Ivory Coast’s $1.5 bln plan to restore forests, land

Baky Meïté is a former captain of the Ivory Coast rugby team. Back in the spring of 2020, he put his rugby career on hold to work as a janitor in a geriatric hospital in Paris. He has now published a book, "Les Chiffons Bleus", as a tribute to his former colleagues who appear somewhat forgotten today. He joined us for Perspective.

The German government has activated its emergency plan for gas supplies, as fears rise that Russia could cut off the flow of gas to Europe. The early warning, announced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck, is the first of three stages in Berlin's emergency plan aimed at securing supplies. The move comes as Moscow insists it be paid in roubles for Russian gas. Also today, we report on how the sanctions on Russia are affecting the diamond trade in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said his announcement of scrapping obligatory isolation for people infected with COVID was a mistake and sent the wrong signal.

In an unexpected announcement, Prime Minister Patrick Achi and his Cabinet have tendered their resignation. The leader of Ivory Coast's government had held the job for a little over a year.

They're calling it the battle of Donbas. After nearly two months of mishaps and setbacks, Russia is putting all its might into a bid to capture the entire east of Ukraine. But will it capture it or flatten it? We ask our guests about the Kremlin's endgame.

We look at the extraordinary US Supreme Court leak of a draft majority opinion that plans to roll back the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling. On International Press Freedom Day, the Swiss paper Le Temps features Dmitri Mouratov, editor of the Kremlin critic newspaper Novaya Gazeta on its front page. Also, controversial changes to the Olympic sport of pentathlon, and a little Dutch boy who goes for an early morning joyride in his mother's car!

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk recently acquired Twitter after the board agreed to the takeover bid by the Billionaire, marking a dramatic reversal of its earlier hesitation to accept the offer. Musk reportedly paid $54.20 (€50.8) per share in cash, or $44 billion, to take a 38% stake in the messaging platform. The takeover has however been welcomed with mixed feelings with many expressing fears that Musk may alter the way the platform operates.

The crew of four astronauts, including one German, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.

At the start of a U.N. conference on desertification in Ivory Coast, President Alassane Ouattara has said the country wants to raise $1.5 bln to revive forests and land in the world's top cocoa producer.

The COP15 conference is meeting to address issues of land degradation, advancing deserts and deforestation. Experts and activists hope that this will not be just another high-level conference with no concrete results.

American military leaders said the soldiers would help counter the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab in the Horn of Africa country.

The European Union plans to invest up to €300 billion to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the European Commission announced.