refugee camps for years with little or no access to training centres, Al Hussein and his teammates overcame many obstacles to reach top sporting competitions.

“We are all proud to be members of the Refugee Paralympic Team and representing not just ourselves but the 120 million displaced people from around the world and the more than one billion people with disabilities,” he told the IPC.

Paris suburb gets France’s first inclusive sports complex thanks to Olympics

Zakia Khudadadi, who won the 2023 European Taekwondo Championship in the 47kg category, will be the first team member to compete on the opening day of competition on 28 August.

Like every athlete, she is hoping to land a podium place – something no other refugee Paralympian has done yet.

“It would be a dream come true to be the first to ever win a medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team,” Khudadadi, who is originally from Afghanistan and has been based in Paris since 2021, told the IPC.

“If that happens, I know how much inspiration and hope that would give to millions of people around the world, especially women and girls.  

“It will show them that no matter how difficult the struggles they face, they should never give up.”

(with newswires)

The EU on Tuesday revised its proposed punitive duties on imports of Chinese EVs to 36.3 percent from an initial planned duty of 37.6 percent, but fell short of abandoning them, as Beijing had called on Brussels to do.

The revision drew rebuke from China’s commerce ministry, which in response said it is “firmly opposed to and highly concerned” about the findings, and vowed to take all necessary measures to protect Chinese firms.

The anti-subsidy investigation on dairy announced by China’s commerce ministry on Wednesday, the latest in a series of Chinese probes this year into EU agricultural goods, will focus on various types of cheeses, milks and creams intended for human consumption.

It was prompted by a complaint submitted by the Dairy Association of China and the China Dairy Industry Association on July 29 on behalf of the domestic dairy industry, the ministry said.

EU struggles to come out on top in systemic rivalry with China

EU defends dairy industry

China will examine 20 subsidy schemes from across the 27-strong bloc, specifically those from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Ireland, and Romania, it said in a statement.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the bloc “will firmly defend the interests of the EU dairy industry and the Common Agricultural Policy, and intervene as appropriate to ensure that the investigation fully complies with relevant World Trade Organization rules”.

The European Dairy Association, meanwhile, said it was confident that EU farm subsidies were compatible with World Trade Organization rules and would seek to clarify “the dairy part of the rather complex trade relation between China and the EU today”.

Of the EU countries listed by China’s commerce ministry, Ireland is by far the biggest exporter of dairy products to China, having sold $461 million worth of goods to the Asian nation last year.

French dairy sector body CNIEL said France was also part of the EU-wide Chinese probe, adding that the country was China’s second-largest supplier of cream after New Zealand.

The EU was China’s second-largest source of dairy products with at least 36 percent of the total value of imports in 2023, behind only New Zealand, according to Chinese customs data.

The EU exported 1.7 billion euros in dairy products to China in 2023, down from 2 billion in 2022, according to data from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, which cited Eurostat.

Pork, dairy worth less than EVs

China already launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of EU pork in June, which mainly affects Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, following an anti-dumping investigation into EU brandy announced in January that was almost exclusively related to France.

Macron thanks China’s Xi for not imposing duties on French cognac

“The combined value of EU pork and dairy exports to China – areas of goods potentially affected by tariffs – are smaller than the value of China’s battery EV exports to the EU, which we estimate to stand at around $13.5 billion in 2023,” Chim Lee, senior China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said.

“Domestic economic pressures, alongside the increasingly important role played by external demand in supporting China’s economy, will keep Chinese policymakers cautious about invoking an overly confrontational approach to trade,” Lee added.

(Reuters)

Police launched a manhunt on Tuesday after Collins Jumaisi, who is accused of murdering and dismembering dozens of women, broke out of a police station in an upmarket area of the Kenyan capital along with 12 Eritreans.

Five officers appeared in court on Wednesday suspected of aiding Jumaisi’s escape and have been freed on a 200,000 Kenyan shilling ($1,500) bond, despite prosecutors seeking an order to keep them in custody for 14 days.

The 33-year-old Jumaisi, described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath”, was arrested last month after the gruesome discovery of a number of mutilated female bodies in a rubbish dump in Mukuru slum area in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Police say he has confessed to murdering 42 women over a two-year period from 2022, with his wife his first victim, but the suspect has claimed he was tortured after his arrest.

Kenyan film explores the struggles of motherhood and mental health in Africa

Reward offered

Officers said Jumaisi and the other men escaped by cutting through a wire mesh roof where he was being held, before scaling a perimeter wall.

“A significant cash reward will be provided to anyone with credible information leading to the suspect’s arrest,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said, without specifying an amount.

It is the second time in barely six months that a suspect in a high-profile case has escaped from custody in Nairobi.

The latest twist to the grisly story has infuriated many Kenyans, with the country appalled over the discovery of the butchered women.

It has also thrown a spotlight on police as the bodies were found just 100 metres from a police station.

Kenya‘s police watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, has said it was looking into whether there was any police involvement or a “failure to act to prevent” the killings.

Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of carrying out unlawful killings or running hit squads, but few have faced justice.

“These doses will be distributed through the European Union to regions where the virus is circulating widely,” Attal posted on X.

The World Health Organization, which has declared the surge of mpox cases in Africa a global health emergency, and the United States will donate 50,000 mpox vaccine doses to Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN health agency has called for a major increase in vaccine production and said that a vaccination campaign must be a key priority for affected countries.

Last week, the African Union health agency said some 200,000 vaccines would be deployed across Africa thanks to agreements with the EU and Danish drug company Bavarian Nordic, whose vaccine was approved in 2019.

• DR Congo on standby for first vaccines to fight mpox outbreak

Vaccination sites in France

Some 232 vaccination sites are in place in case of an eventual outbreak in France.

“We aim to be ready to face all scenarios and all risks,” Attal wrote.

No mpox cases have yet been reported in France. Sweden’s Public Health Agency announced last week it had registered a case of the more dangerous Clade 1b variant of mpox.

While that was the first case in Europe, the patient had been infected during a visit to an affected African country.

The virus has swept across the DRC, killing more than 570 people so far this year.

Outbreaks have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July.

(with AFP)

In a whirlwind quarter-hour address, Walz raced through the story of his middle-class upbringing in small town Nebraska, where he worked on the family farm, and described his experience teaching students who inspired him to go into politics.

“They saw in me what I had hoped to instill in them: a commitment to the common good, an understanding that we’re all in this together, and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors,” he said as the crowd chanted “Coach Walz!”

The gloves came off as the 60-year-old Minnesota governor turned his fire on Republican nominee Donald Trump, accusing him of spending “all day insulting people and blaming others.”

But Walz devoted much of his speech at the United Center in Chicago to making the case for Harris.

“From her day as a prosecutor, as a district attorney, as an attorney general, as a United States senator and then our vice president, she’s fought on the side of the American people,” he said.

“She’s taken on the predators and fraudsters. She’s taken down the transnational gangs… She has never hesitated to reach across that aisle if it meant improving your lives, and she’s always done it with energy, with passion and with joy.”

The relatively unknown state-level official brings a Midwestern everyman vibe to Harris’s surging campaign against Trump that was central to his speech.

Introduced by Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, the former National Guard soldier was cheered boisterously as he took to the stage for the biggest speech of his political career, ahead of Harris’s big night Thursday.

In a moment that brought the audience to its feet, former students marched onstage to introduce Walz — a football coach in his teaching days — after a musical interlude by Grammy Award-winning musician John Legend.

Democratic convention catapults Harris into US presidential race

‘Fight for your freedom’

A surprise appearance by Oprah Winfrey and a rousing rendition of “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder made for a glitzy night, alongside turns from comic actors Mindy Kaling and Keenan Thompson.

Walz’s main job was to tee up Harris’s speech and the climax of a convention that has defied predictions of disunity or even chaos in the wake of President Joe Biden‘s decision to drop his reelection bid on July 21.

“No matter who you are, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead, because that’s what we want for ourselves and it’s what we want for our neighbors,” he said.

On Tuesday, it was Democratic superstars Michelle and former president Barack Obama who spoke, following up on Biden’s emotional speech Monday, where he passed the torch to his vice president.

The convention has seen intense enthusiasm, buoyed by Walz’s appearances at sideline events, where he has been mobbed by supporters seeking selfies and chanting, “Tim! Tim! Tim!”

He has made a name for himself as an able communicator and is credited with coming up with one of the sharpest attack lines on Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, whom he labeled “weird.”

As a folksy, white son of the US heartland, Walz balances Harris’s California background and barrier-breaking status as the first Black woman nominee.

The chemistry between 59-year-old Harris and Walz and the noisy energy generated at their rallies is fueling Democratic hopes that they can defeat Trump, 78, in November.

Polls show the election remains close, but Harris is moving slightly ahead — a remarkable turn of events, given that only a month ago Trump seemed to be gaining a steadily tightening grip on the race.

On the convention floor, delegates praised Walz’s keynote address.

“I thought his speech was perfect,” New York delegate Edwina Martin, 60, told AFP.

Before Walz lit up the arena, the crowd heard from a galaxy of the party’s biggest names, from Pennsylvania governor and rising Democratic star Josh Shapiro to former president Bill Clinton.

“In 2024, we have a clear choice: ‘We The People’ versus ‘Me, Myself, and I,'” Clinton said.

Britain said 100 new “specialist intelligence and investigation officers” would be recruited to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to help dismantle smuggling gangs that run the dangerous Channel crossings.

The government also aims over the next six months to achieve the highest rate of deportations of failed asylum seekers for five years.

The goal is to remove more than 14,000 people by the end of the year, according to The Times.

The new Labour government intends to increase detention capacity at removal centres and sanction employers who hire people with no right to work in the UK, the ministry said.

“We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

Stopping the small boat arrivals was a key issue in the 4 July election, in which Labour won a thumping majority.

Within days of taking power, Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped a controversial scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, which had been a flagship policy of the last Conservative government.

People-smuggling gangs

Starmer has instead pledged to dismantle the people-smuggling gangs who organise the crossings and are paid thousands of euros by each migrant.

The interior ministry is recruiting a so-called Border Security Commander who will work with European countries against the people-smuggling gangs.

Starmer has also pledged with French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen “cooperation” in handling the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.

But the Conservatives, who are now the country’s main opposition party, have attacked Labour on the issue since the handover of power.

Small boat arrivals

Former interior minister James Cleverly, who is running to be the party’s new leader, accused new ministers of failing to “get a grip” on small boat arrivals.

More than 200 people crossed the Channel in three boats on Monday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 19,294, according to Home Office figures.

• Record number of migrants cross Channel to UK in single day this year

This is a 10 percent increase on the number recorded last year, which was 17,620, but down on the 21,344 crossings recorded in the same period of 2022.

The interior ministry said the NCA is pursuing about 70 investigations against criminal networks involved in people trafficking.

It said the government would issue financial penalty notices, business closure orders and bring possible prosecutions against anyone employing illegal workers.

Failed asylum seekers

The department also said it was adding 290 beds to two removal centres and redeploying staff to try to remove failed asylum seekers at the highest rate since 2018. The ministry did not give figures on the numbers involved.

But Enver Solomon, of the Refugee Council, accused the government of “wasting taxpayers’ money on expanding detention places” and said it should be investing in voluntary returns programmes.

“If you treat people with respect, humanity and support them to return, many more people return,” he told BBC Radio.

Enver also urged ministers to focus on providing safe routes to deter small boat crossings, arguing “unless the government also provides safe routes, it won’t succeed”.

(with AFP)

“It’s very good news, because we’ll have full stadiums for the events,” said Michaël Aloïsio, one of top officials on the organising committee.

“The vast majority of French people were enthusiastic about the Olympic Games, and we’re going to see the same ingredients again, the same competition venues that made such a lasting impression.

“We’ll find the same openness in the city and the same atmosphere in the stadiums, with French athletes trying to go for the medals.”

Aloïsio’s optimism came on the day that the first of the 4,4000 athletes arrived in Paris for the events.

After the opening ceremony around the Place de la Concorde and Champs Elysées, they will compete in 22 para sports at the same sites used during the Olympic Games in which the French athletes racked up their best haul of gold medals for 100 years.

“We’re going to find all that atmosphere again,” added Aloïsio. “We’re obviously urging all the French fans to come along and get involved in the events.”

Breakdown

A breakdown of ticket sales for the Paralympic Games shows nearly 75 percent of sales have gone to fans from the Ile de France – the 12,000 square kilometre area housing more than 12 million people aorund Paris.

Aloïsio added: “In terms of foreign countries, we’re where we were with the Olympics, with people from Britain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands buying most of the tickets.”

An advertising campaign titled “Game is not over” was launched as the Olympics was coming to an end with the aim of highlighting French paralympic athletes and wooing people returning from summer holidays, who may have regretted leaving Paris during the Olympics.

“The Paralympic Party is going to be even louder and more fun for everyone in Paris,” said Andrew Parsons who heads the International Paralympic Committee.

“After witnessing the Olympics, I am even more confident than ever before that Paris 2024 is going to stage the most spectacular Paralympic Games in history.

“In terms of preparation, pretty much everything is ready.”

The 47-year-old joked: “The test event – as we call the Olympic Games – has resolved some of the operational issues which are always experienced in the first days of a major event.

“For certain, the sport is going to be incredible and highly competitive. The world’s best Paralympians are coming to Paris not to participate, but to compete.

“They are not playing games here. They are going to show that by training, just as hard as their Olympic counterparts, they can deliver sporting performance that are off the scale and that will blow your mind.”

Paralympic organisers say they are hoping to entice families preparing for the start of the new school year to events via evening sessions in athletics and swimming at the Stade de France and La Defense Arena respectively.

“You can go back to work and experience an Olympic final in the evening, or you can take your family and your children back to school and experience an Olympic final, it’s completely possible,” added Aloïsio.

The 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum said last month its leadership would visit the archipelago to try to help resolve three months of deadly violence.

Eleven people have been killed since the unrest broke out, sparked in part by indigenous Kanaks’ thwarted struggle for independence.

The visit had been planned for this week, ahead of an annual Pacific forum meeting in Tonga from August 26-30.

But the mission is being postponed because New Caledonia‘s local government raised “issues regarding due process and protocol that will need to be addressed”, the forum said in a statement.

The Pacific body includes sovereign countries as well as territories such as New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

‘Humiliation’

The delay follows allegations by a senior New Caledonia lawmaker that France is seeking to dictate the purpose of the forum’s mission.

“We consider this as an unacceptable form of humiliation,” the president of New Caledonia’s law-making congress, Roch Wamytan, was quoted as saying by New Zealand radio RNZ.

A source close to the French government said the French state was ready to welcome the Pacific forum’s visit “at any time”, denying any responsibility for the delay.

Can France solve the economic collapse and unrest plaguing New Caledonia?

President Emmanuel Macron had agreed to the mission within certain “guiding principles”, the source told AFP this week, listing the themes of public order, security, governance, and economic and social stability.

The head of New Caledonia’s government – pro-independence Kanak, Louis Mapou – had rejected Paris’ invitations to help organise the Pacific body’s visit, the French source said.

Unrest broke out in New Caledonia in mid-May over a planned expansion of the electoral roll that Kanaks feared would dilute their vote and put independence forever out of reach.

France sent thousands of troops and police to the archipelago, almost 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from Paris, to restore order as cars, local businesses and public buildings went up in flames .

Macron suspended the electoral reform in June.

Morocco is a major cannabis producer and has allowed the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine or in industry since 2021 – but it does not allow it to be used for recreational purposes.

The pardon by King Mohammed VI would encourage farmers “to engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions”, Mohammed El Guerrouj, head of Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC, told Reuters.

Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest was 294 metric tons in 2023, according to official figures. Legal exports since 2023 so far stood at 225 kilograms, Guerrouj said.

This year it is expected to be higher as the number of farming permits increases and ANRAC allows the cultivation of the local strain known as Beldia.

Nearly a million people live in areas of northern Morocco where cannabis is the main economic activity.

It has been publicly grown and smoked there for generations, mixed with tobacco in traditional long-stemmed pipes with clay bowls.

The 2021 legalisation was intended to improve farmers’ incomes and protect them from drug traffickers who dominate the cannabis trade and export it illegally.

Morocco is also seeking to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis, and awarded 54 export permits last year.

Former president Obama was greeted with rapturous applause and cheers at the packed arena hosting the party’s nominating convention, then said Vice President Harris would fight for Americans.

He called her November poll rival Donald Trump “dangerous.”

“Kamala Harris is ready for the job. This is a person who has spent her life fighting for people who need a voice,” he said.

Obama called Harris “someone who sees you and hears you and will get up every single day and fight for you.”

“Yes she can,” Obama said of Harris, prompting the boisterous crowd to repeatedly chant the phrase, recalling his own “Yes we can” campaign slogan from 2008.

Before his stardust performance, his wife and former US first lady Michelle Obama had told convention goers “something magically wonderful is in the air.”

“It’s the contagious power of hope,” she said, calling Harris “my girl” and saying that hope – another rallying cry of her husband’s successful 2008 campaign – “is making a comeback.”

‘Joy and toughness’

Obama’s speech amped up the already buoyant mood in Chicago where President Joe Biden delivered his own emotional speech late Monday less than a month after ending his reelection bid.

“They shared with us how they felt, and we were able to resonate with them,” said Mae Beale who wore a hat in the colours of Maryland, her home state.

“They were so real… I could identify with everything they were saying.”

In deeply personal remarks shifting the focus onto Harris’s qualities, her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, told the convention “she is ready.”

“She brings both joy and toughness to this task,” he said to cheers.

“At this moment in our nation’s history, she is exactly the right president.”

With the party united and Harris polling strongly, Democrats are making clear they believe they can defeat Trump.

The Republican nominee had seemed set to regain power in November’s election until Biden upended the race by dropping out and endorsing his vice president.

Comparisons are already being made by Democratic faithful to Obama’s historic 2008 campaign, where a tidal wave of enthusiasm carried him to the White House.

Bullish delegates symbolically nominated Harris as their candidate in a boisterous roll call, following a paper exercise to confirm her as their standard bearer earlier this month.

“Thank you… see you in two days, Chicago,” she said to delegates via video link from her event in Milwaukee.

Trump’s attacks

Harris, who was received rapturously in America’s third largest city at her debut appearance before Biden spoke, travelled to Milwaukee Tuesday for an event at the basketball arena where Donald Trump attended the Republican National Convention just a month ago.

The choice of the 18,000-seat arena will rile Trump, who has been rattled that 59-year-old Harris, unlike Biden, is able to draw the kinds of crowds the Republican has long attracted to his events.

Addressing both crowds simultaneously highlighted that she had filled the DNC and RNC venues.

Trying to pry media attention away from the Democratic convention, Trump is holding events all week, and on Tuesday he spoke about what he says is Harris’s “anti-police” stance.

At an event in Howell, in the battleground state of Michigan, he attacked what he called “the Kamala crime wave.”

“You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread – you get shot,” he said flanked by police officers and their cars, falsely claiming there has been a 43 percent increase in violent crime.

While allies have pleaded publicly for Trump to focus on policies and stop his barrage of personal insults against Harris, he has not stopped.

(AFP)

Emilia Perez wowed audiences in Cannes this year with its experimental hybrid form in which the entire cast sings, dances and speaks in Spanish.

Set in Mexico but filmed entirely in a studio near Paris, the film blends drama, romance, comedy and thriller elements, swinging between the incredible and the convincing.

The plot is anything but conventional. It follows Manitas, a powerful Mexican cartel boss played by transgender actress Karla Sofia Gascon, who embarks on a dangerous quest to become a woman – keeping the transformation secret from his wife (played by Selena Gomez) and children.

Daring plotline

Enter Rita (Zoe Saldana), a disillusioned lawyer roped into Manitas’s plan for a hefty sum, leading to the birth of Emilia Perez (also played by Gascon) and the unfolding of a surprise love story involving Epifania (Adriana Paz).

This unpredictable and daring scenario convinced musicians Clément Ducol and Camille to join Audiard’s ambitious project.

Although they didn’t know Audiard personally, they were recommended by a friend familiar with Ducol’s work on the Annette soundtrack, the opening film at Cannes in 2021.

“I love trying new things,” Ducol told RFI after the premiere in May. “In this job you have to bounce back and learn all the time … again and again, it was a crazy adventure.”

Room for experimentation

Ducol recalls how the project began with just the outline of an idea inspired by Boris Razon’s story Ecoute (Listen).

“None of us had ever made a musical,” Ducol admitted, but the team found their way, benefiting from Audiard’s (Palme d’Or in 2015 for Dheepan) collaborative approach, with plenty of room for exploration.

Erotic dancer comedy-drama wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival

Working closely with scriptwriter Thomas Bidegain, the team watched classic film musicals and spent hours experimenting in the studio. As the script evolved, so did the music, with melodies and lyrics crafted to complement the storyline.

“These are people are so inspiring. We can innovate with them thanks to the way they merge dance, music, staging and image together,” Ducol enthuses.

“These are people so inspiring, allowing us to innovate by merging dance, music, staging and image,” Ducol enthused.

Camille echoed this sentiment, saying she was immediately drawn to the story’s Shakespearean echoes, particularly its themes of transformation – whether emotional, metaphorical or physical.

“I believed in the project immediately because it fundamentally shows what theatre is all about,” she says.

“And transsexuality for me speaks so much about the freedom that there is in theatre and in deciding to change within our bodies. It really fits into the history of humanity. Within the body, you decide, you change.”

Postcard from Cannes #4: the curveball of cinema

Despite not speaking Spanish, Ducol found the language’s musicality and rhythm helpful in composing the score. Camille, with only high school-level Spanish, convinced Audiard she could manage, even singing a song in Spanish at their first meeting.

She worked closely with a Mexican translator on set and credited the diverse cast – Gomez, Saldana, Gascon, and Paz – with enriching the film’s cultural authenticity.

The collective effort paid off, with Emilia Perez winning the Jury Prize and Best Actress Award (shared by the four lead actresses) at Cannes.

The film also took home the Cannes Soundtrack prize, a sidebar award chosen by a panel of independent journalists.

Represented by Sacem, the French copyright agency, Ducol and Camille were thrilled to highlight the role of music in the film’s success.

Emilia Perez would certainly not be the same without the score.

Guiding the audience with a lament, a lullaby or a punchy dance number, the infectious energy lingers long after the final notes.

Emilia Perez was released in France on 21 August, 2024.

The Indian foreign ministry said the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be a central focus during Modi’s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

“This is also a landmark and historic visit since this will be the first time an Indian prime minister will be visiting Ukraine in more than 30 years, since we established our diplomatic relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Tanmaya Lal said.

The trip is expected to strengthen defence, economic and technological ties between the two nations.

It would offer an opportunity to discuss cooperation in defence, economic and business ties, science and technology and other sectors.

Modi will first travel to Poland on Wednesday, before making a 10-hour journey to Kyiv via the south-eastern Polish city of Przemysl.

“This will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Poland in the past 45 years,” the foreign ministry added.

Ukraine’s presidential office confirmed the two leaders would sign several cooperation agreements and discuss both bilateral and multilateral issues.

India’s Modi champions bid for 2036 Olympics in Independence Day speech

Neutral on Russia

India has maintained a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, avoiding direct condemnation while advocating for diplomacy and dialogue.

“The conflict is ongoing, and we believe that resolution can only come through dialogue and diplomacy,” Lal said.

He did not confirm whether Modi would propose a peace plan during the visit, but underscored India’s participation in the Switzerland-hosted Summit for Peace in Ukraine in June, reaffirming Delhi’s commitment to supporting a settlement.

The visit comes a month after Zelensky criticised Modi’s trip to Moscow in July, where he met with Putin on the same day Russia launched missile attacks on Ukraine, killing 41 people and hitting a children’s hospital.

Zelensky called the meeting a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts”, expressing dismay at seeing the leader of the world’s largest democracy embrace Putin amid such violence.

Modi did not directly address the missile strikes but expressed sorrow over the loss of life, saying: “When innocent children are killed, when we see innocent children dying, then the heart pains. And that pain is very horrible.”

India offer jobs and perks worth billions in first budget after polls

Widening conflict

Modi’s upcoming visit coincides with escalating military action in Ukraine, including strikes on a third bridge over the Seym River in Kursk, part of Ukraine’s efforts to create a military buffer zone in Russian territory.

President Zelensky described these actions as proof of Russia’s empty threats of retaliation and urged Kyiv’s allies to lift restrictions on using their weapons against Russian targets.

Meanwhile, Russian forces claimed progress in their advance around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a critical transport hub in the Donbas region.

Amid the escalating conflict, Kyiv-based Indian academic Mridula Ghosh expressed hope that Modi’s visit could serve as a soothing presence.

“It will be an overwhelming thing for the Ukrainians,” Ghosh said in an interview with Indian TV.

“They view it as a visit of goodwill, a visit that will definitely try to seek some peace for the country as the prime minister has been very, very vocal about the inadmissibility of the war.”

Ukraine is home to a significant Indian community, including business leaders, engineers, builders and a large number of medical students.

Modi’s visit is expected to underscore India’s ongoing concern for its citizens in the region and its role in global peace efforts.

The revised rates were published on Tuesday as part of the Commission’s investigation into alleged subsidies for imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles into Europe.

The Commission, which fixes EU trade policy, said it still believed Chinese EV production has benefited from substantial subsidies. It therefore proposed duties of between 17 and 36.3 percent on Chinese car manufacturers when they export their products to the EU.

Market leader BYD will face a 17 percent tariff (down from 17.4 percent), Geely will pay 19.3 percent (previously 19.9 percent), and SAIC the maximum 36.3 percent tariff (down from 37.6 percent).

Other Chinese producers that have cooperated with Brussels in their investigations will see a tariff of 21.3 percent, slightly up from the 20.8 percent proposed earlier.

Those that are not cooperating will face the full 36.3 percent duty.

EU to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars, risking trade war

Tesla’s lower rate

Elon Musk’s Tesla, which manufactures its Model 3 and Model Y in China, has secured a lower tariff of 9 percent.

The company argued it received fewer Chinese subsidies compared to local manufacturers.

European carmakers with joint-venture factories in China – such as Peugeot Citroen and BMW – are among the fiercest critics of the new tariffs.

Since the 1980s, those companies have outsourced production to cut costs.

The EU has allowed for “certain joint ventures with EU producers” to benefit from reduced duties, meaning companies like Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company will pay 21.3 percent on imports.

Are EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles a sign of weakness?

China strikes back

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has criticised the EU’s tariffs as “protectionist” and lacking evidence, and vowed to take necessary measures to protect Chinese businesses’ rights and interests.

On Wednesday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) expressed its firm opposition to the revised punitive tariffs saying they brought “enormous risks and uncertainty” for China’s operations and investment in the EU.

China has responded by launching its own investigation into EU subsidies for dairy products.

As from 21 August 2024, the probe will focus on imported dairy items including fresh cheese, curd, blue cheese, milk, and cream.

The investigation into EU dairy subsidies could lead to new import duties, though exact figures have not yet been specified.

The trade dispute underscores escalating tensions between the EU and China, impacting both the automotive and agricultural sectors.

The final tariffs still need to be approved by EU member states before 30 October.

The Paralympic Games, from 28 August to 8 September, will see a robust security operation, with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin assuring that no “tangible” terror threat has been detected.

The Israeli delegation, consisting of 27 athletes, will receive round-the-clock protection by elite police officers, similar to the precautions taken during the Olympics.

This heightened security is a response to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, particularly in light of the conflict in Gaza.

• Paris Paralympic ticket sales get Olympic boost, but still lagging

Crowd of 30,000

The opening ceremony, set to take place at the Concorde venue, is expected to draw around 30,000 spectators, with an additional 15,000 attending for free along the Champs-Elysées.

The torch relay, which will begin when the Paralympic flame arrives from Stoke Mandeville in the UK – a village northwest of London that is widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games – will also be closely monitored by police forces to ensure its security.

In addition to the police presence, about 10,000 private security agents will be deployed to safeguard athletes and spectators at various venues.

The Paralympic Games will feature 4,400 athletes competing across 19 venues, compared to the 10,500 athletes and 41 venues during the Olympics, said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee.

So far, 1.7 million of the available 2.8 million tickets have been sold. Events will include wheelchair tennis at Roland Garros, track and field at the Stade de France, basketball at the Bercy Arena, and swimming at La Défense Arena.

The left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front (NFP), is hosting a series of “summer schools” to promote their candidate for prime minister, Lucie Castets.

The NFP, which includes the Communists (PCF), Ecologists and Jean-Luc Melenchon’s hard left France Unbowed (LFI) is hosting conferences to discuss how to form a viable coalition.

Castets will be speaking at events across the country, including engagements with the Ecologists in Tours, the PCF in Montpellier, the LFI in Valence and the Socialist Party in Blois.

However, the NFP’s unity is fragile. Melenchon and his LFI are threatening to start an impeachment process against Macron, who is hesitant to appoint a far-left prime minister and appears to favour candidates from the moderate left or centre-right.

Impeachment – how realistic?

In the United States, impeachment is a well-established process embedded in the constitution. The president (and other top officials) are removed from office in case of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours”.

Only four US presidents have faced impeachment, with none being removed from office. Andrew Johnson (1968) and Bill Clinton (1999) were acquitted; Richard Nixon resigned from office before the end of the procedure (1974); and Donald Trump, who faced the impeachment process twice (in 2020 and 2021) was also acquitted. 

• As Trump becomes first US president to be impeached twice, what happens now?

In France, however, the ability to impeach a president is a relatively new concept, introduced in 2007 and strengthened in 2014 under president François Hollande.

Until 2014 the president continued to enjoy the highest protection, including immunity from criminal prosecution while in office. 

Hollande’s revision of the 1958 Constitution‘s article 68, which deals with the “criminal liability of the government”, gave teeth to the measure.

But no French president has ever been impeached under the Fifth Republic.

Even Hollande, who was accused of leaking national security secrets to journalists at newspaper Le Monde, faced an impeachment attempt that ultimately failed, with only 159 out of 577 lawmakers supporting it.

Macron in crosshairs

The chances of an impeachment against Macron are slim.

Castets has downplayed the issue, focusing instead on “cohabitation” between Macron’s centrist party and a left-wing coalition.

While LFI’s Manuel Bompard insists that impeachment is a “credible possibility,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure rejects the idea outright.

Acting Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin dismissed the impeachment talk as the hard left’s “wish to plunge France into anarchy”.

Chief of Defence Raimundas Vaiksnoras estimated that over the next three years Lithuania would spend over €1 billion on the project, which is one of the largest construction efforts in the nation’s history.

“It’s a huge investment for a country of 2.9 million,” Vaiksnoras said at the launch ceremony, adding that the German brigade will serve as both reassurance for the population and a deterrent against Russian aggression.

The base, located in Rudninkai, near the capital Vilnius and just 20 kilometres from Belarus, will include facilities for tanks, storage and shooting ranges.

Around 1,000 additional German military and civilian contractors will be stationed at other sites across Lithuania.

Germany committed last year to deploying troops to Lithuania, a NATO and EU member that borders Russia.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius likened the move to the Cold War-era posting of allied forces in West Germany to defend against the Soviet Union.

Delays

However, with only a fifth of the construction contracts awarded, concerns are growing about meeting the 2027 deadline.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas promised that the remaining contracts would be issued by the end of this year, just as his government’s term concludes.

The German government has requested €2.93 billion from parliament to purchase 105 Leopard 2 A8 tanks, partly to equip the Lithuanian base, according to a draft budget seen by Reuters.

But internal budget disputes within Germany’s coalition are threatening the pledge to upgrade its military.

Lithuania has boosted its defence spending to 3 percent of GDP this year, with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte’s government raising taxes to fund the base and other defence needs.

“If we are not secure, there is no security for them,” Simonyte said at the ceremony, referring to Germany.

Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson had given Budapest until 19 August to explain the changes in its immigration policy, but as of Monday afternoon, no reply had been received, the commission confirmed.

Hungary recently relaxed entry rules for Russians and Belarusians, allowing “guest workers” to stay for two years, with an option to extend for another three years.

Johansson sent a letter in August to Hungary’s Interior Minister, Sándor Pintér, requesting an explanation for these changes.

“The extension of the facilitated processing of residence and work permit applications for citizens of Russia and Belarus could lead to a de facto circumvention of the restrictions the Union has imposed,” Johansson warned.

While issuing long-stay visas and residence permits is a national matter, Johansson emphasised that such schemes must be balanced to protect the integrity of the EU’s border-free zone and consider potential security risks.

Some European diplomats fear these changes could pave the way for Russians and Belarusians to gain permanent residency in Hungary, threatening the security of the Schengen Area amid ongoing tensions with Russia and Belarus.

Espionage concerns

Earlier this year, several EU countries, led by the Czech Republic, pushed to ban Schengen travel for Russian diplomats due to espionage concerns. After entering the passport-free zone, Russian diplomats could potentially travel freely across the bloc.

On 15 August, eight Baltic and Nordic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden – expressed concern that Hungary’s relaxed restrictions could increase security risks.

In a joint letter to Brussels, they stated: “Regardless of whether it falls under national or Union competence, we are worried that this decision may constitute a serious security risk to all member states.”

They welcomed Johansson’s involvement, calling Hungary’s response “of utmost importance” for ensuring EU security.

Denials from Hungary

Hungary, however, strongly denied these concerns. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó dismissed the allegations as “plain lies” in a statement published on social media, adding that Russian and Belarusian citizens still undergo comprehensive checks to enter and stay in Hungary.

He accused Northern European and Baltic colleagues of being “blinded by their adherence to the pro-war camp”.

The issue is expected to be discussed at next week’s EU foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels.

Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union until 31 December 2024, but a recent meeting scheduled in Budapest was moved to Brussels due to the ongoing controversy, news site Euractiv reported.

Since August 2023, the world’s biggest digital platforms have faced the toughest ever tech regulations in the European Union – which shows no sign of slowing down in enforcing them.

Brussels scored its first major victory after forcing TikTok to permanently remove an “addictive” feature from a spinoff app in Europe in August, a year after content moderation rules under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) started to apply.

That followed a seven-day period earlier in the summer in which Brussels issued back-to-back decisions targeting Apple, Meta and Microsoft.

And more is to come before 2024 is over, say officials.

The EU’s moves are all thanks to two laws, the DSA – which forces companies to police online content – and its sister competition law, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) – which gives big tech a list of what they can and can’t do in business.

How technology and social media are weaponised against women even offline

Since the DMA curbs kicked in in March, the EU has notably pressured Apple to back down in a spat with Fortnite maker Epic over a gaming app store.

“The European Commission is doing the job: it is implementing the DMA with limited resources and within a short timeframe compared to lengthy competition cases,” said EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin, who focuses on digital issues.

Jan Penfrat, senior policy advisor at online rights group EDRi, says changes are already visible: the DSA giving users the “right to complain” when content is removed or accounts are suspended, or the DMA allowing them to select browsers and search engines via choice screens.

“This is just the beginning,” Penfrat said.

He notes for instance that EDRi and other groups in July compiled a list of areas where Apple fails to follow the DMA. “We expect the commission to go after those as well in time,” Penfrat told AFP.

High-profile tests

Apple is the biggest thorn in the EU’s side as the DMA’s chief critic, claiming it puts users’ security at risk.

The iPhone maker became the first company in June to face formal accusations of breaking the DMA’s rules and faces heavy fines unless it addresses the charges.

Apple announced changes to the App Store on August 8 to comply with the DMA, although smaller tech firms under the Coalition for App Fairness slammed them as “confusing”. The EU is now evaluating Apple’s plans.

France slaps Google with €250m fine over EU media rules and AI use

It is too early to say whether Apple will fall into line without the EU’s heavy hand but one thing is clear: Brussels is ready for a fight.

Another high-profile test of the bloc’s new powers will be X, with regulators to decide as early as September whether the former Twitter should be made to comply with the DMA.

The DSA’s rules on curbing disinformation and hate speech have already sparked a spectacular clash between X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk and the bloc’s digital chief Thierry Breton — with the spectre of fines or an outright EU ban on the site if violations persist.

Full speed

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has said that Brussels is going at “full speed”.

This was always the goal: to cut short the length of competition investigations, which lasted years, to a maximum of 12 months under the DMA.

But companies can challenge fines or decisions in the EU courts, which could mean years of subsequent legal battles, lawyers say.

And difficulties can also come from elsewhere: Apple said in June it would delay the rollout of new AI features in Europe because of “regulatory uncertainties”.

EDRi’s Penfrat accused Apple of fearmongering by blaming the EU for certain features not arriving in the bloc in order “to put pressure on the commission to not be too tough in the enforcement”.

Big tech told to identify and label AI deepfakes ahead of EU elections

Pressure building

Apple aside, big tech isn’t happy with DMA action so far.

“Instead of announcing possible punitive measures with political posturing, these probes under the DMA should focus on fostering open dialogue between the European Commission and the companies concerned,” Daniel Friedlaender, head of tech lobby group CCIA Europe told AFP.

Undeterred, Brussels is turning up the heat.

In addition to potential new DMA curbs on X, the EU could soon add Telegram to its list of “very large” platforms, such as WhatsApp, that face the DSA’s strictest rules.

Brussels wants no corner of the digital sphere left untouched.

That includes the critical area of artificial intelligence, with the EU currently looking into deals between giants and generative AI developers, such as Microsoft and its $13-billion tie-up with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

“America, America, I gave my best to you,” the 81-year-old Biden said, quoting a patriotic hymn during a nearly hour-long address that ran through his achievements while urging voters to back his vice president against Donald Trump in November.

Harris joined him on stage after the speech and the pair embraced, as the crowd gave Biden a rapturous reception following his stunning decision less than a month ago to drop out of the 2024 White House race.

In a remarkable turnaround, Harris has reenergized the party and wiped out Republican rival Trump’s lead in the polls, but Biden insisted that he was not bitter about stepping aside.

Instead, as he contemplates the imminent end of a five-decade political career, he said that he had done what he thought best to ensure that his nemesis Trump does not return to the Oval Office.

“I love the job, but I love my country more. I love my country more,” said Biden. “And all this talk about how I’m angry at all those people who said I should step down – that’s not true.”

Democratic convention catapults Harris into US presidential race

Both Biden and Harris appeared to wipe away a tear as the US leader won a huge four-minute ovation when he first took to the stage, following an introduction by First Lady Jill Biden and his daughter Ashley.

Several members of the audience were also in tears as Biden made his farewell speech, before leaving the stage to the strains of the song “Higher Love.”

‘Gave my best’

And Harris had earlier made a surprise appearance – Democratic nominees don’t normally speak until the final day of the convention – to heap lavish tribute on her boss.

“I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president Joe Biden,” said Harris, who was wearing a tan suit and took to the stage to Beyonce’s “Freedom.”

“We are forever grateful to you.”

It was undoubtedly a difficult swan song for Biden, but he insisted he would be the “best volunteer” for Harris’s campaign – knowing perhaps that his legacy depends on her beating Trump.

But he couldn’t quite let go of the presidency, with his speech focusing more on his own record in office than the future under a President Harris.

Biden listed his proudest achievements including on the economy and health care, but above all for healing the “soul of America” after Trump’s time in office and the pro-Trump January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

“Donald Trump calls America a failing nation… He says we’re losing. He’s the loser,” he said, also referring to Trump as a “convicted felon” after the Republican was found guilty of doctoring business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star.

Despite his low popularity ratings and the debate debacle against Trump that led him to step aside, Biden again insisted he’d given his all.

“I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” he said.

Protests against Gaza war

As he has been so often in his five-decade-long political journey, Biden was surrounded by family at the end of his speech.

“Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years. And still, there are moments when I fall in love with him all over again,” the first lady said in a speech introducing him.

Monday’s first night of the convention was an emotional one on many levels, and for many of the key players.

Hillary Clinton, who lost against Trump in 2016 in her own bid to become America’s first woman president, backed Harris to finally break the glass ceiling.

“Something is happening in America, you can feel it – something we’ve worked for and dreamed of for a long time,” the former secretary of state and first lady said.

Earlier, protests against Israel‘s war in Gaza had shadowed the opening of the convention, underscoring what remains a potential vote-loser for Democrats among left-wingers and Arab Americans.

A group of demonstrators broke through the outer security fence of the convention after splitting off from a larger protest of thousands of people.

Police in blue helmets with shields and carrying black batons prevented them from getting to the inner cordon.

Trump, meanwhile, has been sent into a tailspin by the sudden change at the top of the Democratic ticket.

While Democrats are in Chicago, the Republican will spend the week crisscrossing the country.

In the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Monday, he highlighted what he called Harris’s “craziness” and said she “has no idea what the hell she’s doing” on the economy.

Abbas received a standing ovation in the Turkish Parliament on Thursday, where he addressed an extraordinary session. Deputies wore scarves adorned with Turkish and Palestinian flags as a show of solidarity.

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan watching from the balcony, Abbas praised Turkey’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

“We highly appreciate Turkey’s pioneering role under the leadership of President Erdogan for its courageous and unwavering positions in defense of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence,” declared Abbas.

Increasing isolation

Erdogan is attempting to position himself at the forefront of international opposition to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, even as Turkey finds itself increasingly sidelined from global efforts to resolve the conflict.

China’s recent hosting of Palestinian faction leaders highlights Erdogan’s diminishing influence.

“Erdogan was hoping to reconcile Palestinian factions, but China stole the spotlight and acted preemptively. China had more political clout over the parties,” Selin Nasi, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics contemporary Turkish studies department, told RFI.

Abbas’s visit to Russia on Tuesday further underscores the growing importance of other nations in efforts to address the Gaza conflict.

Domestic message

Erdogan’s invitation to Abbas also serves as a way to reinforce his pro-Palestinian credentials with his domestic conservative base.

“He’s trying to keep his base intact domestically,” Sezin Oney, a commentator on Turkey’s Politikyol news portal, told RFI.

“Once upon a time, Erdogan resonated with the Arab public in general.

“The Arab Street, as it was called back then, and the Muslim population in general saw him as connected with international grassroots movements. But he doesn’t have that appeal anymore; he’s lost that appeal.”

Turkey a bridge?

Erdogan has long claimed to be a bridge between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

“This is an issue that Erdogan personally invested a lot of time and energy in,” said Selin Nasi.

However, Erdogan’s influence with Hamas has waned, particularly after the assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh last month, and his replacement by Yahya Sinwar, who is relatively unknown in Turkey.

“They cannot host [Sinwar], they cannot contact him, nor do they have the kind of relations that they had with Haniyeh. So they have to settle with Mahmoud Abbas at this point,” Oney said.

Abbas, however, appears to show little interest in Turkey’s playing a larger role in resolving the conflict, and Erdogan’s strong support of Hamas and his fiery rhetoric against Israel is increasingly isolating him from countries seeking to end the fighting.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear what Rodrigo Hunrichse, your fellow RFI English listener, has found to be true in his life. Don’t miss it!

Here’s Rodrigo’s essay:

Seize the moment, cherish loved ones, make a good impression, avoid toxicity, plant seeds, harvest in time, write/ report regularly, study/ inform yourself, make good, love, find someone to love you back, question important things, rest regularly, good deeds should return, bad ones too, don’t judge until having good understanding of facts, don’t take their words for a fact: verify, don’t mind popular opinion, save for the uncertainty, remember good/bad people in your life so you’ll be remembered similarly, find a belief and a belonging so you have peers to support and be supported, no one is perfect especially you that know yourself, take care of yourself so to age with dignity, it’s never too late!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “People Are Strange”, by Jim Morrison and Robby Krieger, performed by The Doors. 

The quiz will be back next Saturday, 24 August. Be sure and tune in! 

In a ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, China’s BYD car company signed an agreement to build a billion-dollar factory in Turkey.

The factory will produce 150,000 vehicles annually, mainly for the European Union market.

Analysts say the July deal marks a turning point in Turkish-Chinese relations.

“The significance of this deal is Turkey would be considered as a transition country between China and the EU,” Sibel Karabel, director of the Asia Pacific department of Istanbul’s Gedik University told RFI.  

“This deal has the potential to reduce the trade imbalance, the trade deficit, which is a detriment to Turkey,” he adds, “Turkey also wants to reap the benefits of China’s cutting-edge technologies by collaborating with China.”

Sidestepping tariffs

China’s pivot towards Turkey, a NATO member, is also about Beijing’s increasing competition for global influence, especially with the United States.  

Karabel says the planned BYD factory offers a way for China to avoid the EU’s new tariffs on vehicles.

Turkey is already a part of China’s global investment strategy through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Beijing has shown interest in Turkey becoming a trade route from China to Europe through Ankara’s Middle Corridor Intiative.

But until now, such collaborations have until been just empty words, claims Ceren Ergenc a China specialist at the Centre for European Policy Studies.  

Turkey set on rebuilding bridges with China to improve trade

“When you look at the press statements after meetings, you don’t see Chinese investments in Turkey, and the reason for that is because China perceives Turkey as a high political risk country in the region,” Ergenc explains.

One of the main factors widely cited for Beijing’s reluctance to invest in Turkey is Ankara’s strong support of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority.

Ankara has been critical of Beijing’s crackdown on Uyghurs, offering refuge to many Uyghur dissidents. Their Turkish supporters fear Beijing’s billion-dollar investment in Turkey could be part of an extradition deal struck during Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to China.

“There are rumors, of course, that the Chinese side is pressing for the ratification of this extradition agreement, that they would want Uyghurs in Turkey, some of them at least, to be returned to China to be tried in China,” warns Cagdas Ungor of Istanbul’s Marmara University, referring to people China considers to be dissidents or “terrorists”.

Common ground over Gaza

Elsewhere, Ankara and Beijing are finding increasing diplomatic common ground, including criticism of Israel’s war on Hamas.

“If you take, for instance, the Gaza issue right now, Turkey and China, and even without trying,” observes Ungor, “they see eye to eye on this issue. Their foreign policies align, overlap, and their policy becomes very much different from most of the other Western countries.”

Carmakers unhappy after EU hits China with tariffs on electric vehicles

For example, Ankara welcomed last month’s decision by Beijing to host Palestinian leaders amid an escalation of threats and bombardment by Israel.

Such a move can provide common ground, Ungor suggests, and this could be the basis for future cooperation.

“There are certain issues at a global level, at the regional level, that China seems to be a much better partner(to Turkey) than the Western countries,” he concludes.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Hossen Abed Ali, Karuna Kanta Pal, and Jayanta Chakrabarty.

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

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “How Long”, written and performed by Jackson Browne; “Top of the World” by John Bettis and Richard Carpenter, performed by The Carpenters, and “Mademoiselle Chante le Blues” by Didier Barbelivien, sung by Patricia Kaas.

Be sure and tune in next week for a “This I Believe” essay written by RFI Listeners Club member Rodrigo Hunrichse.   

In this episode we hear from the artist and from Hoor Al-Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and the president of the Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, who helped organise the London retrospective.

Jantjes’s formative years in Cape Town coincided with the early years of South African apartheid, and his journey has since embodied a quest for artistic emancipation, with a freedom not bound by the Eurocentric gaze or expectations of black creativity.

For Jantjes, this quest has meant a life of itinerant exile manifesting in multiple careers.

Structured into chapters, To Be Free! explores his engagement with anti-apartheid activism from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, his transformative role at art institutions in Europe, his compelling figurative portrayals of the global black struggle for freedom, and his recent transition to non-figurative painting.

This retrospective also provides insights into Jantjes’ curatorial initiatives, written contributions, and wider advocacy, which had a significant impact on both African and African diaspora art on the global contemporary art scene.

It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa.

The exhibition is at the Whitechapel Gallery, London (12 June – 1 September 2024), after opening at the Sharjah Art Foundation from 18 November 2023 to 10 March 2024, and was organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome. 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. 

July saw major military drills in Armenia between Armenian and United States forces.

“Politically, it is exceptionally relevant; they are four or five times larger than last year,” explains Eric Hacopian, a political analyst in Armenia, who notes the range of US divisions mobilised for the drills. “It’s not about peacekeeping.”

The military exercise, dubbed “Eagle Partner“, is part of Yerevan’s wider efforts to escape its Russian neighbour’s sphere of influence, Hacopian believes.

“These are serious exercises, and they were followed up with the news that there is going to be US permanent representation in the Ministry of Defence of Armenia as advisors to join the French who are already there,” he noted.

“Essentially, there is no other play but to join the West.”

France, Russia stand on opposite sides of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

Armenia is also seeking to reduce its economic dependence on Russia, pressing Turkey to open its border and providing a new gateway to Western markets for the landlocked country.

Ankara closed the frontier in 1993 after ethnic Armenian forces seized the contested Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, with Azerbaijani forces recapturing the enclave last year, analysts say the opening of the border could now align with Turkey’s goals to expand its regional influence.

“The normalisation of the relationship with Armenia would allow Turkish policy in the Cacasus to acquire a more comprehensive dimension today. That’s the missing element,” said Sinan Ulgen, an analyst with the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a think tank in Istanbul.

“Turkey obviously has very strong links to Azerbaijan and very good relations with Georgia, but not with Armenia,” he explained. “And that’s a predicament, as we look at Turkey’s overall policy in the Caucasus.”

Leverage

Washington is working hard to broker a permanent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “A deal is close,” declared US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of July’s NATO summit in Washington.

Last week, Turkish and Armenian envoys held their fifth meeting aimed at normalising relations. However, with critical issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan unresolved, Baku sees Turkey’s reopening of the Armenian border as important leverage.

In principle, both Azerbaijan and Turkey are in favour, claims Farid Shafiyev, an Azeri former diplomat and now chair of the Centre of Analysis of International Relations in Baku.

“However, we believe at this stage, as we have not signed a peace agreement, it might send a wrong signal to Yerevan and Armenia that we don’t need to come to an agreement about the core issues – the mutual recognition of territorial integrity,” he said.

Can Turkey tip the balance of power in the Caucasus conflict?

Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has developed close ties with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, and is ruling out opening the border until Baku’s demands are met.

Turkish arms were key to Azerbaijan’s recent military successes against Armenian-backed forces. “Azerbaijan is where it is, in good part because of Turkey’s military assistance, intelligence assistance and all that,” argues Soli Ozel, who teaches international relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

But Ozel says Baku is dictating Ankara’s Caucasus policy. “It is befuddling to me that Turkey cannot open the borders with Armenia, which Armenia both needs and wants, because of Azerbaijan’s veto,” he said. “Especially if indeed Azerbaijan, for one reason or another, believes that its interests are once more in turning toward Russia.”

With Azerbaijan’s Socar energy company Turkey’s biggest foreign investor, Baku retains powerful economic leverage over Ankara – meaning any hope of reopening the Turkish-Armenian border appears dependent on the wishes of Azerbaijan’s leadership.

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.