Euronews.com • 9th November 2019

30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, how unified is Germany?

Thirty years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall triggered a process that would see East and West Germany reunified one year later. German chancellor Angela Merkel is marking Saturday's anniversary at the Berlin Wall Memorial, commemorating the events that brought the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) back into the fold.

RFI • 18th September 2025

The troubled legacy of Ion Iliescu, who rebuilt Romania but left it torn in two

Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first freely elected president after Communism, helped bring down the country’s dictatorship and led its transition to democracy and a market economy. He went on to serve three terms as head of state – but was later charged with crimes against humanity. The 95-year-old, who died on Tuesday, leaves behind a deeply divisive legacy.

Euronews.com • 1st December 2019

World Aids Day: how did Edinburgh become the 'Aids capital of Europe'?

In the early 1980s, a new disease – as bewildering as it was lethal – began to ravage communities around the world. So how did Edinburgh become known as the Aids capital of Europe? The answer lies somewhere between Tory austerity, the 1979 Islamic Revolution and pioneering research. Forty years ago, the Scottish capital was in the grip of the Conservative government’s cutbacks and the social problems resulting from rising unemployment and poverty – among them a notable increase in drug abuse.

Le Monde • 18th September 2025

'We saved Notre-Dame, why not the Camargue?': The French coastline fighting the rising tide

An area of coastline in the Camargue is suffering the effects of the worst erosion and submersion on the Mediterranean. But in this land of pink flamingos and white horses, 25% of which lies below sea level, the debate over how best to respond to the threat is becoming heated.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Trump and Putin to meet for Ukraine war talks where 'Ice Curtain' once fell

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, and to revive their diplomatic and economic ties. It's a first-of-a-kind summit in a location loaded with history, symbolism and strategic importance.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Are 16-year-old voters the key to future-proofing democracy?

In the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer's Labour government has announced plans to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 for all future elections, in a bid to "modernise democracy". But for the handful of other countries who have made the move, results have been mixed.

RFI • 18th September 2025

'More important than our hostages': Israeli settlers back new Gaza plan

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new military plan for Gaza faces growing criticism abroad, opposition is also building in Israel, with hostage families calling for a nationwide shutdown on Sunday. But in the Israeli settlement of Itamar, in the occupied West Bank, support for the war remains firm.

The Independent • 18th July 2018

Art technicians: The industry's dirty secret, or all part of the process?

Down a chaotic lane in chaotic Govanhill, the works of two of Glasgow’s female Turner Prize-nominated artists, Lucy Skaer and Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, are being produced. But it is two men who have their studio here. Simon Richardson and Simon Harlow are art technicians, a job that people are often surprised to learn exists. They are the invisible hands who build sculptures and installations for which someone else gets the credit, taking on (almost) all of the graft for none of the glory.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies aged 88

Pope Francis, the unconventional and outspoken pontiff who inspired widespread devotion but riled traditionalists, died on Monday aged 88. Born Jorge Bergoglio, Francis was the first Jesuit to lead the world's almost 1.4 billion Catholics and the first from the Americas.

Le Monde • 19th May 2024

#MeToo in the French military: Female soldiers speak out

French female soldiers are speaking out about the sexual violence they have suffered in the course of their duties, and the armed forces are struggling to stay on top of a growing movement. Le Monde found that women are being penalized, while their alleged attackers remain in post.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Gérard Depardieu: the rise and fall of France's global film star

A larger than life figure with a career – and a reputation – to match, Gérard Depardieu is among the few stars of French cinema to be equally well known outside the country. On Tuesday, he was found guilty by a Paris court of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Secret oaths and blacked-out windows: what happens inside the papal conclave?

The conclave that begins in Vatican City on Wednesday is the process of electing the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Shrouded in mystery, with all those involved sworn to secrecy on threat of ex-communication, what do we know about what goes on behind the sealed doors of the Sistine Chapel?

RFI • 18th September 2025

The Gaza Project: The Palestinian journalist paralysed by a bullet to the neck

RFI is one of 12 international media outlets taking part in the Gaza Project, a collaborative investigation into the threats Palestinian journalists face covering the war in the Gaza Strip, coordinated by the Forbidden Stories consortium. Part One is the story of Fadi al-Wahidi, who was paralysed after being hit in the neck by a bullet. A meticulous reconstruction of the events shows that he was easily identifiable as a journalist.

Le Monde • 18th September 2025

Confessions of a repentant Wagner disinformation agent from the Central African Republic

For eight months, Le Monde and nine international media partners, coordinated by Forbidden Stories, investigated the story of journalist Ephrem Ngonzo and the disinformation strategy implemented by Russia in the Central African Republic and later reproduced in West Africa.

RFI • 18th September 2025

How the Russian invasion sparked a renaissance of Ukrainian culture

As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, going to the theatre or visiting one of the city's newest bookshops provides a moment of refuge for the people of Kyiv. But culture has also become a powerful means of resistance and a way to assert Ukrainian identity.

RFI • 18th September 2025

#TikTokChristian: the Catholic influencers bringing young people into the fold

With huge turnouts across France at Ash Wednesday Mass, marking the start of Lent, Christian influencers are being credited with bringing young people back to church, with their explanatory videos and practical advice shared on social media attracting a new generation in search of spirituality.

Le Monde • 18th September 2025

'Sometimes I think I'd rather be dead than go to piano class': The children traumatized by the conservatoire

In a demanding discipline, where enjoyment can be secondary, many children drop out of their musical studies, leaving them with a sense of failure. But teaching styles and the schools' attitude to their futures, whether as amateurs or professionals, can make all the difference.

Euronews.com • 27th January 2020

Holocaust Remembrance Day: how is the Holocaust taught where you live?

As Europe and the wider world marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Euronews asks: are we in danger of forgetting? Staggeringly, one in 20 Europeans has never heard of the Holocaust. This is according to a 2018 survey conducted on behalf of CNN in which more than 7,000 people from the UK, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Sweden were interviewed. A third of respondents said they knew “little or nothing” about the Holocaust.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Is AI sexist? How artificial images are perpetuating gender bias in reality

AI is increasingly a feature of everyday life. But with its models based on often outdated data and the field still dominated by male researchers, as its influence on society grows it is also perpetuating sexist stereotypes.

RFI • 17th January 2025

African troops 'forced to Ukraine frontlines' while Russians stay in camp

A large number of Africans have joined the Russian army since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While some have voluntarily taken up arms via private companies under contract with the Kremlin, others were lured by false promises. One Cameroonian, who thought he was going to Russia to work as a caretaker, reveals the extent of this human trafficking.