With the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and the appointment of a team of professionals critical of the current system, the Trump administration is poised to make a major shift in US healthcare policy, according to BAM news.

A team that promises change

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, nephew of JFK and son of RFK, has just been confirmed as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He will be joined by Prof. Jay Bhattacharya at the NIH, Dr. Dave Weldon at the CDC, Dr. Marty Makary at the FDA and Dr. Aseem Malhotra as advisor to President Trump.

Ambitious goals

The team has set itself three main objectives: to eliminate corruption and conflicts of interest within regulatory agencies, to refocus priorities on scientific excellence and transparency, and to tackle the chronic disease epidemic affecting American society.

Major challenges

With a budget representing almost 20% of federal spending, the Department of Health faces many challenges. These include reforming the healthcare system, combating obesity, which affects 74% of Americans, and managing chronic diseases, which affect more than 50% of the population.

Controversial positions

This team stands out for its critical stance towards the pharmaceutical industry and its management of the covid-19 crisis. However, RFK Jr and his collaborators will have to deal with political constraints and resistance from the system in place.

High expectations

Although the promises are ambitious, the ability of this new team to transform the American healthcare system remains to be confirmed. However, as Pr Christian Perronne points out, “These appointments are already a real revolution. Next, we’ll judge their actions.”

Thank you, President Trump. As a boy, I sat in the Oval Office where my uncle led on the issues of health and fitness. And now, six decades later, I stand with a transformational leader who fully grasps the public health crisis our great nation faces. I couldn’t be more thrilled… pic.twitter.com/jnuRksNmJ6

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) February 14, 2025

 

Issued on: 09/03/2025 – 11:52Modified: 09/03/2025 – 12:01

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Sylviane Boyer founded Pot en Ciel Kreol in 2023, in Cambaie in the north of Réunion, a French department in the Indian Ocean. She had taken over her family farm, which grew numerous vegetables native to the island.

“On Réunion Island, we have exotic vegetables, which have lots of antioxidants. We’re protected here on this little volcanic island, in terms of all the produce we have,” Boyer told RFI. “There are vegetables that can’t be found in mainland France… papaya, chayote, watercress that grow in our mountains. And chillies.”

Over the years, Boyer began to notice a rise in cases of diabetes, Crohn’s disease and high cholesterol. It was at this point that she became interested in micronutrition – the practice of optimising the diet to include vitamins and minerals the body needs – and discovered lacto-fermentation.

“We have lots of health problems because we eat too much fat and sugar. This led me to study lacto-fermentation a bit and I found that, scientifically speaking, a lot has been proven about it, which brought me back to it.”

Why do France’s overseas territories have a diabetes problem?

This technique is very common in several Africa countries, where access to electricity can be limited, making food preservation a challenge.

“In Africa, babies’ first meals are made using lacto-fermentation. It’s a natural process to follow,” says Boyer.

This ancient food preservation technique involves immersing food in salted water to encourage the growth of lactic acid bacteria.

“We use large vats where we put local fruits and vegetables from Réunion, along with water and natural, unrefined salt from Saint Leu. This process helps us pre-digest the food and release its full bioavailability,” explains Mégane Mardemoutou, sales manager at Pot en Ciel Kreol.

“This process develops probiotics and prebiotics, multiplies vitamin C, vitamin K – which is very important for the heart – and various B vitamins like B2 and B6.”

One local vegetable the company works with is bitter melon. “It’s a fruit that grows on vines, somewhat like cucumbers. It’s an old local vegetable with a thousand benefits because it aids detoxification, improves heart circulation and provides all the essential vitamins we need,” says Mardemoutou.

Over half of all adults will be overweight or obese by 2050, study shows

The company is now working with hospitals, the Regional Health Agency and local organisations to spread awareness of the health benefits of lacto-fermentation.

Gare du Nord hosts Eurostar services to London and into continental Europe via Belgium, high-seed trains to northern France, as well as a plethora of regional and suburban services.

Sone 500 trains and 600,000 people were affected Friday “with the entire northern part of the country paralysed”, said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, after one of the toughest days in years on the French rail network in years.

READ MORE: Rail services halted after WWII bomb found on tracks to Paris Gare du Nord

“We are pleased and relieved that it is over,” he said Friday, adding the bomb weighed 500 kilogrammes with 200 kilogrammes of explosives packed inside.

Defusing operations were completed by Friday afternoon, allowing travel to resume.

Rail services resumed progressively from 1700 GMT Friday and were back to normal on Saturday.

“Traffic has resumed normally, everything is open, everything is running normally,” a spokesperson for French rail operator SNCF told AFP Saturday.

High-speed trains to London and Brussels have resumed “like a normal Saturday,” said Eurostar which has laid on extra trains for passengers who could not travel on Friday.

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Some 300 police were mobilised to secure the site after the bomb was unearthed close to the tracks during engineering works overnight Thursday to Friday. Nearby residents were evacuated and part of the Paris ring road temporarily closed.

It was not immediately clear when the bomb had been dropped but experts quoted by French media noted that Allied forces had targeted railway infrastructure and factories close to tracks during the German occupation of France in World War II.

It will come as a surprise to no one that Ukraine became the world’s leading arms importer between 2020 and 2024, up from fourth place at the end of 2023; its imports increased almost 100-fold compared with the previous five years, which were nonetheless marked by the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a latent war in the Donbas. This new data is at the top of the annual report on trade in military equipment published on Monday, March, 10 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). For its part, France has consolidated its position as the second largest exporter (9.6% of the total), ahead of Russia (7.8%) but far behind the United States (43%).

The volume of imports-exports has remained more or less at the same level since 2010, but there has been a reorientation, especially from 2020 onward: What is destined for Europe and the Americans (the US, Brazil, Canada) goes less to Asia-Oceania (-21%) and the Middle East, two regions where most countries, in a phase of rearmament in the face of multiple threats (China, Iran), had massively rearmed, most notably Japan in recent years.

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The Ukrainian president left the White House in a hurry after an unprecedented heated exchange with his American counterpart.

Despite a major diplomatic incident, Volodymyr Zelensky was keen to thank the United States on social networks on Friday, February 28. “Thank you America, thank you for the support, thank you for this visit. Thank you to the President, the Congress and the American people,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X, adding that ”Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace and we are working on that.”
This conciliatory message contrasts sharply with the scene that unfolded shortly before in the Oval Office, where a verbal confrontation erupted between the two leaders, leading to the Ukrainian president’s premature departure.

A diplomatic face-off that got out of hand

The meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky turned confrontational in a scene described as “as rare as it was spectacular”. The tone quickly escalated when the American president told his Ukrainian counterpart: “Make a deal or we’ll let you go”.
“You must be grateful,” a visibly angry Donald Trump told his guest. Faced with Zelensky’s resistance, the American president raised his voice: “People are dying! You don’t have the assets to behave like this, you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with World War III.”
Following the altercation, Trump accused Zelensky on Truth Social of “not being ready for peace” with Russia and of having “disrespected” the United States within the Oval Office itself, adding that he “can come back when he’s ready for peace.”

Humanitarian crisis worsens

Meanwhile, the situation of Ukrainian refugees continues to worsen. According to a study by the Centre for Economic Strategy published this Friday, nearly 5.2 million Ukrainians are currently refugees abroad, an increase of 300,000 since the beginning of 2024. Germany and Poland host around 37% of these displaced persons, the majority of whom are women (44%) and children (32%).

A half-hearted economic agreement

On the bangs of these tensions, an agreement establishing a joint investment fund in the metals, hydrocarbons and investment sectors was signed. However, this text does not meet the initial demands of the American president, who wanted to see a sum of 500 billion dollars included, which was ultimately omitted from the final version. Nor does the agreement provide the firm security guarantees that Ukraine had hoped to obtain.

A European summit in the UK

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called a European summit for Sunday, bringing together more than a dozen European leaders. The aim of the meeting is to “take forward” action on Ukraine and security. President Zelensky, after a telephone meeting scheduled for the morning with the Baltic states, is also expected at Downing Street.

🔴ALERTE INFO
🇺🇸🇺🇦 RENCONTRE USA/UKRAINE

TRUMP ET JD VANCE EXPLOSENT ZELENSKY EN DIRECT.

Toute la séquence traduite en 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/vx6ViLZ9mQ

— Jon De Lorraine (@jon_delorraine) February 28, 2025

 

Author of the article:

Celeste Percy-Beauregard , LJI reporter

Published Mar 05, 2025  •  Last updated 3 days ago  •  2 minute read

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Some Brant County residents are questioning the validity of municipally branded letters they received from a third party advertising sewer and water line warranties, but the county says the mailers are legitimate.

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Homeowners connected to municipal water and sewer systems began receiving the letters in early 2025, inviting them to sign up for exterior water and sewer/septic line protection through Service Line Warranty of Canada (SLWC).

“Scam?” One resident asked in a local Facebook group. Others questioned why the county would be promoting one specific warranty provider.

The county confirmed the letters are legitimate in a January news release.

The plan can help “shield residents from the financial shock of an unexpected repair,” which would fall to the homeowner, the release said.

The program is endorsed by the Associated Municipalities of Ontario and has been available to County of Brant homeowners since 2016.

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The county receives a five per cent kickback of revenue from warranty products, according to a term sheet from May 2016.

It offers exterior water service line protection for around $50 plus tax annually, and exterior sewer/septic line coverage for around $60 plus tax annually, with no deductible, according to the county’s website.

Do homeowners need service line insurance?

“Homeowners are responsible for sewer lines leading away from their house,” according to a spokesperson for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), an association representing home, auto and business insurers in Canada.

Homeowners are also responsible for the water service line from inside the home to the property line, the county’s website says. Issues like clogging from grease fall to the homeowner, whereas structural issues found between the property line and the mainline sewer — like a pipe collapse — are the county’s responsibility.

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Whether or not someone elects to get insurance coverage for them is “a financial decision,” Anne Marie Thomas, IBC’s director of consumer and industry relations, told The Spectator.

But if uninsured, homeowners should know they could face a cost “upwards of $5,000” if a service line breaks, depending on the circumstances, Thomas said.

She suggested calling an existing insurance broker or agent to ask if they offer service line coverage, what exactly it covers, and if it’s the coverage you need.

“Take that information and compare it against this service line coverage that you’re being offered elsewhere,” she said.

People can also use the IBC’s consumer information centre to ask professionals general insurance questions, Thomas said.

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Hamilton residents raised concerns when the city partnered with SLWC in Aug. 2014.

Since then, Hamilton homeowners have received more than 8,200 home repairs (totalling around $3.5 million) through the program, according to an update received by Hamilton city council in January 2022.

As of February 2023, only around one per cent of “eligible homeowners” in Brant County had registered, according to an administration and operations committee presentation.

For more information, visit brant.ca/servicelinewarranty.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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Why not buy a two-up, two-down in a village for less than you’d buy a parking space in Paris or Lyon?

Over the years, we have bought and sold five houses in rural France so have learned the pitfalls to avoid when buying rural property. 

First off, bargains invariably need doing up and even if you have the smarts to do it yourself, building and decorating supplies cost a fortune in France, and reputable tradespeople don’t come cheap either.

Second, don’t believe everything you read. Use the satellite view on Google earth to track down advertised properties before you waste time visiting. 

READ ALSO The hidden costs of buying property in France

Does the house overlook a crane factory? While you’re about it, snoop around surrounding towns and villages. 

Who will look after all that land?

Are all the shops shuttered and barred? Also check transport options. Can visitors get to you easily, and what happens if your car breaks down? 

Is there a bar within walking distance? Does half the population decamp to Spain every winter?

When you visit, don’t be seduced by huge rooms, vast swathes of land or fabulous views – huge rooms are expensive to heat, especially if they have high ceilings. Barns cost a fortune to insure, and no you can’t just insure the house and not the barn. Go online and get some quotes.

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And make a plan if you are tempted to buy an enormous stretch of beautiful French countryside. 

Because of the fire risk, landowners can be legally obliged to keep growth under control. 

Are you going to mow it every week? Are you going to pay someone to keep it clear? 

If you’re planning to cultivate it or put animals on it, will you get permission?

Do local hunters use the land? If so you won’t get them off

Is the land in a building zone? Is it agricultural? Are you going to find, two days after you move in, that the farmer next door is planning to block your view with a massive modern cow barn topped with a solar panel roof?

Ask the mairie about the ‘Plan Local d’Urbanisme’ (PLU) or contact the Commune des Communes about the Plan Local d’Urbanisme Intercommunal (PLUi) to find out how the land around the house is classified.

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READ ALSO Can I block building or development near my French home?

Are there any livestock already on the land? A farmer who is grazing herds on land, even if it isn’t theirs, can acquire rights to graze.

Does your dream house come surrounded by trees that need felling? Sometimes old trees are legally protected.

Do the local hunters regularly hunt across the land, or across the land next door? If they do, you’ll struggle to turf them off.

‘Wild west’ – How to stay safe during France’s hunting season

By law sellers have to disclose problems with neighbours. Have they been involved in a series of disputes? 

Do you want to inherit an argument about croaking frogs, crowing hens, barking dogs, or leaking drain pipes?

During your first visit, pay careful attention to the walls. Signs of subsistence or rising damp are red flags because the costs of this type of building work are often double or triple the price of the house. 

Explained: ‘Vice caché’ legal protections in France

Take note of who is selling. If it’s 30 cousins it means bad news

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Rotting windows and doors are relatively easy and cheap to replace. Wiring can be redone, as can plumbing. Finding and hiring well-reputed builders takes time however, so a working lavatory and bathroom (however grotty) is a plus.

Even if you’re not contemplating buying a wreck, before signing a ‘compromise‘ (preliminary binding contract) for your countryside retreat, find out the cost of the annual ‘taxe foncière‘ which can be several thousand euros – if you plan on using it as a second home, you will also pay taxe d’habitation, which can be the same amount again.

How much property tax can you expect to pay in France

Also ask who is selling the house. If it is a collection of 30 cousins (and this is not especially unusual, due to France’s inheritance laws) and they all hate each other, you could waste years waiting for them all to agree to the sale of the property.

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Also ask about local fêtes and festivals. When we moved into a tiny, half-abandoned village in the heart of the Cévennes, we had no idea that for three days at the end of every August the entire place would be taken over by an ear- splitting, window-rattling, non-stop rock festival. 

With an unlicensed, non-stop bar, no toilets and no police, the resulting disgusting mess and damage to property made life a misery. 

As the date approached, locals would lock livestock into barns, remove geraniums from terraces, fortify their properties, hide their cars and either leave or hide inside their houses with their hunting rifles.

A village only 5km from our current home in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, hosts an annual week-long funfair in July which involves closing all the roads and playing loud funfair music from midday to midnight daily.

Is the road a race track?

A friend bought a house in Provence on a long stretch of straight road without realising that it was something of an illegal racetrack, drivers regularly hitting 150kph as they passed her house. Having had two of her beloved cats run over she sold up.

Yet another friend bought a tiny house standing on stilts at the edge of a lake in Vienne, not realising that the mairie were staunchly opposed to anyone living there and determined not to grant planning application to any further construction.

So she and her husband found themselves living in 40m2 with the only option for an extension being a tent.

Find all this out by ringing the mairie and asking to come for a chat. Just say that you’re thinking of buying a house in the commune and have a few questions. 

In small villages this is entirely possible because maires are keen to attract new inhabitants.

While you are at the mairie, ask to see the ‘plan cadastre’, or you can also look this up online (Ask the estate agent for the numbers of the ‘parcelles cadastrales‘ for sale). 

This is useful because property limits do not always align with existing fences, and also you can see which buildings are authorised – some people succumb to the temptation to build barns and sheds without planning permission, and you really don’t want to dip a finger in that mess.

And finally, check for any natural risks in the area on the government website just in case your hideaway is on a flood plain, or subject to land movements, natural gases, noise pollution or is close to a nuclear power station.

As soon as the European Council ended, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron launched into history lessons from a distance. “There are still people who want to return to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended,” said the Kremlin chief. Without naming him, he targeted the French president, who, after the green light from the 27 member states to beef up their defense and support Ukraine, repeated in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, that “Russia is an existential threat to us. Not just to Ukraine, not just to its neighbors, but to all of Europe.” On Russian social media in Moscow, Macron was quickly mocked as a powerless Napoleon. And, on television, Putin responded by reminding him of the catastrophic outcome of the Russian campaign in 1812.

“All the mistakes of our enemies and adversaries began in the same way: with a profound underestimation of the Russian character,” said Putin. A history buff like the master of the Kremlin, Macron was quick to respond: “Napoleon carried out conquests. The only imperial power I see today in Europe is Russia,” said the French president. He accused Putin of making “a historical misreading” by comparing him to Napoleon, and described him as a “revisionist imperialist of history and the identity of peoples.”

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