INTERNATIONAL REPORT

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a plan to build a massive canal connecting Turkey's Sea of Marmara to and the Black Sea.   The channel will be an alternative waterway to the Bosphorus, which runs through the center of Istanbul.   Erdogan claims the project is vital to saving Turkey's largest city from the threat of supertankers which use the Bosphorus daily.   But the project risks resurrecting historical international tensions over the control of one of the world's most important strategic and commercial waterways.   That tension has become a new flashpoint between Moscow and Washington as Dorian Jones reports in this second report of a two-part series from Istanbul     Click the 'play' button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching 'RFI international report'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning what is being called the construction project of the decade, a massive canal connecting Turkey's Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. The canal will provide an alternative route to the Bosphorus, one of the world’s busiest waterways, which divides the city of Istanbul. Erdogan claims the project will save Istanbul from potential catastrophe posed by supertankers passing its shores. But there is a growing groundswell against the project, with fears of social and ecological disaster. Correspondent Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul in this first report of a two-part series. Click the 'play' button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching 'RFI international report'

More than two million people in Zambia are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance following a two year persistent drought in the southern part of the country. According to the World Food Programme WFP, the drought conditions have resulted in significant crop losses and poor harvests in the last farming season. The Zambian Government has refused to declare hunger as a national disaster despite calls from the international community and opposition leaders. Correspondent Kathy Short visited one of the worst hit areas and reports from Siavonga. Click the 'play' button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching 'RFI international report'

This winter, the Grand Palais in Paris is home to a giant ice-skating wonderland. Advertised by organisers as the largest indoor temporary ice skating rink in the world, the rink becomes a discothèque after nightfall. The Grand Palais, inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exposition in Paris, has been home to exhibitions, military barracks and universities. This winter, it hosts a temporary ice skating rink, set up and removed by complex engineering. Click the "play" button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching for "RFI international report". Don't forget to see the video below.

The Palestinian cultural heritage is rich in food, clothing, arts, farming, industry and many other examples. In rural areas of the Gaza Strip, ovens that are made of clay are still being used by many of the inhabitants. Clay-made ovens are easy and cheap to use and they have become increasingly important over the past 13 years, with Gaza suffering from prolonged power outages, every day. Correspondent Rami Almeghari reports. Click the 'play' button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching 'RFI international report.