Latest news with #France24
France 24
10 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Information war: Iran and Israel try to control narrative
16:06 Issued on: Modified: From the show Media have been blamed for their handling of previous wars, like when American reporters did not press the US government about allegations of WMD's in Iraq or in the Balkans where journalists were accused of fueling tensions by selectively omitting or defusing certain information. As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, France 24's media show Scoop looks at coverage of the conflict. The guest is Mark Seddon, forrmer UN correspondent for Al Jazeera.
Time Magazine
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time Magazine
‘If Middle East Is Unstable, World Will Not Be at Peace': How China Views the Israel-Iran War
Iran's friends don't like the war decimating Tehran, but they're not ready to join the fight against Israel and potentially the U.S. Instead, Russia and now China have urged deescalation, emphasizing the dangerous consequences the escalating conflict could have on the whole world. 'If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,' Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. 'If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.' 'The warring parties, especially Israel, should cease fire as soon as possible to prevent a cycle of escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war,' Xi added. Xi's comments came in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which both leaders called for a ceasefire, according to a readout by China's foreign ministry. Earlier this week, Russia warned that Israel's attacks have brought the world 'millimeters' from nuclear calamity, and Putin urged Trump against attacking Iran, as the President is mulling direct U.S. military engagement in the war that has already killed hundreds in Iran and dozens in Israel. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin and Xi 'strongly condemn Israel's actions, which violate the U.N. Charter and other norms of international law.' Ushakov added that Xi expressed support for Putin's suggestion to mediate the conflict, an offer Trump said he has rejected. China, like Russia, has also positioned itself as a potential peacebroker, though experts say it's unlikely Israel would accept Beijing as a neutral conciliator, given its past criticisms of Israel and ties with Iran. Here's what to know about how China has responded so far to the conflict and what it may see is at stake. Rhetorical but not material support 'Iran doesn't need communiqués or declarations, but concrete help, like anti-aircraft systems or fighter jets,' Andrea Ghiselli, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the University of Exeter, told France 24. But communiqués and declarations are all China is likely to offer, experts tell TIME. William Figueroa, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Groningen, tells TIME that China's lack of military support should not come as a surprise. China has historically followed a policy of non-interference, focusing more on domestic issues while aiming to avoid entanglement in protracted foreign conflicts. Earlier this year, China similarly called on both India and Pakistan, the latter being an ' ironclad friend ' of China, to show restraint. And while it has been accused of providing ' very substantial ' support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, China has maintained that it doesn't provide weapons or troops to its neighbor. (Reports suggest, however, that its material support has included lethal systems.) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the White House doesn't see 'any signs' of China providing military support to Iran 'at this moment in time.' Instead, China has offered words. Beijing has been 'harshly critical' of Israel, says Figueroa. In separate calls with his Iranian and Israeli counterparts over the past weekend, after Israel launched an attack on Friday against Iran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that China 'explicitly condemns Israel's violation of Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.' It has also publicly advised the U.S. against greater involvement in the conflict. 'The heating up of the Middle East region serves no one's interests,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. 'To fan up the flames, use threats and exert pressure does not help deescalate the situation and will only aggravate tensions and enlarge the conflict.' 'The international community, especially influential major countries, should uphold a fair position and a responsible attitude to create the necessary conditions for promoting a ceasefire and returning to dialogue and negotiation so as to prevent the regional situation from sliding into the abyss and triggering a greater disaster,' a Chinese state-media editorial declared on Thursday. China's diplomatic response reflects its priority to 'lower the temperature,' says Figueroa, particularly in tensions with the U.S. Diplomatic limitations China has sought to deepen its investments and influence in the Middle East over the years, which has raised the expectations of its regional diplomacy to 'sky high' levels, says Figueroa. But while Beijing touted brokering a historic truce between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023, the task before it now is much taller. Wang, the Chinese foreign minister, said China is 'ready to play a constructive role' in resolving the conflict, according to foreign ministry readouts of his calls with both Iran and Israel, but unlike with Saudi Arabia and Iran, Figueroa says, Israel has expressed no interest in negotiating a resolution. And even if Israel was interested in coming to the table, China is unlikely to be seen as a neutral arbiter given its ties with Iran, criticisms of Israel including over Gaza, and ongoing global power competition with the U.S., Israel's biggest ally. China has developed strong economic ties with Iran over the years, becoming Iran's largest trading partner and export market, especially for oil—a critical lifeline for Iran as the U.S. has placed severe economic sanctions on the country. Iran joined BRICS, the intergovernmental group China has viewed as an alternative collective of emerging powers to the Western-oriented G7, in 2024; joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Beijing-backed security group, in 2023; and the two countries signed a 25-year cooperative agreement in 2021. While China has also maintained an economic relationship with Israel—China is Israel's second-biggest trading partner and the two countries have had an 'innovative comprehensive partnership' since 2017—Figueroa says it's 'not close enough to have a serious influence over Israel's actions.' When asked about the possibility of China acting as a mediator, Israel's Ambassador to Beijing Eli Belotserkovsky told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, 'at this stage, we are concentrating on the military campaign. This is our main concern at the moment, and we need to see how things will develop.' Still, he added that Israel would 'continue talking to China as [part of] an ongoing process.' Failure to help bring peace to the Middle East could seriously dampen China's recent efforts to portray itself as an effective global peacebroker, especially after Ukraine already rejected a peace plan Beijing had proposed in 2023. And if Iran's regime falls, Marc Lanteigne, an associate professor of political science at the Arctic University of Norway, told France 24, the China-mediated truce with Saudi Arabia would also risk 'going up in smoke.' 'It is hard to predict how the conflict itself might impact [China's diplomatic] efforts,' Figueroa says. 'A wider conflict would undoubtedly complicate Chinese diplomatic efforts, which largely rest on their ability to provide economic development.' Economic concerns While the Iran-China trade balance is largely skewed in China's favor— around a third of Iranian trade is with China, but less than 1% of Chinese trade is with Iran —China is heavily dependent on the Middle East's oil. 'China is by far the largest importer of Iranian oil,' according to a statement in March by the U.S. State Department, which added: 'The Iranian regime uses the revenue it generates from these sales to finance attacks on U.S. allies, support terrorism around the world, and pursue other destabilizing actions.' Sara Haghdoosti, executive director of public education and advocacy coalition Win Without War, tells TIME that China 'has a vested interest in seeing the conflict end before Israel strikes more of Iran's oil infrastructure.' But China is less dependent on Iran itself than on access to the region's reserves. 'The Islamic Republic is a replaceable energy partner,' according to a Bloomberg analysis. For global oil markets too, changes to Iran's supply alone are unlikely to cause significant price disruptions. 'Even in the unlikely event that all Iranian exports are lost, they could be replaced by spare capacity from OPEC+ producers,' assessed credit agency Fitch Ratings earlier this week. Around 20% of the world's oil trade, however, passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close in retaliation if the U.S. joins the war. 'If the United States officially and operationally enters the war in support of the Zionists, it is the legitimate right of Iran in view of pressuring the U.S. and Western countries to disrupt their oil trade's ease of transit,' said Iranian lawmaker Ali Yazdikhah on Thursday, according to state-sponsored Iranian news agency Mehr News. Doing so would also impact China, for which more than 40% of crude oil imports come from the Middle East. The conflict's 'greatest impact on China could be on energy imports and supply chain security,' Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the South China Morning Post. 'While Beijing will continue to condemn the conflict, it will also seek to balance ties with Israel and the Gulf states and promote stable energy flows,' according to Bloomberg's analysts, especially as surging commodity prices would exacerbate domestic economic growth challenges already hampered by the trade war with the U.S. and an ongoing real estate crisis. In response to a question about the potential interruption of Iranian oil supplies to China, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated on Tuesday the need to 'ease tensions as soon as possible' in order to 'prevent the region from spiraling into greater turmoil.' A contained conflict could be good for China 'If a wider conflict breaks out,' Figueroa says, 'the impact on China's economic projects and investments in the region would be significant.' Foreign policy analyst Wesley Alexander Hill noted in a Forbes op-ed that an escalated conflict could force China into a bind between taking 'decisive action' to defend Iran, which might alienate Saudi Arabia, or doing nothing militarily and letting Israeli and potentially U.S. attacks 'continue to degrade Iranian export capacity,' which would leave other regional partners with a 'dim view [of] what Chinese commitment under pressure looks like.' Still, some analysts have suggested that China—as well as Russia—may be content for now to sit back and let things play out, with their higher priorities clearly elsewhere. According to Bloomberg Economics analyst Alex Kokcharov, a contained conflict in the Middle East could 'distract Washington from strategic competition with China.' Added Bloomberg's bureau chief in China, Allen Wan, in a newsletter Friday: 'Should the U.S. once again get tangled up in a war in the Middle East, that'd probably suit China just fine. Beijing and the [People's Liberation Army] would appreciate the chance to squeeze Taiwan tighter.' 'At very least, both powers [Russia and China] are content to watch the U.S. further squander goodwill with gulf Arab partners by backing another destabilizing conflict in the region,' Haghdoosti, the Win Without War executive director, tells TIME. And they, she adds, are likely 'shedding no tears that the U.S. military is currently burning through stocks of difficult-to-replenish missile defense interceptors to shield Israel.'
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Togo suspends RFI, France 24 for three months: communications authority
Togo has suspended broadcasts of French state-funded international news outlets RFI and France 24 for three months, its communications authority said on Monday, accusing them of a lack of impartiality and rigour. The suspension comes as tensions are rising between the West African country's leader Faure Gnassingbe and the opposition. Gnassingbe received in May the powerful new role of president of the council of ministers which has no fixed term limit. Two opposition parties — the Democratic Forces for the Republic and the National Alliance for Change — called this move a "constitutional coup" that could extend his rule for life. RFI and France 24 have been covering opposition protests against the new constitution that created Gnassingbe's new role. "A number of recent broadcasts have relayed inaccurate, tendentious and even factually incorrect statements, damaging the stability of republican institutions and the country's image," Togo's communications authority said in a statement. In a joint statement, both outlets reaffirmed their commitment to journalistic principles and said that their management was willing to clear up any misunderstanding with the authority.
eNCA
3 days ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Togo suspends French broadcasters for three months
LOME - Togo suspended French broadcasters RFI and France 24 for three months, the country's media regulator said, accusing both of transmitting "inexact and tendentious" content. The temporary ban further reduces the two French public broadcasters' availability in West Africa after they were slapped with multi-year suspensions in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, a trio of Sahelian countries currently run by military juntas. "Several recent broadcasts relayed inaccurate, biased, and even factually incorrect statements, undermining the stability of republican institutions and the country's image," Togo's High Authority for Audiovisual and Communications (HAAC) said in a statement. In a joint statement, the two broadcasters declared they had "learned with surprise" of their ban which had been delivered "without warning" despite what they termed a "sustained and constructive dialogue" with the regulator. RFI and France 24 also reaffirmed their "indefatigable commitment to deontological journalistic principles, along with support for their teams who daily deliver rigorous, independent, verified, impartial and balanced news" broadcasts. In a statement which AFP has seen, HAAC cited three reports by the French broadcasters to justify its decision. The first was an interview on France 24 in which "inaccurate statements were made regarding the alleged conditions under which the artist Aamron was apprehended." The second featured "public statements by the regional correspondent of France 24 calling for mobilisation against republican institutions", while the third alluded to "biased" remarks in an RFI commentary. The suspension comes after anti-government protests shook the capital last week, Lome. Dozens of people were arrested after police dispersed protesters with tear gas on the night of June 5 to 6 in several districts, including near the presidential palace. Some journalists who covered the protests were also briefly detained and ordered by police to erase their footage. The government said it has since released more than 50 people but several remain in police custody. The protests, notably called for by popular rapper Aamron, were spurred by rising electricity prices and constitutional changes enacted by the government of President Faure Gnassingbe, who took power in 2005 upon the death of his father, who had ruled for nearly four decades. Those changes strengthened his grip over the country with the opposition saying they remove limits on his stay in office, extending his potential time as president until 2031 before likely being appointed to a new position of "president of the council of ministers" -- essentially prime minister. Gnassingbe says the reforms will strengthen national unity. Aamron -- real name Essowe Tchalla -- was arrested on May 26 but then appeared in a video 10 days later in which he apologised to the president and said he was in a psychiatric hospital suffering from "severe depression". Togolese opposition parties and civil society groups last Thursday demanded Gnassingbe step down. The National Alliance for Change (ANC), Democratic Forces for the Republic (FDR) and civil society groups urged citizens to engage in civil disobedience from June 23 to thwart the "illegitimate" regime. Protests have been banned in Togo since 2022, though public meetings are still allowed. There have been fresh calls this week for further protests on June 26, 27 and 28.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
African country suspends two French news agencies
Togo has suspended French state-funded broadcasters France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) for three months, accusing them of repeatedly violating journalistic standards, including 'impartiality, rigor, and verification of facts.' The West African country's High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) announced the decision on Monday, stating that content aired by the two outlets had the potential to disrupt public order and threaten the stability of Togo's institutions. 'Several recent broadcasts have relayed inaccurate, biased, and even factually inconsistent statements, undermining the stability of republican institutions and the country's image,' the HAAC said in a statement. The move comes amid tensions over recent constitutional changes passed in May that granted Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe the title of President of the Council of Ministers – an unelected position with no term limit. RFI and France 24 had been covering protests by opposition parties, which denounce the change as a 'constitutional coup' and accuse the government of seeking to extend Gnassingbe's rule indefinitely. Togo's media regulator said it had previously warned the French outlets during last year's constitutional reform debates over 'unfair treatment of information' and the 'dissemination of false news about the country.' 'Pluralism of opinions does not allow the dissemination of untruths or the partial presentation of current events,' HAAC stated. RFI and France 24 responded jointly, saying they were 'surprised' to learn of the suspension of their programming in Togo 'without notice.' 'RFI and France 24 reiterate their commitment to continuing to adhere to journalistic standards, and to supporting their staff, who deliver authentic, high-quality, impartial and accurate news every day, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement signed between HAAC and France Médias Monde,' they stated. The broadcasters said their management stands ready to engage in dialogue with the Togolese authorities to resolve any 'misunderstandings.' Similar restrictions on Western news agencies have been imposed in recent years across several West African countries. RFI and France 24 have been banned in Niger since August 2023, accused of spreading false information. In late 2023, the Sahel state temporarily suspended BBC programming for similar reasons. In neighboring Burkina Faso, the authorities temporarily banned radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and US-funded VOA in April 2024, citing 'biased' coverage of a Human Rights Watch report that accused the national army of mass executions. The websites of Le Monde, Ouest-France, The Guardian, and Deutsche Welle (DW) were also blocked 'until further notice.'
