A surge of rebellion led by young people born between 1997 and 2012 is rewriting the rules of protest, with the smartphone the new megaphone.

Over the past three years, the pace at which these movements are changing the status quo has accelerated.

In 2022, it took five months for Sri Lankan students and activists to topple the Rajapaksa dynasty, which had clung to power for nearly two decades. In 2024, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in just six weeks. In Nepal last month , it took a mere 48 hours for protests to bring down the government of Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.

The profile of these movements is strikingly consistent, with the crowds overwhelmingly young and hyper-connected. They are members of Generation Z – the first cohort to grow up entirely in the digital age, with social media seen not as an accessory but the lens through which they interpret the world.

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‘They see everything’

If the grievances vary by country – from corruption to education to basic services – the underlying themes are universal: anger at injustice, impatience with inequality and frustration at hypocrisy.

“These young people today are acting on demands that go beyond the purely political. They have a radical need for consistency, a need for authenticity,” says Elodie Gentina, a professor at the IESEG School of Management and a specialist in Gen Z.

“They want to compare everything, they judge everything, they see everything, because they have constant access to social media. They are also very aware of the contradictions between the promises made by leaders promises and their actions. They detest institutional hypocrisy – as seen in Nepal, where leaders talked a lot about modernity but at the same time blocked access to 26 social networks.”

Anger that had been building online over the privileged offspring of the political elite flaunting their wealth on Instagram, in a country where 20 percent of 15 to 25-year-olds are unemployed, spilled over on to the streets. 

Morocco rocked by fourth day of Gen Z-led protests over public services

The ‘amplifier’ effect

“Social media plays the role of emotional and political amplifier. It allows the sharing of images that can be inspiring, but also shocking. Gen Z are constantly comparing themselves to others, and that creates emulation. The viral logic of social networks transforms isolated frustrations into collective movements that become extremely powerful,” Gentina told RFI

In Indonesia, student protests earlier this year adopted an unlikely banner: the pirate flag from One Piece, a manga series in which the hero, Luffy, fights a corrupt and tyrannical world government.

A pop culture reference quickly became a unifying symbol, with the same imagery being adopted in Madagascar and Morocco.

In Madagascar, the triggers for the unrest were blackouts, water shortages and demands for basic freedoms. In Morocco, a collective calling itself “Gen Z 212” emerged online, calling for education and healthcare reform, and questioning the billions poured into hosting the 2030 World Cup while everyday needs go unmet.

“These are purely social demands,” says Souad Brahma, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, speaking to RFI. “The right to a dignified life – that means education, healthcare, decent housing. And through certain slogans, they also call for an end to corruption.”

Madagascar’s president dismisses cabinet as blackout protests turn deadly

Demographic weight

“More than against [individual] governments, Generation Z is rebelling against a model of governance that no longer works for them,” explains Gentina.

“They deem it too top-down, too opaque, too slow. These young people demand transparency and concrete results. They can no longer tolerate inconsistency between words and actions.”

With more than a third of the world’s population belonging to Gen Z, demographics are on their side. In parts of Asia, they account for half the population, making their voices impossible to ignore.

As for where they might rise up next, all eyes are on India. The world’s most populous nation also has the largest Gen Z population on the Asian continent, and those hundreds of millions of young people have not been spared by the mass unemployment, inequality and corruption that plague the country.

This article ahas been adapted from the original version in French.

Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia‘s sanction-busting “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers, was stopped by French authorities on Saturday, according to a military source who asked not to be named.

Shipping data analysed by AFP has shown it was positioned off Denmark during mysterious drone flights over the country last month, including over military sites, that prompted brief closures at several airports.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Europe to “increase the pressure” on Russia’s shadow fleet and follow his country’s lead in detaining vessels used to fuel Moscow‘s war in Ukraine.

“You kill the business model by detaining, even for days or weeks, these vessels and forcing them to organise themselves differently,” Macron told a leaders’ gathering in Denmark.

He said on Wednesday France was probing the ship for “serious offences”, but stopped short of confirming reports of a connection to the Denmark drone flights.

The captain and first mate of the Boracay were detained on Tuesday over refusing to provide evidence of nationality or cooperate with French authorities, according to the public prosecutor’s office in the northwestern city of Brest.

The captain has been summoned to appear in court in February, but the first mate has been released, it said.

It was not immediately clear if the captain would be released under certain conditions or if the Russia-linked ship could go on its way.

French military personnel remained on board the tanker on Thursday, another military source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.

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‘Navy commandos’

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on X thanked “navy commandos and the crews of the French navy who intervened this weekend aboard the tanker belonging to the Russian ghost fleet”.

Estimated to include up to 1,000 ships, the shadow fleet is thought to represent “tens of billions of euros of Russia’s budget” and make up “40 percent of the Russian war effort”, according to Macron.

The vessels — which fly flags of convenience, have opaque ownership, and often turn their transponders off — enable Moscow to keep exporting its crude oil for much-needed revenue despite curbs on exports.

The first military source told AFP that Russian ships were common off the French coast.

“Every day between 10 and 15 vessels from the shadow fleet sail off the coast of Brest,” the source said.

The Boracay — which has also been named the Pushpa or the Kiwala — was positioned off Denmark from September 22 to 25, according to data from the maritime website VesselFinder analysed by AFP.

According to the specialist website The Maritime Executive, the 244-metre (801-foot) vessel is suspected of being involved in the drone flights over Denmark.

The publication said the tanker and other ships could have been used either as launch platforms or as decoys.

The tanker left the Russian port of Primorsk outside Saint Petersburg on September 20, shipping data showed.

Data from the Marine Traffic tracker showed the tanker was scheduled to arrive in Vadinar in northwestern India on October 20.

“The recent drone incidents across Europe are a clear sign that Russia still feels bold enough to escalate this war,” Zelensky said as he arrived for the talks.

“It was never just about Ukraine, Russia has always aimed to break the West and Europe.”

EU leaders meeting in the Danish capital on Wednesday endorsed the idea of a coordinated system of sensors, weapons and technology to detect and neutralise drones.

They said the move was urgent given Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and what they called Moscow’s attempts to destabilise its neighbours.

“Europe must be able to defend itself,” Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said. She called for more investment in drones, anti-drone systems and a continent-wide network to respond to threats.

Zelensky offered Ukraine’s “war-tested” expertise in countering drone attacks, telling leaders: “If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland, or violate the airspace of northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere. We are ready to share this experience with our partners.”

EU leaders plot defence boost in shadow of Denmark drones

‘Russia tries to test us’

The informal summit came just days after unmanned aircraft disrupted flights in Denmark, prompting a nationwide temporary ban on drones.

Poland has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones, while Estonia accused Russian fighter jets of flying over its territory. NATO scrambled fighter jets, helicopters and a Patriot missile defence system to respond to the Polish incident.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was blunt about Moscow’s tactics.

“Russia tries to test us. But Russia also tries to sow division and anxiety in our societies. We will not let this happen,” she said.

Von der Leyen’s call for a “drone wall” – a network of early-warning sensors and weapons along Europe’s eastern flank – has gained traction since she first raised it last month.

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte described it as “timely and necessary”, a view now backed by many EU leaders.

The Kremlin has denied responsibility. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the “drone wall” idea, saying “as history has shown, erecting walls is always a bad thing”.

French president Emmanuel Macron said Western countries should take a tougher line when confronted by Russian drones.

“It’s very important to have a clear message. Drones which would violate our territories are just taking a big risk. They can be destroyed, full stop,” he said.

Romanian prime minister Nicosur Dan, whose country has already seen Russian drones cross over from Ukraine, warned that his forces would shoot down the next one to violate Romanian airspace.

French military to help counter drones over Denmark ahead of EU summit

Disagreements over priorities

While leaders endorsed the overall plan, they differ on how to make it work. Frederiksen and Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo stressed the need to act quickly, warning that Russia will keep probing Europe’s defences.

French president Emmanuel Macron argued for a broader deterrence strategy, including early-warning systems and long-range strike capabilities. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni said the EU must also pay attention to threats on its southern borders.

Macron also urged Europe to crack down on what he called Russia’s “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers that Moscow uses to evade restrictions on exporting its oil.

“It is extremely important to increase the pressure on this shadow fleet, because it will clearly reduce the capacity to finance this war effort,” he said, noting that France had moved this week to hold a blacklisted tanker linked to Russia.

Funding Ukraine with frozen assets

The summit also discussed a proposal to use Russian assets frozen in Europe to help finance a large loan for Ukraine. Some member states back the idea, saying Moscow should help pay for the war it started. Others remain cautious, citing legal and financial risks.

The EU plan could raise around €140 billion. Proponents say it is needed to help Ukraine plug budget shortfalls – and that Russia, not European taxpayers, should ultimately foot the bill. But Belgium, which holds most of the frozen assets, is wary.

“We’re going to move to uncharted waters. This is very, very risky,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said. He wants firm commitments from other EU leaders to share potential liability to shield Belgium from any Russian retaliation.

Von der Leyen said on Wednesday it was clear that the risk should not fall only on Belgium’s shoulders and promised to “intensify” talks to find a way forward.

The Kremlin has denounced the plan as “pure theft”.

Zelensky is expected to use his visit on Thursday to urge EU leaders to keep up military and financial support for Kyiv, as United States backing weakens.

(with newswires)

“The Israeli military is trying to terrorise us by relentlessly attacking us with water cannons, blasting bright flashing lights and shrilling sirens,” Yacine Haffaf, a French surgeon on board the Jeannot III told RFI this morning.

He is one of the 450 people from over 40 countries sailing on the 44 boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which set sail for Gaza at the beginning of September to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Last night, several GSF vessels were intercepted by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) while they were hours away from the shores of Gaza.

Haffaf, 69, heads Waves of Freedom, the French contingent of the flotilla.

He told RFI – before the ship was intercepted – that his morale was still high even though he is drenched and “the Israeli boats are dangerously close”.

Live-streamed footage of the Jeannot III has shown the eight activists on board with their hands held high, fingers spread apart to indicate that they are unarmed and not posing a threat.

The civilians on board have been trained to adopt this attitude to present themselves as non-violent individuals.

A GSF activist reported that the Israeli military said “if you stop the engine, we stop the water”.

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Israeli forces reportedly ordered the flotilla to halt before it reached the blockade off Gaza.

“You are instructed to change your course. Approaching the naval blockade violates international law and poses a direct security threat to Israel and its citizens,” the navy told one of the GSF vessels.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, dismissed the claim.

“The flotilla has not entered Israel’s territorial waters, this is Palestine’s waters and Israel has no authority over it,” she said on Wednesday in a press conference.

“Therefore, any intervention by Israel in these waters is unlawful. Furthermore, the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to dismantle the occupation and withdraw its troops outside Palestine.

“This does not only mean the land – Gaza, the occupied territory – it also includes the territorial waters.”

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‘He’s my hero’

Another vessel, Adara – carrying 22 people from several countries – was intercepted and boarded by the IDF on Wednesday night.

Sid Khan, a 48-year-old banker from Glasgow, was on board the Adara. His wife Isma told RFI that she has had no news of her husband since the interception. Her last conversation with him was late Wednesday afternoon.

“He was in good spirits even though he knew that they were going to be captured, jailed even,” she said.

“Sid told me that it is likely the Israeli forces will force them to sign a document to say that they’ve breached Israeli territory. But they haven’t – they are in Palestinian waters.”

She said her husband believed going to jail for a few days was nothing compared to what Palestinians face.

“He’s my hero,” Isma said. “I am crying because it is hard, but it is also admirable, his determination to stand up for the Palestinians so that they can live a life of dignity and not live in an open prison.”

Isma and Sid are no stranger to humanitarian activities. Isma Khan, a Scottish Pakistani optometrist, does charity work for remote populations in the Himalayas by providing eye health and preventing avoidable blindness.

“Sid believes that the humanitarian mission has achieved its goal in opening the eyes of the world to Gaza,” said Isma.

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Enforcing international laws

Meanwhile, Albanese has underlined that the humanitarian aid the flotilla is carrying is just a drop in the ocean.

“More importantly, what the flotilla is carrying is the courage to enforce international laws,” she said.

In one of the videos released overnight by GSF, Thiago Avila on board the Alma was responding to the Israeli navy’s close presence by asking them to keep clear of the flotilla.

“Please keep a minimum of one nautical mile away from the Global Sumud Flotilla,” he said. “All vessels … our mission is a non-violent humanitarian solidarity mission for the Palestinian people in Gaza. Any attempt to block or hinder this mission is illegal by international law.”

Israel regards attempts to breach the naval blockade as a violation of international law and links the flotilla to Hamas.

Israel’s foreign ministry said on X that “several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port”.

GSF spokesperson Saif Abukeshek said the group was ready to pursue legal action.

“This is land and sea mobilisation. Any violation of international law and human rights that Israel is going to commit we will take all legal actions, whether through our participants or also the flags of the ships,” he said.

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Citizen mobilisation

Haffaf said he hoped public pressure would help secure the activists’ release.

“I hope our citizens will put pressure on all the governments to stop the apartheid, to stop the famine, to stop the genocide. Because it is indeed a genocide even though the French President – who finally recognised the state of Palestine – refuses to say the word,” he added.

He criticised France for offering nothing more than consular protection for its citizens in the flotilla.

Isma Khan said ordinary people were taking on a task that governments had failed to shoulder.

“In this day and age, there shouldn’t be the need for a Global Sumud Flotilla, our governments should stand up to a genocide which is now recognised by everyone,” she said.

“But we’re still watching 20,000 children being murdered. It’s our governments who should be breaking the siege.”

Governments in Berlin and Paris have been aiming to enhance the continent’s defence autonomy at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.

“Arms companies on both sides are claiming leadership,” Macron said in an interview with the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

“It is therefore up to us to stay the course of what we consider to be in the general Franco-German interest and to continue working on joint solutions.”

The Future Combat Air System programme – known by its French acronym Scaf – was launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafale jet and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain.

But the scheme, jointly developed by the three countries, has stalled as disagreements grow between France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents German and Spanish interests.

France warns it could go it alone as European fighter jet project stalls

‘Necessary decisions’

 Macron also said he and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had requested their defence ministers conduct a review of the project by the end of the year.

“And it is on this basis that we will rule and take the necessary decisions,” he added.

Both French and German executives said recently they can develop the fighter jet project without each other.

Last week, Dassault Aviation and a government official said that France was in a position to press on with the project alone should negotiations with Germany and Spain fail.

“I don’t mind if the Germans are complaining,” said Dassault Aviation chief Eric Trappier. “If they want to do it on their own, let them do it on their own.” 

Leaders in Berlin and Madrid have been exasperated by the position of Dassault, which has been vying for a main role in the project.

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France and Germany have also sought to jointly develop a next-generation battle tank equipped with artificial intelligence and laser technology.

But those plans have also faced delays amid rivalry between French and German industrial companies.

Macron said that both the fighter jet project and the advanced battle tank dubbed the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) still meet the strategic needs of both countries.

“We knew from the outset that it would be very difficult, because competing manufacturers were forced to join forces for a project,” Macron said.

“However, I am in favour of maximum integration, because we need to produce more, and we need to do so at the European level.”

‘Strategic ambiguity’

During the interview with the paper, Macron also said he would not rule out downing a Russian fighter jet if it were to breach European airspace without authorisation.

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“In accordance with the doctrine of strategic ambiguity, I can tell you that nothing is ruled out,” Macron told the paper.

After Russia was blamed for drone incursions into NATO members Poland and Romania, Macron last week said the alliance’s response would have to go up a notch in the case of new provocations from Moscow.

On Wednesday, Macron revealed that France was investigating an EU-sanctioned, Russian-linked oil tanker anchored off the French coast for what he said were serious offences.

The Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel, has been blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet”.

According to the specialist website The Maritime Executive, the vessel is suspected of being involved in mystery drone flights that disrupted air traffic in Denmark in September.

Goodall “passed away of natural causes” while in California during a speaking tour of the United States, the Jane Goodall Institute said in a statement on social media.

“Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionised science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” it added.

Scientific pioneer

Born on 3 April 1934 in London, Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall – later known simply as Jane Goodall  – displayed a fascination with animals from a very young age. Her father gave her a toy chimpanzee, “Jubilee”, which she cherished throughout her life.

Enthralled by the Tarzan adventure books, she later remarked with amusement that Tarzan had married the “wrong Jane”.

Goodall’s unconventional path began in 1957 when, at the age of 23, she travelled to Kenya to visit a friend.

There she met Louis Leakey, the eminent Kenyan-based palaeontologist, who hired her as his secretary and soon recognised her extraordinary observational gifts.

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Leakey dispatched her to what is now Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, where she embarked on a groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

With no formal scientific training at the time, Goodall’s approach was unconventional but revolutionary: she named the chimpanzees she observed, rather than assigning them numbers, and emphasised their individuality, emotions, and social bonds.

Her most celebrated discovery came in 1960, when she observed chimpanzees using sticks and blades of grass as tools to extract termites from their mounds.

This shattered the long-held belief that tool-making was a uniquely human trait, forcing a profound re-evaluation of the boundary between humans and other animals.

Encouraged by Leakey, Goodall went on to pursue a doctorate at the University of Cambridge, becoming only the eighth person in the institution’s history to be awarded a PhD without first obtaining an undergraduate degree. Her thesis, based on her Gombe research, was published in 1965.

Research and global advocacy

In 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which has since become a global leader in primate research, conservation, and community-led environmental projects.

Fourteen years later she launched Roots & Shoots, a youth movement dedicated to environmental and humanitarian action that now spans more than 60 countries.

Goodall’s transition from scientist to activist began in the 1980s after attending a US conference on chimpanzees, where she was confronted with the grim reality of animals used in biomedical research and the accelerating destruction of African forests. Deeply shaken, she resolved to speak out.

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From then on she travelled tirelessly, sometimes visiting more than 300 cities in a single year, urging audiences to act with compassion towards both animals and the planet. She became a powerful voice in global debates on biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable development.

Even in her later years, Goodall remained a commanding presence. Ahead of a United Nations biodiversity summit in Colombia in 2024, she told AFP: “The time for words and false promises is past if we want to save the planet.”

Her philosophy was rooted in the belief that every person, no matter how ordinary, can make a difference. “Each individual has a role to play,” she said, “and every one of us makes some impact on the planet every single day. We can choose what sort of impact we make.”

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Enduring legacy

Goodall received countless accolades during her lifetime, including damehood in 2004, the French Legion of Honour, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, and the Templeton Prize. She authored numerous books — from academic works to children’s stories — and was the subject of acclaimed documentaries, including National Geographic’s Jane (2017).

Despite her fame, she remained humble, often describing herself as “just a girl who loved animals”. Her legacy lies not only in her scientific achievements but also in the millions she inspired to treat animals and the natural world with empathy and respect.

(with newswires)

The centre-right coalition pushed the bill through parliament on Tuesday with support from all right-wing parties. Left-wing parties voted against it.

An earlier version passed in July was blocked by the Constitutional Court. Lawmakers returned with amendments addressing the most critical points found to be in violation of the constitution.

Government spokesman Antonio Leitao Amaro said before the vote that “the time of irresponsible immigration is over”, adding that Portugal needed to control and regulate flows in order to integrate with humanity.

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Tighter family rules, work visas

The law sets a two-year period of legal residence before immigrants can apply to bring in spouses.

Couples who were together for more than a year before moving can apply after a year. Children under 18 and dependants with disabilities can join regardless of the applicant’s residency period.

Job-search visas will be reserved for highly skilled workers. Another measure ends a pathway that had allowed Brazilians – the country’s largest immigrant group, with over 450,000 people – to regularise their status after entering on tourist visas.

Lawmakers are still debating changes to the rules for acquiring Portuguese nationality.

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Rights groups angry

“This approval, hand in hand with Chega, is truly another stab in the back for the constitution of the Portuguese republic, for all European human rights conventions, and for the fundamental charter of human rights,” Mariana Carneiro of the non-profit SOS Racismo told RFI.

“It is a blatant attack against the people who choose to live here and work here.”

Amaro said the reform “ensures that the right balance is struck – neither with doors wide open to immigrants, nor closed” as the government seeks to link migration more closely to labour market needs.

Portugal, a country of about 10.5 million people, has seen immigration rise fast in recent years.

Official figures show more than 1.5 million foreign citizens were legally living there by the end of 2024 – about 15 percent of the population.

The reforms reflect a wider trend across Europe, where governments have tightened immigration rules as far-right parties gain influence.

Sixty ratifications pushed the treaty over the line, with Morocco’s kick-starting the 120-day countdown to 17 January.

The treaty offers a tool for nations to create marine protected areas (MPAs) – central to the goal of safeguarding 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.

It also recognises indigenous knowledge, and requires “free, prior and informed consent” – in other words, clear permission in advance – for the use of marine resources linked to that knowledge.

From the sacred waters of Papahanaumokuakea in Hawaii to the hand-built islands of the Solomons, indigenous communities say culture and conservation work hand in hand.

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

Culture steers conservation

Stretching northwest from Kauai across roughly 1,500 kilometres of ocean – about the same distance from Paris to Rome – Papahanaumokuakea is one of the world’s largest fully protected MPAs.

It covers around 1.51 million square kilometres, larger than all the national parks in the United States combined, and shelters more than 7,000 marine species, many found nowhere else on earth.

The area is vital for endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green turtles and millions of seabirds.

For native Hawaiians it is also a sacred realm – a place tied to creation stories and ancestral routes at sea.

“I’ve been involved for more than half my life in protecting a place that we now call Papahanaumokuakea,” Aulani Wilhelm, a native Hawaiian conservationist who played a central role in creating the marine monument, told RFI.

“It was a movement started by native Hawaiian fishermen who partnered with conservationists to protect the coral reefs and endangered species.”

Wilhelm, who also heads the non-profit organisation Nia Tero, said elders had pushed for a refuge rooted in local principles and direct community engagement.

In her words, “not just another model of Western conservation” – but instead protection anchored in values and participation.

Stewardship, not ownership

Papahanaumokuakea is co-managed by four entities: native Hawaiian leaders, the US Federal Government, the state of Hawaii and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Joint decisions cover both nature and culture, and include protecting reefs and endangered species, safeguarding creation stories and traditional navigation routes, and setting rules for access and research.

Instead of talking about “managing” a resource, Wilhelm describes a relationship of care.

“People used to call me the manager of Papahanaumokuakea,” she said. “And I said, I don’t manage anything. You don’t manage your grandmother. You don’t manage your elder cousins. This is a relationship. You ‘care for’ instead.”

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From sanctuary to survival

Indigenous people manage around a quarter of the world’s land and many of those places hold rich biodiversity. Advocates say the lesson is simple – when communities have a say, nature often fares better.

In the Solomon Islands the stakes are high. In lagoons such as Langa Langa and Lau, some families still live on artificial islands first built centuries ago. They now face rising seas, chaotic weather and stronger storm surges that push water into their homes.

Lysa Wini, a researcher from the Solomon Islands who works with Nia Tero, told RFI that communities are using what they know and are asking for resources so that guardianship can continue.

“That would be not just merely putting indigenous knowledge or wisdom into text, but actually into practice,” she said.

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Next steps

Once the treaty takes effect – and once the first Conference of the Parties (Cop) is held – countries can file formal proposals for MPAs under the new global system. The first Cop must meet within one year of the treaty coming into force.

States will agree basic rules, set up a secretariat, create a science panel and open an information hub to share data. Decisions are taken by consensus where possible, or by a three-quarters majority.

Each proposal must say where the area is, why it should be protected, which measures will apply, how long they will last and how progress will be checked.

Wilhelm told RFI the planet will need 53 more protected areas the size of Papahanaumokuakea in order to meet global targets.

The fledgling newsroom’s open-plan office sits within the new France Médias Monde (FMM) hub in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. An image of Blessing-Bili, a young singer from Congo-Brazzaville, looms large on one of its walls.

Cécile Goudou, ZOA’s deputy editor, is scrutinising subtitles, hunting for the slightest flaw. “I sometimes watch a video up to 10 times,” she laughs.

Although ZOA has only been posting content for a fortnight, its most popular videos have already racked up more than 800,000 views.

Joseph Kahongo Amutake is about to publish that day’s sports debate: “How does African cycling measure up internationally?” Several African commentators weigh in on the continent’s poor results at the World Cycling Championships.

“What I enjoy most is the dynamism we’re trying to bring to news,” says the 30-year-old Congolese journalist. “And being online, because that’s the platform young people prefer.”

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Bridge between generations

Amina Diop, a recent graduate of CESTI, one of Senegal’s top journalism schools, handles the Citizen Initiatives section.

She has just finished a feature on a young Beninese engineer who designed and built an electric scooter. “If another young person sees this story, they’ll think it’s possible to invent and innovate,” she says.

That’s why she joined ZOA – “to convey the positivity flowing through the continent and highlight the many initiatives that exist”.

For her, this means moving away from what she calls “misery journalism”. Her next story is on a Togolese fashion designer.

The channel’s mission is resolutely youthful and optimistic – but not naïve.

“ZOA tells Africa’s story from its roots, valuing those who built it, those who’re shaping it today and those imagining it tomorrow,” reads the colourful flyer announcing its launch.

Its mission: to amplify the voices of young Francophone Africans through fact-based reporting, grounded in human experience.

ZOA’s editor-in-chief, Kaourou Magassa, a journalist passionate about African cultures, likes to quote filmmaker Oumar Bayo Fall: “We are not the future, we are the present. We are also the bridge between our elders and the generations that will come after us.”

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Inspiring figures

ZOA’s first videos introduced audiences to a range of inspiring people: Aya Gueye, a former Miss Ziguinchor, who uses fashion to promote her culture and motivate young people; Ruffine Sonon, a 15-year-old Beninese athlete, who won the country’s first gold medal in the 800m at the African School Games, and Tening Faye, a young Senegalese taekwondo prodigy who has already won a world medal.

The channel also explores everyday topics… Could ataya tea – a staple of friendly gatherings – pose a health risk? How can families spot the signs of Alzheimer’s in ageing relatives? What are the real effects of sugar on health?

“The Health section is designed to produce explanatory videos on common and rare conditions,” explains Dikorou Cheick, the team’s health specialist.

“Our strength is that we inform with a relaxed tone. The idea is to provide preventative advice without frightening people, because once you’re aware of a condition, prevention becomes easy – and can even encourage recovery. Beyond that, we also want to showcase the progress made in healthcare across the continent.”

ZOA’s videos focus on daily life on the continent.

“For me, ZOA is a new approach, a new perspective,” says reporter Ibrahima Dramé. “We give the floor to ordinary Africans – people whose lives are not widely known, yet who are doing extraordinary things. That’s what makes my work here so important.

“With my mic and camera, I go everywhere: from Madina Ndiathbé in northern Senegal’s Fouta region, to Thiobon in Casamance in the south; from Pikine on Dakar’s outskirts to Koussanar in Tambacounda. I hand the mic to Senegalese voices that are rarely heard, even though they have a lot to say.”

From Goma to Cape Town, the young Congolese athlete pedalling for peace

No politics

ZOA distributes its content on all major social platforms – WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram – in the form of videos, photos and infographics.

“ZOA will cover practically everything: health, sports, society, culture, entrepreneurship – except politics,” says Goudou. “We believe there’s already enough coverage of politics.”

Instead, the content is resolutely “magazine”. There are features such as When I was 20, which sees elders share life lessons with younger generations; What’s your daily life? in which ordinary people talk about their routines, and Citizen Initiatives, showcasing young people working for their communities.

There is also a Heritage strand, which highlights Africa’s cultural and historical legacy. “Maybe a young Ivorian doesn’t know the history of Dakar’s Monument of the Renaissance,” notes Goudou. “Through this section, those are the kinds of stories we want to tell.”

Young Senegalese forced abroad by dual economic and political crises

Editorial independence

While ZOA is based alongside RFI’s Mandenkan and Fulfulde services in FMM’s Dakar hub, the new channel has its own distinctive style.

“RFI and France 24 provide us with technical and financial support, but editorially we’re independent,” says Magassa. “We have our own productions, our own editorial meetings and we choose our topics entirely on our own.”

The Dakar newsroom is home to 10 journalists from five African countries, with an equal number of men and women.

“The average age is 28,” notes Magassa. “So yes, we too are young Africans. This isn’t just about talking to young Africans – we are young ourselves, and we want to tell our own stories.”

The team works with a network of correspondents in 11 countries, because, as the editor-in-chief notes: “It’s vital to be as close as possible to the people – and to their stories.”

This article was adapted from the original in French.

The warning comes in the European Environment Agency’s Europe’s Environment 2025 report, a flagship assessment published only once every five years.

Drawing on data from 38 countries, it offers the clearest picture yet of how climate change and damage to nature are threatening Europe’s future well-being and prosperity.

“Significant progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, but the overall state of Europe’s environment is not good,” the report said.

Nature under strain

The EEA says Europe has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent since 1990 and more than doubled the share of renewable energy since 2005. Cleaner air has saved lives – deaths linked to fine pollution particles have fallen by nearly half since 2005.

But nature is still being degraded. More than four out of five protected habitats are in poor condition. Much of the soil is exhausted, and only about a third of rivers and lakes are healthy.

One in three Europeans lives in areas where water is under serious stress.

Europe is also warming faster than any other continent, making heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods more frequent and more destructive.

In 2022 extreme heat was linked to more than 70,000 deaths. Floods in Slovenia in 2023 caused damage equal to 16 percent of that country’s economy.

Air pollution continues to cause about 239,000 premature deaths a year across the EU, and traffic noise contributes to another 66,000 deaths.

“This report is a stark reminder that Europe must stay the course and even accelerate our climate and environmental ambitions,” said Teresa Ribera, the EU executive vice-president for clean transition.

Indigenous knowledge steers new protections for the high seas

She warned that recent extreme weather had shown how fragile Europe’s prosperity and security become when nature is damaged and the climate crisis intensifies.

“Protecting nature is not a cost. It is an investment in competitiveness, resilience and the well-being of our citizens.”

Others in Brussels echoed similar concerns.

EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the wildfires and floods of recent years showed that “the costs of inaction are enormous, and climate change poses a direct threat to our competitiveness”.

Meanwhile environment commissioner Jessika Roswall said Europe’s economy ultimately depends on healthy ecosystems.

“Healthy nature is the basis for a healthy society, a competitive economy and a resilient world, which is why the EU is committed to stay the course on our environmental commitments,” she said.

France’s green challenge

The country profiles underscores the mixed picture in individual member states.

France has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent since 1990, including an 8 percent drop between 2022 and 2023. It now protects nearly a third of its land, and water quality has improved.

But France still relies heavily on fossil fuels. Renewables supplied just 22 percent of its energy use in 2023 – well short of the 33 percent target for 2030. Only about one in 10 French farms is organic, far below the goal of nearly one in five by 2027.

Recycling and reuse of materials also lag behind.

A national water plan launched in 2023 set 53 steps to safeguard supplies as droughts become more common. The EEA says Europe as a whole could save up to 40 percent of its water in farming, energy and daily use with better management and modern technology.

Economy at risk

The report warns that the loss of healthy ecosystems threatens Europe’s economy.

Nearly three-quarters of businesses in the eurozone depend on natural systems such as pollination and clean water. Most bank loans go to companies that rely on these resources.

“Human survival depends on high-quality nature, particularly when it comes to adaptation to climate change,” said Catherine Ganzleben, head of the EEA’s Sustainable and Fair Transitions unit.

“Sustainability is not a choice, it is a question of when we do it. Do we do it in the short term and start now, or do we park it, in which case it is going to be harder and the costs of inaction will be higher?”

Could peatlands protect Europe’s eastern borders from a Russian invasion?

Environmental groups have urged the EU not to weaken its laws.

“Delaying the EU Deforestation Regulation or weakening our nature and water laws would be historic and irreversible mistakes,” said Ester Asin, head of WWF’s European policy office.

Her call for strong rules was echoed by the European Environment Agency itself.

“We cannot afford to lower our climate, environment and sustainability ambitions. What we do today will shape our future,” said EEA director Leena Ylä-Mononen.

The agency says reaching climate-neutrality by 2050 will require faster cuts in emissions from transport and farming, much greater recycling and the large-scale repair of damaged natural areas.

Of the hundreds of people evacuated from Gaza to France since the conflict in the enclave broke out in October 2023, 73 have come as part of a partly state-funded humanitarian programme known as Pause.

Run by the prestigious Collège de France research institute, Pause provides special one-year visas to artists and scientists in danger.  

Since 2017, it has supported more than 700 people from more than 40 countries, including Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan. For Palestinians in Gaza, it represents one of the few pathways to safety. 

‘A life jacket’

“The Pause programme was literally a life jacket for us,” says Abu Joury, a well-known Gazan rapper who arrived in the town of Angers in western France in January, with his wife and three children.

Sponsored by a local organisation, Al Khamanjati, he has been able to provide financial stability and security for his family – something he says has become impossible in Gaza.

But that life jacket is no longer available.

On 1 August, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that “no evacuation of any kind” would take place until further notice.

The trigger was a Palestinian student at Sciences Po Lille who was accused of sharing antisemitic statements in 2023, and was subsequently expelled to Qatar. 

The student was not part of the Pause programme, but the decision to halt all evacuations has left more than 120 people – 25 approved candidates and their families – stranded in what the UN has described as genocidal conditions. 

France halts Gaza evacuations over antisemitic posts by Palestinian student

“They’ve been waiting for months and are sending us constant messages calling for help,” says Marion Gués Lucchini, head of international diplomacy for the Pause programme. “They’re saying: ‘why are we being condemned for comments made by just one person? Why have we been abandoned?'”

The decision is unprecedented, Gués Lucchini says. “Because of a single person, all the others are condemned to remain in Gaza.

“We’ve been around for eight years. We’ve had people from all over the world, including countries where there may be sensitivities – Russia, Iran and so on. We’ve never had a security problem, we’ve never had anyone who was supposedly close to a terrorist group. Never.” 

She adds that all Pause candidates are subject to rigorous screening by four different ministries, including security checks by the Interior Ministry.

Listen to an audio report featuring Abu Joury and Mathieu Yon on the Spotlight of France podcast:

‘Collective punishment’ 

After President Emmanuel Macron recognised Palestinian statehood at the UN on Monday, the French government now faces mounting pressure to reinstate evacuations.  

A collective of Palestinian and migrant rights groups has filed a case with the Conseil d’Etat – France’s top court – claiming the suspension of evacuations for Gazans is in breach of the constitution.

Last week, some 20 acclaimed writers, including French Nobel laureates Annie Ernaux and J.M.G. Le Clézio, called on Macron to “restore this lifeline” as soon as possible. 

“This suspension of evacuation programmes on the basis of one case of a racist social media post is a form of collective punishment at a time when all signatories to the Genocide Convention should be doing their utmost to save Palestinians from annihilation and should refuse to be complicit in crimes against humanity,” they wrote in an open letter.

While evacuating only writers, artists and researchers was “inadequate and even cruel in the context of the killings and destruction in Gaza”, they underlined that “today this programme is one of the only ways by which a few people in Gaza can be saved from genocide, a part of which is scholasticide”.

The authors called on France to “follow through on its proclaimed humanist values”.

Israeli ambassador slams French recognition of Palestine as ‘historic mistake’ on RFI

‘I fear for my friend’

Mathieu Yon, a 48-year-old fruit farmer from southern France, has become an unlikely advocate for Palestinian evacuation rights.

On Wednesday he took up position on a bench in front of the Foreign Ministry holding a sign addressed to Barrot: “Monsieur le ministre, resume the reception of Gazans.”

Around six months ago, Yon struck up a friendship with Gazan poet Alaa al-Qatrawi after reading her poem “I’m not well”, about losing her four children in an Israeli bombing in December 2023.

“She lost her four children and yet she’s still full of love and without any anger or aggression,” he says. “I fear for my dear friend.”

He, his wife and two friends have raised the necessary €48,000 to cover al-Qatrawi’s year-long residency.

They have work and accommodation lined up for her in their home town of Dieulefit, north of Avignon. “Everything is in place,” Yon said, hoping that his protest will see her file, handed in on 26 August, treated as a matter of urgency.

As Gaza aid flotilla comes under attack, NGOs urge Europe to act

From a refugee camp in Gaza, al-Qatrawi describes the constant danger: “Every Palestinian living now in Gaza is at risk of being killed at any second and in any place you can think of. You are exposed to assassination attempts throughout the day. And if you survive, you think about how you are going to survive the next day.” 

Her four children – Orchid, Kenan, Yamen and Carmel – were killed on 13 December, 2023. “There was a cordon around the area. The occupation [by the Israeli army] prevented ambulances from arriving,” she told RFI’s sister radio station MCD. 

The Ma’an collective, which helps Pause applicants, reports receiving increasingly desperate messages from Gaza.

“These are no longer calls for help, but testaments and farewells,” it said in a statement. One read: “I am writing to you, and maybe my last words. We are starving and losing everything around us.” 

Ahmed Shamia, an architect who had been accepted by the Pause programme, was killed in bombardments on 1 May this year, just days before he was due to be evacuated.

“It was very difficult for us all,” says Gués Lucchini. “It was the first time [someone selected for] the programme had died.”

Conflating Gazans with terrorists

Gués Lucchini laments that a programme offering a lifeline to scientists and artists has become a target for the far right, with Pause dealing with online attacks.

“These accounts created the controversy surrounding the student [in Lille], which led to the suspension of the evacuations. Since then there have been other smear campaigns against [people selected for] the Pause programme. It’s clear there is a desire to confuse aid and support for Gazans – scientists, artists and others – with support for a terrorist group.”

The French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, which has a controversial far-right editor, recently accused Pause of “opening the door to Hamas”.

Yon, who has Jewish ancestry and whose great-uncle was deported to Auschwitz, rejects any suggestion that Gazans pose an inherent security risk. “There are antisemitic people in Gaza. But I think there are in France, too. There are in all countries, not especially in Gaza.”

He added: “This is a collective punishment without any kind of justice. In France we have the principle of presumption of innocence, but this is presumption of guilt.”

France’s Foreign Ministry has not commented publicly on when evacuations of Gazans will resume. But a diplomatic source told RFI: “Since the Israeli authorities have suspended evacuations, no operation is possible at this stage.”

French services are effectively dependent on local authorities, in this case Israel, who grant or deny exit permits based on lists submitted by the French authorities.

Macron on Gaza and Ukraine: diplomacy, hostages and European security at stake

Race against time 

For those still waiting, time is running out. “Every day that passes is another day that we take the risk that someone supported by a French national programme will die,” Gués Lucchini warns. 

Joury could be considered one of the lucky ones. But despite finding safety and a “very warm welcome” in France,  he remains haunted by those left behind – especially his mother and brother, who didn’t manage to reach Egypt before Israel closed the Rafah crossing.

“I’m physically out. But my mind is still in Gaza. My mother and my brother, I’m thinking of them all the time. My soul is still in Gaza,” he said.

As Yon continues his vigil outside the Foreign Ministry, he reflects on how hard it was to tell al-Qatrawi evacuations had been halted.

“She said, ‘even if it doesn’t happen, this relationship, this poetry exists. Even if the result is sad for our life, all of this poetry, all of this love, all of this kindness is real’.  

“This relationship has a value in itself,” Yon concludes. A lifeline of friendship – but no life jacket.

“The parliamentary elections in Moldova demonstrated a high level of commitment to democracy, amid unprecedented hybrid threats coming from Russia,” according to Paula Cardoso, leader of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s electoral observers team.

“From illicit financing funnelled through shadowy networks to relentless disinformation campaigns eroding public trust, and brazen cybersecurity incidents designed to sow chaos, these tactics sought to manipulate Moldova’s democracy and sovereignty,” she added.

“Yet, the nation’s democratic tenacity prevailed and helped to ensure the integrity of the vote.”

The legal framework governing the elections provided a solid foundation, with recently introduced laws having enhanced the definition of electoral corruption and tightened campaign finance regulations.

However, Cardoso told RFI that last-minute changes to the law and controversial decisions by the Central Election Commission, including the disqualification of some parties close to the election date, “raised questions about impartiality and limited the political landscape somewhat”.

Nevertheless, the election day itself was largely “smooth and orderly,” according to the observers – with high competence among electoral staff, the majority of whom were women, earning praise from international observers.

In pictures: Moldovans vote in decisive parliamentary elections

‘Russia failed’

In total, 1,578,730 people voted at 2,274 polling stations nationwide, with the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) winning 50.2 percent of the votes – followed by the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc with 24.18 percent. 

“We respect the free and unimpeded choice of the Moldovans to determine their future. The Russian Federation does not,” said Michael Gahler, head of the European Parliament Election Observer mission to Moldova.

Had the Moldovans decided otherwise, “we [the EU] are not the ones who then come with tanks,” he told RFI during an interview in Anenii Noi, a small town in the east of Moldova, where he was checking a polling station designated for Moldovans who live in the breakaway Transnistria region. 

“In the run up to this election, Russia interfered at an unprecedented scale with cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns, intimidation and illicit financing and vote buying schemes. Yet again, they failed,” he added.

How Russian disinformation flooded Moldova’s media landscape ahead of election

Political divisions

The result is being viewed by many as affirmation of the country’s European aspirations, amid ongoing conflict in neighbouring Ukraine and persistent Russian efforts to influence Moldovan politics.

“It’s a big win for the PAS, the main pro-European party in Moldova,” said Natalia Putina, a political scientist at the State University of Moldova.

Nevertheless, political divisions remain deep. The Patriotic Bloc lost ground but retained a base of support, particularly in separatist-leaning regions such as Transnistria. 

“We would have liked to see victory and opposition. We hoped that the opposition would find a solution. We believe that the current government hasn’t shown any results yet,” said Igor, an employee with a bank in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria.

He had come to the polling station in Arenii Noi, one of 12 along the border with Transnistria set up to accommodate Moldovans living in the breakaway region.

His trip was not without obstacles: he had first tried to vote at a polling station in Causeni, further south, but it was closed and he didn’t know why.

Obstacles remain

Others from Transnistria expressed impatience with what they see as discrimination from people living in Moldova proper.

“We are the same as our brothers from Moldova,” said Inna Romanyenko. “I am a Moldovan myself. I got married in Transnistria – does it mean that I am a separatist? No, of course not. I am a Moldovan, I love my country, I appreciate it.”

While she voted for the pro-Russian leader Igor Dodon, she acknowledged the difficulties both in Moldova and Europe.

“Maybe it’s better in Europe, I don’t argue,” she told RFI. “But it’s not easy there either. If Moldova joins the EU, what do you think will happen to Transnistria? Nothing good.”

According to the final results published by the Central Election Commission, 12,017 Transnistrian Moldovans voted, and more than 51 percent favoured the pro-Russian bloc, with PAS coming second with close to 30 percent. 

France, EU leaders say Moldova’s election results put it on path to join EU

Looking ahead, political scientist Putina cautioned that Moldova’s path towards EU membership, while endorsed by the electorate, will be fraught with obstacles.

She cited the ongoing military occupation of Transnistria by Russia and the complex effects of regional conflict – further complicated by a persistent struggle against corruption and the influence of oligarchs.

“Moldova’s democratic development is like a dance: two steps forward and one back,” she said.

Watching his latest film, It Was Just an Accident, screened for the first time at Cannes before an international audience, Jafar Panahi was overcome with tears of joy.

For 15 years, he had been unable to experience a film of his with the public, owing to a travel ban imposed by the Iranian authorities.

“I could really see how the public and the crew were reacting, when they laughed and when they felt emotion and that’s fundamental for a filmmaker,” he told RFI after the première at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The sensation was amplified when he was announced winner of the Palme d’Or on 24 May – the highest honour of the event.

In a moving speech, he defended freedom of expression, declaring: “No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do or what we should not do. The cinema is a society”.

Once the applause in Cannes subsided, however, it was time to return and face the reality of the situation.

Although available to audiences worldwide, Panahi’s film will not be seen by Iranians at home – one of the filmmaker’s biggest regrets.

A portrait of contemporary Iranian society, It Was Just an Accident recounts how five Iranians prepare to confront a man who could be their former jailor.

One dark night, there’s a minor car accident. From that point, the characters are thrown together, forced to relive their trauma, and take action. Despite the dark tone of the film, there are moments of humour and tenderness. 

Panahi wrote the parts based on his own experience and the information gleaned from other prisoner’s testimonies – some of whom had spent decades in jail.

The director has been jailed twice, most recently for seven months in 2022 -2023. He was released after a hunger strike.

Despite the danger in pursuing his work, he said it was important to bring these stories out into the open.

The common point among the characters was the pyschological torture they experienced. They were all blindfolded and interrogated by someone, standing behind them – which made them wonder – who is this man ? How old is he ?

Cannes 2025 ends on a high as director Jafar Panahi claims the Palme d’Or

The question Panahi asks the audience a moral one: what would you do if you recognised your jailor in the street?

“It’s not just about vengeance or forgiveness,” Panahi told France 24.

He points to when the notorious Evin prison was bombed by Israel (in June 2025) and the interrogation wing was destroyed.

Some of the prisoners escaped, but theyalso helped prison guards who were buried under the rubble.

“They could have had vengeance, but it depends on the situation,” he says. “In that moment, being human overcame the need for vengeance. You can’t predict how you would act in certain circumstances.”

‘Guerilla cinema’

One thing is certain, Panahi who has made dozens of films, most of them illegally, has perfected the art of “guerilla cinema”.

You have to make films “very fast, with a low budget and a small crew”, he says.

It Was Just an Accident was shot in 25 days, with an interruption of around a month near the end because the authorities caught up with them. 

Surreal Canadian comedy shifts between Farsi and French to defy borders

Despite an extensive search, they didn’t find the footage because the crew had carefully hidden it. Panahi managed to wrap up the last two days of shooting in one day.

He has been banned for the last 20 years from making films by the Iranian authorities, but this has not dampened his spirit, nor his desire to keep trying to find a way to tell his stories.

“Living in Iran is like being in prison, when you’re told what to think and believe, what you’re supposed to wear and eat – all of that within the framework of an ideology. You leave the small prison, only to find you’re inside a larger one,” he said.

Turning a page

Despite criticism from the regime – who said the film only won a prize because “foreign secret service agents wanted to promote it” –  Panahi says he could never see himself living in exile as he loves his homeland too much. 

He feels heartened by the changes he’s witnessed Iranian society in the past few years, thanks to the Women,Life, Freedom protests and he feels a “page has turned”.

“A regime like this can’t last forever, even if we don’t know exactly when it will fall. We can see that the roots are not strong, it’s an empty shell.

“The regime may still have power, but all the foundations linked to Iranian society have eroded, it’s rotten from the inside and they’re only digging their own graves.”

Thousands of police are on high alert, civilian drones have been banned and NATO allies have sent reinforcements as the continent converges on Copenhagen for the long-planned talks, followed by a broader gathering of European leaders Thursday.

Denmark – which holds the EU’s rotating presidency – has been rattled in recent days as unidentified drones shut down airports and flew near military sites.

Nordic neighbours as well as allies from the United States to Ukraine have dispatched anti-drone technology and specialists to bolster Denmark’s capabilities ahead of the summit talks.

Suspicions have pointed at Russia for what Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a “hybrid attack” – but so far no culprit has been definitively named.

Nonetheless the drone incidents have sharpened the focus on the chinks in Europe’s defences after high-profile air incursions by Moscow in Poland and Estonia.

French military to help counter drones over Denmark ahead of EU summit

EU leaders meeting in the Danish capital are looking to flesh out details for priority projects, including a “drone wall” aimed at countering Russia’s threat.

Defence ministers from some 10 countries mostly along the EU’s eastern flank last week kicked off talks on the plan to build a system of defences to detect, and ultimately take down, drones.

The EU is looking to tap the war-tested expertise of Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelensky will join for Thursday’s gathering of the European Political Community.

“Europe must deliver a strong and united response to Russia’s drone incursions at our borders,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday.

Wednesday’s discussion is the latest step in the EU’s efforts to get ready for a potential conflict with Russia by 2030 – as warnings swirl Moscow could look to attack in the coming years.

Leaders will seek to lay out a roadmap for addressing Europe’s most pressing defence needs as confidence wavers in US backing under President Donald Trump.

The 27-nation bloc has already come up with a 150-billion-euro loan scheme to help fund defence spending, with the lion’s share being snapped up by eastern countries.

Brussels has proposed countries now club together on four “flagship” projects – the drone wall, securing the eastern flank, missile defences and a space “shield”.

Tapping Russian frozen assets?

But while the EU looks to prepare for a possible future war, a crucial pressing issue is how to help finance Ukraine as it tackles Moscow’s ongoing invasion.

“Putin wants to have us talking about ourselves, not about Ukraine, not about helping Ukraine, not to push back Russia in Ukraine,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told AFP in an interview on the eve of the summit.

Leaders will pick over a proposal from Brussels to use frozen Russian central bank assets to fund a new 140-billion-euro loan for Kyiv.

That push could face resistance from Belgium, where most of the assets are held, but it is seen as crucial to help Kyiv plug looming budget shortfalls.

As US support for Ukraine has dried up under Trump, the plan last week won the backing of key powerbroker, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

France warns it could go it alone as European fighter jet project stalls

Officials say they hope to get a green light from leaders to continue work on the plan.

“The positions are not necessarily black and white, no and yes, some may say that they could ponder going down that road if certain conditions are met,” a senior EU official said.

Beyond the push to keep Ukraine going financially, officials are also trying to keep Kyiv’s bid to join the EU on track despite a block from Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.

Russia-friendly Orban has been flexing his veto to stop negotiations with Ukraine from progressing.

European Council chief Antonio Costa, who chairs the summit, has been canvassing support for a plan that would mean countries cannot veto each new step of talks.

“No leader to this day has replied with a total ‘no’, in a totally negative way to this idea,” the EU official said.

But it appears it would be a stretch – and need the consent of Orban and all the other leaders.

Hundreds of mostly young demonstrators gathered in the southern towns of Inzegane, Ait Amira and Tiznit, in the eastern city of Oujda and in Temara near the capital Rabat.

Witnesses and local media reported stone-throwing, burning cars and attacks on police vehicles.

Footage shared by local outlets showed masked protesters setting fire to a bank in Inzegane and torching cars.

In Ait Amira, demonstrators overturned police vehicles and burned down a bank. Witnesses told Reuters that in Tiznit dozens of youths hurled stones at officers who tried to disperse the rally.

State news agency MAP reported that a protester in Oujda was seriously injured after being hit by a security forces’ car.

In Rabat, police arrested dozens of young people as they tried to begin chanting slogans in a densely populated neighbourhood, a Reuters witness reported.

Moroccans protest ship suspected of carrying US fighter jet parts to Israel

Arrests, injuries

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), a local rights group, said 37 youths were released on bail pending an investigation. It said more than 200 mostly young demonstrators had been arrested in Rabat in recent days, although most were later freed.

Hakim Sikouk, head of AMDH’s Rabat branch, condemned the arrests as unconstitutional.

In Casablanca, 24 protesters who blocked a highway on Sunday were placed under judicial investigation, the public prosecutor said.

The president of a child protection association, Najat Anouar, was detained as she spoke to reporters and freed two hours later.

“I came here to investigate allegations that the under-age have been arrested and got arrested myself,” she told Reuters.

Morocco extradites head of notorious Marseille drug gang to France

Anger over inequality

The protests were organised online by a loosely formed youth group called GenZ 212 using TikTok, Instagram and the gaming app Discord.

In a statement posted late on Tuesday on its Facebook page, the group expressed “regret over acts of rioting or vandalism that affected public or private property” and urged participants to stay peaceful and avoid actions that could “undermine the legitimacy of our just demands”.

The movement has grown out of frustration over poor public services and social inequality. Protesters have criticised the government for spending on stadiums for the 2030 Fifa World Cup while hospitals and schools struggle.

“Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” protesters chanted at the weekend.

“We want a better health system and accountability,” 25-year-old Brahim told Reuters in Rabat before fleeing as police moved in to break up the protest.

Morocco’s unemployment rate stands at 12.8 percent, with youth unemployment at 35.8 percent and 19 percent among university graduates, according to the national statistics agency.

Morocco moves to reform laws on underage marriage, polygamy and child custody

Hospital deaths

Public anger has deepened following reports that eight pregnant women died recently at a public hospital in Agadir. Rights groups say the case has become a symbol of the country’s underfunded health services.

“The arrests confirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression,” AMDH said in a statement.

The protests have highlighted frustration among young Moroccans and women who feel excluded from the country’s economic progress.

Protesters charged

Prosecutors have charged 37 protesters, most of whom are free on bail, with trials due to start on 7 October, lawyer Souad Brahma told AFP. Three others remain in detention.

In Casablanca, prosecutors have opened an investigation into 18 people accused of obstructing traffic during a weekend protest, MAP reported, adding that six minors were referred to a specialised court.

Morocco’s governing coalition, made up of centre-right and liberal parties, said it was “ready to respond positively and responsibly” to the demands of young protesters. It praised what it called “the balanced reaction of security authorities in line with relevant legal procedures”.

The interior ministry has not commented publicly on the unrest.

GenZ 212 has vowed to keep pushing for health and education reforms as well as action against corruption while maintaining its “love for the homeland”.

(with newswires)

Kabila, 54, who led Congo from 2001 to 2019, was not in court and had no legal representation during the trial, which opened on 25 July. His whereabouts are unknown, and the judges ordered his immediate arrest.

The High Military Court said Kabila betrayed his duty of loyalty to the Congolese state, calling his actions “an outrage to millions of Congolese whom he led for 18 years”.

The court also ordered him to pay more than 33 billion dollars in damages to the state, to the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu and to associations representing victims of the conflict.

Rebel links

Judges spent nearly four hours explaining their decision. They said Kabila played a central role in the insurrection alongside Corneille Nangaa, the head of the Congo River Alliance political movement, and Rwanda.

“Joseph Kabila is the chief of the AFC/M23 coalition,” the court said.

Prosecutors presented evidence including the testimony of Eric Nkuba, the former chief of staff to Nangaa who was convicted of rebellion in August 2024.

Supporters of ex-DRC President Kabila denounce proposed death penalty as ‘sham’

Nkuba alleged Kabila had been in regular phone contact with Nangaa about toppling President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.

The verdict makes Kabila the first former Congolese president ever convicted by a military tribunal.

Kabila, who became president in 2001 after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, stayed in power for 18 years, extending his rule by delaying elections before stepping aside after his chosen successor lost to Tshisekedi in 2018. 

Sharp political divide

Kabila’s party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy, rejected the ruling.

“This is a vast joke. We have always said this is a political trial,” the party’s permanent secretary Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary told RFI after the verdict. “Instead of seeking cohesion and national reconciliation, this trial will further divide Congolese.”

By contrast, victims’ lawyers hailed the outcome.

“Victims finally appear and the suffering they live in anonymity now has an author,” said Kasongo Mayombo, who represented several NGOs in eastern Congo.

International NGOs report mass killings and sexual violence in eastern DRC

“Perhaps we will go even further and find other authors or accomplices of the crimes they endured. This is the beginning of the end of impunity.”

Richard Bondo, a lawyer for the Congolese state, said he was satisfied.

“As professionals, we must therefore bow while saluting the court’s decision,” he said, noting that the civil parties had requested life imprisonment rather than the death penalty, but the sentence “falls under the sovereignty of the judge”.

Ongoing conflict in east

Kabila has lived outside Congo for more than two years, mostly in South Africa. He was last seen publicly in May in the rebel-held city of Goma. It is unclear how the death sentence could be enforced.

Congo’s Senate voted in May to lift Kabila’s immunity from prosecution, a move he called dictatorial.

While denying the charges, he expressed support for the M23 campaign in an opinion piece in the South African newspaper Sunday Times in February. His allies say he still has ambitions to unite the opposition against Tshisekedi.

DR Congo urges world to recognise ‘Genocost’ tied to decades of resource war

Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, has been torn apart by armed conflict for 30 years. The violence surged in early 2025 when M23 rebels, supported by Rwandan forces, seized Goma in January and Bukavu in February.

The fighting has killed about 3,000 people this year and forced around seven million to flee their homes.

Rwanda denies backing M23, saying its forces act in self-defence against Congo’s army and Hutu militias linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Tshisekedi’s government has suspended Kabila’s party and moved to seize its leaders’ assets.

Analysts warn the verdict could deepen Congo’s political divides and complicate efforts to end the conflict in the east.

PSG will play in Spain without Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and fellow forwards Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Skipper Marquinhos will also miss the game at the Olympic Stadium.

“Both teams like to defend high up the pitch,” said Enrique who spent eight years as a player for Barcelona before coaching the side to nine trophies including the 2015 Champions League.

“Both teams take risks in that way,” he added. “There’s one way to look at what we’re going through, either you come looking for excuses or you come looking for results.

“We’re coming for results regardless of who is in our team.”

All eyes on PSG as Marseille and Monaco fight for Champions League limelight

Barcelona under the cosh

Barcelona are also suffering their own pain. Their casualty list includes striker Raphinha, midfielders Gavi and and Fermin Lopez as well as goalkeepers Joan Garcia and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

“Watching a game between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain with five or six important players from both teams not playing … to me it’s a shame, for their manager and for fans of both teams,” said Enrique.

“I am happy to come back, it’s my home,” added the 55-year-old Spaniard. “I spent a large part of my career as a player and a manager here.

“We’re It’s not the Nou Camp but the Olympic Stadium is a beautiful venue. I played here in the Olympic Games in 1992. It’s very special to be here.”

PSG launched the defence of their crown with a 4-0 romp past Atalanta at the Parc des Princes in Paris while Barcelona won 2-1 at Newcastle United.

The Spaniards will be boosted by the return of Lamine Yamal who was runner-up to Dembélé for the Ballon d’Or.

Joao Neves returns to the PSG fold after missing the Ligue 1 games against Marseille and Auxerre.

On Tuesday night in the Champions League, Igor Paixao bagged a brace as Marseille walloped Ajax 4-0.

France skipper Kylian Mbappé hit a hat trick in Real Madrid’s 5-0 win at Kairat Almaty.

“The opportunity to turn my passion into a profession is a privilege I have cherished during every match and moment of my 21-year career,” he wrote.

“Though this game means the world to me, I am tremendously at peace with my decision.”

Born Gael Sebastian Monfils on 1 September to Rufin Monfils and Sylvette Cartesse who had come to France from Guadeloupe and Martinique respectively, he grew up with a brother and two sisters in north-eastern Paris.

His genius with a racquet and ball would take him to all four corners of the planet.

He played his first junior match in January 2002 in Sweden. Two years later, he was the junior world number one clocking up victories at the junior events at the Australian Open in Melbourne, the French Open in his home town and on the lawns of Wimbledon in south-west London. 

He turned professional in 2004 and distinguished himself as the showman incarnate in an era dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

“I’ve had the chance to play during a golden age of tennis alongside some of the greatest names in the history of our sport,” Monfils said.

“Even losing feels epic when you’re facing a legend (though I have to admit the occasional wins were pretty euphoric, too).”

The announcement comes with Monfils at 53 in the world rankings, a far cry from the high of sixth place in July 2016.

A final year on the tour will furnish him with a chance to add to a trophy cabinet boasting the silverware from 13 triumphs from his 35 finals.

“While I came close, I never did win a Grand Slam during my career,” he added. “I won’t pretend that I expect to do so during the next year.

“You could have, you should have …

“As those who know me can attest, I’ve never thought this way, and frankly I’m far too old to start doing so now.

“Believe me when I say I have no regrets.

“What I do have is the feeling that I have been lucky: insanely, stupidly lucky.”

Over the course of a 2026 Gael gala farewell tour, fans across the globe are likely to reciprocate the sentiment.

Ambassador Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa had been reported missing by his wife on Monday evening after she received a text message from him that worried her, the prosecutor’s office said.

The 58-year-old had booked a room on the 22nd floor, according to the prosecutors, and a secured window had been forced open. The body of Mthethwa, a close associate of former South African president Jacob Zuma, was found “directly by the hotel”, it added.

South Africa to examine past failures to prosecute apartheid crimes

‘Untimely death’

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called his death “untimely” and “a moment of deep grief in which government and citizens stand beside the Mthethwa family”.

“Ambassador Mthethwa has served our nation in diverse capacities during a lifetime that has ended prematurely and traumatically,” he said.

In a statement released in Pretoria, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said he had “no doubt that his passing is not only a national loss but is also felt within the international diplomatic community”.

The circumstances of “his untimely death” are under investigation by the French authorities, the statement confirmed.

A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, said the ambassador suffered from depression and his death could have been suicide.

Mthethwa had been ambassador since December 2023. He served as minister of arts and culture of South Africa from 2014 to 2019, and then of sports, arts and culture until 2023, according to his embassy website.

He was also police minister from 2009 to 2014 and security minister from 2008 to 2009.

Mthethwa also served on the board of directors of the 2010 football World Cup local organising committee.

South Africa hits back at US over ‘flawed’ rights report and land grab claims

Between 2007 and 2022, he was a senior official in the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party since the first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994.

He worked underground within the ANC’s military wing during apartheid and was notably arrested during the state of emergency in 1989.

(with AFP)

From May 2022 to early 2023, the Mediterranean went through its longest marine heatwave in four decades, with surface temperatures up to 4.3C above normal.

Scientists examined how that extreme heat affected two invasive species – the Atlantic blue crab and the bearded fireworm – which have spread in the Po River delta in northern Italy and along the Sicilian coast.

In the Po delta, the surge in blue crabs, which feed on shellfish, caused mussel production to collapse by 75 to 100 percent in some lagoons in 2023. The fast-breeding predator appears to have been boosted by warmer waters, threatening seafloor habitats and upsetting the balance of the ecosystem.

The bearded fireworm, a native Mediterranean species that can grow up to 70 centimetres long and live for nine years, also multiplied as the sea warmed.

Its venomous bristles have become a serious problem for small-scale fishers in Sicily, consuming bait, breaking secondary lines attached to hooks and damaging fish, which reduces their market value.

Brittany’s mussel farms ravaged by surging spider crab invasion

Local fishers impacted

“This worm constitutes a threat both to marine biodiversity and to the economic stability of local fisheries,” the report’s authors said. They called for management strategies to curb its spread.

Proposed responses include encouraging local consumption of the blue crab, limiting the release of egg-bearing females and using the fireworm to process shellfish waste.

Beyond invasive species, the 2025 Copernicus Marine report warns that oceans face multiple other pressures – including rising acidification, growing plastic pollution and shrinking sea ice.

“Every part of the ocean is affected by the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” said Pierre Bahurel, director-general of Mercator Ocean International, which runs Copernicus Marine, during an online briefing.

The report said the ocean has absorbed about 90 percent of the excess heat from human activity since the 1960s. Sea-surface temperatures have hit record highs in many regions in recent years, fuelling more frequent and intense marine heatwaves.

Indigenous knowledge steers new protections for the high seas

Warming and acidification

Ocean acidification is also worsening as carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere. “As long as net carbon dioxide emissions are not brought back to zero, ocean acidity will continue to grow,” said Jean-Pierre Gattuso, research director at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research and a senior scientist at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations.

Climate-driven shifts are also affecting other species such as micronecton – small fish, crustaceans and squid that rise to the surface at night to feed on plankton.

With the ocean warming, “cold ecosystems are shrinking and the habitats of Arctic and sub-Arctic micronecton species with them”, said Patrick Lehodey, a modelling expert at Mercator.

That shift has knock-on effects for predators from whales and penguins to commercially valuable fish.

Europe’s climate progress overshadowed by worsening loss of nature

The report said these changes show that the effects of warming are reaching deep into food chains and affecting both wildlife and human livelihoods.

More than 70 scientists from nine countries contributed to the report.

“The science is unequivocal: the ocean is changing fast, with extreme records and worsening impacts. We know why. This knowledge is not just a warning signal, it is a roadmap to restore balance between humanity and the ocean,” Mercator resaercher Karina von Schuckmann told the briefing.

The speed of the changes, scientists warn, is unprecedented in human history.

“These changes are happening very rapidly on the scale of two centuries,” Gattuso said. In contrast, the five mass extinctions in Earth’s history unfolded over thousands of years or more.

Dati, is accused of accepting €900,000 in lawyer’s fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, without actually working for them, while she was an MEP from 2009 to 2019.

The judges who investigated the case believe that Dati’s activity in the European Parliament “amounted to lobbying”, which “appears incompatible both with her mandate and with her profession as a lawyer”.

Ghosn, the former chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, before being sacked by Nissan’s board.

The 71-year-old, who holds Lebanese, French, and Brazilian nationality, has been living in Lebanon since late 2019 after a dramatic escape from Japan.

He is due to be tried for abuse of power by a company director, breach of trust, corruption, and active influence peddling.

Ghosn’s presence at the trial appears highly hypothetical since he has been the subject of an arrest warrant since April 2023.

Both Dati and Ghosn have contested the charges.

Requests for annulment

After the announcement of her referral to the criminal court at the end of July, Dati had insisted on the reality of her work as a lawyer and denied any lobbying in the European Parliament.

“As president of the largest automotive industrial group in the world, president of European manufacturers, do you think Carlos Ghosn needed me?” she asked.

Dati’s three lawyers, Frank Berton, Olivier Bluche and Basile Ader, have warned that they intend to file applications for annulment as soon as the proceedings begin.

Resurgent conservative Rachida Dati unveils ambitions to run for Paris mayor

The criminal trial – from 16 to 28 September – will take place six months after the municipal elections on 15 and 22 March, 2026.

A high-profile political figure and mayor of the French capital’s chic 7th district, Dati holds ambitions to become the mayor of Paris.

She is scheduled to run as a candidate for the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party.

Dati was a key figure in former president Nicolas Sarkozy‘s conservative government, serving as justice minister from 2007 to 2009.

She has served as Culture Minister under President Emmanuel Macron since January 2024 and is yet to find out if she will be part of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s new government lineup.

Dati is also the subject of a judicial investigation into the possible failure to declare luxury jewellery to the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). She denies any irregularity.

(with newswires)

The 20-point plan calls for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, as well as a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas still holds 48 Israeli hostages – 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive.

In return, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons, as well as 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began.

Under the proposal, Hamas would have to disarm in return for an end to the fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza.

“I support your plan to end the war in Gaza which achieves our war aims,” Netanyahu said in a joint press conference with the US president at the White House.

“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself.”

Trump said that Israel would have his “full backing” to do so if Hamas did not accept the deal.

Sincere efforts

Trump insisted peace in the Middle East was “beyond very close” and described the announcement of the plan as a “potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation”.

Eight key Arab and Muslim nations – Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan – hailed the agreement’s “sincere efforts” in the wake of their own talks with Trump last week.

The Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank but would be set for a role in a post-war Gaza government, also welcomed Trump’s “sincere and determined efforts”.

Washington’s European allies promptly voiced support, with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy sharing strong expressions of support for the plan.

Macron recognises Palestinian state at UN, defying Israel and United States

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Hamas now had “no choice but to immediately free all the hostages” and called on Israel to “commit resolutely” to it.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said the UK “strongly” supported Trump’s “efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – said Madrid “welcomes the peace proposal”.

“We have to put an end to so much suffering,” he said, adding that a two-state solution was “the only one possible”.

European Union chief Antonio Costa urged all parties to “seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance”.

Mixed reactions

Trump’s plan sparked mixed reactions in a region scarred by nearly two years of devastating war.

A senior Hamas official told French news agency AFP that the group would “respond once we receive it”. Qatari and Egyptian mediators later shared Trump’s proposal with Hamas, another official briefed on the talks said.

Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, called the plan “a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people”.

“Through this, Israel is attempting – via the United States – to impose what it could not achieve through war,” it said.

In devastated Gaza, residents expressed scepticism that Trump’s plan could end the war.

“We as a people will not accept this farce,” Abu Mazen Nassar, 52 – one of 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war – told AFP.

‘Recognition brings obligation’: How declaring genocide could reshape war in Gaza

For Hamas, the deal means being excluded from future roles in government, although those who agree to “peaceful co-existence” would be granted amnesty.

Netanyahu could also face trouble selling the deal to far-right members of his cabinet.

He stressed to reporters that Israeli forces would retain responsibility for Gaza security “for the foreseeable future” and cast doubt on the Palestinian Authority’s role.

Trump’s plan, meanwhile, leaves hope for Palestinian statehood – something he said Netanyahu had strongly objected to during the meeting.

Other key points in Trump’s plan include deployment of a “temporary international stabilisation force” – and the creation of a transitional authority headed by him, and including former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Blair, still a controversial figure in much of the Middle East for his role in the 2003 Iraq war, hailed what he called a “bold and intelligent” plan.

(with AFP)

DZ Fest is the only festival focused on Algerian culture outside the country. It has been run every year since 2022 in the United Kingdom.

This year the festival took place in the latter half of September with events in both London and Nottingham.

Spotlight on Africa travelled to London to talk to the organisers and guests of DZ Fest, and to some Algerians living in the UK

Founder and creative director Rachida Lamri – an artist, musician and member of the London-based Arabo-Andalusian orchestra – curated a programme showcasing Algerian music, traditions, and cuisine.

We also met:

• The Algerian chef Djamel Ait Idir, who runs couscous workshop in his restaurant, Khamsa, in Brixton, South London
• Fayssal Bensalah, an Algerian-born novelist and a lecturer teaching creative writing in Cardiff, Wales
• Comedian Mehdi Walker, also born in Algeria, who lives in France but performs his comedy sketches in English
• Artist and filmmaker Leila Gamaz, who lives between Bristol and Morocco. 

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Nicolas Doreau.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

Oswal described it as “a shock” when, on 14 May 2025, he discovered that Axis Minerals’ mining licence had been revoked. The Guinean subsidiary of the Oswal Global group had been operating the site since 2020, following years of exploration and investment in the project.

“I was asleep at home when, around 2am, I received a message on my phone: ‘Our mine is gone.’ At first I thought it was a joke: ‘What? That’s impossible.’ Then I told my daughter, who is managing director, to pick up the phone immediately and call Conakry to find out what was happening. And, in fact, it was true – 51 mining licences had been withdrawn.”

Axi Minerals was among those targeted in the sweeping licence cancellations ordered by the junta and its government.

The clean-up of the national mining register is justified, according to General Amara Camara, spokesperson for the Guinean presidency, on the grounds that “most of the permits were in breach of the mining code”.

Paris prosecutor dismisses case against Apple over DRC conflict minerals

‘No prior warning’

For Oswal, it was a brutal blow. “From one day to the next, our operations were halted. Our 5,000 employees and subcontractors were left without work. We received no prior warning, no letter, no discussion asking us to correct anything.” 

“The government claimed that companies had failed to meet certain obligations, particularly in local processing. But never, at any point before, were we asked to build an alumina refinery or downstream plant,” added the businessman, who now lives in Switzerland.

He wrote to the authorities several times, but received no reply.

In early July, Axis Minerals launched ad hoc arbitration proceedings in New York. “Our claim for damages amounts to more than $1 billion. And that is what will hurt Guinea,” Oswal warned.

“I do not want this, but if they push us that far, I have no choice but to continue on my path. And my path, as a businessman, is legal because I believe in contracts. We do not have weapons. The only power we have is the power of the pen.”

However, Oswal insists he is still open to dialogue and would be ready to invest in Guinea again once the dispute is resolved. Guinea has not yet agreed to arbitration, but has nonetheless been formally served with Axis Minerals’ request to compel it to do so.

The government received the notice on 1 September. Contacted by RFI, the Guinean Ministry of Mines declined to comment.

Guinean workers fearful of mass job losses after mining permits cancelled

Guinea sending ‘wrong message’

Axis Minerals has been in Guinea since 2013. After many years of collaboration, it’s the silence that Oswal finds most troubling. At a time when the Simandou 2040 programme [a $20 billion investment aimed at establishing Guinea as a leading iron ore producer] is meant to accelerate the country’s development, he questions Conakry’s approach to foreign investors.

“Guinea goes to Washington, to Australia, saying ‘come to our country’, but it doesn’t send the right signal to people who are already here. You throw out those who have invested and then tell newcomers to come. Why would they come if you expel those who have already put their money in? Frankly, it makes no sense,” he said.

“First, you must protect those who have invested in your country – not lure in fresh blood only to strip them of their assets five years later,” he added.

French mining group digs in as Gabon tightens grip on manganese exports

Bauxite rock is the principal ore of aluminum. Just before losing its licence, Axis Minerals reported average production of 169,000 tonnes of bauxite per day, most of it exported to China.

Its mines between Fria and Boffa enabled the export of nearly 40 million tonnes of bauxite between 2023 and 2025.

This article was translated from the original in French

French national 73-year-old Lim Kimya, a former opposition lawmaker in Cambodia, was shot dead on 7 January 2025 by a motorcyclist as the ex-MP arrived in the Thai capital.

A Thai citizen, Ekkalak Paenoi, was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia a day later and handed over to Thai authorities. He now faces a premeditated murder charge.

Ekkalak confessed to the killing in a livestream video, but Lim Kimya’s widow, Anne-Marie Lim, said Tuesday she wanted to know why her husband was murdered.

“I want to know the reason for this crime and who ordered it. That’s what I want to know most of all,” she told French news agency AFP outside the court in Bangkok, carrying a portrait of her slain husband.

“His death has turned everything upside down in my daily life,” Lim said, weeping.

A ‘hero’

Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country’s powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting.

Cambodia’s leader Hun Manet, has denied his government or his father Hun Sen’s involvement.

Hun Sen led Cambodia for nearly four decades until 2023, and Western nations and rights groups have long accused his government of using the legal system to crush the opposition.

Flanked by her legal team on Tuesday, Anne-Marie Lim said she wanted justice for her husband, who she called a “hero”.

“He defended the Cambodian people, and he only thought about doing good and improving life in Cambodia,” she said. “That’s why he was in opposition to the government.”

Also on trial is Thai national Chakrit Buakhil, who is believed to be the man who drove Ekkalak to the Cambodian border after the shooting, Lim’s lawyer told AFP.

Some Thai media reports said the accused shooter was paid 60,000 baht (€1,500) for the killing but police say he has claimed he did not receive payment and took the job “to pay a debt of gratitude”.

Lim Kimya was an MP in Cambodia from 2013 to 2017, when his party, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved by the country’s Supreme Court.

Its leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested, and its co-founder, Sam Rainsy, was exiled and found refuge in France.

Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won all 125 seats in the National Assembly in 2018, in an election that was boycotted by the opposition.

After that, Kimya withdrew from politics and returned to France, according to a statement from his wife’s lawyers.

Thai police said in January that they were seeking to arrest a Cambodian national believed to be the mastermind behind Kimya’s killing.

They identified two Cambodian suspects: Ly Ratanakrasksmey, accused of having recruited the gunman, and Pich Kimsrin, the alleged lookout who local media has reported was on the bus alongside the victim and his wife.

Search for answers

Days after the killing, following media reports that Ratanakrasksmey was a former adviser to Hun Sen, Cambodia’s ruling party released a statement saying he was dismissed from the role in March 2024.

“We have learned that there are two (Cambodians), one of whom organised this crime,” Anne-Marie Lim said before entering the court on Tuesday.

She added that she feared the alleged mastermind may never be held accountable – even though his name is known and he is believed to be in Cambodia.

Nadthasiri Bergman, one of her lawyers in Thailand, told AFP that since the gunman had confessed, she believed he would be convicted.

“But our concern is that we might not get to the bottom of why the assassination happened, and we hope to find that answer today during the witness examination,” Bergman said.

The trial is expected to conclude in March.

(with AFP)

Police have responded with a heavy hand, firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, called to action on social media through a movement called Gen Z.

The days-long protest, led mostly by young demonstrators, has left at least 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to a United Nations tally rejected by the government as unverified and “based on rumours”.

“I have decided to terminate the functions of the Prime Minister and the government. Pending the formation of the new government, those in office will act as interim ministers,” Rajoelina said in a televised national address late Monday.

New premier?

Applications for a new premier will be received over the next three days before a new government is formed, he said.

The president on Friday sacked his energy minister “for not doing his job”.

Deadly protests erupt in Madagascar over chronic blackouts and water cuts

Madagascar, among the world’s poorest countries despite vast natural resources, has experienced frequent popular uprisings since gaining independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced former president Marc Ravalomanana from power.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Madagascar’s “violent response” to the protests.

On Monday, crowds marched through the capital Antananarivo, many dressed in black and chanting calls for Rajoelina to resign.

He first came to power following a coup sparked by the 2009 uprising.

Some demonstrators held signs reading “We want to live, not survive” – a central slogan of the movement.

Energy crisis looms large as Macron makes rare visit to Madagascar

Police detained an opposition lawmaker during the march in Antananarivo, footage shared on social media showed, prompting calls from his colleagues for his release.

At least one other protester was also arrested, prompting the UN’s Turk to urge the authorities to “ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.

Widespread looting

A statement released by the protest movement late Sunday called for the government and Antananarivo’s prefect to resign. They have also targeted figures close to the president including Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and businessman Mamy Ravatomanga.

The movement has adopted as its rallying symbol a pirate flag from the Japanese anime series “One Piece”, a logo also used recently by youth-led, anti-regime protests in Indonesia and Nepal.

Thursday’s protests in the capital were followed by widespread looting throughout the night, which encountered no police response.

The Gen Z movement said in its Sunday statement that “groups of anonymous individuals were paid to loot numerous establishments in order to tarnish the movement and the ongoing struggle”.

The movement was named after Generation Z, a nickname attributed to people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s.

Protests were also widespread in Antsiranana at the northern tip of Madagascar.

The demonstrations were the largest since 2023 when protests erupted ahead of the presidential elections, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

Poverty and corruption

Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, stepped down after 2013 general elections but triumphed in the 2018 presidential election, winning re-election in contested polls in 2023 in which less than half of registered voters cast their ballots.

The 51-year-old leader on Monday vowed to find a solution to the country’s problems, saying he had heard the grievances.

“When the Malagasy people suffer, I want you to know that I feel that pain too, and I have not slept, day or night, in my efforts to find solutions and improve the situation,” he said.

Southern African leaders meet in Madagascar to chart path for self-reliance

Despite its natural resources, Madagascar remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is among the most corrupt, ranked 140 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

Nearly 75 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2022, according to the World Bank.

The unrest is the latest to hit Madagascar since the end of French rule. Philibert Tsiranana, who led the country through the post-independence era, was forced to hand over power to the army in 1972, after a popular uprising was bloodily suppressed.

(with AFP)

DZ Fest is the only festival focused on Algerian culture outside the country. It has been run every year since 2022 in the United Kingdom.

This year the festival took place in the latter half of September with events in both London and Nottingham.

Spotlight on Africa travelled to London to talk to the organisers and guests of DZ Fest, and to some Algerians living in the UK

Founder and creative director Rachida Lamri – an artist, musician and member of the London-based Arabo-Andalusian orchestra – curated a programme showcasing Algerian music, traditions, and cuisine.

We also met:

• The Algerian chef Djamel Ait Idir, who runs couscous workshop in his restaurant, Khamsa, in Brixton, South London
• Fayssal Bensalah, an Algerian-born novelist and a lecturer teaching creative writing in Cardiff, Wales
• Comedian Mehdi Walker, also born in Algeria, who lives in France but performs his comedy sketches in English
• Artist and filmmaker Leila Gamaz, who lives between Bristol and Morocco. 

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Nicolas Doreau.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

Ankara is celebrating a diplomatic win after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.

In the Oval Office, Trump praised his guest in front of the world’s media.

“He’s a highly respected man,” Trump said. “He’s respected very much in his country and throughout Europe and throughout the world, where they know him.”

Erdogan smiled as he listened. The Turkish leader had been frozen out by President Joe Biden, who made clear his dislike for the Turkish leader.

Trump, by contrast, has long cultivated a friendship with him. But even that relationship has limits, with Israel’s war on Gaza still a source of strain.

Turkey walks a tightrope as Trump threatens sanctions over Russian trade

Restraint over Gaza

Erdogan is a strong supporter of Hamas, which he refuses to label a terrorist group, calling it instead a resistance movement. Yet he chose not to let the issue overshadow his visit.

Analysts say this restraint was deliberate.

“There’s been a concerted effort not to get into a spat about Gaza,” Asli Aydintasbas, of the Washington-based Brookings Institution, told RFI. “Uncharacteristically, he remains silent on the Gaza issue and that is by design.”

During his trip, Erdogan kept his criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza to remarks at the UN General Assembly, echoing broader international condemnation.

He also met French President Emmanuel Macron in New York and welcomed France’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

Erdogan is also seeking wider backing as concerns over Israel’s actions grow, an issue that also came up in his talks with Trump.

“Turkey’s concerns with Israel are not actually limited to Gaza,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

He said Ankara is also uneasy about Israel’s actions in neighbouring states, adding that the two countries’ policies towards Syria clash sharply.

“Turkey wants a stable Syria and one that’s centralised,” he said. “Whereas Israel wants a decentralised and less stable Syria.”

Turkey warns Kurdish-led fighters in Syria to join new regime or face attack

Energy and Russia

Turkey’s close ties with Russia risk becoming another flashpoint.

Sitting beside Erdogan at the Oval Office, Trump called for an end to Turkish purchases of Russian energy. He also criticised Erdogan’s long-standing policy of balancing relations between Washington and Moscow.

“Trump does not want a balancing Turkey, at least today,” said Aydintasbas. “That was more obvious than ever in his rhetoric and his dealings with Erdogan.”

She said Erdogan had assumed for the past decade that his balancing act between the West and Russia was acceptable. “It must come as a surprise,” she added.

Turkey is the third-largest importer of Russian oil and gas. But in a move seen as an attempt to placate Trump, Ankara this week signed a multibillion-dollar deal to buy US liquefied natural gas over 20 years.

The two leaders also signed a strategic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, which could pave the way for Turkey to buy US-made nuclear reactors.

As Trump rails at UN and shifts Ukraine stance, Macron urges US to end Gaza war

Limited gains

Despite these gestures, analysts said Erdogan achieved little in return. He had hoped Trump would lift a US embargo on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Instead, Trump only gave a vague promise to address the issue.

For Erdogan, however, the White House meeting itself may have been the main prize.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said before the meeting that Trump wanted to give Erdogan “legitimacy”.

“For Erdogan, this is a big win,” said Sinan Ciddi, of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. The Turkish leader, he said, has long sought a White House photo-op to showcase at home.

“He gets to show that he has met the US president, has gravitas on the world stage and is signing deals with Washington,” Ciddi added.

“At a time when he is jailing leaders and dismantling democratic governance inside Turkey, he is being legitimised by the leader of the so-called free world.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis.

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

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

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

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

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

This week’s quiz: On 19 July, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Dhananjay Khadilkar’s video and article about the study of exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, which are planets outside of our solar system.

As you read in Dhananjay’s article “Swiss exoplanet pioneer reflects on Earth’s place in the cosmos”, Didier Queloz, along with Michel Mayor, discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star in 1995, which ushered in, as Dhananjay wrote, a new era in astronomy and planetary science. The two scientists won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

Dhananjay met with Didier Queloz, who told him, and I quote: “Looking for exoplanets is essentially looking for us.”

What did Professor Queloz mean by that? You were to send in the answer to this question: According to Queloz, what is the essential reason for studying other planets?

The answer is, to quote Dhananjay Khadilkar’s article: “In essence, by studying other planetary systems, scientists are holding up a mirror to our own. Are the conditions that led to Earth’s habitability common or exceedingly rare? Is our solar system an outlier, or just one example among countless others?”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Is it up to the State, the government, to decide what is fair, or what is just?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Dipita is also the winner of this week’s bonus quiz. Congratulations, Dipita, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners is RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from Kerala, India, and RFI English listeners Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India; Liton Rahaman Khan from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Rashidul Bin Somor, the General Secretary of the Source of Knowledge Club, also in Naogaon.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: The allegro di molto from the Symphony No 38 in C Major (the “Echo” symphony) by Franz Joseph Haydn, performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer; “Space Ambient” produced by Space Relax; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Young at Heart” by Johnny Richards and Carolyn Leigh, sung by Connie Francis.

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 “Dembélé and Bonmati win Ballon d’Or as PSG take team and coach prizes”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 20 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 25 October podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

Evacuations from Gaza to France were suspended on 1 August after a Gazan student in Paris was found to have published antisemitic social media posts before her arrival. The suspension has left applicants for the largely state-funded Pause programme, which welcomes scientists and artists facing persecution, in limbo. French and international writers and Palestine solidarity groups have denounced it as “collective punishment”. Gazan rap musician Abou Joury, who arrived in France in January, talks about finding safety and financial stability. Meanwhile French fruit farmer Mathieu Yon – whose friend and “sister”, the poet Alaa al-Qatrawi, is currently stuck in Gaza – has taken up position in front of the Foreign Ministry, pushing for evacuations to resume. (Listen @3’50”)

A record 19 percent of France’s GDP is now in savings accounts – the highest level outside of the exceptionally high rate recorded during the Covid pandemic. While the French have always had a tendency to squirrel money away, sociologist Jeanne Lazarus says the current increase is a sign people are feeling anxious about the economy and the long-term viability of France’s famously supportive social welfare system. (Listen @22’20”)

The story of how French revolutionairies overturned not only the monarchy but time itself, by instituting the Republican calendar from 22 September 1792. (Listen @16’25”)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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

“We are fighting for the future of Turkey‘s democracy,” said party leader Ozgur Ozel to tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in Ankara on Saturday.

Ozel has been travelling the country since March, when Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on graft charges. The case marked the start of a legal assault on the CHP. Ozel now speaks at rallies twice a week, despite his often hoarse voice.

The party is also defending itself in court over alleged voting irregularities at a congress two years ago that elected Ozel as leader. If the court rules against them, Ozel and the rest of the party leadership could be removed and replaced by state-appointed trustees.

“It’s unprecedented,” said political analyst Sezin Oney of the Politics news portal. “There has not been such a purge, such a massive crackdown on the opposition, and there is no end in sight, that’s the issue.”

Macron and Erdogan find fragile common ground amid battle for influence

Arrests and polls

On Wednesday, another CHP mayor in Istanbul was jailed, bringing the total to 16 detained mayors and more than 300 other officials. Most face corruption charges.

The arrests come as the CHP’s new leadership is stepping up its challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Recent opinion polls give Imamoglu and other CHP figures double-digit leads over the president.

Oney said the prosecutions are part of Erdogan’s wider strategy.

“He’s trying to complete the transformation, the metamorphosis as I call it, of Turkey to become a full authoritarian country,” she said.

“There is an opposition but the opposition is a grotesque opposition, that can never have the power actually to be in government. But they give the perception as if the country is democratic because there are elections.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan peace deal raises hopes of Turkish border reopening

‘Multi-front attack’

Ilhan Uzgel, the CHP’s foreign affairs coordinator, said the party is under siege.

“We are under a multi-front attack from all directions at almost every level, running from one court case to another,” he said.

He argued that Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is using fear to force defections. “Sixteen of our mayors are in jail right now, and they threaten our mayors. You either join our party or you face a jail term,” Uzgel said.

Erdogan rejects any suggestion of coercion and insists the judiciary is independent. Since he came to power more than 20 years ago, however, not a single AKP mayor has been convicted on graft charges – though on Friday at least two local mayors from the ruling party were detained as part of a corruption investigation.

Turkey warns Kurdish-led fighters in Syria to join new regime or face attack

Political risks

Despite appearing dominant, Erdogan may face a backlash. Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst with Global Source Partners, said the crackdown is fuelling public anger.

“You look at recent polls, the first complaint remains economic conditions, but justice rose to number two. These things don’t escape people’s notice; that’s what I mean when I say Erdogan took a huge political risk with his career,” he said.

Erdogan currently trails behind several potential challengers, but elections are still more than two years away.

Yesilada said much depends on the stance of Erdogan’s ally Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party.

“It’s quite possible at some point, Bahceli will say enough is enough, you are destroying the country, and may also end the coalition,” he said.

Bahceli formed an informal alliance with Erdogan in 2018, when Turkey switched to a presidential system. Erdogan relies on Bahceli’s parliamentary deputies to pass constitutional reforms needed to secure another term.

Bahceli has voiced concern about the pressure on the CHP, which has been trying to win his support. But with the court expected to rule next month on the party’s leadership, the CHP says it will keep fighting.

“The only thing that we can do is rely on our people, our electorate, and the democratic forces in the country. We are not going to give up,” said Uzgel.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from Erwan, Paul, and me.

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: “Picadillo de Soya” by José Luis Cortés, performed by José Luis Cortés and NG La Banda; “Electricity” by Paul Humphreys and Andrew McCluskey, performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and “One Life to Live” from Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, performed by Teresa Stratas with the Y Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz.

The quiz will be back next Saturday, the 27th of September. Be sure and tune in! 

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.