The race pits Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) against former president John Dramani Mahama of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), with 10 other candidates also running.

Outgoing president Nana Akufo-Addo, first elected in 2016, is completing his second and final term, leaving behind a troubled economy many observers blame on his administration.

Ghana gets ready for key elections as over 18 million voters face economic challenges

IMF review

Economic hardship is the central issue for most voters.

Years of excessive borrowing, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and rising global interest rates, have left Ghana’s public debt soaring from 63 percent of GDP in 2019 to 92.7 percent in 2022.

Inflation peaked above 54 percent, devastating household budgets and forcing businesses to cut back.

Accra-based Global InfoAnalytics has released polls showing that the majority of Ghanaians are struggling with a cost of living crisis, making this a key election issue – alongside jobs, education and infrastructure.

This week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its third review of Ghana’s $3 billion bailout programme, announcing a $360 million disbursement.

Ghana has sought IMF assistance 17 times since gaining independence in 1957.

Two-horse race

Economic woes aside, Ghana has, since its independence, known political alternance, almost no ethnic tension and peaceful elections.

There are 12 candidates competing in this presidential election, with those representing the two major parties leading the race.

Former president and leading opposition candidate Mahama is proposing a “24-hour economy” as a platform for his NDC party.

His supporters told RFI’s correspondent in Accra this is the only way to effectively create jobs. “We need John Mahama, he is a nation builder,” said one. “I don’t have a job, so when the 24-hour economy comes in, there will be jobs and I can benefit from it,” added another.

Ghana thrusts economy into limelight in tight race for president

The NPP and its candidate, Vice-President Bawumia, are banking on the legacy of President Akufo-Addo as their best asset – in particular the free public high schools he set up.

“Bawumia is proposing realistic reforms, especially for our future and education,” one of his supporters told RFI. “Mahama was once president, and he wants to come back? We don’t accept it,” said another.

The result between the two lead candidates is expected to be close, according to Francis Kpatindé, a senior UN official who worked in Ghana for four years.

Kpatindé told RFI that the two men have several things in common, both being in their sixties and both from northern Ghana.

But he believes the advantage could in the end go to former president Mahama, thank to the blame for the current economic crisis being laid at the door of the outgoing government.

(with newswires)

Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi on Thursday for an eighth consecutive night of protests, some carrying signs reading “your repression will finish you”.

The demonstrations follow Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that Georgia would suspend EU membership talks until 2028, despite campaigning on promises of European integration.

His ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party also declared victory in controversial parliamentary elections on 26 October, sparking accusations of authoritarianism.

Kobakhidze has further inflamed tensions by threatening to “eradicate” what he described as the country’s “liberal-fascist” opposition. Authorities have responded to the protests with increasing force.

• Georgian envoy to France resigns over ‘foreign agent’ bill

Mounting anger

The protests have grown in scope, with civil servants, grassroots activists and members of civil society joining in. Observers describe the demonstrations as the most intense and widespread in years.

“We must fight here in the streets. No one knows how long this will take,” opposition MP Elene Khoshtaria, who was injured during the demonstrations, told RFI.

The protests have taken on a new character compared to earlier demonstrations, said Natalie Sabanadze, Georgia’s former ambassador to the EU.

“This is not organised by political parties but by the grassroots,” Sabanadze told Radio Schuman, noting the protests are spreading “beyond bigger cities”.

Many civil servants are signing protest letters or resigning in solidarity, Sabanadze added.

“This new intensity has led to an exceptionally brutal and unusual response from authorities,” she said, arguing that the government appears determined to quash dissent swiftly.

• Georgian president calls for new elections to resolve political crisis

EU membership freeze

Georgia’s relations with the EU have deteriorated since early this year, when legislation requiring foreign-funded organisations to register as “foreign agents” strained ties with Brussels.

This led to sanctions against Georgian officials and the freezing of the country’s EU candidacy status.

The decision to suspend EU membership talks has intensified the unrest.

“We condemn the violence against protesters and regret signals from ruling party not to pursue Georgia’s path to EU and democratic backsliding of the county,” said EU head of external relations Kaja Kallas on social media.

“This will have direct consequences from EU side.”

Democratic test

The next test for Georgia’s democracy comes on 14 December when 300 members of the Electoral College will appoint the country’s president.

Incumbent Salome Zourabichvili, a vocal critic of the government, is stepping down, further raising concerns about the country’s democratic trajectory.

The appointment comes amid claims the governing party is leading Georgia back towards Russia’s sphere of influence.

“Georgia’s main strategic value lies in its democracy, in a region that is not democratic and which is dominated by other powers,” Sabanadze said.

The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc have agreed to terms for a long-anticipated free trade deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Montevideo on Friday.

The EU-Mercosur deal aims to create one of the largest free trade zones in the world, covering over 700 million people and nearly 25 percent of global GDP. 

Much like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, its goal is to reduce tariffs and trade barriers, making it easier for businesses on both sides to export goods.

Mercosur comprises Brazil — the lion’s share of the bloc’s territory, economic output and population — along with Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, the newest member. Venezuela’s membership has been suspended indefinitely.

Mercosur deal in sight as EU chief von der Leyen pushes past French objections

The deal is not the end of the story for the Europeans. France leads a group of member countries who still have objections to the pact, and all 27 member countries must endorse it for the agreement to enter force.

In remarks aimed at her “fellow Europeans,” and perhaps those more skeptical like farmers in France and elsewhere, von der Leyen said it would have a positive impact on around 60,000 companies that export to the Mercosur region.

She said they will “benefit from reduced tariffs, simpler customs procedures and preferential access to some critical raw materials. This will create huge business opportunities.”

“And to our farmers,” she said, “we have heard you listen to your concerns, and we are acting on them. This agreement includes robust safeguards to protect your livelihoods.

The president launched talks with his centrist camp allies including leaders from Renaissance, MoDem, Horizons, Radicaux and UDI, as well as Socialist figures.

While the rightwing Republican party was invited to the Elysée Palace, the far-right National Rally, hard-left France Unbowed, Greens and Communist party representatives were notably absent.

The selective invitations point to Macron’s strategy to create new alliances while potentially splitting the left-wing New Popular Front coalition.

Macron “has forged his own Republican [rainbow coalition] but doesn’t have many arrows for his bow,” quipped Ecologist national secretary Marine Tondelier on RMC radio.

Meanwhile, Socialist leader Olivier Faure asserted: “We will go to the Elysée because we have asked to. Those who think that the Socialist Party is for sale are mistaken.”

The chief whip of France Unbowed, Manuel Bompard, dismissed the idea of negotiating a coalition with Macron’s camp, declaring that “Socialists will do what they want” viewing any negotiations as a departure from their commitments to the electorate.

The collapse of Barnier’s government after a no-confidence vote has left Macron scrambling to stabilise his presidency. During a televised address on Thursday, he pledged to appoint a new prime minister “within days” and form a streamlined cabinet.

The announcement, however, is not expected until after the weekend.

Macron will be presiding over the grand reopening of Notre-Dame on Saturday, where numerous world leaders – including US president-elect Donald Trump – are expected to attend.

• Macron rules out quitting, vows new PM after French government collapse

Budget a top priority

The new government’s immediate challenge will be resolving the impasse over the contentious 2025 budget, which was a key factor in Barnier’s downfall.

Macron said the new administration would prioritise passing temporary legislation to ensure the continuity of public services.

“This temporary law will extend for 2025 the choices made in 2024,” Macron said, adding that it would “ensure the functioning of essential services, protect French citizens and maintain obligations to the European Union”.

The special law, to be presented to parliament before mid-December, will allow the government to maintain tax revenues and fund critical sectors such as defence, justice and education.

However, it may raise political tensions, with 380,000 additional households potentially becoming taxable due to inflation and the freeze on income tax thresholds.

Meanwhile speculation is mounting about who will replace Barnier.

Centrist MoDem leader François Bayrou has emerged as a frontrunner after dining with Macron on Thursday. Other names being floated include former Socialist premier Bernard Cazeneuve, Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and centre-right politicians Xavier Bertrand and François Baroin.

• France faces deadline to ward off financial turmoil as PM resigns

Opposition’s ‘irresponsibility’

During Thursday’s televised address, which garnered over 17 million viewers across France, Macron slammed the “irresponsibility” of what he termed an “anti-republican front where the far right and the far left united” against Barnier.

Leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, has reportedly requested a meeting with the future prime minister to discuss “red lines” for each political force represented in parliament – emphasising that “these are always the same” for his far-right party.

In turn, France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the president of being “the cause of the problem”, predicting that Macron would “leave by force of events”.

Acknowledging criticism of his decision to dissolve parliament and call snap elections earlier this year, Macron admitted: “Many blamed me for it, and I know that many continue to blame me.”

However, he doubled-down on his intention to complete his mandate “until the end”, in 2027.

The second round had been scheduled for Sunday and voting has already begun in polling stations abroad. It would have pitted Calin Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian candidate, against pro-European Union centrist leader Elena Lasconi.

Having polled in single digits before the first presidential election round on 24 November, Georgescu – who wants to end Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia‘s invasion – surged to a first-place finish that raised questions over how such a surprise had been possible.

A Georgescu win would have upended the EU and NATO member state’s pro-Western politics, pushing it closer to a belt of states in central and eastern Europe with powerful populist, Russia-friendly politicians, including Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.

However, Friday’s ruling plunged the country into institutional chaos as current President Klaus Iohannis’s term ends on 21 December and it was unclear who would be head of state after this date.

Analysts said the ruling may erode institutions, trigger street protests and ultimately still endanger the nation’s pro-Western course.

Far-right candidate tops first-round of Romania’s presidential poll

Full re-run

Documents declassified by Romania‘s top security council on Wednesday said the country was a target of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during the election period.

“The electoral process to elect Romania’s president will be fully re-run, and the government will set a new date and … calendar for the necessary steps,” the court said in a statement.

It added the ruling was made “seeking to ensure the fairness and legality of the electoral process”. A detailed explanation of its ruling will be released at a later date. The court had validated the first presidential round on Monday.

Lasconi condemned the ruling. “The constitutional court’s decision is illegal, amoral and crushes the very essence of democracy, voting,” she said.

However, Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu supported the move, calling it “the only correct solution”.

The 8 December run-off vote would have been the third consecutive ballot after the first presidential round and a Dec. 1 parliamentary election in which far-right parties gained a third of seats, though the ruling Social Democrats emerged as the largest grouping and hope to cobble together a pro-EU coalition government.

The parliamentary vote was unaffected by Friday’s court ruling.

George Simion, the leader of the opposition hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR) called the court ruling a “coup d’etat”, adding “nine politically appointed judges, scared that a candidate outside the system had all chances to become Romania’s president, decided to annul Romanians’ will”.

Romanians vote in presidential election focused on high living costs, Ukraine war

Declassified documents

In one of the declassified documents, Romania’s intelligence agency said Georgescu was massively promoted on social media platform TikTok through coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms and paid promotion. Georgescu has declared zero funds spent in the campaign.

The intelligence service also said access data for official Romanian election websites was published on Russian cyber crime platforms. The access data was probably procured by targeting legitimate users or by exploiting the legitimate training server, the agency said.

It added that it had identified more than 85,000 cyber attacks that aimed to exploit system vulnerabilities.

Russia has denied any interference in Romania’s election campaigns. TikTok denies giving Georgescu special treatment, saying his account was labelled as a political account and treated like any other.

“It is extremely likely that the court will not allow Calin Georgescu to run again,” said Sergiu Miscoiu, a political science professor at Babes-Bolyai University.

Earlier this year, the court banned ultra-nationalist party leader and European Parliament member Diana Sosoaca from running for president in a move that analysts said overstepped court powers.

“There will be street protests, people will become radicalised and depending on which candidate from the radical right remains in the race, people will rally around him,” said Miscoiu.

Romania’s hard-currency bonds rose following the ruling.

Dollar-denominated issued enjoyed the biggest gains, with the 2048 bond rising 0.7 cents to be bid at 81.15 cents in the dollar, its strongest level since mid-November, Tradeweb data showed.

The three-year study by Public Health France was carried out in Lille, Rouen and Montpellier.

It used local and national data from 2015 to 2019, but did not take into account the years of the Covid-19 pandemic, which were considered “atypical”.

The negative impact of city life on health – with factors including exposure to heat, air pollution and noise – is well documented, but less is known about the benefits of increasing green spaces and active modes of transport.

The report, published on Thursday, highlights that city planning policies are paramount to providing health benefits for citizens.

Mélina Le Barbier, deputy director of the Health, Environment and Work department of the public health agency, said that urban greening “can save many lives”.

Researchers found that “between 80 and 300 deaths per year” could be avoided thanks to “an increase in vegetation in cities depending on the location”.

In terms of air pollution, the agency estimated that reaching the levels ​​recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for fine particles could prevent between 300 and 1,000 deaths per year.

Ozone pollution linked to increased risk of serious heart disease

Noise pollution

As for active transport, 3.4 percent of deaths could be prevented if “each resident increased their walking time by 10 minutes per day”, the report showed.

The benefits linked to cycling are even “greater than the benefits linked to walking”, according to Mathilde Pascal, who leads scientific projects at the Work Environment Health Directorate at Public Health France.

“If each resident aged 30 and over cycled 10 minutes more every day of the week, between 200 to 600 lives could be saved.”

Another finding from the study is the benefits of reducing noise pollution.

By respecting the noise levels recommended by the WHO, quality of sleep would significantly improve for several thousand people per year and avoid 20 to 90 hospitalisations annually for cardiovascular disease.

Paris and its suburbs exposed to excessive air-noise pollution, research shows

The public health body hopes to help guide policymaking by local authorities in the future, and make the decision-making process more democratic.

In the three cities that participated in the study, “action plans are under way or already voted on to modify town planning and increase green spaces or mobility, and these results illustrate the interest in this process,” Le Barbier said.

Overall, any action big or small in the fight against climate change and the preservation of biodiversity, can contribute to making everyone’s lives better, the agency said.

In conclusion, the study stressed the importance of designing future urban spaces with health benefits in mind, as well as better using quantitative assessment to measure the positive impact of key factors such as green spaces and alternative modes of transport.

(with newswires)

EU moves to ban smoking and vaping in outdoor spaces

Among those freed were former ministers and political leaders arrested in June for “plotting against the legal authorities” and holding an illegal meeting in Bamako.

Their release, announced on Thursday, comes without travel restrictions or judicial supervision, said one of those freed, who spoke to French news agency AFP on condition of anonymity.

A judicial source confirmed the court’s decision – which is seen as significant given the junta’s increasingly hardline stance on dissent.

Malian junta suspends TV5 Monde, citing ‘lack of balance’ in reporting

‘Illegal’ gathering

The opposition figures were detained during a meeting at one of their homes in the Malian capital, in defiance of a ban on political gatherings.

This followed a declaration they had signed in March, which criticised the military for failing to meet its deadline to transfer power to civilian authorities.

The document denounced what it called the “legal and institutional vacuum” caused by the junta’s delay in holding elections and called for a presidential vote “as soon as possible”.

The military, which came to power through coups in 2020 and 2021, introduced the ban on political activity in April 2023. It lifted this restriction in July, a month after the arrests.

Malian junta sacks civilian PM and his government

Election uncertainty

Mali has been grappling with a prolonged political, economic and security crisis, compounded by jihadist violence ongoing since 2012.

In June 2022, the junta promised to cede power to a civilian government by March 2024, following presidential elections set for February. However, it later postponed the elections indefinitely without providing a new timeline.

Critics of the military’s grip on power say the continued delays undermine Mali’s democratic transition.

After two days of delays, the Vega-C rocket – crucial to Europe’s autonomy in reaching space – took off on Thursday without problems, carrying the Sentinel-1C satellite for the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation programme.

The satellite, which provides data and services for observing the planet in order to understand climate change impacts, was put into orbit at an altitude of around 700 kilometres, 1 hour and 43 minutes after lift-off, to thunderous applause from the Jupiter control centre.

“With the insertion of Sentinel-1C into orbit, ESA continues a legacy of steadfast Sentinels protecting the Earth and exemplifies why Europe needs secured flights: because what we send to space provides benefits to Earth, and it all starts with a launch,” Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, said in a statement.

The ESA added that the satellite will deliver “high-resolution radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment”, and offers “new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic”.

It is the first launch for the lightweight rocket since December 2022, when it failed to reach orbit in its maiden commercial flight and lost two satellites, delivering a fresh blow to a continent already struggling to blast its missions into space.

The rocket was grounded for two years while the nozzle of the Zefiro 40 rocket motor – which caused the failure – was redesigned.

• Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket set for inaugural launch from French Guiana

Flight delays

Vega-C’s return flight was initially scheduled for Tuesday from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

That launch was postponed by one day to allow for “additional checks on electrical connections in the upper stage” of the rocket, said the ESA’s space transportation director, Toni Tolker-Nielsen.

But hours before the launch, it was delayed another 24 hours.

This time it was “due to a mechanical problem preventing the removal of the Vega-C mobile gantry,” French space agency CNES said. A gantry is a movable frame that supports the rocket on the launch pad.

In its latest try, the Vega-C took off as scheduled at 6:20 pm local time.

Earlier on Thursday, the ESA’s Proba-3 mission to probe the Sun’s outer atmosphere successfully launched on an Indian rocket.

• Ariane 6 rocket debuts successfully restoring Europe’s space independence

Europe’s troubled space programme

Europe has struggled to find a way to independently launch missions since Russia withdrew its rockets in 2022 over the war in Ukraine.

Four years of delays to Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket compounded the issue, forcing the continent to turn to rivals such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

However, the heavy-lift Ariane 6 had a successful first flight in July, offering some relief to European space efforts.

The lighter Vega-C was designed to send small satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Its predecessor Vega had its last launch in September, placing more importance on Vega-C returning to active duty.

Four launches using Vega-C rockets are planned for next year, followed by five more in 2026.

The commission, chaired by Chad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abderaman Koulamallah, will be tasked with “officially notifying the French authorities of the denunciation of the military cooperation agreement … through diplomatic channels,” according to a decree signed by the country’s Prime Minister Allamaye Halina. 

The commission’s initial responsibility will be to officially notify the French authorities of the termination of the military agreement, including the convention that governs the presence of French troops on Chadian soil.

Following this, the body will draw up a plan for the cessation of obligations under the agreement; address the legal, security and logistical aspects of the termination, and coordinate with France for an orderly withdrawal of troops stationed at three bases, along with their equipment.

Although no final date for withdrawal has been set, the agreement states that the deadline for termination is six months from notification. 

Among the commission’s 21 members are several ministers, including those responsible for the armed forces and territorial administration, as well as other key officials from the presidency and the prime minister’s office. It also includes the head of Chad’s intelligence services.

• France caught off guard as Chad cuts military ties with Paris

Shock announcement

Chad announced its decision to terminate the security and defence agreements that have linked it with France since the end of the colonial era on 28 November – mere hours after a visit by France’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot.

The declaration caught Paris off guard, but Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Déby was quick to emphasise that the decision “in no way constitutes a rejection of international cooperation or a calling into question of our diplomatic relations with France,” adding that it was not a question of “replacing one power with another”.

Chad – the last country in the Sahel to host French forces – is currently home to around 1,000 French troops at bases in Ndjamena, Abéché, and Faya-Largeau.

• France to reduce military presence in West and Central Africa

Collapse of French influence

Still in political transition since the coup that brought General Déby to power in 2020, and a disputed presidential election last April, Chad is also currently under attack from the jihadist group Boko Haram in the north-west. The country has also received an influx of refugees from neighbouring Sudan, and is mopping up the damage caused by an unprecedented rainy season that has displaced more than 2 million people.

The end of military cooperation with France comes after the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. 

Meanwhile, Senegal’s new president Bassirou Diomaye Fayé has shared his desire to close French bases in his country.

On Wednesday, Koulamallah was in Bangui to inform the Central African Republic authorities of the postponement of Déby’s planned visit, which had been scheduled for today and tomorrow. The reason for this postponement were not specified, but several sources indicated to RFI it was related to the implications of Déby’s decision to end military cooperation with France. 

Tbilisi has been rocked by turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party, which critics accuse of creeping authoritarianism and of leading the country back into Russia‘s orbit, claimed victory in a disputed election in October.

The government said last Thursday that it would suspend EU membership talks until 2028, sparking uproar and a fresh wave of demonstrations that have been met with a heavy-handed response from authorities.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down in the face of international condemnation, instead escalating a feud with pro-EU opposition groups that are demanding a rerun of the elections.

“We will do everything necessary to completely eradicate liberal fascism in Georgia,” he told reporters Thursday.

“This process has already begun. These recent developments mark the start of the end of liberal fascism in Georgia,” he said, using language reminiscent of that used by the Kremlin in Russia to target its political opponents.

He also called on “parents to protect their children from the influence of liberal fascist hubs” – a reference to the young protestors that have taken to the streets of Tbilisi in nightly rallies.

The comments come a day after masked police officers raided several opposition party headquarters and arrested opposition leaders.

Georgia arrests 107 more people as pro-EU demonstrations continue

‘Unjustified violence’

Around 300 people have been detained and dozens injured, including protestors and police, in clashes outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi over the last week.

Several demonstrators, including journalists, have needed hospital treatment after being detained and, they allege, beaten by the security forces.

Rights ombudsman Levan Ioseliani has accused the police of using “torture” against those detained at rallies.

On Wednesday, Georgian police arrested seven people for “organising and leading group violence” and seized crates of fireworks, which have been launched by protestors at riot police.

Opposition leader Nika Gvaramia of the Akhali party was beaten and detained during a police raid, with television footage showing him, apparently unconscious, being carried away by masked security forces.

The United States is among those that have denounced Georgia’s forceful crackdown, threatening additional sanctions against the country’s leaders.

“The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, and opposition figures,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Kobakhidze on Thursday rejected Blinken’s statements and said Tbilisi was hoping for better relations with Washington after Donald Trump comes to power in January.

France joins calls for inquiry into alleged irregularities in Georgia election

Russian turn

Critics of the government are enraged by what they call its betrayal of Georgia’s bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in its constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.

Several ambassadors and a deputy foreign minister resigned over the decision to suspend EU accession talks for four years.

Galvanising the protest movement, a senior interior ministry official tasked with responding to the protests also quit on Wednesday, posting his resignation letter on social media accompanied by Georgian and European flag emojis.

The protests have drawn comparisons with the 2014 pro-EU revolution in Ukraine that ousted a Moscow-backed president, and come amid criticism of the Georgian Dream party for allegedly moving closer to the Kremlin.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday sanctioned Kobakhidze and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, for “handing Georgia over to Putin”, he said in video message.

Since 2022, Georgia has advanced legislation targeting civil society and independent media outlets as well as curbing LGBTQ+ rights, measures critics say are based on repressive Russian laws.

Infected people suffer from flu-like symptoms including a high fever and severe headaches, authorities said, with women and children the most severely affected. 

The outbreak, which began in November, has primarily affected the Panzi health zone, a rural area near Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) border with Angola.  

Local authorities say a cough and anaemia have also been reported among patients. “This is extremely worrying as the number of cases is increasing,” said Cephorien Manzanza, a local civil society leader. 

Lack of medical resources 

Rémy Saki, the deputy governor of Kwango province, and the country’s Provincial Health Minister Apollinaire Yumba said many of the deaths had occurred in patients’ homes due to limited access to medical treatment. 

“Panzi is a rural health zone, so there is a problem with the supply of medicines,” Manzanza added. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed it had been alerted to the situation last week and is working with the DRC’s public health ministry to investigate. 

Bringing the overlooked impact of DR Congo’s displacement crisis into focus

A medical team has been sent to Panzi to collect samples and analyse the disease, with epidemiological experts expected to assist in identifying its cause. Health authorities are yet to release test results from the outbreak to rule out other common diseases. 

Health Minister Yumba has advised people not to touch the bodies of those who died from the disease to avoid contamination. Meanwhile, Saki has urged international partners to send medical supplies to the region, where infrastructure challenges are exacerbating the crisis. 

The outbreak comes as the DRC continues to battle an mpox epidemic, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths reported, according to the WHO. 

Gavi secures 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine for Africa amid outbreak

A few days before General Charles de Gaulle was due to make his triumphant entry into Paris, the three French war correspondents lined up to cover the event were captured. A young French-British journalist was chosen, in extremis, to replace them. Her name was Marcelle Poirier but despite being de Gaulle’s official reporter and AFP’s first female war correspondent, she and her work somehow fell into oblivion. When AFP journalist and photo editor Laurent Kalfala stumbled on a photo of her in military uniform, he embarked on a long paper-trail to dig up her fascinating story. His documentary reveals a feminist with a flair for strong human stories, and who mysteriously waited 40 years to tell her own. (Listen @1’50”)

Warmer summers in France’s wine-growing regions have pushed up the sugar content in grapes, which is leading to more alcoholic wine. Wines that used to be 11 or 12% alcohol even a decade ago are now pushing 15% today, and customers are taking notice. Winemakers and visitors to a recent wine fair talk about the tension between the impacts of global warming on wine and a trend towards drinking less alcohol. (Listen @21’30”)

As Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral reopens to the public, five years after the 2019 fire that destroyed much of its wooden and metal roof and toppled the spire, Ollia Horton meets local residents and business owners who are looking forward to things going back to normal. (Listen @14’15”) 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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

The junta, which took power in a coup in July last year, has vowed to revamp regulation of the mining of raw materials by foreign companies. 

In June, authorities withdrew Orano’s permit to exploit one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, Imouraren – which holds an estimated 200,000 tonnes of the mineral. Niger is the world’s seventh-largest uranium producer.

By late October, the French group had suspended production by its local unit Somair, in the northern Arlit region, due to what it termed increasingly difficult operating conditions and financial issues.

The company has also criticised the impossibility of exporting uranium, since Niger closed its border with Benin for what Niamey says are security reasons. 

Orano holds a 63.4 percent stake in Somair, while the Nigerien state owns 36.6 percent.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the French group said: “For several months, Orano has been warning of the interference that the group has been suffering in the governance of Somair. The decisions taken at the company’s board meetings are no longer being applied and, as a result, Orano is today confirming that the Nigerien authorities have taken operational control.”

This latest clash between the junta and Orano – majority owned by the French state – comes as Niger downgrades links with its former colonial power France, and strengthens ties with Russia and Iran.

Last month, Nigérien Mining Minister Ousmane Abarchi invited Russian firms to invest in uranium and other natural resource production in the country.

Niger embraces Russia for uranium production leaving France out in the cold

‘Heavy burden on employees’

Orano said Somair’s board had decided on 12 November to suspend expenses related to production activities “in order to prioritise the payment of salaries and preserve the integrity of the industrial facilities”.

But days later, a delegation of the regime’s advisers visited the Somair mines in Arlit to encourage work there to continue – a move that prompted Orano to declare enforcement of the board’s decision “is being deliberately prevented”.

“The production expenses which continue to be incurred on the site are worsening the company’s financial situation with every passing day,” its statement said.

It added that “representatives of Niger” defended their position at a board meeting on Tuesday, “in particular confirming their refusal to export the production”.

French nuclear giant slips into the red following Niger-French breakup

A total of 1,150 tonnes of uranium concentrate from 2023 and 2024 stocks – the equivalent of almost half of annual production in Arlit – are being blocked, according to Orano – stocks worth around €200 million.

“Orano expresses its deepest regret regarding the evolving situation which is placing a heavy burden on the employees and local communities,” the company said. “Orano intends to defend its rights before the competent bodies, and reaffirms its belief that only a united effort by all stakeholders to re-establish a stable and sustainable mode of operation can allow Somair to resume activities in peace.”

The more than five-year reconstruction of Notre-Dame cathedral has featured some near-miraculous recoveries, as well as several controversies.

Ahead of the official reopening of the cathedral on Saturday, here are some of the key moments:

The saviours

Paris firefighters won universal praise for their swift and decisive action on the evening of April 15, 2019, with officers later saying they thought they were only 30 minutes away from seeing the structure collapse.

Battling smoke and the risk of falling debris, they formed a human chain with church officials to evacuate the most precious artifacts and religious treasures, helping preserve most of the cathedral’s irreplaceable contents.

Others saw divine intervention in how a copper statue of a rooster that had sat atop the building’s incinerated 19th-century spire was found afterwards intact amid the scorched rubble.

Its contents – three relics, including a small piece of the Crown of Thorns supposedly worn by Jesus before his crucifixion – also survived, with the battered rooster now on display in a Paris museum.

Inside the cathedral, images the day after the blaze revealed that a giant gold cross on the altar was still standing amid the still smouldering wreckage, a symbol of hope and defiance for many on a dark day for Christians and the country at large.

Trump to join Macron and world leaders at reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral

Contested design contest

French President Emmanuel Macron called the fire “an opportunity to come together” but any sense of national unity after the disaster quickly broke down.

His suggestion that an “element of modern architecture” be included in the rebuild drew immediate criticism from conservatives who demanded that the reconstruction be faithful to the last major update by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc in 1844.

The army general put in charge of the rebuild publicly fell out with the lead architect over the redesign, while entries for an architectural competition to select a new spire resulted in lurid headlines.

One suggestion shown by First Lady Brigitte Macron to then-culture minister Roselyne Bachelot resembled a “phallus with its base surrounded with golden balls,” Bachelot wrote in a book.

In the end, a replica of the old spire was built.

Six new stained glass windows are set to be installed featuring work by contemporary artists – a modest nod to modernity and Macron’s original vision.

France mulls charging tourists to enter Notre-Dame cathedral

Lead role

Notre-Dame’s roof and spire were covered by around 400 tonnes of lead, a toxic heavy metal that melted and vaporised with the heat of the fire, with some of it thought to have polluted the surrounding area.

Authorities cleaned nearby schools and advised local residents to wipe surfaces in their homes because of the risk of poisoning.

A health charity joined forces with a union and parents of local schoolchildren to lodge a criminal complaint in 2022 that accused authorities of failing to take every precaution to prevent pollution.

Charges are possible if authorities or contractors are found to have been negligent in protecting the health of residents or workers sent in to decontaminate the site, with an investigating magistrate overseeing a probe.

Paris unveils green ambitions for Notre-Dame Cathedral

Cause unknown

The chief Paris prosecutor at the time of the fire, Remy Heitz, said shortly after the inferno that he believed that an accident such as an electrical fault or a cigarette butt was the most likely cause.

Some of the workers renovating the roof at the time of the fire were known to have smoked on site, but investigators have never been able to pinpoint the exact starting point.

Speculation about an arson attack has been investigated during five years of forensic analysis, but no evidence was found.

The current chief Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in April that “the closer we have got to the spot the fire started, and the more results of analyses come back, the more weight is lent to the theory of an accident.”

Fee row

Culture Minister Rachida Dati has proposed that visitors to the restored cathedral pay a five-euro ($5.25) entry ticket, with the funds set to be routed to some 4,000 churches in need of repairs around France.

Charging for entry – entering Notre-Dame was previously free – would bring the tourist attraction into line with St Paul’s cathedral in London or Milan‘s Duomo.

But senior French church leaders have criticised the idea, with a senior bishop saying churches and cathedrals had “always been places open to all” and making money from visitors would be a “betrayal of their original vocation”.

The French state owns Notre-Dame and has the final say.

Artisans have been making the soap in the city for some 3,000 years, brewing olive and laurel oil in large pots and allowing the mixture to cool before cutting it into blocks, and stamping them by hand.

Makers craft the product using “traditional knowledge and skills”, said Unesco, adding that they rely on a mix of natural, locally produced ingredients and a drying process that can take up to nine months.

Aleppo soap on Tuesday joined the city’s traditional music, Al-Qudoud al-Halabiya, on Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

Aleppo itself, which was declared a world heritage site in 1986, was added to the organisation’s List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013, due to the damage wreaked by armed conflict.

Aleppo soap finds refuge in France

Of the 100 soap factories that stood in the city, only around 10 remain. Many have relocated to Damascus or neighbouring Turkey.

But the soap remains essential to the families and communities involved in the trade. “The collaborative production process promotes community and family unity,” said Unesco.

(with AFP)

UNESCO petitioned to save Lebanon’s heritage sites from Israeli strikes

Speaking on Tuesday from Cape Town, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the presidency of the G20 is a “great moment for our continent” as well as for developing countries known collectively as the Global South,

“We will use this moment to bring development priorities of the African continent and more broadly, the Global South, more firmly onto the agenda of the G20,” he added.

South Africa took over the rotating presidency of the grouping of the world’s largest economies on 1 December and will host its summit in November 2025 before handing over to the United States.

• G20 backs climate finance deal but faces fossil fuel backlash

Ramaphosa has said he wants the presidency “to have African flavour in substance, in issues that will be tackled, development issues” and to put forward the continent’s perspectives.

The G20’s members – 19 sovereign nations and two regional groupings, the African Union and European Union – account for 85 percent of global GDP and three-quarters of global trade.

Until the AU was admitted in 2023, South Africa was the “lone African voice for the longest time”, Ramaphosa said.

‘Neglected continent’

More African countries, notably Nigeria – the continent’s other big economic powerhouse alongside South Africa – need to be included “so that we can raise the voice from Africa, the neglected continent”.

“We have a voice, we have a presence, and we are going to be the biggest growth story in years to come. And our population is going to grow by leaps and bounds. 

“And therefore, as a continent, we are going to be a big noise. And we want that big noise to be recognised in the form of countries that will become part of the G20 right now,” Ramaphosa said.

South Africa’s priorities for its presidency are to strengthen disaster resilience in the face of climate change, mobilise finance for the move towards greener energy and tackle unsustainable levels of debt hobbling low-income countries, many of them African.

• Five takeaways from the G20 summit in Rio

“We will use this G20 to champion the use of critical minerals as an engine of growth and for the development of our continent, as our continent is rich and richly endowed with these critical minerals,” he said.

Special task forces will focus on inclusive growth to reduce inequality, food security and sustainable development.

South Africa’s is the last in a series of G20 presidencies led by a developing country, with the United States under incoming president Donald Trump the next in line.

Asked if he was concerned about handing over to Trump’s government, Ramaphosa said: “I think there will be sufficient shock absorbers that will be put in place to enable the G20 to continue to function in a way that will advance the interests of the world”.

The aid package, which will be split across 31 nations dealing with historic drought conditions linked to El Nino, was unveiled during Biden’s landmark trip as the first US president to visit Angola. 

“The United States is all in on Africa,” Biden said as he reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the continent following a meeting with Angolan President Joao Lourenço at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. 

Both leaders highlighted strengthening ties between their nations despite past Cold War tensions. 

“Our conflictual past … is now over. This is also a turning point in our relations, which without a shadow of doubt, will experience new dynamics from today,” Lourenço told reporters. 

During a speech at Luanda’s National Slavery Museum, Biden described the transatlantic slave trade as “the original sin” that has “haunted” his country. 

Angola was a major source of enslaved people transported to the Americas in the 19th century. 

Biden visits Angola to keep railway project and American interests on track

Transporting minerals

Wednesday’s meeting saw Biden joined by Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema to discuss plans for transforming the transport of critical minerals across the region. 

The 1,300-kilometre rail line, funded partly by the US, is expected to slash transport times for minerals like cobalt and copper across central Africa to the coast from 40 days by road to just 40 hours by rail. 

The railway is a key component of Biden’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment initiative, designed to boost trade and job creation in Africa while strengthening ties between the US and the region.  

“This corridor is of vital importance to opening up our countries, to opening up our regions, the continent, and truly the global economy,” Hichilema said.

“This project is a huge opportunity for investment, for trade.”

Eastern DR Congo grapples with Chinese gold mining firms

Countering China

However as Biden prepares to leave office in January, questions remain about the long-term support for initiatives like the Lobito Corridor. 

His visit comes as Washington seeks to counter China‘s growing influence in Africa.  

Hours before Biden’s museum speech, Beijing announced export restrictions on several high-tech materials to the United States, including minerals used in electric vehicle batteries. 

“We’ve also pushed to ensure that developing nations do not have to choose between paying down unsustainable debt and being able to invest in their own people,” Biden said in an apparent reference to Chinese lending practices. 

The Paris court on Wednesday confirmed the ruling of a lower court in May, which found 91-year-old Polanski not guilty of defaming Lewis, 57, who alleges he raped her in Paris in 1983.

The verdict handed down in May – which Lewis appealed – related strictly to the charge of defamation, and not to Lewis’s accusation of rape against Polanski.

The appeals court also decided that Polanski had not committed a breach of civil duty and therefore did not owe Lewis any damages.

Polanski did not attend any of the hearings.

Lewis’s lawyer Benjamin Chouai described the ruling as “very questionable“. He added: “It gives Roman Polanski a sort of licence to kill via the media. He is being allowed to defame, discredit, tarnish. He will likely continue to do this against Charlotte Lewis, but also the other women.”

‘Freedom of expression’

Meanwhile Polanski’s lawyer, Delphine Meillet, said the final acquittal was “very satisfying”. “It’s a great day for freedom of expression as it has again been confirmed that that when you are accused in the press you can defend yourself in the press,” she said.

In March, Lewis said she became the victim of a “smear campaign” that “nearly destroyed” her life after she spoke up about the alleged assault.

• French court clears director Roman Polanski of defamation against Charlotte Lewis

Defamation charge

In 2010, Lewis accused Polanski of abusing her “in the worst possible way” as a 16-year-old in 1983 in Paris, after she travelled there for a casting session.

Polanski retorted that this was a “heinous lie” in a 2019 conversation with Paris Match magazine.

According to the magazine, he pulled out a copy of a 1999 article from the British tabloid newspaper News of the World, and quoted Lewis as saying in it: “I wanted to be his lover.”

Lewis maintains that the quotes attributed to her in that interview were not accurate.

She filed a complaint for defamation, and the film director was automatically charged under French law.

• Polanski avoids trial over 1973 assault allegation after reaching settlement, lawyer confirms

US lawsuit

Polanski is wanted in the United States over the rape of a 13-year-old in 1977.

The case went to trial, but he fled to Europe in 1978 before a verdict was pronounced. Switzerland, France and Poland have refused to extradite Polanski to the United States.

He also faces several other accusations of sexual assault dating back decades and past the statute of limitations. 

Between 2017 and 2019, four other women came forward with claims that Polanski also abused them in the 1970s – three of them as minors. Polanski has denied all the allegations.

He will, however, face a civil trial over the alleged 1973 rape of a minor in Los Angeles in August next year.

The civil suit was filed in June 2023, just before the expiration of a California law that allowed for an extended window for claims against the alleged perpetrators of sexual crimes.

The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands has become increasingly popular for migrants fleeing poverty and conflict in West Africa, despite its dangers.

Many arrive on overcrowded, makeshift boats without enough drinking water. Authorities report 610 boats have reached the islands so far this year, compared to 530 in 2023.

Dangerous crossing

The Atlantic crossing is one of the deadliest migration routes to Europe due to strong currents and rough weather. The International Organization for Migration estimates nearly 5,000 people have died attempting the journey since 2014.

Mali, Senegal, and Morocco are the main countries of origin for those arriving in the Canary Islands, the European Union‘s border agency Frontex said.

Personal stories paint rich portrait of France’s immigration through time

The regional government of the Canaries says it is struggling to manage the surge. The islands, home to 2.2 million people, are often a first stop for migrants before they are transferred to mainland Spain.

The Spanish government has stepped up efforts to address the crisis. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez toured West African nations earlier this year, securing agreements to reduce departures from Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia.

Spain has also urged Frontex to restart its air and sea patrols in the region, which ended in 2018.

Workforce visas

In addition to border control measures, Spain is offering visas to up to 900,000 undocumented migrants already in the country. The programme, which will grant 300,000 visas annually over three years, aims to integrate migrants into the workforce.

“Spain has to choose between being an open and prosperous country or being a closed and poor country,” said Migration Minister Elma Saiz.

The Canary Islands are part of a broader trend, as Spain remains one of Europe’s main entry points for migrants, alongside Italy and Greece. A total of 56,976 migrants have entered Spain without documentation so far in 2024, exceeding last year’s figure of 56,852.

Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took just over 57 percent of ballots followed by the candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) with 25.5 percent, the election authority announced.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, becomes the first woman to rule the mineral-rich southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

The November 27 election was a test of Swapo’s 34-year grip on power, with the IPC attracting some support from younger generations more concerned by unemployment and inequality than loyalty to liberation-era parties.

Voting was extended to 30 November after logistical and technical problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, led to long queues. Some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.

The IPC said this was a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and it would not accept the results.

Its presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, 67, said last week there were a “multitude of irregularities”.

Namibia’s ruling party on edge as country holds presidential polls

The “IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election”, he said on Saturday, the last day of the extended vote. The party would “fight… to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process”, he said.

In reaction to Tuesday’s announcement of the Swapo victory, IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge said the party maintained this position.

Itula last week called on his party’s supporters to be calm but also “stand firm to ensure that we shall not be robbed neither denied our democratic right to choose our leaders.”

An organisation of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors also said the delays at the ballot box were intentional and widespread.

Failures

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) admitted to failures in the organisation of the vote, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.

Of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the sparsely populated country, nearly 77 percent had cast ballots in the presidential vote, it said Tuesday.

“Fellow Namibians, elections are competitive by nature, but democracy calls upon us to unite once the votes have been counted. I urge all Namibians to embrace the results with the spirit of unity, diversity, understanding and reconciliation,” said ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua after announcing the results.

Swapo also had a clean sweep of the concurrent national assembly election, taking 51 seats compared to 20 for the IPC. Swapo’s tally was down from its 63 seats in the previous assembly.

Namibia’s high court strikes down laws criminalising gay sex

The election was seen as a key test for Swapo after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favour with young voters including with the Botswana Democratic Party being ousted from power of that country last month after almost six decades.

Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but analysts say not many of its nearly three million people have benefited from that wealth in terms of improved infrastructure and job opportunities.

Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 percent, according to the latest official figures from 2018, which is almost triple the national average.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, a Swapo stalwart known by her initials NNN, will be among the few women leaders on the continent.

The conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor, she became vice president in February this year.

Recognisable by her gold-framed glasses, she has tried to vaunt the wisdom of her years during the campaign where she was often wearing blue, red and green, the colours of her party and of the national flag.

Among her election promises, NNN said she intends to “create jobs by attracting investments using economic diplomacy.”

Detectives from a joint investigation team have been reading messages sent on the Matrix chat service since September.

They closed it down during an operation involving Lithuanian and Spanish police.

“The founders were convinced that the service was superior and more secure than previous applications used by criminals,” said a statement from the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust).

Matrix breakthrough

The breakthrough, three years after police cracked the Encrochat and SkyECC networks, enabled them to read millions of messages between suspected criminals.

“The infrastructure of the Matrix platform was technically more complex than previous platforms,” Eurojust said.

Using more than 40 servers in several countries, the most important MATRIX servers were tracked down in France and Germany.

“It is not the first time and will not be the last time that authorities are able to read criminals’ messages in real time,” Eurojust said.

Journalist murdered

Dutch media reported that new encryption tool was discovered following the murder in July 2021 of Peter R. de Vries who was the country’s best-known crime reporter.

Police found the software on a Google Pixel phone in the getaway car of the man who shot him, the NOS public broadcaster said.

During an investigation into the messaging service, police discovered users were only able to join via invitation. They eventually intercepted and deciphered more than 2.3 million messages in 33 languages linked to crimes such as international drug trafficking, arms trafficking and money laundering.

In 2016, Michael Rogers, the director of America’s National Security Agency warned of the dangers of encryption after it emerged that the men behind the November 2015 massacre on the streets of Paris had been using the system which prevented intelligence officials from picking up the trail.

“As a result, we did not generate the insights ahead of time,” he told Yahoo News. “Clearly, had we known, Paris would not have happened.”

(With newswires)

A few days before General Charles de Gaulle was due to make his triumphant entry into Paris, the three French war correspondents lined up to cover the event were captured. A young French-British journalist was chosen, in extremis, to replace them. Her name was Marcelle Poirier but despite being de Gaulle’s official reporter and AFP’s first female war correspondent, she and her work somehow fell into oblivion. When AFP journalist and photo editor Laurent Kalfala stumbled on a photo of her in military uniform, he embarked on a long paper-trail to dig up her fascinating story. His documentary reveals a feminist with a flair for strong human stories, and who mysteriously waited 40 years to tell her own. (Listen @1’50”)

Warmer summers in France’s wine-growing regions have pushed up the sugar content in grapes, which is leading to more alcoholic wine. Wines that used to be 11 or 12% alcohol even a decade ago are now pushing 15% today, and customers are taking notice. Winemakers and visitors to a recent wine fair talk about the tension between the impacts of global warming on wine and a trend towards drinking less alcohol. (Listen @21’30”)

As Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral reopens to the public, five years after the 2019 fire that destroyed much of its wooden and metal roof and toppled the spire, Ollia Horton meets local residents and business owners who are looking forward to things going back to normal. (Listen @14’15”) 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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

US President Joe Biden signalled this week that Turkey could have a role in mediating peace in the Middle East.

“The United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza,” Biden told reporters.

However, US officials have downplayed Turkey’s mediating role due to Ankara’s ties to Hamas.

“We don’t believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organisation should be living comfortably anywhere, and that certainly includes in … a major city of one of our key allies and partners,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier.

Hamas tensions

Hamas leaders reportedly relocated to Turkey after the collapse of ceasefire efforts in November.

Erdogan, a staunch supporter of Hamas, has described the group as a “liberation movement”. Following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Erdogan declared a national day of mourning.

“There are rumours, and I don’t know how true they are, that many of those people have actually received Turkish citizenship as well,” Soli Ozel, a lecturer at the Institute for Human Studies in Vienna told RFI.

In a move seen as an attempt to placate Washington, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that there are no plans for Hamas to open a political bureau in Turkey.

Turkish presidential adviser Mesut Casin defended the policy: “Ankara will continue its position hosting Hamas number one. Number two, they will continue dialogue with Hamas in order to establish peace”.

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Complex ties

Despite tensions between Turkey and Israel, they maintain back-channel communication.

In November, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency Shin Bet met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara. The meeting reportedly centred on the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

“We have 101 hostages that are still, we don’t know their fate,” says Gallia Lindenstrauss, an Israeli foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies.

“There are attempts to at least receive information about who’s alive, who’s dead, who’s holding them – Hamas or Islamic Jihad.”

Lindenstrauss cautioned that Israel remains sceptical of Turkey’s ability to act as a neutral mediator.

“It would be very hard for Israel in general and specifically Prime Minister Netanyahu to trust Turkey to be a mediator that will be respectful to both sides,” she said.

While Erdogan’s public rhetoric often inflames tensions, analysts say Turkish-Israeli relations are shaped more by pragmatism than politics.

“Turkey and Israel have one way of dealing with one another in public and another way of dealing with one another diplomatically and in security cooperation,” Ozel explains.

In a possible effort to build trust, Turkish authorities recently extradited three Uzbek suspects linked to the murder of an Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt and Turkey’s closer ties spark hope for peace among Libya’s rival factions

Challenges remain

As Israel intensifies its military campaign against Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a Gaza ceasefire for now.

“The reason for having a ceasefire is to separate the fronts and isolate Hamas,” Netanyahu said Tuesday.

“From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own. We will increase our pressure on Hamas.”

Despite Ankara’s overtures, Israel has warned that Hamas leaders are not safe from targeting, even in Turkey.

“They will find these Hamas leaders and target them wherever they find them,” Lindenstrauss maintains.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India, Alan Holder from Isle of Wight, England, and Karuna Kanta Pal from West Bengal, India.

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

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Nunca es Suficiente” written by Natalia Lafourcade, Daniela Azpiazu, and Anthony Lopez, sung by Natalia Lafourcade; “Lake Como” by Giselle Galos, performed by Sweet People, and “Dance Little Lady, Dance” by Gerry Shury and Ron Roker, sung by Tina Charles.

The quiz will be back next Saturday, 7 December. Be sure and tune in! 

“Negative narratives about Africa have real consequences for people’s lives and futures,” said Abimbola Ogundairo, campaign lead for the NGO Africa No Filter, which produced the report and works to promote balanced storytelling about the continent.

The organisation’s latest research found these biases cost African economies $4.2 billion annually in lost investment opportunities.

It found that persistent portrayals of poverty, conflict and corruption have far-reaching consequences, from deterring investment to increasing borrowing costs for African nations.

Stories of success, innovation, and resilience were overlooked.

Investors deterred

Using case studies and data analysis, the report examined how media narratives influence investment, particularly during election periods. It compared African countries to their global peers and quantified the costs of misrepresentation.

The report also quantified how biased media coverage correlates with sovereign bond yields – a critical financial indicator.

It found that even nations with strong democratic institutions are often framed through lenses of instability and corruption – reinforcing negative stereotypes and overshadowing progress.

The Spotlight on Africa podcast explores this issue, featuring interviews with both Ogundairo, who is from Nigeria, and the acclaimed filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, from Mauritania.

Both emphasise the need for African voices to take control of the continent’s narrative.

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Grapes have been grown for centuries in Manisa, western Turkey. It is here that Fulya Akinci and her Spanish husband, Jose Hernandez Gonzalez, decided they wanted to be a part of the transformation of the country’s wine industry.

“In 2005, in 2006, maybe when you went to a restaurant, you would order red wine or white wine, that was it,” explains Akinci. “In the last 15 years, there has been a real boom. We have so many, we say, boutique wineries. Now, with these small wineries, the quality has changed a lot.”

With their wine label Heraki, Akinci and Hernandez Gonzalez are part of this surge of new, small producers – a group which has grown to number around 200, from only a handful a decade ago. The couple trained at a wine school in Bordeaux and have worked in vineyards around the world. Hernandez Gonzalez explained that it was Turkey’s untapped potential that persuaded him and Akinci to produce their own wine there.

“As a foreigner, when I came to Turkey I was really surprised about the biodiversity of different grape varieties,” he said. “This is a country with many different grape varieties. Also, [there was] the potential of the soils and the climate. We have mountains, we have the coasts – many different climates to make grapes. And the potential of those grapes to make wine is huge.”

France asks for EU help to destroy ‘unprofitable’ Bordeaux vines

Government restrictions

Hernandez Gonzales explained that rather than making wine from vines used worldwide, they decided to use indigenous grapes. “One of our main ideas here at Heraki was to make wines from those local grapes.”

In five years, their production has increased from a couple of thousand to 20,000 bottles. But the couple says this has been an uphill struggle. “We have some difficulties because of the bureaucracy – so much paperwork – and some pressures over tax… so huge pressures on us. It’s not easy at all,” explained Akinci.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK), which enjoys large support among Muslims, has, since coming to power in 2002, hiked alcohol taxes to 65 percent, among the highest in the world. There are also growing restrictions on wine production, sales and advertising. “We love making wine, but it’s not easy at all. It’s hard, and every day is getting worse and worse,” said Akinci.

Turkey’s broadcasting authorities banned images of alcohol on television back in 2013, and in much of the country securing alcohol licences is difficult.

Turkish radio ban is latest attack on press freedom, warn activists

But meanwhile, government adverts promoting Turkey as a tourist destination abroad often highlight the country’s wines as an attraction. With much of the wine industry based in tourism centres, experts say tourists are helping to drive demand and grow the reputation of Turkish wines.

International interest

“Wine producers have started to get better prices for their wines. They can now make money, against all the odds. There is international interest,” said wine consultant Sabiha Apaydın Gonenli. Through her Kok Koken Toprak Conference (Root Soil Wine Conference) international symposiums, she promotes Turkey’s wine industry internationally.

However, she warns the industry still has a long way to go. “It’s not that economically viable at the moment because it is very small. In order to market this, you need support. You can’t do this alone, wine producers need to come together.”

Police break up French-Italian wine fraud ring

As for Heraki wines, they are now being stocked at a top European restaurant and have secured a German distributor. But despite such successes, Akinci says wine-making in Turkey remains a bittersweet experience.

“One day, we are so happy to make wine here, and we are thinking about increasing the volume and making other things. Then another day, we’re thinking about closing up and going to Spain.”

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.

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, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions – or wishes – for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, or what you hope to see happen in 2025, go ahead and send it to us. We’ll need your resolutions and/or wishes 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 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!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Jahangir is also the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in his fair city. Welcome, Jahangir!

This week’s quiz: On 26 October, I asked you a question about The COP16 Biodiversity Summit, which opened on  21 October and ran through the first of this month, November. Held in Cali, Columbia, it was attended by leaders and delegates from over 200 countries.

RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow wrote about what was at stake at this COP, in her article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”.

Not much has happened since COP15 – as Amanda noted, as of this date, only 17 percent of land and about 8 percent of oceans are protected – a far cry from the 30 percent committed to at COP15.

Money pledged is also far behind schedule: and that was your question. You were to re-read Amanda’s article and send in the answer to this question: How much money was promised by wealthy nations to support biodiversity protection in developing countries, and how much has actually been secured?   

The answer is, to quote Amanda: “Talks at Cop16 will focus on pressuring wealthy nations to deliver the promised US 30 billion annually to support biodiversity protection in developing countries. So far, pledges to a new biodiversity fund have fallen far short, with only about 400 million secured – and even less disbursed. Countries like China may also be called on to play a larger financial role.”  

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Imagine that France’s president Emmanuel Macron came to visit your city. Which three places would you take him?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Malik Shoaib Ahmad Khokhar from Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Malik is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Malik!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are our brand-new RFI Listeners Club member Jahangir Alam from Rajshahi, Bangladesh, as well as RFI English listeners Kripa Ram Kaga from Sirajganj, Bangladesh; Bari from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and last but assuredly not least, our brother journalist Suresh Agrawal, from Odisha, India.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Les Pommes de Grand-Mère” from Le Grand Cahier by Alexander Litvinovsky, performed by the Metamorphose String Orchestra conducted by Pavel Lyubomudrov; “Zingaro” by Rene Aubrey; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and  “Intro” by Alan Braxe and Fred Falke.

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 “Senegal’s ruling Pastef party on track to get large majority in elections”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 6 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 11 January 2025 podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

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

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

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

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

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

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