- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
French-speaking bloc to focus on development at Tunisia summit
The world's club of French-speaking countries will meet in Tunisia from Saturday for talks focused on economic cooperation, more than a year after President Kais Saied began an internationally criticised power grab.
Around 30 heads of state and government, including French President Emmanuel Macron, his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are set to attend the summit of the International Organisation of Francophonie (OIF) on the southern Tunisian resort island of Djerba.
While the two-day summit and an associated economic forum will officially focus on digital technology's role in development, it will also be an opportunity for Western and African leaders to discuss issues like Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Many African countries have decried what they see as a lack of international solidarity in the face of crises on their continent, in sharp contrast with European nations' swift support of Kyiv.
The summit coincides with the final stage of UN climate talks in Egypt, and comes just days after G20 leaders met in Indonesia for a meeting dominated by the war in Ukraine, which is an OIF observer state.
Normally held every two years, the meeting was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and then last year after Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament, later dissolving the legislature entirely.
Hosting the summit is a "success" for Saied, said French political researcher Vincent Geisser.
It will see him "leave his isolation -- at least temporarily", Geisser told AFP, after Canada, France and other developed nations last year called on Saied to restore "constitutional order".
- Economic cooperation -
The summit will belatedly celebrate the 50th anniversary of the now 88-strong group whose members, such as Armenia and Serbia, are not all French-speaking.
The world's French-speaking community is around 321 million-strong, and is expected to more than double to 750 million in 2050.
Secretary general Louise Mushikiwabo, of Rwanda, who is up for re-election, said the bloc is "more pertinent than ever" and able to bring added value to "most of the world's problems".
She told AFP she would ask member states to "redouble their efforts" in the face of a decline in the use of the French language in international organisations, and recalled that promoting "peace, democracy and human rights" is also part of the OIF's mission.
Senegalese civil society figure Alioune Tine instead criticised the OIF's record on international crisis mediation.
The group has shown itself to be "totally powerless in the face of fraudulent elections, third mandates (of African leaders) and military coups" in Mali, Guinea, Chad and Burkina Faso, he said.
Summit coordinator Mohamed Trabelsi told AFP the meeting was "a recognition of the role of Tunisia in the Francophone space, and of its regional and international diplomacy".
It is also an opportunity to "strengthen economic cooperation", Trabelsi said.
But an official from OIF heavyweight Canada said Ottawa wanted to echo "concern" over "democratic participation" following Saied's power grab in the only democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings more than a decade ago.
Tunisia is confronted by a deep economic crisis which has pushed a growing number of its people to try to reach Europe.
Seeking to draw delegates' attention to the issue, hundreds of protesters tried Friday to highlight the disappearance of 18 Tunisians onboard a boat that set out in September. Police prevented them from reaching Djerba.
F.Dubois--AMWN