The Latest Breaking News from RFI

French scientists are mapping plankton across the Indo-Pacific – using Navy ships to study the microscopic organisms that produce half of Earth’s oxygen, feed the ocean and help regulate the planet’s carbon. The eight-year mission is charting life in remote waters to understand how these drifting ecosystems evolve – and…

According to the International Organization of Migration, the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen is one of the busiest – and deadliest – in the world. Hoping to find work in the oil-rich Gulf states, thousands of Africans, many from Ethiopia, risk their lives on perilous sea journeys.…

This week on The Sound Kitchen, a special treat: RFI English listener’s musical requests. Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy!

As Moldova heads towards parliamentary elections in September, concerns are mounting over an alleged Kremlin-backed campaign to alter the country’s pro-European direction.

Cameroon’s Constitutional Council has confirmed opposition leader Maurice Kamto will not be allowed to run in the October presidential election.

The Democratic Republic of Congo held a national day of remembrance this weekend for what it calls the “Genocost” – a term used to describe mass deaths linked to the exploitation of the country’s natural resources.

Violence and arrests over the weekend have deepened political tensions in Côte d'Ivoire, after opposition supporters took to the streets to protest President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a fourth term in October. Several opposition leaders have been barred from the race, and their parties say the arrests are…

Iran is facing a severe water and electricity crisis just weeks after a deadly war with Israel brought the country to a standstill. Although the extreme heat has eased, reservoirs are running dry, daily blackouts continue and economists say years of poor planning and corruption have left the country dangerously…

Tunisian dancer and choreographer Selma Ouissi and her brother Sofiane are well known in the Arab world’s contemporary dance scene. Their work is known for its powerful visuals and precise exploration of movement. At the 2025 Avignon Festival, they presented "Laaroussa Quartet – a Free Body that Invents its Own…

A bill to make it easier for France to return cultural objects taken during the colonial period was presented at a ministerial council in Paris this week by Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Despite a pledge by President Emmanuel Macron in Burkina Faso in 2017, and follow-up reports, only a small…

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about cigarette butts and microplastics. There’s The Sound Kitchen mailbag, “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne created by Vincent Pora Dallongeville. All that and the new quiz…