Malian authorities ban French TV channel over its coverage of a pro-democracy protest
The High Authority for Communication said in a letter published on Tuesday that it was cutting the signal of French channel TV5 Monde after a news anchor remarked that 'hundreds of security forces were mobilized to prevent demonstrators from accessing' the Palais de la Culture during a May 3 protest.
The authority said this was incorrect and that "the forces of law and order were present at the Palais de la Culture to secure the demonstrators.'
TV5MONDE did not immediately comment on the announcement.
The decision was the latest move by Malian authorities that targeted media outlets. The signals of France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) have been blocked for three years, and Mali's private TV channel, Djoliba TV News, had its signal cut off for six months last December over a debate questioning the official version of a thwarted coup attempt in neighboring Burkina Faso.
Like Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali is ruled by military regimes that took power following coups. The regimes have formed an alliance called the Alliance of Sahel States and have severely restricted freedom of expression by cutting off media signals and arresting journalists, political figures, and civil society leaders.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
South Korean and US militaries begin annual summertime drills to cope with North Korean threats
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to 'any provocation' against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program. In a statement last week, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of 'military confrontation' with the North and declared that its forces would be ready to counteract 'any provocation going beyond the boundary line.' Ulchi Freedom Shield comes at a pivotal moment for South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who is preparing for an Aug. 25 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump has raised concerns in Seoul that he may upend the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the American troop presence in South Korea and possibly reducing it as Washington shifts its focus more toward China. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high as North Korea has brushed aside Lee's calls to resume diplomacy with its war-divided rival, with relations having soured in recent years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerated his weapons program and deepened alignment with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Seoul's previous conservative government responded to North Korean threats by expanding military exercises with the United States and seeking stronger U.S. assurances for nuclear deterrence, drawing an angry reaction from Kim, who last year renounced long-term reconciliation goals and rewrote the North's constitution to label the South a permanent enemy. In his latest message to Pyongyang on Friday, Lee, who took office in June, said he would seek to restore a 2018-inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce border tensions and called for North Korea to respond to the South's efforts to rebuild trust and revive talks. The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between South Korea's former liberal President Moon Jae-in and Kim, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes. But South Korea suspended the deal in 2024, citing tensions over North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons toward the South, and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea had already declared it would no longer abide by the agreement. When asked whether the Lee government's steps to restore the agreement would affect the allies' drills, the South's Defense Ministry said Monday that there are no immediate plans to suspend live-fire training near the Koreas' disputed maritime border. While the allies have postponed half of Ulchi Freedom Shield's originally planned 44 field training programs to September, U.S. military officials denied South Korean media speculation that the scaled-back drills were meant to make room for diplomacy with the North, citing heat concerns and flood damage to some training fields. Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Public comments by senior Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have suggested a push to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and role of U.S. forces in South Korea. Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while U.S. forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. In a recent meeting with reporters, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, stressed the need to 'modernize' the alliance to address the evolving security environment, including North Korea's nuclear ambitions, its deepening alignment with Russia, and what he called Chinese threats to a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.'
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
Macron Delivers Statement After Meeting With ‘Coalition of the Willing'
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a statement at 11 a.m. ET on Aug. 17 in Bregancon, France, after meeting with leaders of the 'coalition of the willing' on Sunday, ahead of traveling to Washington, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, for meetings on Monday with U.S. President D...
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine welcomes Australian support, calls for more aid
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has joined Volodymyr Zelenskiy and world leaders on a virtual hook-up to express support for the Ukrainian president ahead of a key meeting. Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko called for further international pressure on Russia ahead of Mr Zelenskiy's meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday (local time). The coalition of the willing, which includes more than 30 nations united in their support for Ukraine, held a phone call overnight (AEST) convened by US Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Overnight, I joined a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing convened by @Keir_Starmer and @EmmanuelMacron, alongside President @ZelenskyyUa and other democratic remains committed to supporting Ukraine and it was an opportunity to discuss next steps in… — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 18, 2025 Mr Myroshnychenko welcomed Australia's support, saying international pressure needed to remain on Russia, including by choking its economy with sanctions to impede its ability to wage war. "It's important you're part of it and Australia is committed," he told AAP. "The main purpose of the coalition of the willing was to help Ukraine win the war on just terms and the way to do it is to put pressure on Russia, put new sanctions on Russia. "What's important is the consistency of that. What's important is Australia keeps on going it." Australia has committed $1.5 billion in support for Ukraine, with the last military aid package of 49 Abrams tanks announced in October 2024. The ambassador called for more support to aid Ukraine's defences, including further armoured personnel vehicles. "We would be very grateful for more assistance," he said. "At the end of the day, Russia didn't commit to anything, they didn't say they were going to stop. "Any security guarantees for Ukraine includes a strong military." Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said Australia remained committed to Ukraine, and while it couldn't move the dial on the war alone, it was effective when it joined like-minded countries. "Obviously, we want to see peace but it can't come at the expense of the Ukrainian people and their territorial integrity," he told Sky News on Monday. Mr Thistlethwaite said he wouldn't pre-empt "what the prime minister may or may not announce over the coming days" when asked about the possibility of further sanctions against Russia. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, will join Mr Zelenskiy in Washington. The UK, French, German, Italian and Finnish leaders will also attend amid concerns the Trump administration could walk back support of the embattled nation as Russia pushes to keep land it has annexed from Ukraine. It follows Mr Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska over the weekend, when the pair discussed a peace plan following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. No agreements were announced, but US envoy Steve Witkoff said Russia had agreed to some concessions and "game-changing" security guarantees. Ukraine has rejected ceding any territory to Russia under a ceasefire or peace deal. Mr Zelenskiy has called for a security guarantee, similar to the NATO pact which has a mutual defence article stating that an attack on one member is an attack on all members. Ukraine isn't a NATO member but wants to join the alliance, something Russia opposes. Mr Witkoff said Mr Putin had agreed to allow the US and European nations to offer Ukraine a security guarantee during his meeting with Mr Trump, but Russia still believes NATO membership is "a red flag". "We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer article five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," he told CNN. This concession "was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that", he said.
