FIFA’s Saudi Arabia World Cup host pick sparks ‘sportswashing’ accusations by rights groups

• 5:13 PM

1 min

Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed Wednesday by FIFA as the host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s football, sparking "sportswashing" accusations from human rights groups. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup, with Argentina, Parag

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Fall of Assad reveals the death of Mazen al-Hamada, symbol of the regime’s atrocities

• 4:59 PM

1 min

The body of Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada was found Monday in a military hospital morgue near Damascus, according to a number of NGOs. Imprisoned and tortured by the Syrian military after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Hamada fled to Europe to d

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Russia threatens to retaliate after Ukrainian ATACMS strike in Rostov

• 4:44 PM

1 min

Moscow on Wednesday accused Kyiv of firing US-supplied ATACAMS missiles on a military airfield in its southern Rostov region and threatened to retaliate. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine's "destructive" approach made peace impossible.  

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What next for Wikie and Keijo? NGOs call for Marineland’s orcas to be sent to a sanctuary

• 4:20 PM

1 min

A French court has handed down its verdict on two orcas still living in captivity in the Marineland of Antibes: Wikie and Keijo will not be transferred to another park before the end of an investigation into their living conditions. This follows the gove

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‘Saint-Ex’: Biopic of ‘The Little Prince’ author Antoine de Saint Exupéry

• 3:47 PM

1 min

Dheepthika Laurent and film critic Perrine Quenesson look at the latest film releases in France, starting with a very famous aviator: the enigmatic Antoine de Saint Exupéry, best known for writing "The Little Prince". He’s the focus of "Saint-Ex", a biop

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Eleven-year-old survives shipwreck, 40 migrants missing in Mediterranean

• 3:18 PM

1 min

An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone was rescued after three days at sea off Italy's Lampedusa island, a rescue charity said Wednesday. She was the sole survivor after the boat, which had more than 40 people on board, capsized. 

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A bitter pill to swallow? France's relationship to medicine

• 2:41 PM

1 min

France has restricted the sale of certain common cold medicines by making them prescription only. On today’s edition, we explain why the ANSM – France’s national agency for the safety of medicine and health products – has made this call. We also dive int

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Yemen's civil war through the lenses of photojournalist Asmaa Waguih

• 11:54 AM

1 min

A world-renowned news photographer has spoken to FRANCE 24 about her efforts to document the conflict in Yemen. Asmaa Waguih has been to numerous countries, including Afghanistan and Libya – and won last year the Reuters Photographer of the Year for her

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Struggling to cope with horrors of war, Israeli soldiers turn to equine therapy

• 11:13 AM

1 min

Since the October 7 Hamas attack last year, some 350,000 Israeli reservists have been called up to fight. The ongoing fighting, now entering its 14-month mark, has left its mark on Israel troops as more and more suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder

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Business uncertainty reaches new highs as France waits for a new PM

• 10:47 AM

1 min

A survey on the outlook of French businesses released by the Bank of France shows that the country's industrial and construction sectors have reached levels of uncertainty last seen during the 2022 energy crunch. This comes as Emmanuel Macron is expected

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French President Macron 'paying the price' for solitary politics

• 10:30 AM

1 min

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, December 6: Emmanuel Macron is "alone”, "solitary" in the face of an unprecedented political crisis. The press has few words of comfort for Macron as France's political chaos ensues. Also, EU commissioner Ursula von der Leyen flies

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Kenyan police fire teargas at peaceful anti-femicide march

• 10:03 AM

1 min

Hundreds of women took to the streets of Nairobi to protest against femicides and to demand action. But things quickly turned tense when Kenyan police fired teargas. At least three people were arrested, including Amnesty's Kenya director. Amnesty and thr

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Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say Palestinian medics

• 9:14 AM

1 min

Palestinian medical officials said separate Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 29 people overnight and into Wednesday. Hospital records showed that one of the strikes killed several generations of one family, including four children, their

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Prosecutors call for two-year sentence for suspect in Amsterdam football violence

• 8:24 AM

1 min

Five suspects appeared in a Dutch court Wednesday on charges of assaulting visiting Israeli football fans last month following a game in Amsterdam. The attacks came after two days of clashes during which fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv chanted anti-Arab songs a

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Syrians hope for freedom, democracy in wake of Assad's ousting

• 8:02 AM

1 min

Syrians have reacted positively to the appointment of interim prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, says FRANCE 24's senior reporter James André, reporting from Damascus. Hopes are high that new leadership will mark a new start in Syria. "One young woman w

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'Israel saw a vacuum' caused by the end of the Assad regime

• 6:39 AM

1 min

Israeli interventions in Syria since the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad are an attempt to "take Syria back to the period before Iran began using Syria as a weapons hub for the transmission of armaments to Hezbollah in Lebanon", says FRANCE 24 corre

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Live: Syrian rebels torch tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father

• 5:42 AM

1 min

Syrian rebels set fire to the tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez, in the family’s hometown of Qardaha, a Britain-based war monitor said Wednesday. As Syria’s new rulers try to stabilise the country, rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said anyone in

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Police raid South Korean president's office in martial law investigation

• 5:24 AM

1 min

The investigation into South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt at martial law accelerated on Wednesday, as police conducted a raid on Yoon's office and arrested a slew of officials, including the former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun.

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Prosecutors restate opposition to Trump bid to dismiss hush money conviction

• 4:58 AM

1 min

Prosecutors in Manhattan urged the court on Tuesday to "reject" US President-elect Donald Trump's latest attempt to throw out his civil fraud conviction for hiding payments made to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, but agreed to put the

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Taiwan says 'troublemaker' China ramps up military exercises around the island

• 3:25 AM

1 min

Taiwanese authorities said it’s “troublemaker” neighbour, China, has expanded military drills around the island. A senior national security official said the massive maritime operation was meant to demonstrate that Beijing could choke off Taiwan and also

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Syrian refugees attempt to return home after fall of Assad regime

• 2:24 AM

1 min

After Syria's liberation from the decades-long Assad regime, Syrian refugees are beginning to cautiously hope for a long-awaited return to their homeland. However, many face daunting obstacles that could endanger their homecoming. "We don't have the mean

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Sudan 'biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded', International Rescue Committee says

• 12:45 AM

1 min

Sudan topped the ICR's watchlist of global humanitarian crises for the second year in a row in a report released Wednesday. The organisation said a total of 30.4 million people were in humanitarian need in the war-torn African country, making it the worl

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Syrian rebels name head of transitional government

• 12:39 AM

1 min

Syrian rebels appointed Mohammed al-Bashir, the former head of the rebel administration in the north-west, to lead the country's transitional government and begin an era of "stability and calm" after ousting long-time president Bashar al-Assad.

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PSG and Real Madrid victorious, Liverpool continue unbeaten in Champions League

• 12:28 AM

1 min

Liverpool kept up their unbeaten run in the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Girona on Tuesday, while Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa also won their matches. Real Madrid beat Atalanta 3-2 away despite Kylian Mbappe's injury.

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