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Vance set to visit India for bilateral talks on economic, trade and geopolitical ties

US Vice President JD Vance will embark on a four-day visit to India on April 21 as the two countries seek to unlock economic opportunities and negotiate a bilateral trade deal.

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Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaching Easter truce

Russia and Ukraine on April 20 accused each other of violating an Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. France 24's Douglas Herbert tells us more.

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Israeli military admits 'professional failures' in killings of Palestinian medics in Gaza

An investigation into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Rafah found that Israeli forces committed “professional failures”, which would lead to the dismissal of a deputy commander. Israel initially alleged that the medics' vehicles did n

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Easter celebrations across the world: The environmental impact of chocolate

To satisfy the world’s huge appetite for chocolate, farmers produce around 5 million tonnes of cocoa beans each year. But behind the sweet treat lies a bitter environmental cost. Christophe Alliot, co-founder of the BASIC think tank, explains.

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India: At least 11 people killed in residential building collapse

At least 11 people, including three children, were killed in New Delhi on April 19 after a residential building collapsed on the outskirts of the Indian capital, local reports and authorities said.

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Vatican: Pope condemns 'deplorable humanitarian situation' in Gaza

After delivering his Easter greetings to a crowd estimated at over 35,000 from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis delegated the reading of his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the City and the World") benediction to an associate. "It was a

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Chocolate: The biggest star of Easter celebrations across the world

Today is Easter Sunday, and that means plenty of chocolate devoured across the world as families celebrate the holiday. The sweet treats have been part of the festival for centuries.

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War in Ukraine: Kyiv says Moscow violated Easter truce

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on April 20 of creating a false appearance of honoring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary

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US: America’s oldest Auto Show opens in NYC amid tariff concerns

America’s oldest Auto Show opened in New York City this weekend. While new cars are on display, tariffs on imports imposed by the Trump administration have cast a shadow over the event. France 24’s Jessica Le Masurier reports.

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Israel: Supreme Court delays ruling on Bar's dismissal amid political bias claims

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his government had unanimously approved the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, citing a “lack of trust” and requiring him to step down by April 10.

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Israel: Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar to respond to firing in court

Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director Ronen Bar is expected to submit an affidavit to the High Court of Justice on April 20, in connection with petitions challenging his dismissal. Alon Pinkas, a retired ambassador and former Foreign Ministry Chief

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Spain, Bolivia... Easter commemorated around the world with diverse traditions

Easter was commemorated around the world with diverse traditions. In Spain, Bolivia, and Greece, communities observed the holiday through symbolic rituals—from solemn dances and intricate sand sculptures to the centuries-old custom of clay pot throwing.

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Israelis protest continuing Gaza war, Netanyahu vows to keep pressure on Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced again on April 19 that Israel has “no choice” but to continue fighting in Gaza and will not end the war before destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and ensuring that the territory won’t present a thre

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Gaza: New Israeli strikes to pressure Hamas to release hostages

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in 48 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on April 19 as Israeli troops increase their attacks to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages and disarm.

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US: Thousands of protesters rally against Donald Trump across the country

Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the US on April 19, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.

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Italy: US, Iran report progress in nuclear talks, will meet again

The United States and Iran made progress in a second round of high-stakes talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on April 19 and agreed to meet again next week, both sides said.

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Recovering pope expected to delight crowds at Easter Sunday mass

Pope Francis is expected to delight Catholics all over the world during Easter celebrations at the Vatican on April 20, just weeks after he was fighting for his life in hospital while suffering from pneumonia. France 24's Seema Gupta tells us more.

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Zelensky commits to Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaking it

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday accused Russian forces of continuing to carry out attacks on its soil despite a surprise Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky has said that Ukraine will respect the truc

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Gunmen kill at least 56 people in central Nigeria

Attacks believed to have been carried out by nomadic cattle herders killed at least 56 people in central Nigeria in one night, the Benue state governor's office said Saturday. Competition over land use has long been a source of tension between largely Mu

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European weapons in Sudan (4/5): 'The RSF bombs public buildings, markets, and hospitals'

From a Bulgarian factory to Sudanese militias, the FRANCE 24 Observers team reveals how European-made ammunition ended up on the Sudanese battlefield, despite a European Union embargo on sending weapons to this war-torn country. This fourth article in ou

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Pope blesses crowds on Easter Sunday after private meeting with JD Vance

Pope Francis made a brief appearance at St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday to bless the thousands of faithful Catholics who had assembled to celebrate Easter. The 88-year-old’s frail health has largely kept him from Holy Week events. Earlier in t

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Pope Francis: Pontiff delegates service, but greets crowd from balcony

Pope Francis emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square and treat them to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza, drawing wild cheers and applause as he continues his recovery from a near

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Russia is creating 'impression of a ceasefire' while continuing attacks, Zelensky says

Europe • 12:51 AM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia’s declared Easter ceasefire is a facade, citing continued shelling, drone strikes and assaults along the front. Despite Moscow’s claims of restraint, Kyiv reported 59 instances of Russian

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Reunion Island hospital boss calls for reinforcements amid virus outbreak

Hospitals on the French Indian Ocean Island of Reunion are reaching breaking point amid a chikungunya virus outbreak that has claimed six lives since January, affecting one out of nine people. Health officials are calling for urgent reinforcements to man

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Pope blesses crowds on Easter Sunday after private meeting with JD Vance

Pope Francis made a brief appearance at St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday to bless the thousands of faithful Catholics who had assembled to celebrate Easter. The 88-year-old’s frail health has largely kept him from Holy Week events. Earlier in t

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Yesterday

Anti-Trump protesters rally in New York, Washington and across the US

Demonstrations against US President Donald Trump and his policies took place across the US on Saturday, with protesters condemning what they described as accelerating attacks on civil liberties and the hollowing out of public institutions.

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Zelensky commits to Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaking it

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday accused Russian forces of continuing to carry out attacks on its soil despite a surprise Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky has said that Ukraine will respect the truc

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Putin's Easter ceasefire will be ‘cautiously observed’ by Ukrainians

Residents of Kyiv erred on the side of caution on Saturday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a one-day ceasefire in Ukraine. "It will be cautiously observed", said FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reporting live from the ground. "Let's not for

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Putin announces an Easter ceasefire as Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of POWs

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting on April 19, citing humanitarian reasons, as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in the largest exchange since Moscow's full-scale invasion s

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Ukraine accuses Russia of breaching Easter ceasefire with ongoing attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia broke its ceasefire promise and continues to carry out attacks “on several frontline sectors” despite a one-day ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The truce was mea

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Russia's Putin declares unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6pm Moscow time on Saturday until the end of Sunday. France 24's Douglas Herbert tells us more.

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US Supreme Court pauses deportation of Venezuelans from Texas

The US Supreme Court on April 19 paused the Trump administration's deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century law.

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Iran says nuclear negotiations with US 'moving forward'

What brought Iran back to the negotiations table with the US? France 24's Douglas Herbert tells us more.

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Thousands rally for trans rights after top UK court backs ‘biological’ definition of woman

Europe • 2:13 PM

Thousands of London trans rights protesters gathered in Parliament Square on Saturday, days after the UK Supreme Court ruled that a woman is someone born biologically female and that transgender women are excluded from that legal definition.

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Russia's Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine until end of Sunday

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his troops to halt hostilities from Saturday evening until Sunday midnight.

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Sex Matters: The wider impact of the ‘What is a Woman’ case

Helen Joyce has campaigned for clarity about biological sex in law for years. She has been censured online and been called a bigot for saying there are only two sexes and woman means biological woman. This week, the UK’s highest court clarified the lega

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Vatican notes 'exchange of opinions' over migrants, prisoners in meeting with Vance

US Vice President JD Vance met on April 19 with the Vatican's No. 2 official amid tensions over the US crackdown on migrants, with the Holy See reaffirming good relations but noting “an exchange of opinions” over current international conflicts, migrants

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Italy: Venice expands day-tripper tax in bid to combat overtourism

The day-tripper tax is relaunching this week in Venice. The fee has now doubled to 10 euros for last minute visitors. Sameer Hosany, Professor of Marketing at Royal Holloway University of London, tells us more.

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Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in two days

Israel’s army killed more than 90 people in the past 48 hours, including women and children, the healthy ministry in Gaza said on Saturday. Many of those killed were sheltering in areas designated as humanitarian zones by Israel.

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Iran and the US begin a second round of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program

The first round that took place in Oman came with very low expectations, so everyone was positively surprised that it went as well as it did," says our guest Rouzbeh Parsi, Head of the MENA Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. "No

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JD Vance meets Vatican No. 2 after tensions with Pope Francis

US Vice President JD Vance met on April 19 with the Vatican's No. 2 official, following a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants and Vance’s theological justification of it.

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More than 70 killed in deadliest US attack on Yemen, Huthis say

US strikes on a Yemeni fuel port killed at least 70 people, Huthi rebels said on April 18, in the deadliest attack of Washington's 15-month campaign against the Iran-backed group.

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Trump administration seeks records from Harvard on foreign funding and ties

President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday it sought Harvard University's records on foreign funding going back a decade and on some foreign ties, in the government's latest escalation against the educational institution.

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‘Choose Europe!’: Macron invites scientists to work in France amid US funding cuts

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday invited international scientists to work in France or elsewhere in Europe. The country's newly launched "Choose France for Science" platform comes as US President Donald Trump slashes funding for universities an

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🌟The Bright Side: Robots race alongside humans in China half-marathon

A half-marathon in Beijing pitted 21 humanoid robots against flesh-and-blood runners on Saturday, showcasing Chinese manufacturers' growing prowess in robotics.

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Uganda plans law to allow military prosecution of civilians

The Ugandan government intends to introduce a law to allow military tribunals to try civilians for certain offences even after the practice was banned by the Supreme Court. France 24's Juliette Montilly tells us more.

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Ghana: President John Mahama names envoy to Sahel states

Ghana's president John Mahama has extended an invitation to the military leaders of Burkina Faso Mali and Niger to attend next week's 50th anniversary celebrations of ECOAS in Accra. The three Sahelian nations withdrew from the regional block after facin

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'An old tradition': Thousands of colourful eggs on display at Vienna Easter market

Every spring, thousands of colourful eggs are on display at Vienna's Easter markets, as the Austrian capital is decked out ahead of the celebrations.

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'Defend ourselves': Refugee girls in Kenya find strength in taekwondo

Along one of the many dirt tracks leading into Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp there is a large hidden compound, where inside, twice a week, adolescent girls gather to learn taekwondo, the martial arts lessons offering a safe space in the often chaotic settl

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JD Vance goes to the Vatican following papal rebuke over Trump crackdown on migrants

US Vice President JD Vance is meeting with the Vatican No. 2 official, following a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants and Vance’s theological justification of it.

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Iran's foreign minister arrives in Rome for second round of US nuclear talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Rome ahead of the second round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, state media said Saturday. The meeting comes one week after an initial roun

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US: Donald Trump says will 'pass' on Ukraine talks if too difficult

President Donald Trump on April 18 said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war. Trump spoke shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned th

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Trump administration takes aim at Harvard’s tax-exempt status

Donald Trump said on April 17 that the administration is looking into the tax-exempt status of Harvard. "That's a very ironic situation: all these gentlemen who are trying to implement these rollbacks graduated from these very schools themselves," emphas

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US Supreme Court pauses Trump's deportations of Venezuelan migrants

The US Supreme Court issued a brief order Saturday pausing the deportation of Venezuelan migrants detained in Texas. While US President Donald Trump has justified the mass detention and deportation of migrants under an 18th century wartime law, the Supre

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Tunisian opposition figures get prison sentences of 13 to 16 years

Africa • 6:10 AM

Prominent politicians, businessmen and lawyers are among those that have been sentenced to decades in prison by a Tunisian court on charges of conspiring against state security, state media said Saturday, as part of a mass trial against opposition figure

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Second round of US-Iran nuclear talks end, third round set for next week

Representatives from the US and Iran met in Rome on Saturday for the second round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme. The mediated talks were held in a “constructive atmosphere” and ended after about four hours, Iranian sta

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European weapons in Sudan (3/5): The mercenaries who travelled through Libya

Africa • 4:40 AM

From a Bulgarian factory to Sudanese militias, the FRANCE 24 Observers team reveals how European-made ammunition ended up on the Sudanese battlefield, despite a European Union embargo on sending weapons to this war-torn country. In this third article of

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Nuclear talks: Iran and US begin a second round of negotiations

The United States and Iran on April 19 resumed high-stakes talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, a week after an initial round of discussions that both sides described as "constructive".

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Friday, april 18, 2025

Israeli strikes kill two in Lebanon, Hezbollah chief says 'will not let anyone disarm' it

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Friday that it "will not let anyone disarm" it, despite pressure that the Iran-backed movement hand over its weapons. Earlier in the day, Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli air strikes killed two people in souther

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US will drop Ukraine ceasefire efforts if progress is not made soon, says Trump

Europe • 7:22 PM

The United States will walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting, unless there are clear signs of progress soon, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco

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Killing fields, 50 years on: How the Khmer Rouge's legacy still divides Cambodia

Pacific Asia • 6:13 PM

On April 17,1975, a hardline Communist command led by Pol Pot swept into Phnom Penh and overthrew the US-backed military government of General Lon Nol. The Khmer Rouge went on to write the darkest chapter in Cambodia's history, committing one of the wors

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Italian PM Meloni's visit to Trump 'frankly useless' for EU: Senior MEP Benifei

Europe • 5:18 PM

We speak to the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States: Italian politician Brando Benifei. He recently led a group of MEPs to the US to meet members of the US Congress and other players in a bid to de-escalate

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Man from Pakistan's persecuted religious minority lynched by Karachi mob

Pacific Asia • 4:40 PM

A mob, which included many members from the anti-blasphemy political group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), on Friday lynched a member of Pakistan's persecuted Ahmadiyya minority in the port city of Karachi. Hundreds of radical Islamists stormed the str

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There's a 'strange backsliding' on human rights: Council of Europe chief Berset

Europe • 4:32 PM

A crackdown on demonstrators in Turkey, the detention of the mayor of Istanbul and a clampdown on pro-EU protesters in Georgia – there is currently no shortage of challenges to the Council of Europe from its own members. Europe's largest and oldest inter

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'Careful dance between ideology and realpolitik: Meloni walking a tightrope between Europe and US'

US Vice President JD Vance met with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome ahead of celebrating Easter at the Vatican and a meeting with the pope's right-hand man. Meloni shares far-right views with Vance and President Donald Trump, whom she met i

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Nearly 200 students, journalists go on trial in Turkey over Istanbul protests

Europe • 3:52 PM

Nearly 200 people detained in a government crackdown on protests went on trial on Friday in Istanbul. Suspects include several students and journalists who were arrested while demonstrating against the March 19 detention and subsequent jailing of Ekrem I

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Is Israel's partition of Gaza a prelude to total control of the enclave?

The Israeli military is tightening its hold on the Gaza Strip, expanding buffer zones and security corridors and keeping border crossings closed. Since the end of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on March 18, the partition of the Gaza Strip has accelerated, pe

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Togo's international fashion festival fights for a world without cancer

Culture • 3:38 PM

Togo's International Fashion Festival has chosen a topical theme for its twelfth edition: the fight against cancer. The issue may not appear glamorous, but the alarming rise in cancer rates makes it extremely relevant. Jacques Logoh, the festival's found

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🌟The Bright Side: Mongolian LGBTQ youth use art to fight for recognition

Pacific Asia • 2:41 PM

A growing number of Mongolian LGBTQ youth are challenging stereotypes and fighting for acceptance through media representation in the socially conservative country, where they are often forced to hide their identities from employers and colleagues, for f

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Gaza's treasures pulled from the wreckage

Culture • 2:32 PM

A new exhibition in Paris is shining a light on the rich cultural history of Gaza, with artwork and artefacts which tell the story of the Palestinian enclave's unique melting pot. Featuring classical sculpture, ancient mosaics and archaeological finds, t

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Moscow's next target? Heeding Estonia's call for more defence spending

The Baltic nation of Estonia has been calling for a significant boost in EU defence spending for years and is now seeing that call heeded. Sharing a 300-kilometre border with Russia, Estonia would be on the front lines in case of an invasion. Tallinn has

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Bruised by Washington's chip controls, Nvidia turns to China

"I'm not worried about Jensen [Huang] at all," said US President Donald Trump, commenting on the Nvidia CEO's visit to Beijing. The trip was the latest twist in a tumultuous week for the US firm, which is the world's third most valuable company and top s

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Client left brain-dead after botched cryotherapy session in Paris

Europe • 1:49 PM

A client who was injured during a fatal cryotherapy session that earlier this week claimed the life of another woman is now brain-dead, the prosecutor's office said on Friday. An autopsy on the first victim showed she suffocated due to a lack of oxygen,

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