
Kenyan fishermen under pressure as foreign trawlers threaten waters
Africa
05:37
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As the French coastal city of Nice hosts the UN Ocean Conference, we take you to Kenya, where small-scale fishermen are struggling. Fish stocks are dwindling, and their nets often come up empty. The reason: some foreign industrial trawlers – mainly Chinese, Tanzanian, and Italian – are overfishing and damaging marine ecosystems, often with little oversight. But a grassroots response is taking shape. With protected areas, stricter fishing rules and coral reef restoration, coastal communities are working to reclaim and protect their waters. FRANCE 24's Clément Di Roma reports, with Olivia Bizot.
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France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Japan-US-Philippines coast guards simulate crisis amid China threat
The joint coast guard exercises held off Japan's southwest shore follow a warning from the three countries about Chinese activity in disputed regional waters. Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas have pushed Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and the United States. This week marked the second time the countries' coast guards have held training drills together, and the first in Japan. They took place over five days off the coast of Kagoshima, where Sakurajima volcano dominates the skyline, quietly puffing out smoke and ash. Dozens of personnel took part, with Friday's final exercises featuring one vessel from each of the three countries' coast guards. They included the BRP Teresa Magbanua, which was provided to the Philippines by Japan through a loan agreement. The 2,265-ton vessel, named after a schoolteacher and revolutionary, usually monitors Chinese boats in the South China Sea. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea also routinely face off around disputed islands. On Friday, Manila accused China of using a water cannon on two of its fisheries department boats as they attempted to resupply Philippine fishermen near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Man overboard! The US Coast Guard was represented in the exercises by the cutter Stratton, which can carry up to 170 personnel, and Japan by the 6,000-ton Asanagi. Friday's drills began with a simulation of a person falling overboard. Once the dummy, wearing a bright red lifejacket, was in the water, a US drone was launched from the Stratton, circling high above as it scanned the area. A small Philippine rescue boat then emerged from the Teresa Magbanua, zipping across the water before coast guard personnel fished the dummy out of the water. Other rescue scenarios enacted included a Japanese helicopter racing from shore to pull a human subject from the sea. The helicopter's rotor blades whipped up the calm blue waters, where the occasional small hammerhead shark could be seen idly swimming alongside the Asanagi. The exercises concluded with a simulated collision and fire, with all three coast guards blasting the stricken vessel with their water cannons. Trust-building Japan Coast Guard official Naofumi Tsumura said the joint exercises had "built mutual understanding and trust". "More than anything, we have strengthened coordination and cooperation between us," he said. In 2024, the three countries issued a joint statement that included strong language aimed at Beijing. "We express our serious concerns about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea," it said, describing "dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels". They also expressed "strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea". This week's joint exercises were the first since the statement was released. Tsumura said there were small details that could have worked better and vowed to improve in future collaborations. He said the three countries' coast guards had "come to understand each other better, or as the Japanese often say, to know each other by face". © 2025 AFP


Local France
a day ago
- Local France
'The neighbours laugh at me' - should foreigners try swearing in French?
We asked readers of The Local about their experiences of swearing in French - and more than half of respondents said they never or rarely swear in French. But this wasn't about the ethics or aesthetics of swearing itself. We wanted to know if people's language changed depending on whether they were speaking French or were using their mother tongue, which for most survey respondents was English. And it seems that it does. Only a couple of people said that they swear more in French - overall around one third of people said they swore at about the same rate in English and French, and two thirds said that they swear less or never in French. Listen to the team at The Local discuss their own experiences of French swearing, and whether they think it's better to keep it clean, in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast. Listen here or on the link below And the most common reaction from French friends, neighbours or colleagues when they swore? Laughter. Which probably isn't precisely the effect they were going for. Advertisement Patricia, who lives in Quimper, Brittany, and describes herself as 'retired and look more prim than I am' says: "I swear under my breath - putain or merde - but sometimes get a small smile if I am heard." READ ALSO : 'Putain de bordel de merde': How to use the F-word in French✎ Gerry Buckland, 77, who lives in Charente, said the response to him swearing is "usually laughter". Meanwhile Marie in Dordogne said her French friends are "mostly amused" if she swears while Joanna, 50, who lives in the Paris suburbs said that "chuckles" are the most common reaction. Tony, 66, who lives in Charente, said: "They think it funny if I swear, it sounds wrong to them - they think all English people are very polite." It was rare for people to get a truly negative reaction, however, and Chris Downes, who lines in Haute-Savoie, said: "I think they find it quite endearing that a non-native speaker can use such words." Some people, however, said they had been advised against trying to swear in French. Paula Cameron who lived in Bordeaux for several years, said she once said ' con ' in front of her French host family and 'learned her lesson' - so now never swears in French. Davis, who lives in a small village in the Burgundy region, said: 'The first time I tried to use a harsh swear phrase a French neighbour told me that it didn't sound good at all coming from me and I shouldn't swear. I think specifically because I'm foreign.' We asked French language expert Camille Chevalier-Karfis for her advice and she said: "Slang or swearing stands out in the mouth of a foreigner, and it's easy for it to seem forced or contrived. Advertisement "If you have to use it, be sure you really understand it first, as it will stand out twice as strongly as when a French person says it." In general her advice is that it's good to learn these words so you understand what is being said and how strong certain French swear words are, but it might be better to refrain from using them. 'Know it, don't show it,' she said. Thanks to everyone who took part in our survey - feel free to share your experiences and views on French swearing in the comments section below.


Local France
2 days ago
- Local France
French word of the day: La fac
Why do I need to know la fac? Because you may hear parents and teenagers talking about what they might do after they have completed their baccalaureate (bac) exams. What does it mean? La fac – pronounced, unsurprisingly, la fak – is a short and simple word commonly used as a colloquial alternative to the more formal 'university'. It describes, simultaneously and in just three letters, the idea of 'university' and of studying for a degree or other post-bac qualification. Advertisement Think the common use of 'uni' in English – as in 'I'm at uni', which explains in three words the whole tertiary-level education study vibe. Fac comes from the longer word faculté (faculty in English), which – more specifically than 'uni' – is a particular department or school of study (law, maths, French, history, for example) at a wider university. Use it like this La fac, est-ce pour moi? – Is university right for me? Si vous voulez bachoter, allez à la fac. Si vous voulez vous éduquer, lisez – If you want to cram, go to university. If you want to educate yourself, read.