Lindsey Johnstone

RFI • 20th October 2025

Why haven't Uefa and Fifa suspended Israel from international competitions?

Pressure is mounting on international football authorities to exclude the Israeli national team from their tournaments, following the United Nations declaration that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. But despite protests by fans and players, governing bodies show few signs of taking a stand.

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.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Will young people be the saviours of France's endangered Breton language?

Half of France's regional languages are considered 'seriously endangered' according to Unesco, but in the west of the country, where the decline in Breton speakers has accelerated in recent years, a network of schools is fighting the decline.

RFI • 18th September 2025

The last word: why half of the world's languages could vanish this century

There are around 7,000 languages spoken in the world, but that number is shrinking. Unesco estimates that half could disappear by the end of the century. So how are languages lost, and what does that mean for the people who speak them?

RFI • 18th September 2025

Does Macron’s pledge on Palestine signal a return to France’s ‘Arab policy’?

As pressure mounts ahead of a key UN summit, France is weighing whether to recognise a Palestinian state – a move President Emmanuel Macron says could come within months. The two-state solution has been the guiding principle of French diplomacy in the Middle East for 70 years, and while the Palestinian issue has sometimes been sidelined, it's never really left the agenda.

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.

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.

RFI • 18th September 2025

Can NATO survive the presidency of Donald Trump?

United States President Donald Trump's U-turns have driven NATO to an existential crisis. Between doubts over the continuation of American involvement and pressure for European autonomy, the future of the organisation, key for transatlantic security, has never seemed so uncertain.

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 • 18th September 2025

Returning to Ukraine: 'If everyone leaves, what will become of this country?'

Two years ago, RFI met a family separated by the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr and Nataliia had lost their home near Kyiv, and Natallia left for Paris with their children. Now, like many Ukrainian refugees, she has decided to return home, despite the ongoing war – and the other, more unexpected, challenges going back entails.

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

Google Maps: 20 years of plotting a course through geopolitics

As Google Maps celebrates the 20th anniversary of its launch in North America, new questions are arising over the way it shapes our view of the world, thanks to its compliance with demands from Donald Trump to change the names of geographic locations.

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.

Le Monde • 18th September 2025

In Poland, the tormented memory of the Holocaust

As the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the discovery of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland continues to debate its place in the nation's memory.

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.

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 • 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.

Le Monde • 28th October 2024

How the Chinese mafia kidnaps Africans to swindle Westerners

Africans are being trapped by cartels, lured by the promise of lucrative customer service contracts, and forced into laboring in centers devoted to cyberfraud across Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

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.

Le Monde • 22nd January 2024

Monaco: The princely family's financial secrets revealed

Le Monde delves into the notes of Claude Palmero, Prince Albert's former estate administrator who held that position for more than 20 years, until his ousting in 2023. His notebooks make for explosive reading.