Competing via infrastructure: China and the G7

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the G7's PPII project. There's the Bonus Question, “Listeners Corner”, and “Music from Erwan”. All that, and the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with!

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Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Dr. Gerald's free books, click here. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).

There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do!

This week's quiz: On 2 July, I asked you a question about the Group of 7 (G7) who met in Germany earlier that week. Attended by the heads of state of its members Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – as well as Ursula von der Leyen for the European Union - a proposed initiative from their last meeting came back to the table. Called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, or the PPII, the seven want to fund infrastructure projects in middle and low-income countries, to counterbalance China's infrastructure projects in these same countries, known as “Belt and Road”.  

In our article, “G7 aims to raise $600 billion to counter China's Belt and Road”, we gave you a few examples of the projects the PPII plan to take on. I asked you to send me the names of the five examples of PPII projects we wrote about.

The answer is: “Flagship projects include a $2 billion solar farm project in Angola, a vaccine manufacturing facility at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal, and a 1069-kilometre submarine telecommunications cable connecting Singapore to France via Egypt and the Horn of Africa.

$320 million has been earmarked for hospital construction in Cote d'Ivoire, and $40 million for Southeast Asia's Smart Power Program to decarbonise and strengthen their power system.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the Bonus Question: “Where is your safest place in the world?”

The winners are: A. K. M. Nuruzzaman, the president of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. A. K. M. Nuruzzaman is also the winner of the Bonus Question – the village where he was born is his safest place.

The other winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Timothy Ofori from Kumasi, Ghana; Atikul Islam from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh – Atikul is also the president of the Narshunda Radio Listeners Family - and Rachid Dahmani from M'sila, Algeria.

Last but certainly not least, there's RFI English listener Pradip Basak from West Bengal, India.

Congratulations winners!
Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Vavavoum”, written by Romane Rosenbaum and Stochelo and performed by the two composers with Marc-Michel Le Bévillon; “Presto, quanto si possible” by Antonio Scarlatti, arranged by Fred Hemke for the Chicago Saxophone Quartet; “Rainy Days” by Nicodrum, M. Bost, J. Dessus, and J. Zaccardelli and performed by Nicodrum and Friends; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children's Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Juégala” by César "Pupy" Pedroso, performed by Pupy y Los Que Son Son.

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected]

This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Michael Fitzpatrick's article “After angry debate, French parliament agrees spending power budget changes”.

You have until 12 September to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 17 September podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:
[email protected]
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here.