International report

Colombian musician Cesar Lopez employs music as a weapon against war, by fashioning hybrid guitars out of guns. Last year the Colombian government and the FARC – the country’s oldest rebel army – signed a peace agreement ending 53-years of internal conflict. Emily Wright has more from the Colombian capital Bogotá.

Many challenges lie ahead for Ethiopia’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Ahmed Abiy, particularly in his home region of Oromiya, where people have felt abandoned and marginalised by previous governments. In this report, Vincent Dublange meets those people to find out what they hope Abiy can achieve for them.

Since Ethiopia’s, 42 year-old Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office, he has begun holding public meetings in several regions. He also met opposition politicians and investors before appointing his government. The Oromo ethnic group to which Ahmed belongs, say they are discriminated against by the ruling coalition, despite Abiy Ahmed’s political ascent. In the second part of our series on Ethiopia’s changing political landscape, Vincent Dublange reports from Beshasha, in Oromiya regional state.

Is Ethiopia's political landscape changing? There is no simple answer. But what is clear is that the appointment of a new prime minister in early April has spurred an era of hope, especially for the Oromo people, which represents around 30 percent of the country's 100 million people,Vincent Dublange reports in the first of a three part series on Ethopia.

This month of May represents the 10th anniversary of the death of Irena Sendler, a Polish Socialist humanitarian worker credited with having saved the lives of some 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

It comes as Israel -  a country born out of the horrors of the holocaust in which some six million Jewish people were killed - marks its 70th anniversary.

RFI’s Filip Warwick spoke with Elzbieta Ficowska, one of the Jewish children saved by Irena Sendler.

In Senegal social activism and hip hop go together. A centre in Dakar created by one of Senegal’s celebrity rappers provides workshops on music, graffiti and photography. But one workshop that’s been embraced by the whole community develops skills that are less associated with hip hop culture.

In France, every day of the calendar year has a saint's name assigned to it. In the past, a child would be given the name of the saint on who shared their same birth day, either as a first or middle name.But what happens in Senegal, asks Emmanuelle Landais in Dakar?

There, she discovered, African names are slowly being phased out and Muslim or Christian names have taken over.But to preserve Senegal’s heritage, Babacar Mbaye Diop, a university professor, has spent 12 years collecting these old names and made his own calendar to remind people of their origins.

Although several cities have seen sharp falls in tourism following deadly terrorist attacks, the sleepy English city of Salisbury is attempting to repair its reputation for another reason.

On 4 March, Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found collapsed on a park bench after being poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok.

The intrigue may have bought the world's media to the historic city but safety concerns forced many local and foreign visitors to give Salisbury a wide berth.

But with an economy heavily reliant on tourism, residents and business owners are desperately hoping they can soon return to some semblance of normality, as Nik Martin found out on a recent visit.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand last year reached a record 35.38 million, equivalent to more than half the Thai population. In 2018 the country is planning for even more… about 37 million.

The biggest number of foreign visitors come from China, who account for nearly one-third of arrivals. Medical tourism continues to boom in the capital.

But in rural areas, Thais are visiting sites off the beaten track as well.

Emmanuelle Landais reports from Thailand.

Thailand is known for many things: beaches, Bangkok, streetfood but not wine. And yet it’s a market that’s been in effervescence over the last decade despite the fact the Thai beverage of choice is beer. Once a relatively little known beverage, wine is now regularly served at social functions and is seen as a sign of higher social status among Thais.

The industry leader Siam Winery, has had a lot to do with creating a Thai wine culture thanks to its home grown wines adapted to the Thai palate.

Imported wines have heavy duties and tax making locally produced wine a more viable option for those special occasions.

Emmanuelle Landais visited the Moonsoon Valley vineyard to find out more in this report for a five-part series on Thailand.