The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people which borders Russia was dominated by foreign policy and marked by a bitter fight for votes and allegations of a smear campaign.

The outcome of the election will determine whether Georgia gets back on track to EU membership or embraces authoritarianism and falls into Russia’s orbit.

Some Georgians complained of intimidation and being pressured to vote for the ruling party, Georgian Dream, while the opposition accused the party of carrying out a “hybrid war” against its citizens.

A video shared on social media Saturday showed a man stuffing ballots into a box at a polling station in the town of Marneuli, 42 kilometres south of Tbilisi.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said it launched an investigation and the Central Election Commission said a criminal case had been opened and that all results from the polling station would be declared invalid.

Ahead of the parliamentary election, Bidzina Ivanishvili — a shadowy billionaire who set up Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia — vowed again to ban opposition parties should his party win.

Georgian Dream will hold opposition parties “fully accountable under the full force of the law” for “war crimes” committed against the people of Georgia, Ivanishvili said at a pro-government rally in the capital, Tbilisi, Wednesday. He did not explain what crimes he believes the opposition has committed.

Many believed the election was the most crucial vote since Georgia gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“It’s an existential election,” Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said.

Georgians want “European integration, want to move forward and want policies which will bring us a better, more stable, future,” Qristine Tordia, 29, told The Associated Press shortly after voting in the capital, Tbilisi.

Around 80 percent of Georgians favour joining the EU, according to polls, and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to pursue membership in that bloc and NATO.

But Brussels put Georgia’s bid for entry to the EU on hold indefinitely after the ruling party passed a “Russian law” cracking down on freedom of speech in June.

Many Georgians fear the party is dragging the country toward authoritarianism and killing off hopes it could join the EU.

The election is “not just about changing government, it is about whether Georgia survives or not because Ivanishvili’s government means Russia,” said Nika Gvaramia, leader of Coalition for Changes, an opposition group.

Ivanishvili voted Saturday morning under heavy security. He did not respond when asked by the AP if he wanted to form an alliance with Russia.

He said the election is a choice between a “government that will serve you,” or “choosing agents of a foreign country which will fulfil the requests of the foreign country only.”

Ivanishvili did not indicate which country he was referring to but ahead of the election he and his officials claimed a “Global War Party” was seeking to influence the EU and the US, widen the conflict in Ukraine, and force Georgian Dream from power.

The vote will see Georgians elect 150 lawmakers from 18 parties. If no party wins the 76 seats required to form a government for a four-year term, the president will invite the largest party to form a coalition.

The opposition parties have ignored Zourabichvili’s request to unite into a single party but have signed up to her “charter” to carry out the reforms required by the EU to join.

Zourabichvili told the AP on Thursday she believed most Georgians would mobilise to vote “despite some instances of intimidation, despite the use of state resources … and the use of financial resources” by the government.

Georgia’s president tours Europe, US to strengthen ties after a week of protests

Georgian Dream took out billboards across the country contrasting black-and-white images of destruction in Ukraine with colourful images of life in Georgia alongside the slogan, “Say no to war — choose peace.”

The governing and opposition parties told voters they would pursue EU membership even though laws passed by Georgian Dream have put that hope on hold.

“The EU decided to stop Georgia’s integration process unilaterally,” said Vakhtang Asanidze, who spoke to AP at a pro-government rally in Tbilisi. He said he saw no reason why Georgia could not join the EU in spite of the laws.

At the EU summit last week, EU leaders said they have “serious concerns regarding the course of action taken by the Georgian government.”

While Georgian Dream has adopted laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on its critics, voters at the pro-government rally said they did not view the election as a choice between Russia or Europe.

“We remember everything about Russia, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” said Latavra Dashniani at the rally, referring to Russia’s occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory after the two countries fought a short war in 2008.

Voting for the ruling party, she said, would ensure Georgia enters Europe “with dignity,” alluding to its conservative values, including opposition to rights for LGBTQ+ people.

Georgian Dream stood against three coalitions: the Unity National Movement, the Coalition for Changes Lelo, and Strong Georgia.

The Gakharia for Georgia party, set up by former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, said it will not go into an alliance with anyone but will support the opposition to form a government.

 (AP)

Hours later the Israeli military said it had completed the strikes and achieved its objectives, warning Iran not to respond. A semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a “proportional reaction” to the Israeli moves against Tehran.

Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2AM (2230 GMT on Friday).

Before dawn, Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed and that the operation was over.

Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel’s attacks on military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam with “limited damage” to some locations.

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s retaliation for a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on 1 October, in which it fired around 200 missiles at Israel, killing one person in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Tensions between arch rivals Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, also backed by Iran.

Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel’s intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including airstrikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut and a ground operation, as well as its year-old war in Gaza.

“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defence Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” Israel’s military said in a statement announcing the attack.

‘Obligated to respond’

The Israeli military said later it had completed its “targeted” attacks in Iran, striking truck missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-air missile arrays, adding its planes had safely returned home.

“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond,” the military said.

Targets did not include energy infrastructure or Iran’s nuclear facilities, a US official said.

US President Joe Biden had warned that Washington, Israel’s main backer and supplier of arms, would not support a strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites and had said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran’s oil fields.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against any attack.

“Iran reserves the right to respond to any aggression, and there is no doubt that Israel will face a proportional reaction for any action it takes,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, citing sources.

A senior Biden official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, but the US was fully prepared to once again defend Israel if Iran should choose to respond.

US informed ahead of strikes  

Videos carried by Iranian media showed air defences continuously firing at apparently incoming projectiles in central Tehran, without saying which sites were coming under attack.

Tasnim reported Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases that were attacked were not damaged and said Iran was resuming flights from 9AM (0530 GMT) after a suspension during Israel’s attack. Neighbouring Iraq was also resuming flights, its state news agency said.

Israel targeted some military sites in Syria’s central and southern parts with airstrikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.

Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other security officials closely followed the operation at the military’s command and control centre in Tel Aviv.

Gallant spoke to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after Israel’s strikes began. Austin emphasised the enhanced force posture of the United States to defend U.S. personnel, Israel and its partners across the region, the Pentagon said.

Israel notified the United States before striking, but Washington was not involved in the operation, a US official told Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the Middle East for another attempt to broker a peace deal, said on Wednesday Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack on Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws. It urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and called on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.

Even as it sought to convince Israel to calibrate its strikes, the United States moved to reassure its closest Middle East ally that it would aid in its defence should Tehran stage a counterattack.

This included Biden’s decision to move the US military’s THAAD anti-missile defences to Israel, along with about 100 US soldiers to operate them.

 (Reuters) 

Slavery and the threat of climate change were major themes for representatives of the 56 countries in the group, most with roots in Britain’s empire, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that began in the Pacific Islands nation on Monday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country has long rejected calls for financial compensation for nations affected by slavery, said summit discussions were not “about money”.

On slavery, the leaders said in a joint statement they had “agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity”.

The push for ex-colonial powers such as Britain to pay reparations or make other amends for slavery and its legacies has gained momentum worldwide, particularly among the Caribbean Community and the African Union.

The statement also made reference to “blackbirding”, a term for people from places including the Pacific Islands being deceived, coerced or kidnapped to work on plantations in Australia and elsewhere.

Remorse over slavery grows in Europe, but reparations are slow to follow

Those opposed to reparations say countries should not be held responsible for historical wrongs, while those in support say the legacy of slavery has led to vast and persistent racial inequality.

The joint statement did not mention what form reparations should take.

Global South amplifies calls for compensation for historical injustices 

Starmer told a press conference the joint statement did two things: “It notes calls for discussion and it agrees that this is the time for a conversation.

“But I should be really clear here, in the two days we’ve been here, none of the discussions have been about money. Our position is very, very clear in relation to that,” he said.

Professor Kingsley Abbott, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, said the statement was a sign of a potentially historic breakthrough on the issue.

“The commitment to conversations on reparatory justice wedges open the door for dialogue, and now the hard work really begins,” said Abbott, who attended the summit.

The joint statement also referred to concern about “the severe consequences of the climate crisis, including rising temperatures and sea levels”.

More than half of the Commonwealth’s members are small nations, many of them low-lying islands at risk from rising sea levels caused by climate change.

New Chief

The Commonwealth members selected Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as the group’s new secretary-general.

Botchwey, a supporter of reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, takes over from Britain’s Patricia Scotland, who has been in the job since 2016.

King Charles and Queen Camilla, who both attended the summit, flew out of Samoa after a visit in which the monarch acknowledged the Commonwealth’s “painful” history.

Before leaving, the royal pair attended a farewell ceremony in heavy rain in the village of Siumu.

Charles said in a speech to the summit on Friday that he understood “from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate”.

“It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us towards making the right choices in future,” he said.

The king and queen’s time in Samoa followed a six-day tour of Australia, where a large crowd turned out to see them at the Sydney Opera House.

Charles also met with Indigenous elders in Sydney, after being heckled by an Indigenous senator in Canberra.

 (Reuters)

Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate, faces Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump, who’s been busy energising his supporters with populist rhetoric.

The outcome of the election will influence the political landscape far beyond US borders.

“Just under 2 percent of the world’s population have the right to go to the polls in November to decide who will be the next US president,” said Misha Glenny, rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

He adds that with an average 60 percent voter turnout in US presidential elections since 2004, about 96 million people will make a choice with far-reaching consequences for the remaining eight billion around the globe.

The election carries stark implications for US foreign policy.

“We are in an incredibly dangerous moment, whoever wins the election,” says David Vine, a political anthropologist and author of The United States at War.

“The choice between Harris and Trump includes a choice between a future where the United States remains an empire with bases and troops encircling the globe and an empire that is engaged in multiple wars,” he added.

Domestic concerns

While the world watches, American voters are focused on issues like immigration, education and the economy. Rising prices are hitting households hard, with 56 percent of Americans reporting financial strain, up from earlier this year.

Polls, like those from Pew Research, show that voters trust Trump more on economic issues than Harris, which could hurt her candidacy.

Politically, there are fears about authoritarianism, especially if Trump wins a second term.

This sentiment has led to what Business Insider calls the “great Trump diaspora” as some to consider leaving the country altogether should their preferred candidate lose.

A Scripps News/Ipsos poll this week found that 62 percent of people think violence after Election Day is “very likely” or “somewhat likely”, with fears of unrest shared by 59 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats.

Harris holds a slight lead in the polls, but by no more than 3 percent, and her advantage has been shrinking in recent days.

Abortion rights have become a key concern for voters, with 8 percent identifying it as a top issue – the highest percentage recorded by Gallup. LGBTQ+ rights, particularly for transgender individuals, are also a focus, with many fearing their safety could be at risk depending on the election outcome.

The Civil Liberties Union reported that during Trump’s previous term, his administration “initiated a sustained effort to erase protections for LGBTQ people.”

• US elections: Who are the running mates for the key candidates?

Electoral college doubts

Another point of concern is the US electoral system itself. Established in the 18th century, it relies on 538 electors who formally cast votes for the president based on their state’s popular vote. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win, but this system doesn’t always align with the national popular vote.

“You could theoretically win the Electoral College with about 35 percent of the total popular vote,” said Mark Herman Schwarz, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, explaining that the system disproportionately favours rural states with smaller populations.

Abolishing the Electoral College would be difficult, as it’s enshrined in the constitution and would require approval from two-thirds of Congress and at least 38 states.

“The only way I could see change is if Republicans consistently lost elections to Democrats who won fewer popular votes but more electoral college votes,” said Schwarz, though he sees this as unlikely given the current system’s advantages for Republicans.

“The fight for the right to vote for women was a 50-year-long battle,” said Susan Boser, social policy director at the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania – a non-partisan group promoting women’s political participation.

“And since then, any efforts to restrict it or to deny equal access under the law have been battles we’ve fought for a long time. We’re not going away now,” she told RFI.

One of the most divisive issues ahead of the 5 November vote is the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that had guaranteed women’s constitutional right to an abortion.

In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation case that the constitution “does not confer a right to abortion” – giving individual states the power to regulate or ban abortions.

Boser, who had grown up knowing abortion was legal and safe, said she was appalled and angry when she heard the ruling.

“I am fearful for the women whose lives are affected by this,” she added, underlining that after the Dobbs ruling, many southern states banned abortions.

An abortion-ban tracker by The New York Times shows that 21 states now “ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v Wade”.

As a result, women seeking abortions are travelling to states like Pennsylvania, where it is legal up to the 23rd week of pregnancy.

“We’ve seen a large influx of people coming here for abortions,” Boser said.

To protect those seeking abortions, Pennsylvania is preparing legislation to prevent judges, courts and medical facilities from sharing information about abortion seekers and their helpers with other states that could prosecute them.

But the issue remains unresolved. While Democrats control the State House of Representatives and support the bill, the Republican-led Senate is opposed.

“It’s a very hot issue now,” Boser said.

Cornerstone

Reproductive rights have become a cornerstone of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s campaign, with her often sharing personal stories that highlight the dangers of restricted access to abortion.

Her vocal advocacy contrasts sharply with the mixed messages of her Republican opponent Donald Trump. he wants to appeal to his conservative anti-abortion base, while also trying to reach moderate and undecided voters.

Polling data shows Trump trailing Harris by nearly 13 points among women voters nationwide.

However, women voters are not united on abortion. Many conservative women, especially in rural areas, support Trump’s anti-abortion stance, seeing the end of Roe v Wade as a victory.

This reflects a broader divide, with some women prioritising issues like the economy and healthcare over reproductive rights.

But the abortion issue may be a gamechanger, Boser said.

“On the issue of reproductive choice, you will see that’s a factor in who they vote for,” she added.

“And they’re more likely to lean Democrat, not just for president, but also in the down-ballot races for governor and candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate.”

“Across Europe, people have to pay to get into the most remarkable religious buildings,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati told conservative daily Le Figaro in an interview on Wednesday.

She proposed “a symbolic charge for all tourist visits to Notre-Dame with the money totally dedicated to a major plan for conserving religious heritage” in a conversation with the Catholic archbishop of Paris.

Notre-Dame, gutted by a fire in 2019, is set to reopen on 7 December following an extensive reconstruction. A €5 entrance fee could generate around €75 million annually, Dati estimated.

“That way, Notre-Dame would be saving every church in Paris and across France. It would be a magnificent symbol,” she said.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau supported the idea, noting that visitors are charged €5 to enter the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

“If for five euros we can save religious heritage that people cherish, whether they believe or not… it’s just part of the French landscape,” Retailleau told France Inter.

Criticism

However, not everyone agrees. Historian Alexandre Gady, a member of the National Commission for Architecture and Heritage, called the proposal “a money-making plan in the wrong place”.

Gady suggested increasing the tourist tax slightly instead, pointing out that charging for entry clashes with the principle of “cultural democratisation” initiated by Culture Minister André Malraux in 1959.

Parisians also have mixed feelings. Christine, in her 70s, called it “a very big disappointment” but added: “If we can maintain the church, why not, but it’s still shocking.”

Vincent, another local, said the idea was acceptable as long as the money goes directly to repairing the cathedral and not into the state coffers.

Five years after devastating fire, race to rebuild Notre-Dame gains pace

Non-EU visitors to pay more?

Dati also proposed charging higher fees for tourists from outside the European Union to visit French national monuments and museums.

“The French public shouldn’t have to pay for everything by themselves,” she said.

Tourists near Notre-Dame mostly welcomed the idea, saying they were used to paying for church visits in countries like Italy and England.

However, what bothers Anna, a German tourist, is the idea of ​​having a fixed price: “You shouldn’t force people to pay, it would be better to let them choose what they give. If you can give two euros, you give two euros, and if you can give 10 euros, you give 10.”

France was the world’s most visited country in 2023, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, with around 100 million arrivals – beating out Spain, the US, Italy, and Turkey in the top five.

(with AFP)

The shift reflects “increasing risk that France’s government will be unlikely to implement measures that would prevent sustained wider-than-expected budget deficits and a deterioration in debt affordability,” said Moody’s Ratings.

It changed France’s outlook from “stable” to “negative.”

In the same statement, the agency affirmed France’s credit rating at Aa2, saying this was supported by its “large, wealthy and diversified economy.”

In lowering the outlook, Moody’s said the fiscal deterioration it has seen is “beyond our expectations and stands in contrast with governments in similarly rated countries that are tending to consolidate their public finances.”

France’s new finance minister Antoine Armand noted the decision Friday but maintained that the country is able to carry out “far-reaching reforms.”

France faces credit downgrade as Moody’s readies verdict on €3.2 trillion debt

He said some have already produced results and added that the country has economic strength, while vowing to restore its public finances.

Armand had told AFP on Thursday that France must take “credible” steps to tackle its high deficit.

For now, Moody’s said risks to France’s credit profile are heightened by its political and institutional environment.

It noted the situation is “not conducive to coalescing on policy measures that will deliver sustained improvements in the budget balance.”

“As a result, budget management is weaker than we had previously assessed,” it added.

New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is hoping to bring public sector deficit to below five percent of gross domestic product next year, from an expected 6.1 percent in 2024.

The government hopes that in 2029 it will drop to below three percent, the agreed deficit ceiling for EU members.

This month, he unveiled a deficit-slashing budget.

France’s annual budget debate has often triggered no-confidence motions and Barnier’s plan sparked vocal opposition even before its full details were known.

France’s debt is expected to rise to close to 115 percent of GDP next year, compared to an EU debt target of 60 percent.

In absolute terms, France’s debt stood at over 3.2 trillion euros, having risen by about one trillion since President Emmanuel Macron took power in 2017.

French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts to reduce ‘colossal’ debt

Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings also affirmed France’s rating at AA- but revised its outlook from “stable” to “negative,” pointing to heightened fiscal policy risks.

On Thursday, Armand said “the work we’ll be doing over the coming months will be to monitor and fine-tune our public spending” to make savings.

Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin added that the strength of the French economy continued to be recognised, although noting that the country should pursue a structural reform agenda.

 (AFP) 

Marseille, under Roberto De Zerbi, have shown increasing guile and nous over the first eight games to be considered plausible title challengers to a PSG side still reconfiguring its identity without record goal-scorer Kylian Mbappé.

Off-field incidents have dominated the headlines too. Before the 5-0 win at Montpellier on 20 October, Marseille’s supporters were involved in clashes with police that left six officers injured.

A day earlier, during the 4-2 victory over Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes, PSG fans targeted Marseille and their recently recruited midfielder Adrien Rabiot for homophobic slurs.

Why? A decades-old rivalry between aspirational clubs and also a fiction of treachery: that after seven years at PSG and then five seasons at Juventus in Italy, Rabiot should want to ply his trade in Marseille.

Oui. Oui. Oui. Such fickleness demands invectives.

Venom

The homophobic chants spewed out from PSG’s Auteuil stand despite repeated calls over the public address system to stop the virulence.

French interior minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the behaviour.

“They should be severely punished,” he said of two alleged ringleaders who have been identified and who are likely to face prosecution.

“It has become unbearable. We can no longer put up with homophobic chanting. I won’t stand for it any longer,” Retailleau added.

But oh what a world. What a world. 2024, climatic armageddon a-knocking on the door, myriad atrocities in the Middle East and Saturday night performative bigotry in western Paris.

“PSG reaffirms its firm commitment against all forms of discrimination, including homophobia”, the club said in a statement on Thursday.

“PSG is taking all necessary measures, before and during matches, to ensure that the Parc des Princes remains an inclusive venue for all.”

Zero tolerance

The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which oversees France’s top two divisions, added after a meeting of government ministers and football chiefs: “Everyone around the table reaffirmed zero tolerance in the fight against discrimination in stadiums, including homophobic chanting.

“The LFP supports identifying and questioning troublemakers to impose individual sanctions.”

At least the authorities appear to be united on taking some form of action.

Only five years ago, the top echelons of the French football federation (FFF) seemed keen to bugle their indifference.

Noël Le Graët, the then president, said the FFF would not instruct referees to stop matches except in cases when a whole stadium was guilty of homophobic chanting.

“I think we’re stopping too many matches,” he said. “That makes certain government ministers happy, but it bothers me,” Le Graët told the regional newspaper Ouest-France.

Stop

“We’ll stop the matches if there’s consistent homophobic abuse from the whole ground, but if 2,000 imbeciles in a crowd of 30,000 are chanting, I don’t see why the other 28,000 should be punished,” Le Graët said at the time.

Le Graët has passed into obsolescence, victim of his own antidiluvean attitudes and dismissive comments towards French football legend Zinedine Zidane.

But the latter-day response to the chanting appears uncoordinated.

Newly installed sports minister Gil Avérous says he wants clubs with a history of violence such as PSG, Marseille and Lyon to ensure individual names are on tickets so the holders can be tracked.

He has also urged football authorities to enforce rules that allow for matches to be interrupted or abandoned over homophobic abuse.

“This has been very well understood by the LFP,” Avérous said after meeting football bosses.

But Retailleau has taken a more cautious approach. “Stopping matches is very complicated. It’s not the right solution,” he said.

His is a preference for using undercover police among the faithful to identify and extract miscreants.

Omission

Two days before the clash between Marseille and PSG, gay and lesbian sports groups accused the government of isolating them from the drive for lasting solutions.

“Bruno Retailleau’s emergency meeting left us perplexed,” said a joint statement from Inter-LGBT, LGBT+ and Paris FC Arc-en-Ciel.

“The method is incomprehensible, as not a single LGBTQI+ field sports association was invited. So the message seems clear: the fight against LGBTIphobia in sport and soccer stadiums will go ahead without us.”

Ministers countered that groups Carton Rouge and SOS Homophobie had been  included in the talks at the interior ministry.

But the key test will be how French footballing authorities act after Sunday’s showdown.

The match will be much more than just the ninth fixture of the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season.

Le Classique, as fixtures between Marseille and PSG are styled, could provide French authorities with their moment of truth.

They can prove that the hateful and the homophobes aren’t in control.

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 the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners!

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write “RFI English” in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the 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 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. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz:  On Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas’ Spotlight on France podcast no 115, Alison produced a piece on France’s current governmental crisis, and the lack of an ability in the French political landscape to compromise – as Alison noted: “France does not have the tradition of coalition building more commonly found in Germany, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.”

As social scientist Loïc Blondiaux told Le Monde: “The idea of deliberation – organised, reasoned debate in the form of an exchange of arguments – has never had the force and legitimacy in France that it has in other countries … a specific trait of our political culture is, on the contrary, contempt for consensus. Compromise is often seen as synonymous with giving in and weakness.”

I asked you to re-listen to Alison’s report, and send in the answer to this question: How many political groups are there in France’s National Assembly?

The answer is: As Laure Gillot-Assayag, a researcher in political science and philosophy told Alison: “There are 11 political groups in the National Assembly, it’s a record … a culture of compromise is more necessary than ever if the government is to function in such a deeply divided political landscape.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen in a museum?”

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

The winners are: Saleem Akhtar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan. Saleem is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Saleem!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sakirun Islam Mitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; also from Rajshahi, RFI English listener Sumaiya Akter, a member of the World Dx International Radio Fan Club.

Rounding out this week’s list of lucky winners are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and finally, RFI English listener Abdul Rehman, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Take a Hike” by Rik Carter and Phil Brown; “Galerie” by Bruno Letort; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Identité” by Gaël Horellou, performed by Horellou and his ensemble.

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 Amanda Morrow’s article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 18 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 23 November podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

Even if all existing pledges to cut emissions were fully implemented, temperatures would still rise by at least 2.6C above pre-industrial levels – far beyond the 1.5C goal laid down in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This would have devastating impacts with worsening heatwaves, wildfires, storms, droughts and floods, the UN said in its annual Emissions Gap report, released Thursday.

“Climate crunch time is here,” said UNEP director Inger Andersen. “We need global mobilisation on a scale and pace never seen before, starting right now before the next round of climate pledges.”

Without action to make swift and dramatic emission cuts, “the 1.5C goal will soon be dead”.

The warning serves as a wake-up call, just a few weeks before political leaders gather in Azerbaijan for the Cop29 climate summit.

Human factors

The report says that countries must collectively reduce emissions by 42 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels to keep global temperatures within 1.5C.

But the new data showed that global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.3 percent last year, with human activities generating 57.1 billion tonnes of CO2.

“We’ve observed a trend towards slowing down, moving towards a plateau in emissions, but they are still increasing,” the report’s chief editor, Anne Olhoff, told RFI.

Despite the massive deployment of renewable energy, “economic growth is pushing energy demand upward” while fossil fuel use remains high, she said. 

“The efects of climate change are also impacting the ability to provide low-carbon energy. For example, droughts have affected hydroelectric production.”

The G20 group of major economies, which accounts for about 80 percent of global emissions, bears particular responsibility for driving reductions, the report said.

Seven G20 nations, including China and India, have yet to reach their peak emissions. China remains the world’s largest emitter, responsible for 30 percent of global emissions, followed by the United States at 11 percent.

Energy-related CO2 emissions hit record levels in 2023, says IEA

More investment needed

The report estimates that emissions could be cut by up to 31 gigatonnes by 2030 through existing technologies and measures. Solar and wind power alone could deliver 27 percent of needed reductions by 2030.

However, this will require a massive increase in investment, between $900 billion and $2.1 trillion annually until 2050.

Countries have agreed to submit new carbon cutting plans, known as nationally determined contributions, by February 2025 – ahead of the Cop30 summit in Brazil. 

In March and April, France deported three Kurdish activists to Turkey – Firaz Korkmaz, 24, Mehmet Kopal, 37 and Serhat Gultekin, 28.

All were suspected of having close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish state for 40 years. France, along with its Western allies, considers the PKK a terrorist organisation.

The Kurds are a stateless people spread across the Middle East, with about one third living in  Turkey. Around 150,000 Kurds reside in France.

The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDKF), an umbrella group of 27 Kurdish associations, has condemned the deportations and warned that more cases are under investigation.

In late April, eight Kurdish men were arrested in Paris and southeast France, accused of extorting funds from the Kurdish community to support PKK activities, which is seen as financing terrorism.

French authorities also raided exiled Kurdish broadcasters Sterk TV and Medya Haber TV in Belgium at the request of the French judiciary.

The CDKF says this level of action is unprecedented. Prior to April, no Kurdish activists had been handed over to Turkey since 2019, when diplomatic relations between Paris and Ankara hit a low point.

The friction was partly due to France’s support for the Kurdish YPG, which was fighting the Islamic State in Syria, but is viewed by Turkey as an extension of the PKK.

Turkey opens another ‘Kafkaesque’ trial against scholar exiled to France

Not safe to return

Since April, French authorities have revoked refugee status from 50 Kurdish militants, according to the CDKF, and deported the three activists. The case of Serhat Gultekin has drawn particular concern.

A member of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP party, Gultekin had been tortured and persecuted in Turkey before fleeing to France in 2017. He applied for political asylum and continued his activism in exile.

In April 2023, Gultekin and 10 others were found guilty of extortion and financing terrorism.

He was sentenced, but in a highly unusual move the anti-terrorist state prosecutor specifically warned of the dangers of sending him and the others back to Turkey “in view of the danger they had faced” and “the risks that an expulsion would expose them to”.

The court agreed, but French authorities took a different view. On 12 April, the day before the judge was set to rule on Gultekin’s asylum claim, the Interior Ministry issued a deportation order.

“Plainclothes police officers put him in a truck, handcuffed him, tied him up and took him to the airport,” Gultekin’s lawyer, David Andic, told RFI.

“In the truck, they told him: ‘Serhat, we’re going to send you to Turkey. Whether you like it or not’.”

When Gultekin landed, members of Turkey’s MIT secret services were waiting. He is now serving a six year and three month sentence in an Istanbul prison.

Prosecutor seeks prison terms for alleged PKK members on trial in Paris

Violation of human rights

On 26 September, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal declared Gultekin’s deportation “illegal”, stating it violated article 3 of the European Charter of Human rights, which prohibits torture.

The CDKF is also fighting to prevent the deportation of Idris Kaplan, another activist sentenced in absentia to life in Turkey as an alleged PKK leader.

“Mr Kaplan faces at least 25 years in prison in Turkey, a country where Kurdish rights are systematically violated, and where political persecution, repression and torture are commonplace,” a CDKF statement said.

They criticised France for ignoring these facts and deporting Kaplan despite the risks, citing article 3 and the principle of non-refoulement from the Geneva Convention.

“You can’t hand your allies over to their enemies in the name of security or diplomatic agreements. That’s a basic moral principle,” argued CDKF spokesperson Agit Polat in Le Monde, pointing to Kaplan’s role in fighting the Islamic State armed group alongside French special forces in Iraq.

On 8 October, a court in Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, suspended Kaplan’s expulsion order.

Who are the Kurds?

Kurdish activists as bargaining chips?

So why have French authorities taken a tougher stance on Kurdish activists? One theory is that economic interests are now outweighing human rights concerns.

Kostas Pikramenos, co-author of a book on Turkey’s MIT intelligence service, says Kurdish activists may be used as bargaining chips in intelligence negotiations.

The expulsion of the three Kurds is most likely part of a “seduction operation by France to sign commercial contracts” with Turkey, he told Marianne news magazine, pointing to a $40bn order of 200 Airbus aircraft by Turkish Airlines in late 2023.

The CDKF believes France may be paying Turkey for its intelligence cooperation.

In March, after a Moscow attack claimed by ISIS-K, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the group had attempted several attacks on French soil in recent months.

Ankara reportedly shared information on planned ISIS-K attacks during the upcoming 2024 Olympics, according to an anonymous French intelligence source cited by Marianne magazine.

France foiled three terror plots targeting 2024 Paris Olympics

Contacted about the deportation cases, France’s Ministry of the Interior declined to comment, telling RFI it was classified information.

Meanwhile, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) emphasised that it “independently assesses” Interior Ministry requests to revoke refugee status. These decisions can be appealed in the National Asylum Court.

The CDKF has warned that five more Kurdish activists could face deportation in the coming months.

Eramet was looking to build two plants in the northern town of Dunkirk as part of the ReLieVe project – a facility designed to separate minerals from the black powder formed when used EV batteries are processed.

On Thursday, the company announced the suspension of ReLieVe “until further notice”. This marks the second such project in France to be halted within a month, following a similar decision by carmaker Stellantis and mining group Orano.

Although the European Union has banned the sale of new combustion-engine cars from 2035 to cut carbon emissions, the EV transition is hitting roadblocks. While France saw record EV sales last year, demand across Europe has slowed, with consumers increasingly opting for cheaper Chinese-made imports.

“The electric vehicle battery value chain in Europe is having a difficult start,” said Eramet’s executive vice president Geoff Streeton n a statement.

He explained that the slow development of European battery factories and their components has left the company unable to secure the necessary raw materials for its recycling facility.

Record number of electric, hybrid cars sold in France in 2023

From metal to chemical 

Eramet had expected to source materials from production offcuts at new battery factories being built in northern France. However, despite the French government’s push for “reindustrialisation“, setbacks are mounting in the EV sector.

Sweden’s NorthVolt has laid off staff and is scaling back operations, while ACC – a partnership between TotalEnergies, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis – opened a “gigafactory” in northern France last June. Plans for additional plants in Italy and Germany are on hold.

Eramet CEO Christel Bories said these delays had led to “many postponements of projects in the battery value chain”. One major issue is that metals like nickel, cobalt, and lithium need to be transformed into chemicals before they can be used in batteries.

However, “no cathode precursor projects have been confirmed on European soil”, Bories said – making the economics of the project unfeasible if materials had to be exported to Asia for processing.

French startup raises record sum to build gigafactory for car batteries

Banking on Argentina

While the French battery sector struggles, Eramet is banking on its lithium project in Argentina. On Thursday, the company announced it would buy out Chinese group Tsingshan’s 49.9 percent stake in the Centenario lithium mine project in a deal worth $700 million.

Despite a drop in lithium prices, Bories said the Centenario project remains attractive, with production due to start in the coming weeks. Full control will allow Eramet to decide how to proceed with a second production facility.

The mine is expected to produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually – enough to power 600,000 EVs.

Meanwhile, Suez, Eramet’s partner in the ReLieVe project, confirmed it will continue with its own plans to build a facility outside Paris to break down used car batteries.

“In total, we have jointly gathered $800 million in humanitarian aid,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told participants as the conference closed.

He added that there were a further “$200 million for the security forces” bringing the total to “even more than a billion … with the latest contributions”.

The total far outstrips both France’s target of €500 million and the €400 million originally requested by the UN for Lebanon, where Barrot said over 2,500 people had been killed and “almost one million” displaced in fighting since late September.

Israel launched a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon after a year exchanging fire over the border following the 7 October, 2023 attack by Hamas.

But while there were repeated calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic progress in Paris was limited by the absence of key players Israel and Iran, while America was represented only by a deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Ministers and officials from over 70 countries and international organisations, including the European Union and acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attended Thursday’s conference.

“We have risen to the occasion” with financial support, Barrot told participants, with major pledges including €100 million euros from France, €95 million from Germany and at least €17 million from Britain.

Diplomatic solution needed

Nevertheless, “we cannot limit ourselves to a humanitarian and security response… we have to bring about a diplomatic solution,” Barrot added.

France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and hosts a large Lebanese diaspora, is pushing alongside the US for a 21-day ceasefire to give space to find a more lasting truce.

Paris wants a a return to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which sealed the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

“The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon,” Macron said, sitting alongside Mikati.

The Lebanese government chief in turn called on “the international community to hold together and support efforts… to implement an immediate ceasefire”.

As well as stipulating that the only armed forces on Lebanon’s border with Israel should be UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army, the resolution says no foreign forces should enter Lebanon without the government’s consent.

That was why participants pledged support for Lebanese troops, with Macron saying Paris would “contribute to equipping the Lebanese army”.

France backs UN peacekeepers in Lebanon amid Israel’s Hezbollah offensive

Massive displacement

Speaking remotely, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called on participants to “strengthen their support to (Lebanon’s) state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces”.

A ceasefire can only be agreed with involvement from Israel and Hezbollah’s backer Iran, neither of whom were invited Thursday.

Hezbollah must “stop its provocations… and indiscriminate strikes” against Israel, Macron said.

Although Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leaders over recent weeks, it “knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon,” Macron said.

The war has displaced a million people in the country, killed over 2,500 and deepened an economic crisis.

The International Organization for Migration says many now in overcrowded shelters, while others have fled across the border into Syria.

“Anything that does not bring about an immediate end to the destruction and killing would make this summit a failure,” Bachir Ayoub, aid group Oxfam’s Lebanon chief, said before the conference ended.

Accountability

Oxfam was among over 150 aid groups to denounce on Thursday “flagrant disregard for international law by the international community” over Israel’s military actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

“Without accountability, there will be no red lines.”

UN Development Program chief Achim Steiner warned that Lebanon’s economy was “beginning to collapse under the pressure of this conflict,” predicting a contraction of more than nine percent this year if the war continues.

That could hamper efforts to build up Lebanon’s institutions and especially its armed forces “to preserve the country’s unity, stability and sovereignty” as France’s Barrot hoped.

“Resolution 1701… remains the cornerstone of stability and security in southern Lebanon,” Mikati said, echoing France’s view.

Conference participants may offer training, equipment and funding to keep the Lebanese army functioning and allow new recruitment so it is strong enough to do its job.

(with newswires)

The report, published this week, accused MAF, which operates Carrefour stores in Saudi Arabia, of exploiting migrant workers from Nepal, India and Pakistan.

Amnesty’s findings were based on interviews with 17 men who worked at Carrefour stores in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah between 2021 and 2024.

The report detailed how workers, many employed by third-party labour companies, were subjected to harsh conditions. They were forced to work 60-hour weeks, denied rest days, and unpaid for overtime – all in violation of Saudi labour laws, which cap working hours at 48 per week.

Some workers also said they were misled by recruitment agents and housed in squalid conditions. Amnesty described the treatment as “appalling exploitation and abuse“.

“Workers thought they were opening the door to a better life, but instead many were subjected to appalling exploitation and abuse,” said Marta Schaaf, head of Amnesty’s corporate accountability programme. For some, she added, the conditions “likely amount to forced labour, including human trafficking”.

Internal investigations

Carrefour said it had engaged with Amnesty earlier this year about the allegations and requested that MAF conduct internal investigations.

While the initial inquiry did not fully confirm the report’s claims, it did reveal issues with housing, work-hour records, and training, for which corrective actions were taken.

The company has also appointed an independent expert to review human rights practices, including those of subcontractors, but the details of this review are still being finalised.

• French retail giant Carrefour brings first foreign supermarkets to Israel
• French supermarket giant Casino ‘put on notice’ over illegal logging in Amazon

“In order to prevent potential human rights non-compliance situations, we decided to extend our investigations to a wider scope of activities, covering all human rights requirements,” Carrefour said in a statement on Monday.

The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy for labour abuse, stating that all allegations are thoroughly investigated.

“Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable,” the ministry said, adding that it works closely with the home countries of migrant workers to tackle recruitment abuses.

The ministry did not directly address Amnesty’s claims involving Carrefour.

Saudi incident not isolated

Abuses of migrant workers are not new in Saudi Arabia. In 2020, hundreds of Indian workers sued a Saudi construction company for unpaid wages after being laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similar cases of unsanitary living conditions and months without pay have been reported across several industries.

MAF, which operates nearly 500 Carrefour stores across 30 countries, including the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, reported a net profit of €690 million on revenues of nearly €9 billion last year. Saudi Arabia is its second-largest market after the UAE.

Amnesty has called on both Carrefour and MAF to take full responsibility for ensuring labour abuses are eliminated from their operations and to prevent future harm to workers.

Watson, who had been living in France until his July 21 arrest, filed the request on Wednesday, said Tamalet, who coordinates the 73-year-old’s defence team.

The request “makes total sense when you realise that since 1977 he’s been giving everything to protect the marine ecosystem, whereas France has the second-largest coastline in the world,” Tamalet added.

Watson was arrested when his ship docked to refuel in Nuuk, the capital of the Danish Arctic territory, on its way to intercept a Japanese whaling vessel in the North Pacific, according to his foundation.

He is being held on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant that accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship in the Antarctic in 2010 and injuring a whaler.

Outcry in France as Greenland keeps anti-whaling crusader Paul Watson in jail

West Africa’s endorsement of commercial whaling alarms green groups

Greenland extended the detention of Watson – a prominent marine wildlife conservation activist – on Wednesday.

French Energy and Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Thursday that France would call for Paul Watson’s release by the Danish authorities.

“The allegations against him, from our point of view, do not justify detention,” she told broadcaster FranceInfo.

Watson had previously written to French President Emmanuel Macron to ask for political asylum.

French officials have previously urged Copenhagen not to extradite him but have said that a person must be in France to file an asylum claim.

Watson, a master mariner, was one of the founding members of Greenpeace. He went on to create Sea Shepherd and then the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

Georgians vote on Saturday in watershed elections, with a union of pro-Western opposition forces facing off against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards Russia. 

Brussels has warned the 26 October vote will be crucial for the fate of Georgia‘s fledgling democracy and its long-held aspiration for European Union membership.

Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition government to supplant the ruling Georgian Dream party, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The current government says it wants to win a supermajority in parliament to allow it to pass a constitutional ban on the pro-Western opposition.

“Georgia’s traditionally fractured opposition forces have managed to forge an unprecedented united front against Georgian Dream,” said analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia’s Strategic Analysis Centre.

“But if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil.”

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But over the last two years the party has reversed course.

Its campaign has centred on a conspiracy theory about a “global war party” that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

In a country where the scars of Russia’s 2008 invasion remain unhealed, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.

In a recent TV interview, Ivanishvili painted a grotesque image of the West where “orgies are taking place right in the streets”.

Georgian envoy to France resigns over ‘foreign agent’ bill

‘Crucial test’

The party’s passage of a controversial “foreign influence law” this spring, targeting civil society, sparked weeks of mass street protests and was criticised as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.

The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia’s EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.

Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell cautioned that Georgian Dream’s actions “signal a shift towards authoritarianism”.

He called the upcoming polls “a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path”.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has vowed to lead Georgia towards EU membership, saying ties with the West will normalise once the Ukraine war ends.

Georgia ruling party stages mass rally ahead of key vote

Undecided voters

But the latest polls show that the opposition is poised to garner enough votes to form a coalition government.

The grouping includes Georgia’s main opposition force, jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili‘s United National Movement (UNM) and Akhali, a recently formed party headed by former UNM leaders.

Along with several smaller parties, they have signed up to a pro-European policy platform outlining far-reaching electoral, judicial and law enforcement reforms.

They have agreed to form an interim multi-party government to advance the reforms – if they command enough seats in parliament – before calling fresh elections.

The parties argue that the current electoral environment is not conducive to democratic elections, and that a fresh ballot held in a year’s time – after necessary reforms have been implemented – would truly reflect the will of the voters.

Nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia was once considered a rare example of a democracy among ex-Soviet nations.

But elections in the country of some four million regularly spark mass protests.

Georgia’s president tours Europe, US to strengthen ties after a week of protests

A poll conducted by US pollster Edison Research shortly before the elections showed 34 percent of decided voters would cast their ballots for Georgian Dream, while the four opposition alliances combined are set to garner 53 percent of the vote.

No other party is expected to clear the five-percent electoral threshold needed to secure seats in the 150-member legislature.

But the outcome of the vote is far from a foregone conclusion, as more than a quarter of respondents told the pollster they were either undecided or refused to name their preferred political force.

Voting will begin at 0400 GMT and end at 1600 GMT, with exit polls set to be released on closing.

The elections, held under a proportional party list system, will be monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo will succeed President Filipe Nyusi to become Mozambique’s fifth president since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Nyusi is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms.

Chapo won over 70 percent of votes, the electoral commission (CNE) said on Thursday.

Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who declared himself the winner and claimed irregularities, won just over 20 percent, the CNE said.

Backed by the Podemos party, Mondlane displaced former rebel movement Renamo, which had been the official opposition party but whose candidate came third this time around.

In parliament, Frelimo – the socialist Mozambique Liberation Front – increased its number of seats to 195 out of 250, more than the 184 it had before.

Turnout was only 44.5 percent, seven points less than in the last vote in 2019.

Contested results spark protests

Observers have said the 9 October election was not free and fair.

A European Union mission reported irregularities during counting and alteration of results at the local and district level – problems that have marred most polls since Frelimo first allowed multi-party elections in 1994.

Opposition parties and even the Catholic church claimed irregularities in the voting.

Mondlane, who holds sway over many of the country’s young voters, has called for nationwide demonstrations.

Groups of protesters gathered in the capital Maputo and northern Nampula as the results were announced – some holding placards with slogans such as “tired of being the slaves of thieves”.

In the centre of Maputo, police fired tear gas along a main avenue where protesters had burned tyres and ripped up election posters.

Tensions have been running high since Monday when police used teargas and gunfire to disperse opposition supporters protesting the murder of a Podemos lawyer and party official two days earlier.

Police said that clashes with protesters had left several injured nationwide and reported one death in Nampula.

French gas ambitions pose a ‘climate time bomb’ for Mozambique

New face but little change expected

Chapo, a lawyer, will officially take over in January to become Mozambique‘s first president born after independence in 1975, when Frelimo first took power.

A former provincial governor with no experience in national government, he will be the first president not to have fought in the 1975-1992 civil war between Frelimo and Renamo, which claimed around a million lives.

The 47-year-old is seen as a business-friendly choice.

Observers say he is likely to maintain the status quo, including a fight against Islamist insurgents in the north and partnerships with companies like ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, which are trying to get major gas projects off the ground.

The country of nearly 35 million people is struggling with a large debt burden and worsening climate shocks, including drought and cyclones.

(with newswires)

The ruling follows a 10-day hearing of the joint appeals committee of the Ligue de Football Professional (LFP) which runs the top two professional divisions in France.

Last month, PSG refused to pay Mbappé the sum despite an LFP order to do so. 

It is understood that the Ligue 1 pacesetters will appeal against Friday’s ruling and take the case to hearings at the French football federation or the French national Olympic and sports committee.

Mbappé, 25, left PSG in May after seven years during which he became the club’s record scorer with 256 goals in 308 games.

The marksmanship before his move to Real Madrid helped him to a plethora of awards: he was named Ligue 1 Player of the Season a record five consecutive times and he claimed the Ligue 1 “Golden Boot”  from 2019 to 2024.

Departure

In August 2023, Mbappé said he would not take up his May 2022 contract’s option of a further year at the club and leave as a free agent in June 2024.

Outraged, the PSG hierarchy told new boss Luis Enrique to go on a tour of Japan and South Korea without their star striker.

But Mbappé was eventually reintegrated into the first team squad and PSG swept the board domestically winning the French Super Cup, Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.

PSG executives claim that under an agreement to return to the first team, Mbappé said he would waive 55 million euros in various bonuses and then leave for Madrid. 

The sum Mbappé is claiming is comprised of the last third of a signing-on fee, of 36 million euros gross pay, which he was supposed to receive in February, as well as his salary from April, May and June 2024 and an ethics bonus covering the same period.

During his years in the capital, Mbappé harvested 15 medals including six Ligue 1 titles. 

Should the 26-year-old survive the challenge, he will play a qualifier in the second round and possibly meet world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the last-16.

Humbert, who won titles in Marseille and Dubai in 2024, is among six Frenchmen in the main draw at the season’s final event in the Masters 1000 series – considered the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit after the four Grand Slam events in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

French veteran Richard Gasquet, who will be playing at the event for the 17th and final time, was given the honour of performing the draw.

The 38-year-old, who will retire after the 2025 French Open in Paris, will play Flavio Cobolli from Italy, who is 16 years his junior.

“It will be a difficult match,” said Gasquet. “He’s a young player who’s destined for big things.”

Gasquet, whose best result at the Paris Masters came in 2007 when he reached the semi-final, added: “It’s a bit of an odd one really. I know that I won’t be playing in this tournament again after this year and so it will be a bit strange. It’s a great court and I am going to give it my best and really enjoy the match.”

Gasquet’s comaptriots – Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Adrian Mannarino – were drawn against the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul respectively.

Arthur Fils, the world number 20, will play the former US Open champion Marin Cilic.

Top seed Jannik Sinner, who launches his campaign in the second round,will play the victor from the first round clash between the American Ben Shelton and Félix Auger-Aliassime from Canada.

Fifth seed Taylor Fritz is also in Sinner’s top quarter, while third seed Alexander Zverev and sixth seed Andrey Rublev feature in the second quarter in the top half of the draw.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday night.

The 37-year-old Serb provided no reasons for his withdrawal.

“Wishing all the players, sponsors, organisers and fans a great tournament,” Djokovic wrote on social media.

“I have a lot of great memories, winning seven titles there, and hope to be back with you next year,” he added. “Sorry to everyone who was hoping to see me there.”

The Arlit uranium mine in northern Niger is operated by its local subsidiary Somaïr – Orano owns 63.4 percent and the Nigerien state-owned Sopamin the rest.

Orano, which owns 63.4 percent of Somaïr, announced on Wednesday that the company would stop operations from 31 October, citing Somaïr’s worsening financial situation.

The closure of the main export corridor between Niger and Benin has left 1,050 tonnes of uranium concentrate from the 2023 and 2024 stockpiles stranded.

Orano estimates the value of the blocked uranium at €300 million, representing almost half of the site’s average annual production.

Orano said it had explored various options to unblock exports, including airlifting uranium via Namibia. However, “all the proposals made to the Nigerien authorities have remained unanswered”, the company said.

Despite describing the suspension as a “temporary measure”, Orano expressed concern over the impact on Somaïr’s employees and subcontractors.

The site employs 780 workers and an equal number of subcontractors, 99 percent of whom are Nigerien. Workers will continue to be paid until 31 December 2024.

French uranium mine leaves 20 million tonnes of radioactive waste in Niger

Niger’s junta returns French-run uranium mine ‘back to public domain’

Strained relations

The suspension comes amid deteriorating relations between France and Niger. The junta, which seized power in July 2023, expelled French troops deployed to fight Islamist militants in December.

In June, it also withdrew Orano’s licence to operate the Imouraren mine, one of the world’s largest uranium deposits, leading to a €133 million loss in the first half of the year.

Last month, Niger’s Council of Ministers announced the creation of the state-run Timersoi National Uranium Company (TNUC), though details of its role remain unclear.

Orano (formerly Areva), which has been operating in Niger since 1971, still owns three mines in the country, but Somaïr was the last one still in production.

Despite the disruption in Niger, Orano assured that its uranium supply remains secure, pointing to alternative sources in Canada and Kazakhstan.

France’s EDF, which relies on 8,000 tonnes of uranium annually to power its 56 nuclear reactors, is not expected to face shortages.

Details of the spending were made public in an annex to France’s 2025 finance bill, which tracks public funding for sports. By contrast, the London 2012 opening ceremony cost just 30 million euros, raising questions about Paris’s big-budget approach.

The ceremony formed part of a broader Games budget that grew substantially during the event’s preparation and delivery. Total public spending on the event ballooned to at least 2.8 billion euros, French daily Le Monde reported after analysing the finance bill.

Initial forecasts put the public spending for the Paris Games at 1.47 billion euros. That figure was later bumped to 2.4 billion. However costs continued to climb, driven by infrastructure, security and extra add-ons.

The organising committee received 204 million euros in public funding, including a late addition of 33 million euros “to preserve the ambition of the Paralympic Games”, the report said.

Privacy fears grow as France extends AI surveillance beyond Olympics

The total budget for the Paris Olympics, including private funding from sources such as the International Olympic Committee, ticket sales and corporate partners, exceeded 4.4 billion euros.

The spending breakdown included 1.68 billion euros for Olympic infrastructure through Solideo, the public body responsible for delivering venues, and 579 million euros in additional investments.

These figures did not include various other expenses such as medal winner bonuses and free ticket distributions, according to the report.

While public contributions may seem small in comparison, critics say the costs add pressure to the state’s already strained finances.

The ceremony marked the first time in Olympic history that the opening event was held outside a stadium, with boats carrying athletes along a six-kilometre route through the heart of Paris.

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 the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners!

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write “RFI English” in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the 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 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. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz:  On Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas’ Spotlight on France podcast no 115, Alison produced a piece on France’s current governmental crisis, and the lack of an ability in the French political landscape to compromise – as Alison noted: “France does not have the tradition of coalition building more commonly found in Germany, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.”

As social scientist Loïc Blondiaux told Le Monde: “The idea of deliberation – organised, reasoned debate in the form of an exchange of arguments – has never had the force and legitimacy in France that it has in other countries … a specific trait of our political culture is, on the contrary, contempt for consensus. Compromise is often seen as synonymous with giving in and weakness.”

I asked you to re-listen to Alison’s report, and send in the answer to this question: How many political groups are there in France’s National Assembly?

The answer is: As Laure Gillot-Assayag, a researcher in political science and philosophy told Alison: “There are 11 political groups in the National Assembly, it’s a record … a culture of compromise is more necessary than ever if the government is to function in such a deeply divided political landscape.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen in a museum?”

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

The winners are: Saleem Akhtar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan. Saleem is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Saleem!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sakirun Islam Mitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; also from Rajshahi, RFI English listener Sumaiya Akter, a member of the World Dx International Radio Fan Club.

Rounding out this week’s list of lucky winners are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and finally, RFI English listener Abdul Rehman, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Take a Hike” by Rik Carter and Phil Brown; “Galerie” by Bruno Letort; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Identité” by Gaël Horellou, performed by Horellou and his ensemble.

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 Amanda Morrow’s article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 18 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 23 November podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

On October 11, Fitch’s decision to downgrade France’s economic outlook to “negative” serves as a warning to Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who is struggling to push his 2025 budget through parliament. The credit agency’s assessment signals a potential downgrade if the government fails to take swift action to improve public finances.

France’s fiscal situation appears increasingly precarious. The deficit, now at €167 billion (5.5 percent of GDP), could  surpass 6 percent  by year’s end. With national debt projected to hit €3.5 trillion, or 114.7 percent of GDP, France is far beyond EU limits.

France braces for economic judgment amid political turmoil and record debt

EU rules require member states to keep budget deficits below 3 percent of GDP and debt under 60 percent of GDP.

Fitch predicts that the deficit will hover around 5.4% in both 2025 and 2026 due to ongoing political uncertainty and the challenges in implementing fiscal reforms. The agency believes the budget could pass before the year’s end, but the government may need to make concessions to win support from opposition parties. 

All eyes are now on Moody’s which will reveal its judgement on France’s economy and credit-worthiness on 25 October. 

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Antoine Armand emphasised the government’s commitment to improving the economy following Fitch’s assessment, but will that be enough?

RFI spoke to Erik Norland, Chief Economist with the Chicago-based CMEGroup about the possible scenarios France’s economic planners are facing.

Over 405,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrian – have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since the start of Israel’s offensive, according to figures from UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Approximately 60 percent are under 18, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday, and most are struggling to meet basic needs.

The returnees are mainly people who had sought sanctuary in Lebanon from the civil war in Syria, now in its 13th year. “In Lebanon, there have been nearly one million Syrian refugees just since 2011,” says Metin Corabatir of the Research Centre on Asylum and Migration, an Ankara-based NGO.

He warns this could be just the beginning of the exodus if the fighting in Lebanon continues, threatening to overwhelm Syria.

“We are not talking only about Syrian refugees going back to Syria, but the Lebanese population is moving, crossing the border to Syria. And Syria would either try to close the borders or force them to go north to the Turkish borders,” Corabatir told RFI.

“This really would lead to a catastrophic situation for people, for countries and may pull Turkey into more tensions with Israel.”

Anti-refugee backlash

People fleeing Lebanon have been arriving at refugee camps in north-east Syria, close to the Turkish border. But Turkey, already hosting an estimated five million refugees, including over three million Syrians, is facing growing public backlash over their presence.

“Turkey basically cannot handle more refugees,” warns Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an international think tank.

Earlier this year, tensions spilled over into violence against refugees in the provincial city of Kayseri. The issue has become a significant political liability for the government, with opinion polls routinely finding large majorities wanting refugees to leave.

Even if the country has the practical capacity to take more people in, “I don’t see Turkey accepting a massive new wave of refugees”, predicts Unluhisarcikli. 

Turkey’s Syrian refugees face local hostility as economic problems mount

Border barricades

In the last couple of years, Ankara has constructed a wall along its border with Syria in a bid to prevent more refugees from entering Turkey. 

Murat Aslan, of the pro-government Seta Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, believes such efforts will only continue as the war in the Middle East threatens to trigger a new exodus.

“Turkey does not want any further waves coming from another region because Turkey is just experiencing and mending an economic crisis,” he says. “Inflation is currently under control, and we expect a decrease in it.

“What does another wave of refugees mean? A lot of spending, a lot of inflation, and other than this, societal insecurity. That’s why Turkey will not tolerate another wave.”  

But such a stance will likely be tested if Israel continues its offensive, creating more refugees and with them, the risk of Turkey facing a humanitarian crisis on its border.

Turkey continues to host more refugees than anyone else, but for how long?

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 the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write “RFI English” in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the 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 Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 21 September, I asked you a question about a gender equality plan at France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  We reported on that plan in our article “France’s foreign ministry unveils two-year gender equality strategy”.

You were to re-read the article and send in the answer to this question: What is the Foreign Ministry’s goal for promoting women to important posts? What is the percentage they are aiming for?

The answer is, to quote our article: “According to the ministry, this year more than 45 percent of ambassadors appointed for the first time will be women, while among newly-appointed consuls-general, over 40 percent will also be women.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How would you define a truly happy person?”, which was suggested by Sabah Binte Sumaiya from Bogura, Bangladesh:

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark. Hans is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Hans, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from Kolkata, India; Mizanur Rahman from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Faiza Zainab – who’s also a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Tafriha Tahura from Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Mazurka no. 4″ by Frédéric Chopin, arranged by Serge Forté and performed by the Serge Forté Trio; “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Krzysztof Penderecki, performed by Antoni Wit and the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra; “La Grande Galerie de la Zoologie” by Philippe Hersant, performed by the Ensemble Bestiaire Fabuleux; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, performed by McFerrin.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myers’ article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 11 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 16 November 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

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

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

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

Ghana is being swamped by millions of unwanted clothes from the West, creating an environmental disaster as textile waste piles up across the country.

The scale of damage to public health and the environment has been laid bare in a new Greenpeace report that exposes the devastating impact of discarded clothing on communities and ecosystems in Ghana. 

About 15 million items of second-hand clothing arrive in Ghana each week. Nearly half cannot be resold.

The unsellable clothes end up in informal dumps or are burned in public washhouses, contaminating the air, soil and water.

“The situation is catastrophic. These clothes are literally poisoning our communities,” said Sam Quashie-Idun from Greenpeace Africa, speaking to RFI.

The report shows how Ghana has become a dumping ground for the world’s unwanted textiles, with devastating consequences for local ecosystems.

“What we’re seeing is environmental racism. The Global North is using Ghana as its trash can,” said Hellen Dena of Greenpeace Africa.

The flood of cheap, disposable fashion reflects broader problems with global waste management and environmental justice.

To explore this issue further, RFI spoke to Sam Quashie-Idun and Hellen Dena from Greenpeace Africa.  

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

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 the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write “RFI English” in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the 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 Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 14 September, I asked you a question about Algeria’s presidential elections. Held on 8 September, the incumbent, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, was reelected.

RFI English reporter Melissa Chemam followed the race closely; the day after the election she wrote an article for us, “High expectations as Algeria’s President Tebboune begins new mandate”. Her article is about what’s on Tebboune’s presidential plate economically and socially for his next mandate.

There are several worries in civil society, as Melissa noted: “The first mandate of President Tebboune saw a clampdown on civil liberties and seen the army take on a more important role.”

Your question was about the army, and its, as Melissa noted, “more important role”. In August, a few days before Tebboune declared his candidacy, a decree was issued involving the army. You were to tell me what was in that decree.

The answer is, to quote Melissa’s article: “A few days before Tebboune’s declaration of candidacy, in August, a decree was published to legalise the transfer of the senior civil administration under the direct authority of the army.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “red”? The question was suggested by Ashik Eqbal Tokon from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India. Radhakrishna is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Radhakrisha!  

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Father Stephen Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon; Shadman Hosen Ayon from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, and Atikul Islam – who is also the president of the Narshunda Radio Listeners Family in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Jahangir Alam from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by Carla Moore and Voice of Music; Traditional Chaabi music from Algeria; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Mr. Bobby” by Manu Chao, performed by Chao and the Playing for Change musicians.

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 “Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 4 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 9 November 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

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

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

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

Madhya Pradesh is often referred to as the Heart of India. Located right in the middle of the country, the Indian region shows everything India has to offer through its abundant diversity. The IFTM trade show, which took place in Paris at the end of September, presented the perfect opportunity for travel enthusiasts to discover the region.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board, sat down to explain his approach to sustainable tourism.

“Post-covid the whole world has known a shift in their approach when it comes to tourism. And all those discerning travelers want to have different kinds of experiences: something offbeat, something new, something which has not been explored before.”

Through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shukla wants to showcase the deep history Madhya Pradesh has to offer.

“UNESCO is very actively supporting us and three of our sites are already World Heritage Sites. Sanchi is a very famous buddhist spiritual destination, Bhimbetka is a place where prehistoric rock shelters are still preserved, and Khajuraho is home to thousand year old temples with magnificent architecture.”

All in all, Shukla believes that there’s only one way forward for the industry: “Travelers must take sustainable tourism as a paradigm in order to take tourism to the next level.”

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

Also known as the Land of the Beautiful Islands, Malaysia’s landscape and cultural diversity is almost unmatched on the planet. Those qualities were all put on display at the Malaysian stand during the IFTM trade show.

Libra Hanif, director of Tourism Malaysia, explained the appeal of the country as well as the importance of promoting sustainable tourism today: “Sustainable travel is a major trend now, with the changes that are happening post-covid. People want to get close to nature, to get close to people. So Malaysia being a multicultural and diverse [country] with a lot of natural environments, we felt that it’s a good thing for us to promote Malaysia.”

Malaysia has also gained fame in recent years, through its numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Kinabalu Park and the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley.

Green mobility has also become an integral part of tourism in Malaysia, with an increasing number of people using bikes to discover the country: “If you are a little more adventurous, we have the mountain back trails where you can cut across gazetted trails to see the natural attractions and the wildlife that we have in Malaysia,” says Hanif. “If you are not that adventurous, you’ll be looking for relaxing cycling. We also have countryside spots, where you can see all the scenery in a relaxing session.”

With more than 25,000 visitors at this IFTM trade show this year, Malaysia’s tourism board got to showcase the best the country and its people have to offer.

In partnership with Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. For more information about Malaysia, click here.