“Do we speak French any the less with an accent. Must one suffer humiliation if one doesn’t speak standard French? Because our accents are our identity, I am tabling a bill to recognise glottophobia as a source of discrimination,” Laetitia Avia tweeted.

According to the MP’s proposal, regional accents — whether they be from the south, from Paris, the city’s suburbs or elsewhere — are “an integral part of many French people’s identity”.

On Wednesday, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) movement and a former presidential candidate in 2017, was caught on camera being rude to a journalist with a southern accent who asked him a question at the National Assembly.

“Can someone ask me a question in French? And (make it) a bit more understandable…,” Melenchon said, addressing a group of reporters in the video clip widely circulated on social media.

French police on Tuesday raided the headquarters of Melenchon’s party after prosecutors opened an inquiry into suspected campaign financing violations and “fake jobs” for EU parliament assistants.

“It certainly looks that way to me. It’s very sad,” Trump told journalists when asked if he believed that Khashoggi, who disappeared more than two weeks ago, is no longer alive.

Asked about the potential US response to Saudi Arabia, which is accused of murdering the Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudi regime, Trump said: “It will have to be very severe. It’s bad, bad stuff.”

This marked a hardening of tone from the Trump administration, which has been reluctant to blame ally Saudi Arabia, despite mounting evidence that the kingdom’s agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi inside its consulate in Istanbul more than two weeks ago.

A former regime insider, Khashoggi had become a critic of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the point man in ever-tightening military and commercial relations between the petro-state and the Trump administration.

Just hours earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had told Trump the Saudis should be given “a few more days to complete” an investigation.

Only then, Pompeo said, “we can make decisions how or if the United States should respond.”

In a possible sign of how the Saudis will seek to defuse the diplomatic crisis, The New York Times reported that the country’s rulers could come out and blame General Ahmed al-Assiri, a top intelligence official close to the crown prince.

– Call for UN probe –

Four prominent human rights and press freedom groups on Thursday urged Turkey to request a United Nations investigation to prevent a “whitewash” of the alleged crime.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders said such a probe established by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would finally clear up the affair.

But the United States, the Saudis’ most powerful patron, has repeatedly given the country’s royals the benefit of the doubt, with Trump and top officials stressing that the US-Saudi relationship cannot be put at risk.

Trump has repeatedly praised massive Saudi arms purchases, while Pompeo used much of his brief remarks on Thursday to recall Washington’s “long strategic relationship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudis “continue to be an important counter-terrorism partner, they have custody of the two holy sites… We need to be mindful of that as well,” he said.

Market takes a hit

The furor has also blown a hole in next week’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, which was meant to showcase Prince Mohammed’s plans for modernizing the desert kingdom.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was pulling out, joining senior ministers from Britain, France and the Netherlands, as well as a string of corporate leaders.

Mnuchin’s announcement on Twitter helped push down stock prices on Wall Street.

His withdrawal “raises worry that the administration is being pushed to take a harder line against Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi murder and there could be retaliation,” said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

Responses from Saudi Arabia could include selling US Treasuries, or punishing US companies seeking business in the kingdom, Haeling said.

Most analysts don’t think Saudi Arabia would cut off oil supplies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, took a dig at Washington, saying that “the US holds a certain responsibility over what happened to him.”

But he said Moscow would not “start deteriorating relations” with Saudi Arabia as long as “it did not know what really happened.”

Gory details

Neither Turkey nor the United States has publicly confirmed that Khashoggi is dead or said officially that Riyadh is to blame.

But a steady stream of unconfirmed leaks from officials to Turkish media have painted a detailed and horrifying picture of Khashoggi’s last minutes, allegedly at the hands of 15 Saudi agents waiting for him when he came to the consulate for paperwork.

The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper on Wednesday claimed it had heard audio tapes in which Khashoggi’s alleged killers tortured him by cutting his fingers off before his decapitation.

The pro-government Sabah newspaper on Thursday said Saudi security official Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, believed to be close to the crown prince, was the leader of the operation.

“Here is the head of the execution team,” said Sabah’s headline, and the paper then detailed Mutreb’s movements on the day Khashoggi went missing.

Trailing leftist candidate Fernando Haddad accused the far-right frontrunner, Jair Bolsonaro, of “illegal” electoral tactics after a report that companies were poised to unleash a flood of WhatsApp messages attacking him and his Workers Party.

Bolsonaro denied the allegation, tweeting that the Haddad’s Workers Party “isn’t being hurt by fake news, but by the TRUTH.”

The exchange happened 10 days before a run-off election that polls predict Bolsonaro — a bluff, internet-savvy, pro-gun polemicist often compared to US President Donald Trump — will likely win comfortably.

Ordinary Brazilians told AFP they got much of their election information through WhatsApp. They said some in their families or entourage swallowed some misinformation, but denied they themselves were being influenced.

“We get a lot of news, even false news, but some true, about politics but I don’t think it changes very much in terms of making decisions,” said Ana Clara Valle, a 27-year-old engineer in Rio.

She said she was voting for Bolsonaro because of his Catholic, pro-family stance, not because of any “extreme right” sensibility.

Andre de Souza, a 35-year-old lawyer leaning toward voting for Bolsonaro, said he receives around 500 WhatsApp messages a day for and against both candidates.

The rumors and false information “don’t make a difference to me,” he said, but added: “My mother received a WhatsApp message saying Bolsonaro was doing away with (mandatory) end-of-year salary payments, and she believed it!”

– ‘Slander’ –

Haddad made his accusation after Brazil’s widest circulation newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, reported it had discovered contracts worth up to $3.2 million each for companies to send out bulk WhatsApp messages attacking the Workers Party.

“We have identified a campaign of slander and defamation via WhatsApp and, given the mass of messages, we know that there was dirty money behind it, because it wasn’t registered with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal,” Haddad told a media conference in Sao Paulo.

Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Tiago Ayres, told the financial daily Valor there was no evidence of any connection between the companies mentioned by Folha de Sao Paulo and Bolsonaro’s campaign.

The row shone a light on an issue that has become a pressing one in democracies: the organized abuse of social media to sway public opinion in countries.

Facebook — which owns WhatsApp, as well as popular image-based network Instagram — is the most prominent company that has come under scrutiny, though Twitter has also come in for criticism.

The platforms have made an effort to clean up who uses their services after evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US election that saw Trump triumph, and accusations Facebook allowed user data to be harvested to bolster the campaign the same year for Britain to leave the European Union.

Facebook has also shut down disinformation pages traced to campaigns believed to have ties to Iran’s state-owned media and to Russian military intelligence services.

Seeking a debate

There is no evidence of foreign interference online in Brazil’s election.

The director of major polling firm Datafolha, Mauro Paulinho, said on Twitter that his company had detected “some shifts” in public opinion just before the first round of the election on October 7, which Bolsonaro won handily.

“Technical and factual observations” were made, he said, without drawing any conclusions.

There are 120 million WhatsApp user accounts in Brazil, whose population is 210 million. The app works as a popular social network for friends, families and work colleagues.

Both Haddad and Bolsonaro are the subject of memes, cartoons and slogans circulating online in Brazil.

Haddad, a former education minister and ex-mayor of Sao Paulo, has repeatedly tried to draw Bolsonaro into televised debates on policies.

The leftist candidate has an academic background he believes would give him an advantage if the exchanges moved away from the one-line quips and insults that characterize most social media communications.

But Bolsonaro, who skipped early debates because he was recovering from a knife stab wound after being attacked by a lone assailant while campaigning last month, has thus far shown little inclination to go head-to-head with Haddad.

The country of 800,000 people, famed for its Gross National Happiness index, is holding only its third national election since the monarchy initiated a transition to democracy in 2008.

Streets in the capital were mainly empty for the occasion as authorities declared a holiday for the election. Many voters looked forward to seeing a new government tackling problems including the country’s large foreign debt, mainly owed to India.

“We expect a new broom to sweep well,” said engineer Gopal Chettri after voting in the capital Thimphu. “It is a country with a limited budget so what can you say. Whatever party wins has to cope with it.”

Results of the runoff vote — to be announced Friday — could see a government formed by a party only registered in 2013.

Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) narrowly led the first round of voting on September 15 with 92,722 votes, just ahead of the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which won Bhutan’s first election in 2008, on 90,020.

Harvard-educated prime minister Tshering Tobgay conceded defeat after his ruling party slumped to third place.

The rivals have vowed to bolster the economy and health system and improve government transparency. Corruption, rural poverty, youth unemployment and criminal gangs are all problems for the “Land of the Thunder Dragon.”

The key will be exploitation of the country’s hydro-electric power, which is mainly exported to India. The DPT wants to accelerate the construction of hydro-electric plants while the DNT is more wary of increasing Bhutan’s foreign debt.

Hydropower financing — which comes to more than $1.5 billion — accounts for more than 80 percent of Bhutan’s foreign debt. Most is owed to India, which has stumped up loans for four out of five of the kingdom’s new hydro-electric projects.

Outside influence

Bhutan has tried to shield itself from the downsides of globalisation, striving for “Gross National Happiness” over GDP growth, maintaining a carbon-negative economy and keeping tourist numbers down with a daily fee of $250 per visitor.

While Bhutan is proud of its cultural and political independence and has diplomatic relations with barely 50 countries, it knows it will have to open up — a process which will likely stoke an existing tussle for influence between its neighbours.

During the last election campaign in 2013, fearing that Bhutan was moving too close to China, India withdrew subsidies for kerosene and cooking gas imports, in what was seen as an attempt to coerce a change of government.

Last year India and China became embroiled in a military standoff over the Doklam plateau claimed by China and Bhutan, and which sits on a strategic corner where the three countries meet.

India, which has a military presence in Bhutan, stepped in to prevent Chinese border guards from building a road there.

Even though Bhutan does not have diplomatic ties with China, its giant neighbour is the third biggest source of imported goods and wealthy Chinese tourists are a valuable new source of income.

Many in Bhutan feel the country should rely less on India and give China and others a chance to help boost the economy and create new jobs. “Bhutan should make friends with other countries,” said taxi driver Kinzang Dorji.

“I won’t go to Riyadh next week,” Le Maire told France’s Public Senat TV channel, adding that “the current circumstances do not allow me to go to Riyadh”.

The minister echoed President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks last week on Khashoggi’s disappearance, calling it a “very serious” matter.

Le Maire is one of the first senior Western officials to pull out of the October 23-25 Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he will decide on Thursday whether to attend.

Several business titans and Western media groups have already pulled out of the conference organized by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Khashoggi, who was living in self-imposed exile in the United States where he contributed to the Washington Post, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He was critical of some of Saudi Arabia’s policies.

Turkish officials claim he was killed and dismembered in the consulate by a hit squad which arrived from Riyadh — claims denied by the Saudi government.

The flash floods in Southern Attapeu province were caused by the collapse of an auxiliary dam of the project on July 23. The dam is being constructed by four investors – two companies from South Korea, one each from Thailand and Laos.

Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Co., Ltd (PNPC) – a joint venture company formed by four investors – has built temporary houses with 140 rooms and 5 toilets costing more than 6.8 billion kip (US$800,000), Mr Sonexay Siphandone told the local media in a press conference on Monday.

The company has worked with the relevant Lao authorities in assessing economic, environmental and the social impact in the 19 villages affected by the flooding.

The PNPC has also provided more than 85.2 billion kip (US$10 million) to the Lao government for financing relief, recovery and related works.

Given that the temporary houses are insufficient to house the displaced, the PNPC is currently constructing additional houses with 306 rooms amounting to more than 17 billion kip (US$2 million) to accommodate the displaced villagers. Another 10 billion kip was also provided by the company.

Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co., Ltd – a Thai stakeholder in the project has provided more than 1.3 billion kip (5 million baht) to help recover the damages and losses.

A Korean stakeholder in the project, Korea Western Power Co., Ltd. (KOWEPO) has handed over more than 8.5 billion kip (US$1 million) to stimulate effort for the relief and recovery. Korean stakeholder, SK Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (SKEC) has given 24 billion kip (more than US$2.8 million) to the Lao government. Another stakeholder is Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE).

The deadly flooding – the worst in decades affected 19 villages that are home to 3,540 families with 14,440 people. Of these, six villages were completely wiped out leaving thousands of people homeless.

Some 40 people were killed by the flooding, including six others, who succumbed in the hospital. Some 31 persons remain missing to date.

After the Sanamxay flooding, friendly countries, international organisations, businesses, Lao and foreign individuals have extended invaluable assistance and support for the search, rescue, relief and recovery mission both in kind and in cash. The total assistance has amounted to more than 285.5 billion kip.

Homeless victims have moved to live in temporary houses where they have received assistance – including with food, according to Dr Sonexay, who is also Chairman of the National Ad Hoc Committee in-charge of dealing with the aftermath of the disaster.

Each victim is provided money daily for meals along with 20 kilograms of polished rice a month.

As of August, each affected family was given 500,000 kip in cash as reserve money to cover their necessary expenses. Since September, each person is given 100,000 kip in cash a month to meet their personal expenses.

Some 1.5 million kip was provided for the victims to cover the funeral ceremony.