At least 38 people have died in Madagascar after Cyclone Gezani tore through the coastal city of Toamasina with winds of up to 250 km/h. The country’s leader appealed for "international solidarity" in the face of the catastrophe. rfi.my/CRDv.BS

An interview I did with Guy Standing on Universal Basic Income, a few years ago, during Covid lockdown the-quarantini.captivate.fm/episode/a-qu...

Relations between Lebanon and Syria remain tense 14 months after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with disputes over prisoners, security concerns and trade continuing to block progress. rfi.my/CRE2.BS

Portugal urged to adapt to climate emergency after series of deadly storms: Continuing extreme weather has caused deaths of 16 people, evacuation of thousands and destruction of homes www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

The Trump administration claims it is drawing down its immigration crackdown in Minnesota. It was announced by Tom Homan, the White House-appointed immigration enforcement official today. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Le ministre des Affaires étrangères français Jean-Noël Barrot et plus de 50 députés français accusent à tort la rapporteuse spéciale de l'ONU Francesca Albanese d'avoir déclaré qu’"Israël est l'ennemi commun de l'humanité". Mais elle n'a pas tenu ces propos : www.france24.com/fr/moyen-ori...

Artists based in the Republic of Ireland could be paid €325 a week by the Irish government as part of a scheme to support them in their work: The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) project is believed to be the first permanent one of its kind in the world. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Russia says it has blocked WhatsApp amid wider clampdown on social media https://fascinating.news/r/CZs5AsXD

Union européenne : vers un durcissement des demandes d’asile pour les ressortissants d’Égypte, du Maroc et de Tunisie rfi.my/CR5M.BS

ça s'arrête où? quand...?

France : Marine Le Pen sera fixée sur son sort le 7 juillet dans le procès en appel des assistants parlementaires du FN rfi.my/CR3v.BS

USA - Washoe Tribe buys 10,000 acres in one of California’s largest ever land returns: The tribe was forcibly removed from its lands near Lake Tahoe after the California Gold Rush (beginning in 1848–49). It used $5.5m grant and private donations for purchase. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Music: Tinariwen - Imidiwan Takyadam (feat. José González) www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXD9...

France - Procès des viols de Mazan - Dans son livre «Et la joie de vivre», Gisèle Pelicot sans haine ni colère : Avec la journaliste Judith Perrignon, la femme de 73 ans relate son parcours et n’élude aucun sujet, notamment les tensions familiales. www.liberation.fr/culture/livr...

Gisèle Pelicot publishes memoirs after mass rape trial: Pelicot's husband & 51 men were convicted of rapes & sexual assaults. She's since become a leading figure in the fight against violence against women. 'A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides' out on Feb. 17 www.lemonde.fr/en/global-is...

Climate - Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, scientists say www.theguardian.com/environment/...

France - La Cour de cassation a confirmé mercredi le non-lieu en faveur des gendarmes dans l'affaire de la mort d'Adama Traoré, une décision devenue définitive mais dénoncée par sa famille, qui promet désormais d'obtenir la condamnation de la France devant la justice européenne.

US to deploy 200 troops to Nigeria for anti-jihad training mission rfi.my/CQxP.BS

South Africa’s mining minister criticized DR Congo for signing a critical minerals deal with the US, saying it threatened the sovereignty of African states by intensifying the scramble for Africa’s natural resources.

Iran: en pleine répression, l’opposition iranienne en exil se déchire rfi.my/CQgp.BS

#BBCNews - Kenya to confront Russia over 'unacceptable' use of its nationals in combat www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #UkraineWar

Jeffrey Epstein, le FBI et le diplomate français : l’enquête qui fait trembler le Quai d’Orsay www.mediapart.fr/journal/inte...

Now more details in the Epstein files reveal Bannon as part of a successful plot to topple Theresa May with Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees Mogg, here’s an article from the archive about Johnson and Bannon’s collaboration bylinetimes.com/2023/04/24/b...

rfi.my/CQqq Surprise US President Donald Trump, since returning to the White House early last year, has upended domestic and foreign politics while ramping up pressure on institutions ranging from universities to the Federal Reserve.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... Police in Canada say 10 people are dead, including the suspect, in a mass shooting that appeared to target a high school in northern British Columbia.

France : La Cour de cassation rend sa décision demain, mercredi, sur l’enquête sur la mort d’Adama Traoré, dossier devenu emblématique des accusations de violences et de racisme contre les forces de l'ordre lessor.org/societe/le-s....

Gaza girls take up boxing to heal war's scars rfi.my/CQlc.BS

More on this next week in our Spotlight on Africa podcast...

A minerals-for-security deal between the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a constitutional challenge in Kinshasa, with critics warning the government may be underselling the country’s vast mineral wealth: www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20...

Cambridge University Museum to return 116 Benin bronzes from the UK to Nigeria: The pieces are mainly wood and ivory sculptures and commemorative heads and were stolen by the British army in the late 19th century in what is now Nigeria. >> Our article to come soon

France - Droit de vote des étrangers aux municipales : Les députés ont repris l'examen d'un texte déposé il y a... 27 ans www.maire-info.com/droit-de-vot...

Éthiopie : l'ONU appelle à la désescalade au Tigré «avant qu'il ne soit trop tard» rfi.my/CQgA.BS

France: un homme de 79 ans poursuivi pour viols et agressions sexuelles sur 89 mineurs pendant de 55 ans Ancien éducateur, il a été écroué pour des faits d’une ampleur inédite, a annoncé ce mardi le procureur de Grenoble, commis dans plusieurs pays... www.rfi.fr/fr/france/20...

Jimmy Lai’s sentencing tells me this: democracy is dead in Hong Kong, and I escaped just in time | Nathan Law

Sénégal : des étudiants réclamant leurs bourses choqués par l’intervention de la police sur un campus de Dakar rfi.my/CQe2.BS

Au Sénégal, un étudiant meurt dans une université de Dakar le jour d’une intervention des forces de sécurité

Plus de 7 millions de personnes ont-elles voté pour l’extrême gauche au premier tour de la présidentielle de 2022 ? C’est ce que semble désormais considérer le ministère de l’intérieur. 📧 Nouveau numéro de la lettre politique 👉‍ l.mediapart.fr/pog

Cambridge University returns legal ownership of 116 Benin artefacts to Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments www.cam.ac.uk/stories/beni...

UK and US sink to new lows in global index of corruption, amid ‘worrying trend’ of backsliding in established democracies www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Trump opposes Israeli annexation of occupied West Bank: White House official says US President sees stability in the Palestinian territory as a ‘goal to achieve peace in the region’. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

Closing summary Keir Starmer has faced down immediate calls for his resignation after receiving the full backing of his cabinet and delivering an impassioned appeal to the PLP this evening that appears to have steadied the government’s ship, at least for now. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Palestinians say new Israeli measures in West Bank amount to de facto annexation www.bbc.com/news/article...

The EU executive told Meta on Monday that it must let rival AI chatbots use its WhatsApp platform, after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc's competition rules. www.rfi.fr/en/internati...

Eight Muslim countries slam Israel’s ‘illegal’ West Bank annexation push: In joint statement, they urge international community to ‘compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation’. > Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the UAE www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

Ghana: Ebo Taylor, pioneer of the highlife music genre and guitarist, has died age 90: He did for Ghanaian music what his friend Fela Kuti did for Nigeria, and has been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in history www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

Sudan: RSF drone attack kills 24 people fleeing fighting in the central of the country Sudan, says Sudan Doctors Network: Eight children including two infants among dead in vehicle carrying displaced people www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

53 people have died or are still missing after migrant boat capsizes in Mediterranean: Only two survivors rescued after boat overturned off Libyan coast, UN migration agency says www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

UK politics live: Cabinet ministers rally behind Starmer after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calls for him to resign www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Ukraine and France want to jointly produce more weapons, Ukraine's defence minister said this Monday, after hosting his French counterpart in Kyiv... rfi.my/CQYV.BS

For more of my work, writing and sharing, I have a blog (very old-fashioned, but makes no profits, hosts no Nazis...): melissa-on-the-road.blogspot.com