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Interview: Watching the Last Lions with Dereck and Beverly Joubert

The Last Lions - Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Photo: Wildlife Films Botswana / Mike Meyers
More than 90 per cent of the lion population has disappeared from Africa over the past 50 years, according to some estimates. A film to be shown on the National Geographic channel in France charts the story of one family of lions. RFI spoke to the makers of The Last Lions about their journey into the world of one of the most ferocious predators known to man…
Libya will not be governed by extremists, says new PM
In an exclusive interview on Tuesday Libya’s new interim Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib told RFI that worries over the introduction of sharia law in Libya are unfounded. He says his new government will do its “best” to stop human rights abuses and investigate those that have already taken place.
Interview: Abdurrahim el-Keib, Libya’s new prime minister
Commonwealth Sec Gen Sharma on G20, Africa and human rights
Promoting the interests of Commonwealth countries was the primary focus of Commonwealth chief Kamalesh Sharma‘s meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday night, ahead of next week’s G20 finance ministers meeting.
Interview: Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General, Commonwealth
Sharma represents 54 countries across the world, including a number from Africa. The Commonwealth recently observed elections in Zambia and has a team in place for this weekend’s elections in Cameroon. However, there are some criticisms over the Commonwealth’s approach to holding countries accountable for their human rights record.
About
Daniel Finnan is a broadcast journalist working for Radio France Internationale’s English service in Paris.
His work mainly concerns international news and politics, especially Africa and France. He also covers arts, culture, economics, the environment, music, sports and technology. He has skills in multimedia production with a high level of expertise in audio editing, graphics, video and web technologies. His work has been heard on international radio stations, including American Public Media, Radio Netherlands and Deutsche Welle.
Before working as a journalist he spent time in commercial and community radio in the United Kingdom. He developed The Hillz FM community radio station and helped it to secure a full-time FM license.
S.Africa sets out its stall ahead of Durban climate change conference
Delegations from South Africa, India, China and Brazil rounded up a meeting in Durban on Sunday focused on climate change. It was the second such meeting this year and comes ahead of November’s UN climate change talks. The four nations were expected to adopt a common strategy and decide how they will negotiate their position with world’s richest economies.
Interview: Edna Molewa, South Africa’s Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs
A bright future for ultraviolet water disinfection

The Whittier Narrows Water Reclamation Plant in El Monte, California, US using Trojan Technologies UV system. Photo: Trojan Technologies, Paul Cockrell and Rachel Lincoln
The global market for ultraviolet water treatment systems is expected to grow to around 450 million dollars in 2011, rising to almost 630 million dollars by 2015. Major cities around the world are implementing UV technology – New York is currently installing the world’s largest drinking water system with 56 UV reactors – while UV is increasingly being used in innovative wastewater reuse projects. The competitive marketplace sees several companies vying to differentiate their products on the efficiency of their UV lamps and cost, while aggressive research and development is likely to lead to the introduction of new innovations like UV LEDS (Light Omitting Diodes) by 2013.
Zimbabwe – MDC appeals to France for election support

Zimbabwe Prime Minister and MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai, June 2009, CC licence: Nick-Clegg
In an exclusive interview, Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change spokesperson Nelson Chamisa told RFI on Tuesday that they will ask for help in organising elections which President Robert Mugabe has called for by the middle of 2011. Despite not having a new constitution the MDC is happy with, they have come up with what they call a “stopgap measure”.
France plans 13 ecocities

Hammarby urban redevelopment, Stockholm, Sweden, February 2010, CC licence: La Citta Vita
France is set to have 13 ecocities attracting 50,000 extra inhabitants over the next 25 years in specially designed eco-quarters. The government has told local authorities to submit their plans by March next year. Eighty per cent of France’s population lives in urban areas which produce 70 per cent of French greenhouse gas emissions. The plan aims to “show that it’s possible to grow, to welcome new inhabitants and do it in a sustainable way,” government adviser Emmanuelle Gay told RFI.
French solar cyclist finishes epic journey to Tokyo
Frenchman Florian Bailly arrived in Tokyo at the beginning of the week after a gruelling bicycle ride from France through 12 countries and across two continents. Travelling on a specially adapted solar bicycle, Bailly harnessed the sun’s rays as he completed the 10,000 kilometre journey in less than two-thirds of the time it would have taken on a conventional bike.
A taste of Nordic filmmaking in Paris
With the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and the Swedish presidency of the European Union, Nordic countries have been at the top of the news agenda recently. But now a slice of Sweden, Norway and Denmark has come to Paris for Ciné Nordica – a five-day film festival at Cinéma du Panthéon celebrating Nordic filmmaking.
Radio Feature: Culture in France