The Latest Breaking News from RFI

The United States' Democratic Party make decisive gains in local elections last week, hinting at new political fault lines in an unsettled electorate. Political scientist Charles Bullock of the University of Georgia, a veteran observer of US elections, analyses the implications for the 2026 midterms.

Scotland has become an increasingly popular destination for students from the United States in the wake President Donald Trump's interventions in higher education. RFI spoke to Americans enrolled at the University of Edinburgh, where one in 10 students is now from the US.

World leaders attending a climate summit in Brazil have launched a flagship global fund designed to reward tropical countries for not chopping down their trees. While proponents say it could be a game changer for climate finance, critics fear it will enrich governments without obliging them to take meaningful action…

The Malian city of Mopti has been plunged into darkness for weeks as a fuel blockade by jihadists tied to al-Qaeda cripples power supplies.

Across Africa, journalists are being kidnapped, tortured and killed – often by people whose identities are known but who face no punishment. Reports gathered by RFI and press freedom groups show these incidents spreading from Burkina Faso to Guinea and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where journalists who refuse to…

Chinese ultra fast-fashion giant Shein on Wednesday opened its first-ever physical store inside Paris’s BHV department store. The brand’s rock-bottom prices and opaque supply chains have long been criticised for their environmental and human costs – while a recent scandal over child-sex-themed dolls sold on its website has added to…

An ongoing fuel blockade initiated by the JNIM jihadist group in Mali has brought the landlocked Sahel nation’s economy to a near standstill. In an effort to isolate the capital, Bamako, and exert pressure on the ruling junta, the militants have intensified their attacks on fuel tankers, prompting Western governments…

The fall of El Fasher, the last army stronghold in Darfur, has become a turning point in Sudan's war. Last week, after an 18-month siege, the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized the city, leaving thousands dead or displaced and many civilians still trapped. RFI spoke to an analyst who…

As President Alassane Ouattara prepares for a fourth term after winning last week's election in Côte d'Ivoire in a landslide, the exclusion of his two main challengers from the race has left the opposition splintered and voters disillusioned. With no successor lined up for the 83-year-old leader, observers are concerned…