What's at stake for the EU's carbon market blueprint

Cover image: Spotlight © France 24

Issued on: 18/07/2026 
Play (14:14 min)

The European Commission has confirmed it will allow EU industries to continue emitting planet-warming CO₂ gases well into the 2040s.

The move comes as part of an overhaul of the bloc's Emissions Trading System. Starting in 2036, the Commission will give industries the option of buying carbon credits from outside the EU to offset their emissions. That means the carbon price could be lowered and give industries more options to pollute if EU carbon allowances run out. In this edition, we speak to Michael Bloss, a European MEP from the Greens/European Free Alliance and Wijnand Stoefs of the non-profit research organisation Carbon Market Watch.


OUR GUESTS

Michael BLOSS  German MEP, The Greens/EFA 

Wijnand STOEFSEU policy lead, Carbon Market Watch

BY:
Jennie SHIN

Daniel Whittington

Alessandro XENOS

Théophile Vareille

VIDEO BY:
Daniel Whittington

How state actors are exploiting climate crises to spread disinformation

The number of extreme weather events is on the rise, and some states are taking advantage of these climate crises to spread disinformation. A report by France's Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) says that climate disinformation has become a “tool for destabilisation”.


Issued on: 20/07/2026 
By: The FRANCE 24 Observers/
Aurélia ABDELBOST

Foreign actors are taking advantage of extreme weather events to share destabilising disinformation. This was the case during recent heatwaves in France (archival image, at left) as well as during deadly floods in Spain (at right). © AP (montage by FRANCE 24)

The number of heatwaves is on the rise in France, which endured its third major heatwave in mid-July. Climate disinformation is on the rise, too – as exemplified by this tweet, which insinuates that heatwaves in Europe may have been triggered by work done by the American scientific endeavour HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program), based at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

This tweet insinuates that the US program to study the ionosphere, HAARP, might be causing heatwaves in Europe. © X

It refers to an old conspiracy theory that the antennae used by HAARP – a scientific project that aims to study the ionosphere, the layer of atmosphere located at an altitude of between 80 and 640 kilometres – are actually being used to manipulate the global climate.

There is no scientific basis for this theory. And yet this disinformation, which is being spread by a pro-Russian account called @camille_moscow, is far from the only fake narrative about the climate being pushed by a foreign actor.

Mathilde Jourde, a researcher at French think tank IRIS, explains:

"Information warfare latches onto issues that are polarising within societies. Climate change is becoming an increasingly central issue within our societies, especially in Europe. So foreign actors are starting to use the climate as a tool for destabilisation, as a strategic lever."
The United States and Russia, two state actors spreading climate disinformation in Europe

The researcher, who is head of the Climate, Environment and Security programme at IRIS, is the co-author of the report “Climate Disinformation and Information Warfare: State Interference and Security Implications”, published in May 2026. The study focuses on climate disinformation spread by two state actors in particular: Russia and the United States.

"The data we have shows that these are actors targeting Europe,” Jourde says.

Jourde says that much of the disinformation centres on European climate and energy policy, like the European Green Deal, a roadmap launched in late 2019 to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.

The United States and Russia are both fossil fuel exporters, which means they could benefit from a reduction in the EU’s decarbonisation goals, the IRIS report says. But Jourde says the aims of this kind of disinformation could be much wider:


"The disinformation itself might not be the main objective. For Russia, for example, this could serve as a strategic objective amid ongoing tensions in Europe surrounding the war in Ukraine."
‘Participation in the chaos’: the example of the 2024 floods in Valencia, Spain

In this context, foreign actors are increasingly taking advantage of climate events, like, for example, the 2024 floods that killed more than 200 people in Valencia, Spain.

"Some of the disinformation around the event came from Russian sources,” the researcher says. The campaign was focused on amplifying false content already circulating online:


"Many false emergency numbers circulated online. There were also fake reports of the number of people killed by these floods. That sowed a type of mistrust in the authorities among the population, which added to the chaos and, in the long term, perhaps weakened people’s support for Europe’s position regarding Ukraine.”
Why severe climate events are a 'blessing’ for those carrying out the information wars

In 2023, a Russian disinformation campaign spread the false narrative that the US government was prioritising spending money on Ukraine instead of on those affected by the wildfires that raged across Maui, Hawaii. Extreme weather events are a “precious blessing for those who perpetrate information warfare because you can play on people’s fears with very little effort. Things take off quickly,” Jourde says.

Russian disinformation is certainly spread by state media outlets like Russia Today, which has been banned by the European Union since 2022, but it is often concealed, according to the report. It is often spread by channels aligned with the state such as Portal Kombat, a vast network of disinformation sites discovered in 2024 by Viginum, the French service combating foreign digital interference.

This diagram from the IRIS report shows the different channels of Russian climate disinformation aimed at Europe. © Institute for International and Strategic Affairs
US disinformation

On the other hand, climate disinformation from the United States is more blatant, especially since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. The narrative is often relayed by official channels, Jourde says:


"We saw fake numbers in a report published by the US Department of Energy on the climate crisis. On official government sites, you see questions being raised about the human impact on the changing climate."

Moreover, a number of government sites have also censored words like "climate change” or “green”.

Climate disinformation is also spread by those with links to the government, like conservative think tanks that can coordinate campaigns against environmental policy in Europe. One such body is the Heartland Institute, according to the IRIS report. The organisation is openly sceptical of climate change and “receives funding from companies such as ExxonMobil and from Republican donors”. The Heartland Institute opened an office in London in 2024 with the aim of influencing European energy policy.
Strategies of influence: China on the defensive

Other state actors are also spreading climate disinformation, though perhaps less aggressively. China, for one, “won’t deny that climate change is happening, nor its seriousness, but it will promote certain narratives to defend its position”, the researcher said.

The country seeks, for example, to highlight its response to climate change and minimise its responsibility, instead insisting on the role of Western nations. The IRIS report notes that “certain points of convergence can be identified” between China and Russia. China also took part in influence operations during the Hawaii wildfires in 2023 and during the floods in Spain in 2024.

This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.

Climate justice in Africa: floods, fossil fuels and the fightback

Issued on: 07/07/2026 
Play - 33:15  SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICA

This week in Spotlight on Africa, we look at climate change, environmental justice and the challenges of adaptation. While Europe's heatwaves make headlines, temperatures are also climbing across Africa, with parts of the Sahel approaching 50°C. West Africa is also experiencing severe flooding caused by climate change. Yet Africa is also a source of innovation and solutions, as we'll be discussing today.

One of eWaka's latest electric motorbike models, in Nairobi, Kenya, 7 May, 2026. © RFI / Melissa Chemam

Heatwaves in Europe are getting a lot of attention from the media, as they break records, but temperatures are also on the rise in Africa, with 50°C reported in the Sahel since March. And West Africa is facing unprecedentedly violent floods, especially in Ghana, parts of Nigeria and in Côte d'Ivoire. All due to global warming and climate change.

Severe flooding leaves a trail of death and destruction in West Africa

But if Africa is often seen as a victim of climate disasters - it’s also the source of solutions.

Climate change is directly linked to oil and other fossil fuel use, which also causes environmental pollution.

Somalis displaced by a drought, receive food distributions at makeshift camps in the Tabelaha area on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia on 30 March 2017. AP - Farah Abdi Warsameh

In May 2026, Shell and other major oil companies held their annual general meetings, a tense moment for the victims of decades-long pollution by the companies. In the case of Shell, it might be able to shed its duty to clean up the region by selling some of its assets to another group named Renaissance.

Ahead of and after the annual meeting, local communities in Nigeria organised to act, as they see a critical opportunity to amplify scrutiny of Shell's continued fossil fuel expansion. The goal is to show the company's failure on climate accountability and environmental justice.

The pollution also affects other parts of Africa, and many actors, investors and campaigners are organising to make their demands heard.

Fire burns on the Shell Petroleum Development Company Trans Niger pipeline at Mogho, Gokana, Rivers state, Nigeria, on 5 January, 2017 REUTERS - Afolabi Sotunde

A month after the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, and ahead of the 11th Global Summit on Climate Change in Paris on 30-31 July 2026, this week we hear from three people building the future.

Does the Africa Forward summit signal a fresh start?

Emem Okon is the executive director of Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre – a frontline leader on gender, oil pollution and community rights in the Niger Delta. She tells us how the communities are fighting for accountability.

Yuma Sasaki, from Japan, is Dodai's CEO, working from Addis Ababa. Dodai is an electric mobility company based in Ethiopia. They recently raised $13 million (the largest fundraiser ever in Ethiopia) to scale up electric bikes.

Ethiopia, like Kenya, has emerged as a hub for electric vehicles given progressive government policy. It was the first country in the world to ban the import of fuel vehicles.

With abundant and cheap hydropower, Ethiopia could make e-bikes commercially advantageous as well as environmentally beneficial.

Meet the Kenyans on a roll, manufacturing the electric vehicles of the future

And Bim Adisa, CEO of Beacon Power Services, explains how artificial intelligence can help improve the reliability of electricity grids. Lagos-based BPS helps operators stabilise electricity grids – already impacting over 100 million people worldwide, including in West Africa.

This episode was mixed by Erwan Rome.

Project 'Afrika’: Inside Russia's propaganda machine

Cover image: Project 'Afrika’: Inside Russia's propaganda machine © France Médias Monde graphic studio
Issued on: 17/07/2026 
12:16 

After a leak of confidential documents revealed how Russian agents have been placing hundreds of articles in French-speaking media outlets in West and Central Africa, FRANCE 24 travelled to Dakar, Senegal, to investigate this secret operation.


"When you read articles like this, you definitely get the impression they are intended to manipulate opinion," says Ibrahima Lissa Faye, the Head of Publication at the Senegalese media outlet PressAfrik. He learned from our team last March that his news site had published 13 articles featuring Russian propaganda.

These 13 articles are part of a vast Russian influence campaign on the African continent. A leak of confidential documents revealed the existence of “Project Afrika”, a Russian operation aimed at using African online media outlets to spread Russia’s strategic agenda – from anti-France and anti-Ukraine positions to blatant disinformation.
644 articles published, $300,000 spent in just a few months

Pan-African media outlet The Continent received these leaked documents, which were then analysed by a consortium of media outlets including FRANCE 24 and led by Forbidden Stories. The documents belong to a Russian structure known as Africa Politology – though, internally, it is known as the “Company”. First created by the Wagner Group, it was taken over by Russia's secret services in 2023.

According to the documents, the Company managed to place 644 articles containing propaganda or disinformation in at least 35 media outlets across central and west Africa between June and November 2024. The campaigns cost more than $300,000.

From 250 to 700 dollars per article: How Russia influenced West African media content

FRANCE 24 travelled to Dakar, Senegal, to follow the trail of these Russian influence operations preying on the country’s media outlets. The Company has been directly targeting Senegal, hoping to bring it more firmly into its zone of influence.

This investigation takes us into the opaque world of articles that have been placed in media outlets by local intermediaries, some of whom we’ve identified, as part of a system where articles are “ordered” and delivered “ready-to-publish”. Our reporting shows how these sites are dependent on ads and seek to publish as much content as possible – elements that make them especially vulnerable and porous.

How a Russian influence network is spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Ivory Coast

Among others, we identified Cameroonian journalist Jérôme Ebossama. When contacted, he declined to answer our questions regarding the 18 articles listed in the Company's documents, which he had allegedly published in a West African media outlet. However, he stated that the documents published by Africa Confidential – including invoices showing his involvement in an online blogging campaign – are “fake” and “not [his]”, adding that he was the “victim of a manipulation campaign”.

Report by Nathan Gallo and Derek Thomson, with footage by Aminatou Diallo.

Why is Latin America shifting to the right?


Issued on: 18/07/2026 - FRANCE24

🇨🇴 🇵🇪 #Colombia and #Peru recently elected right-wing, #Trump-aligned leaders in close contests, which analysts link to weakening centrist parties and growing concern over crime rather than a clear ideological shift. 🇧🇷 Trump has amplified the trend by hosting regional allies in Florida, though his tariffs on #Brazil had the opposite effect, boosting leftist President Lula's standing. 🌎 🗳️ Brazil's October election will be a key test of whether the region's rightward trend continues.

Video by:  Vitoria Barreto

Lebanese army deploys to three southern villages under US-backed security framework

The Lebanese army began assuming security responsibilities in three southern villages on Monday under a US-backed pilot initiative, the State Department said. Operations in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya mark the first implementation of a framework aimed at enabling a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah's disarmament.


Issued on:  21/07/2026
By: FRANCE 24

A yellow flag belonging to the Iran-backed Shia Muslim party Hezbollah flutters in Tyre, June 23, 2026 © Joseph Eid, AFP

The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages Monday, the United States said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.

The US State Department said operations had started in "pilot zones" in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya "in accordance with the Trilateral Framework and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon".

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott described the step as a direct outcome of talks held between Israeli and Lebanese delegations in Rome last week.

The framework, signed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States on June 26, envisions a phased Israeli pullback from positions in south Lebanon.


In exchange, the Lebanese Armed Forces are to assume sole security control of vacated areas and certify that they have been cleared of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.
Israel attacks Lebanon despite truce

Cover image: © France 24
01:57

The pilot zones are intended to trial the approach in a handful of villages straddling the Litani River.

"It is an opportunity for the Lebanese state to begin to reassert real control in areas historically dominated by Hezbollah," a US official said.

"Any attempt by Hezbollah to derail, infiltrate, or re-arm in these zones would seriously harm the prospects for reconstruction and peace."

Hezbollah has rejected the framework, with the Iran-backed group insisting any arrangement in Lebanon be linked to wider negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

It has not said whether it will resist implementation in the designated areas.

The agreement does not set a timetable for Israel's withdrawal.

Israeli officials have also vowed that their forces will remain in a "security zone" 10 kilometres (six miles) deep along the frontier for as long as Hezbollah remains armed.

Lebanon and Israel, which have no formal relations, started negotiations after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war by attacking Israel in March.

Lebanon's military said last week that troops had begun intensifying patrols in several villages adjacent to areas occupied by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including Froun.

Israeli forces are however present on the outskirts of Zawtar al-Gharbiya.

The Lebanese military said Monday that troops "continue to carry out their missions in the southern regions, including the towns of Froun and Srifa".

"In parallel, coordination is underway with the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L) to begin deployment in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya," awaiting Israel's withdrawal from there, the army added.

The framework agreement was reached following a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel still launches occasional strikes in southern Lebanon and carries out detonations in villages it occupies near the border.

The talks in Rome came ahead of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's planned meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Israel and Lebanon trial 'safe zones' in southern Lebanon as part of deal

FRANCE24
Issued on: 21/07/2026 - 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump in the first official visit by a Lebanese head of state since 2009. It comes at a moment of high stakes for the country. Israeli forces are now occupying a significant portion of southern Lebanon following rocket attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. Tel Aviv insists that the Iran-backed militia be disarmed before it withdraws, something the Lebanese army is likely unable to accomplish. As a result, Israel has launched a '"pilot programme'" for "safe zones", which effectively sees Israel hand control of three Lebanese villages to the Lebanese Army, as Beirut tries to assert its authority.

Video by: Bryan QUINN

'Mostly symbolic': Does Aoun's White House visit signal a 'new containment strategy towards Iran'?

FRANCE24
Issued on: 21/07/2026 

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Nadim Houry, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative. He offers a nuanced assessment of Lebanon's diplomatic and long-term strategic challenges, arguing that President Joseph Aoun's visit to Washington is less about immediate policy breakthroughs than about repositioning Lebanon within an evolving regional order. Houry highlights the interconnected nature of Lebanese politics, Israeli security calculations, U.S. regional strategy, Iranian influence, and Hezbollah's evolving role, suggesting that none of these issues can be understood in isolation.

Video by: Eve IRVINE

France-Morocco rapprochement overshadowed by fresh Pegasus spying claims

As France seeks to rebuild ties with Morocco after years of diplomatic tensions, a new investigation claims Moroccan intelligence targeted senior French officials with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware.


Issued on: 18/07/2026 - RFI

Emmanuel Macron (left) talks to King Mohammed VI in Rabat in October 2024 on a visit to mend strained relations between Franc and Morocco. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN

A new investigation by the Forbidden Stories journalism consortium alleges Morocco continued using the Israeli-made spyware to target French ministers, while Paris itself briefly explored buying the same surveillance technology.

According to the investigation, President Emmanuel Macron ultimately rejected the purchase in 2020 to avoid relying on foreign technology.

The latest revelations, published on Thursday, came as French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is on an official visit to Morocco to strengthen cooperation on security and other shared interests.

The reports "pose the question of the frankness of the discussion between France and Morocco", said journalist Laurent Richard, founder of Forbidden Stories.

Morocco systematically used Pegasus to monitor opponents, journalists and critical voices, including French politicians, both inside the country and abroad, he said.
Macron targeted

The investigation is based in part on testimony from a former Moroccan intelligence officer interviewed by Forbidden Stories, which says it obtained new evidence about the country's surveillance operations.

It provides "new proof" from "a former member of the intelligence services" about "daily espionage by the Kingdom of Morocco against dissidents and journalists" using spyware including Pegasus, Richard said.

Forbidden Stories first alleged in 2021 that Morocco had used Pegasus, developed by Israel's NSO Group, to target prominent French politicians, including Macron.

The new investigation says forensic evidence has also been found on the phones of French ministers, including Lecornu, who was allegedly targeted in 2019 while serving as minister for local authorities.

"The prime minister's [own phone] was infected by Pegasus," Richard told RFI .

"Other ministers were too – seven ministers in total. Emmanuel Macron's phone is also on the list of potential targets. So this is an extremely serious state affair."

Richard said the consortium had also examined French intelligence documents indicating that "Morocco has been using Pegasus since at least 2017".

Morocco has always rejected the accusations that it used Pegasus, filing a complaint for defamation in 2021. Rabat has also denied the most recent accusations, demanding evidence.

Paris has also refrained from comment.

"We don't know whether the subject of Pegasus was discussed," Richard said, adding that the French government had declined to answer questions about whether it had sought assurances from Morocco that such surveillance would not happen again.

Dozens of rights groups demand EU blacklist on Pegasus spyware

Journalists under surveillance

Pegasus is among the world's most sophisticated spyware tools, Richard explained. Once installed on a phone, it can secretly access messages, activate cameras and microphones, and monitor encrypted communications – all without the user's knowledge.

Richard said the latest findings suggest Pegasus was used not only against suspected criminals but also against journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and campaigners on Western Sahara.

He cited the case of imprisoned Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi, whose phone was allegedly monitored by the security services.

French journalists among those targeted by Israeli spyware Pegasus

According to the former intelligence source, surveillance during protests in Morocco's Rif region in 2016-2017 went far beyond phone hacking – some devices were already infected with malware when they were sold and journalists' homes were bugged with hidden microphones.

Amnesty International has previously warned that Pegasus has been used by governments around the world to target journalists, lawyers and activists, enabling human rights abuses on a "massive scale".

Syria taken off US terror blacklist after 47 years, paving way for investment

Syria is no longer designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States – a move that opens the door to American investment in the country, whose economy has been decimated by decades of conflict.


Issued on:  19/07/2026 - RFI

Donald Trump shakes hands with Ahmed al-Sharaa during a bilateral meeting alongside the NATO summit in Ankara, 8 July. REUTERS - Jonathan Ernst

By: Anne-Marie Bissada


US President Donald Trump made the announcement on 8 July after a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey.

The US created the list in 1979 under the Export Administration Act, with Syria the first country to be added on 29 December.

The American administration of the time, under President Jimmy Carter, believed the Syrian government had supported international terrorist groups, with militant Palestinian operations working across the Middle East of particular concern.

Despite his former life as a jihadist, since coming to power in January 2025 following decades of hardline rule by the Assad family, Sharaa has attempted to cast himself as the unifier of a deeply divided country.

“From day one, when Ahmad al-Sharaa took Damascus, he talked about peace and reconciliation, reunifying the country,” Charles Lister, director of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute said in a Frontline documentary in 2025.

“He talked about disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration. He used all of the phrases that you would read in a textbook about a political transition."

'A new chapter'

"This is yet another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a chance at greatness," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his announcement of Syria's removal from the blacklist.

Rubio said that he had notified Congress of the move – which will go into effect in 45 days, unless lawmakers block it.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people. A stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours benefits not only the region, but the entire world," he added.

Rubio also noted that the decision came after "formal assurances" by Sharaa that: "Syria will not support acts of international terrorism in the future."

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio meet with Ahmad al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, 14 May, 2025. AP - Saudi Royal Palace

Following the Iraq war in 2003, Syria was accused by the US and others of allowing foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq. While Damascus denied supporting al-Qaeda linked militants, it was a widely held view that Syria did not do enough to stop their flow.

"Syria turned a blind eye to – and even facilitated – the flow of foreign jihadists pouring into Iraq across its border to fight the US occupation forces," the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote in 2013.

Such groups included the newly created Jabhat al-Nusra, which the European Council cited as the "most effective opposition fighting force in Syria [which] has established strong links with al-Qaeda in Iraq".

The leader of that group was Sharaa.

The onset of the civil war saw many terrorist organisations take root in Syria, given the collapse of state control in certain parts of the country, including the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS); Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the direct successor to Jabhat al-Nusra and affiliated with al-Qaeda, and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Turkey accuses of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US.

Sharaa rose to power as head of HTS, which eventually overthrew Bashar al-Assad. HTS later publicly severed ties with al-Qaeda, with an eye to gaining legitimacy as a base of governance both nationally and internationally.

Economic timeline

Since being designated a state sponsor of terror in 1979, Damascus has been restricted from US foreign assistance and exporting military and dual-use goods. Certain financial transactions were also blocked, as was support from US-backed international financial institutions.

Despite those restrictions, the Syrian economy saw slow growth up until the Iraq war in 2003.

The 1969 constitution under Salah Jadid, the de facto leader of Ba'athist Syria from 1966 until 1970, stipulated that the country would be run according to a "planned socialist" system.

After ousting Jadid, Hafez al-Assad nonetheless maintained this and implemented large-scale development projects to expand industry, agriculture and infrastructure.

Agriculture made up 22-25 percent of Syria's GDP during the 1960s and early 1970s, according to the World Bank.

The OPEC oil crises of the 1970s saw Syria achieve high rates of economic growth, coupled with a boost from remittances from Syrians working abroad in oil-rich Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.

Entering the 1980s, Syria’s economy had shifted from a traditional agrarian base to one led by the service, industrial and commercial sectors. Syrian oil exports also began to surge during the 1980s and 1990s, through the investment of European companies such as Shell and Total.

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, Syria was considered to have a middle-income position among the other Arab states – less prosperous than the oil-rich Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, but better off than other countries such as Yemen or Sudan.

The cost of reconstruction

From the year 2000, when Bashar al-Assad took the reigns of the country from his father, the economy grew at a moderate pace, with the IMF estimating annual real GDP growth at around 4-5 percent before the civil war in 2011.

From 2004 until the start of the civil war, Washington imposed harsher sanctions under the Syria Accountability Act, further restricting the country's exports and financial dealings. However, Syria maintained strong trade ties with its largest trading partner, the European Union, and with Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gulf countries.

But the civil war and the ensuing Islamic State caliphate, along with the refugee crisis, decimated the Syrian economy – meaning Damascus must now seek support to rebuild its country.

The World Bank estimates the cost of post-war reconstruction at more than $216 billion.

“Now, more than ever, it is imperative for the international community to mobilise support and partnership to help Syria restore essential infrastructure, revitalise communities, and lay the foundation for a more resilient future for its people," said Syria's Minister of Finance Mohammed Yisr Barnieh in October 2025.

While Sharaa’s Islamist base appears to have mixed feelings about his relationship with the US, notably its policy of supporting Israel, "they recognise that Trump’s support is incredibly important for Syria’s stability and the new government’s survival”, Aron Lund, a Middle East analyst at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, told RFI.

He added that there's not "much real trust or ideological sympathy on either side, but they’re working well together and seem to have struck up a good personal rapport”.

What makes the Sultanate of Oman the Gulf's geopolitical exception?

Removed from the theatrics of petrodollar politics seen across the rest of the Gulf, the Sultanate of Oman's famed discretion and diplomacy have made it an indispensable intermediary in the region.


Issued on: 11/07/2026 - RFI

French President Emmanuel Macron greets the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, before a meeting at the Elysée Palace, 29 June. © AP Photo/Michel Euler

For decades, Oman has pursued a clear foreign policy based on what it calls "positive neutrality".

The sultanate of around 5 million people has consistently sought to stay clear of local conflicts and instability – whether during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), the First Gulf War (1991), the blockade of Qatar (2017) or the Syrian civil war.

Oman also refused to join the coalition against the Houthis in Yemen in 2015. As a neutral intermediary, Muscat hosted Houthi officials and became a key channel for negotiations between them and Saudi Arabia.

The country also played a central role in the 2023 rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh.


"The sultanate has established itself as a platform for international mediation, capable of speaking to everyone without ever fully aligning itself with any side," says Tigrane Yégavian, a lecturer in international relations at Paris's Schiller International University.

An 'indispensable mediator'

In efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said received Israel’s Prime Minister Shimon Peres in 1994, and later Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 – despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the visits being far from popular among the Omani public.

According to the US-based Foreign Policy magazine, Sultan Qaboos, who died in 2020, was “the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler, and his personal relationships were central to Oman’s role as the Gulf’s indispensable mediator. Qaboos could pick up the phone and talk to anyone from Tehran to Washington, and both sides would listen.”

Another major diplomatic undertaking centred around Iran's nuclear programme, a process that began in the early 2000s and culminated in 2015.

Although no Omani leaders appeared in the official family photograph, Muscat nevertheless played a decisive role in the negotiations that led to the Vienna agreement – later derailed by United States President Donald Trump in 2018.

Despite this setback, Oman remained committed to maintaining ties with both Tehran and Washington.

Qaboos, the Sultan who shielded Oman from region's turmoil

Oman's Sultan Qaboos meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the capital Muscat in October 2018. Omani Royal Palace/AFP/File

Diplomatic legacy

The new Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, a cousin of the late Sultan Qaboos, has followed in his predecessor's footsteps since taking power in 2020.

The sultanate resumed work on the Iranian nuclear file in April 2025, shuttling between American and Iranian delegations in Muscat – until the 12-day Iran-Israel war of June 2025 once again brought negotiations to a halt.

Omani diplomacy nevertheless persevered, returning to talks in February 2026. For the sultanate, an agreement seemed feasible.

But just hours after Muscat expressed optimism about a breakthrough, Washington and Tel Aviv launched an unprecedented simultaneous offensive against Iran on 28 February.

"At that moment, I felt the Omani government believed it had secured something," Abdullah Baabood, an Omani researcher specialising in Middle Eastern international relations and a lecturer at Waseda University in Tokyo, told RFI.

"But it seems the Israelis and the Americans had already planned the attack. All these negotiating efforts were in vain, and it was another slap in the face."

Known for its extreme discretion, on this occasion Oman openly expressed its regret and opposition to what it described as another "illegal war". Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi broke his public silence for the first time, writing in The Economist that the US had "lost control of its foreign policy".

'The Switzerland of the Gulf’

But where does Oman's distinctive diplomatic approach – which has earned it the moniker "the Switzerland of the Gulf" – originate from?

One thing that distinguishes Oman from other countries in the region is its religion. Omanis are neither Shia, like their neighbour Iran to the east, nor Sunni like Saudi Arabia to the west, but Ibadi – a minority branch of Islam that advocates moderation, tolerance and unity, and fiercely condemns violence against Muslims of any other sect.

Another distinctive feature is Oman's geography. The country primarily faces the Indian Ocean, with only its western tip bordering the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.

While Oman was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic representation in the US, in 1840, it is also the only Gulf country not to host a permanent US military base.

For Muscat, the Strait of Hormuz therefore represents a significant safeguard of its security, particularly as the sultanate's hydrocarbon resources are relatively limited.

While seeking to avoid escalation, Muscat remains committed to jointly managing the Strait with Tehran, something it can only do by maintaining cordial relations, and Sultan Haitham has sought to reconcile his neighbour's demands with international maritime law and the principle of freedom of navigation.

"This has justified Oman's cautious policy," says Laurent Bonnefoy, a researcher with the French National Centre for Scientific Research at Sciences Po university's Centre for International Studies.

"But at the same time, this desire to maintain a form of neutrality is entirely consistent with the foreign policy pursued for almost six decades. At the regional level, it also serves a purpose. It demonstrates the importance of keeping channels open with the Iranians. Almost everyone recognises how valuable that function is."

This article has been partially adapted from the original version in French by Anne Bernas.

Japan changes imperial succession law but keeps ban on female emperor

Japan's parliament on Friday enacted changes to imperial succession rules, allowing male distant relatives to rejoin the imperial family and women to retain royal status after marrying commoners. The legislation, however, keeps the ban on female emperors despite opinion polls showing broad public support for allowing women to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne.


Issued on: 17/07/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

Japan's Emperor Naruhito (centre L), Empress Masako (centre R), and other members of the Imperial Family wave to well-wishers during a public audience celebrating the Emperor's 66th birthday, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on February 23, 2026. © STR, AFP

Japan’s parliament enacted Friday a historic revision to the 19th century Imperial House Law by insisting only paternal-lineage men can become emperor, sparking fear that it could doom the already shrinking imperial family.

The revisions include adoption of distant male relatives to father future heirs and allowing princesses to keep their royal status after marrying commoners.

Royal watchers and experts fear the new measures could doom the 1,500-year-old hereditary institution by insisting that only men can be emperor, sparking worry about the shrinking, fast-aging imperial family.

Emperor Naruhito ’s 24-year-old daughter is hugely popular, and many Japanese want her to be his successor, but Princess Aiko is ineligible because she is a woman. Japan’s male-only succession rule means the line must move to the emperor's younger brother, then to his 19-year-old nephew Prince Hisahito. Next in line after him is the emperor's 90-year-old uncle.

In an imperial family that places a premium on male royal babies, Hisahito is the first such boy to be born in four decades. Only five of the 16 adults in the imperial family – there are no children – are men.

This matters, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other conservatives insist the male bloodline is “the only source of the emperor’s authority and legitimacy", which will be the basis for the upcoming measures.

While an emperor's mother can be a commoner, as is the case with the current one, only boys born to men with royal blood can be heirs to the throne, according to the Imperial House Law.

Japan: Growing number of young workers revive culture of corporate machismo

On Friday, the parliament was to pass a revision to the antiquated law meant to solidify the principle of that crucial bloodline by allowing the adoption of distant royal male relatives to father future heirs.

The new measures would also allow princesses to keep their royal status if they marry a commoner.

“It’s a declaration to prevent female monarchs ... and to defend the male-lineage at all costs,” said Hideya Kawanishi, a Nagoya University expert on monarchy. “They cannot say it’s male chauvinism, so they call it tradition.”

There have been eight female monarchs. The last was Empress Gosakuramachi, who ruled from 1762 to 1770.

The paternal-line male succession was stipulated for the first time in the 1890 Imperial House Law, when Japan promoted patriarchal systems. That law was largely carried over to the current 1947 version.

Friday’s proposal has led to protests from Japanese who see the government efforts as meant to eliminate Aiko from ruling and to justify discrimination against women and a patriarchal system.

“It’s very ironic that the first female prime minister herself is the leading proponent of the obsession with male-succession,” Chizuko Ueno, a prominent feminist scholar, wrote recently referring to Takaichi.

Ueno said the new measures “treat male royals as stallions and put female royals under pressure as ‘childbearing machines’ to produce male offspring".

After Aiko’s birth, her mother Empress Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat and a commoner, developed a stress-induced mental condition, apparently over criticism for not producing a male heir.

Because of the male-only succession rules and the dismissal of princesses who marry commoners, the monarchy after Hisahito is “extremely unstable", former Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa told Kyodo News recently.

Foreign workers feel the heat as Japan hardens nationalist stance

Historians say the male-only system is unworkable today, as Japan more broadly faces a fast-aging, dwindling population.

It only worked in the past because concubines produced half the emperors until about 100 years ago, when the practice ended under Naruhito’s great-grandfather, Emperor Taisho.

There was a government proposal in 2005 to allow female monarchs, but it was scrapped following Hisahito’s birth.

Naruhito's two male heirs are his 60-year-old brother, Crown Prince Akishino, who is only six years younger than the emperor and has reportedly said he would be too old to serve, and Hisahito, Akishino’s 19-year-old son. Third in line is Naruhito's uncle, Prince Hitachi, who is 90.

The more controversial of the two measures allows unmarried male descendants, aged 15 or older, of distant imperial relatives – but only of paternal lineage – to be adopted into the royal family.

Fifty-one members from 11 branch families renounced their royal status in 1947, mainly to ease the postwar financial burden on the monarchy, Imperial Household Agency official Yoshimi Ogata told a recent parliamentary session.

These people are at least 36 generations removed from Naruhito because they split from a common male-line ancestor 600 years ago, Ogata said.

There is criticism of what some see as the government's extraordinary efforts to make sure that male royals are producing male emperors.

“Who wants the son of an adoptee who nobody knows to be emperor instead of Aiko?” asked Yoshinori Kobayashi, a cartoonist campaigning for Aiko’s succession.

It may also be unrealistic to ask former royals to reenter a very strict family known as “an enclave without human rights". Royals cannot choose their jobs or homes, and must follow other serious constraints.

How far will Japan go to preserve the 2,600-year-old male imperial bloodline?

“I wonder if anyone would raise a hand,” 81-year-old Asahiro Kuni, whose family renounced its royal status when he was 3, told TBS television. “I imagine many people, by age 15, have some idea about their future. It’s cruel to tell them ... to change the course of their life.”

Kuni, who worked as an engineer at a major Japanese company, said he would tell his family to decline if asked by the palace. “You are asked to sacrifice your life for the happiness of the people. I can’t tell my family to choose such a difficult life.”

He also expressed support for female monarchs in interviews with other Japanese media.

Aiko, known for her engaging smile, enthusiasm and witty conversation, is a public favorite.

Five single princesses, including Aiko and her popular cousin Kako, 31, may be affected by the other main revision to the Imperial House Law, which would allow them to keep their royal status and continue serving official duties if they marry commoners, although their spouse and children wouldn't be accepted as royals.

Aiko’s elder cousin Mako renounced her royal status and moved to New York after marrying her college boyfriend, a commoner who now is a lawyer. The move was largely seen as her attempt to flee from the restrained imperial life.

Ueno calls the system inhumane and urges the princesses to follow Mako's example and leave when they can.

Hisahito, possible adoptees and their future wives will face enormous pressure to produce male offspring, Kawanishi said.

“The emperor is a symbolic figure, and I don’t see why women cannot serve in the role,” said 78-year-old Junichiro Tsujimaru, a sushi chain founder.

Yoshio Iwase, also 78, says Aiko, as the daughter of the emperor, is the legitimate successor. “I think it’s fine because there used to be female emperors in the past.”

There is worry that the government's push will upset former Emperor Akihito's legacy, which included making amends for the victims of World War II, fought in his father’s name.

Akihito, who abdicated in 2019, also tried to bring what was seen as an aloof monarchy closer to the people, an example followed by his son, Naruhito, and his family.

Akihito reportedly supports Aiko's succession. He avoided directly answering a question about the 2005 government proposal but said female royals served a major role in the monarchy and that its role was to work for the happiness of the people – a remark interpreted as his support for female monarchs.

Naruhito also said in June that he hoped discussions about the measures would reach a conclusion that “will gain understanding of the people,” a comment palace watchers said was his nuanced displeasure.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)