News : France24

Iran has taken steps to halt the expansion of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said, welcoming this "concrete step in the right direction" on Wednesday. Grossi's comments came after

Read the article

Grief and anger after killing of blasphemy suspect in Pakistan

Pacific Asia • 11:15 AM

1 min

In Pakistan, a blasphemy-related case turned tragic in September. A doctor accused of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed was allegedly shot dead by police officers and his body set on fire by a mob of fundamentalists. In a historic first, members of civil

Read the article

Tens of thousands march in New Zealand Maori rights protest

Pacific Asia • 10:07 AM

1 min

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty. Story by Morgan Ayre.

Read the article

Hong Kong court jails 45 democracy campaigners on subversion charges

Pacific Asia • 10:05 AM

1 min

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted of subversion in the city's largest national security trial, with "mastermind" Benny Tai receiving the longest term of 10 years. Story by Liza Kaminov and Bilal Tarabey.

Read the article

Hong Kong court jails 45 democracy campaigners in landmark trial

Pacific Asia • 7:39 AM

1 min

45 ex-lawmakers and activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. Legal scholar Benny Tai, whom the judges cal

Read the article

Hong Kong sentences 45 pro-democracy campaigners to prison terms

Pacific Asia • 3:11 AM

1 min

Hong Kong sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists under its national security laws on Tuesday, with former law professor Benny Tai receiving 10 years, the longest term yet. The defendants were charged with subversion for holding an unauthorised primary elec

Read the article

Students hurt in China primary school crash as nerves fray over recent attacks

Pacific Asia • 12:25 AM

1 min

A driver in an SUV ploughed into students and pedestrians outside a primary school in southern China on Tuesday, leaving several people injured, state media said, as worries spread over a spate of violent attacks in the country over the past week.

Read the article

India's north shrouded in smog as Delhi pollution hits season high

Pacific Asia • 1:04 PM

1 min

Toxic smog engulfed much of northern India on Monday and pollution readings in New Delhi hit their highest of this pre-winter season, after dense fog overnight. Details with Delano D'Souza.

Read the article

China's second mass attack in a week spurs soul-searching

Pacific Asia • 10:09 AM

1 min

A former student went on a stabbing rampage at a vocational college in eastern China, killing eight people and injuring 17, police said on Sunday, prompting further soul-searching just days after the deadliest attack in the country in a decade. More info

Read the article

Schools shut in India's New Delhi as toxic smog exceeds 60 times WHO limit

Pacific Asia • 9:58 AM

1 min

Schools in New Delhi were closed Monday as toxic smog enveloped the Indian capital and exceeded the daily limit set out by the World Health Organization by 60 times. The polluted air is thought to be the cause of thousands of premature deaths each year,

Read the article

Bangladesh judge gives police one month to wrap up probe against ousted PM Hasina

Pacific Asia • 8:33 AM

1 min

A judge in Bangladesh has given investigators a one-month deadline to wrap up their probe into ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina who, along with her aides, is accused of committing crimes against humanity in connection with the deadly crackdowns during

Read the article

Thousands join Santa Claus parade in Tokyo to support children in need

Pacific Asia • 4:35 PM

1 min

Thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus filled the streets of Tokyo this weekend for an event aimed at raising funds for children battling illnesses. The festive parade, now in its sixth year, brought smiles and cheers to both participants and benefic

Read the article

Super Typhoon Man-yi batters Philippines' most populous island

Pacific Asia • 10:09 AM

1 min

A powerful typhoon wrecked houses, caused towering tidal surges and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines on Sunday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month.

Read the article

Super Typhoon Man-yi smashes power lines, wrecks houses in Philippines

Pacific Asia • 1:53 AM

1 min

Super Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the Philippines, sparking tidal surges and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines on Sunday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less tha

Read the article

At least eight dead after stabbing attack at vocational school in eastern China

Pacific Asia • 8:34 PM

1 min

At least eight people were killed and 17 others wounded Saturday in a knife attack at a vocational school in eastern China, and the suspect – a former student – has been arrested, police said. This is the second deadly attack within a week after a man ra

Read the article

Xi meets Biden, says China ready to work with Trump for ‘smooth transition’ of bilateral ties

Pacific Asia • 4:19 PM

1 min

At a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping told outgoing US President Joe Biden that Beijing is ready to work with the incoming Trump administration for a "smooth transition" of China-US ties as

Read the article

Philippines urges residents to flee as super typhoon Man-Yi strengthens on approach

Pacific Asia • 1:37 PM

1 min

Philippine authorities issued an urgent appeal on Saturday for residents in low-lying areas and coastal towns to move to safety as super typhoon Man-Yi gained strength on its approach towards the country's main Luzon island. Details by Shirli Sitbon.

Read the article

Philippines warns of 'potentially catastrophic' Super Typhoon Man-yi

Pacific Asia • 9:32 AM

1 min

A super typhoon sweeping towards the Philippines on Saturday was intensifying and could have a "potentially catastrophic" impact, the state weather forecaster warned, with millions of people at risk from storm surges.

Read the article

Super Typhoon Man-yi slams into Philippines – the sixth major storm in a month

Pacific Asia • 3:23 AM

1 min

Super Typhoon Man-yi made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday after the disaster-hit nation evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. It was the sixth major storm to hit the country in the past month, and authorities warned of a "potentially catastr

Read the article

Pygmy hippo fever: Moo Deng now has a theme song

Pacific Asia • 4:18 PM

1 min

It's time for zoo-goers to forget pandas! Moo Deng, the adorable endangered pygmy hippo who's become an internet sensation in Thailand, now has an official song available on streaming platforms in multiple languages. The track's viral success has sparked

Read the article

'Green Islam': How Indonesian Muslims are helping protect the Earth

Pacific Asia • 1:04 PM

1 min

Indonesia may be on the front lines of the fight against global warming, but many of its people are climate sceptics. A 2019 survey found that Indonesia – the world's biggest Muslim-majority country – has the highest proportion of climate change sceptic

Read the article

North Korea orders 'mass production' of attack drones, raising concerns over Russia alliance

Pacific Asia • 2:57 AM

1 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the mass production of attack drones, state media said, as military ties with Russia deepen. Pyongyang's August drone unveiling and recent defense pact with Moscow raise concerns over technology transfers, prom

Read the article

Sri Lankan president's leftist coalition sweeps snap parliamentary elections

Pacific Asia • 12:15 AM

1 min

Barely two months after Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election, his National People's Power coalition swept a snap parliamentary vote on Friday, empowering him to implement poverty reduction progr

Read the article

World's largest known coral found near Solomon Islands

Pacific Asia • 4:49 AM

1 min

The world's largest known coral, visible from space, has been discovered in the waters of the Solomon Islands. Scientists said the discovery of the gigantic organism offered a glimmer of hope at a time when hotter and more acidic oceans have drained the

Read the article

Iran tells UN nuclear chief it is ready to negotiate, rejects 'intimidation'

Pacific Asia • 4:01 AM

1 min

Iran is willing to resolve disputes with the United Nations over its compliance with safeguards on its nuclear programme but will not do so "under pressure and intimidation", Iran's foreign minister said Thursday at the start of high-stakes talks with UN

Read the article

Toxic towns in Kyrgyzstan battle dangers of Soviet-era radioactive waste

Pacific Asia • 4:11 PM

1 min

Three decades on from independence, Kyrgyzstan is still dealing with the consequences of the Cold War nuclear arms race. Mining towns like Min-Kush provided the Soviet Union with essential uranium, leaving behind vast quantities of dangerous toxic waste

Read the article

Fears of Trump trade wars loom large as China's Xi heads to APEC meeting in Peru

Pacific Asia • 3:57 AM

1 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping will join his US counterpart Joe Biden and the leaders of other Asia Pacific nations in Lima this week for an economic summit overshadowed by the prospect of a world embroiled in trade wars under US President-elect Donald Tru

Read the article

China clears memorials, censors reports after car ramming in Zhuhai kills 35

Pacific Asia • 3:23 AM

1 min

Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Wednesday removed wreaths, candles and offerings at the scene of a deadly car rampage that killed at least 35 people and injured dozens more on Monday as the government in Beijing scrambled to censor

Read the article

IAEA chief to hold crunch talks in Tehran on Iran's nuclear programme

Pacific Asia • 1:57 AM

1 min

UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has appealed to Iran's leadership to take steps to resolve longstanding issues with his agency ahead of high-stakes talks in Tehran on Wednesday over the country's nuclear programme.

Read the article

More than 2 million face imminent famine in Rakhine state in Myanmar, UN report says

Pacific Asia • 9:23 PM

1 min

Myanmar's war-torn Rakhine state is facing 'unprecedented disaster' with looming famine and 'total economic collapse', the United Nations warned on Thursday, as the country's civil war wipes out commerce and agricultural production. For in-depth analysis

Read the article

COP29 nations approve new rules for creation of global carbon market

Pacific Asia • 6:13 PM

1 min

Nations at COP29 on Monday agreed new ground rules for a global carbon market that would reward countries for reducing emmissions by giving them "carbon credits" they could sell to higher-polluting countries. COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev said the agre

Read the article

Pakistan choked by thick smog, limits outdoor activities

Pacific Asia • 1:22 PM

1 min

Pakistan's Punjab province banned most outdoor activities and ordered shops, markets and malls in some areas to close early from Monday to curb illnesses caused by intense air pollution. Story by Eliza Herbert.

Read the article

Disaster-weary Philippines hit by fourth typhoon in under a month

Pacific Asia • 4:04 AM

1 min

Philippines ordered thousands to evacuate and shut ports as Typhoon Toraji hit its northeast coast near Dilasag, officials reported Monday. The fourth typhoon in under a month, Toraji struck about 220 kilometres from the capital Manila. No casualties or

Read the article

Pakistan choked by thick smog, limits outdoor activities

Pacific Asia • 12:40 AM

1 min

Pakistan's Punjab province banned most outdoor activities and ordered shops, markets and malls in some areas to close early from Monday to curb illnesses caused by intense air pollution.

Read the article

Iran denies plot to assassinate Trump, calls for confidence-building with US

Pacific Asia • 5:42 PM

1 min

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday denied US allegations that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards ordered the assassination of President-elect Donald Trump and called for confidence-building between Washington and Tehran. Iranian analysts a

Read the article

Pakistani separatists kill 26 in a powerful suicide bombing at a rail station

Pacific Asia • 11:26 AM

1 min

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including soldiers and railways staff, and wounding about 50 others, some critically, officials said. Story by Morgan Ayre.

Read the article

Pakistani separatists kill 26 in a powerful suicide bombing at a rail station

Pacific Asia • 9:45 AM

1 min

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including soldiers and railways staff, and wounding about 50 others, some critically, officials said.

Read the article

Sri Lanka's green gold: From mountain slopes to the world's teacups

Pacific Asia • 9:00 AM

1 min

Sri Lanka has earned a global reputation for its high-quality tea, thanks to the generations of workers who bring this "green gold" to life. From the high-altitude slopes where leaves are carefully picked, to the processing and tasting that define its un

Read the article

Railway station blast in southwest Pakistan kills at least 26

Pacific Asia • 7:27 AM

1 min

At least 26 people were killed, including several soldiers, when a blast ripped through a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday in an apparent suicide attack claimed by a local separatist group.

Read the article

North Korea jams GPS signals, affecting planes and ships in South Korea

Pacific Asia • 5:03 AM

1 min

South Korea’s military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for a second consecutive day on Saturday, affecting civilian flights and vessel operations.

Read the article

Why did Balochistan separatists kill 26 people in railway station suicide bombing?

Pacific Asia • 12:54 AM

1 min

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including soldiers and railway staff, and wounding about 50 others, some critically, officials said. For more information, FRANC

Read the article

Trump 2.0: What's in store for Asia's strongmen?

Pacific Asia • 2:51 PM

1 min

On this week's Access Asia we speak to Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, who tells us what officials in Beijing really think of Donald Trump's US presidential victory. He discusses the risk of a full-blown trade war erupting. We also get

Read the article

South Korea 'not ruling out' sending weapons directly to Ukraine

Pacific Asia • 5:40 AM

1 min

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday that the major arms exporter is "not ruling out" breaking from its policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict by supplying arms to Ukraine, after recent reports suggesting North Korean t

Read the article

North Korea launches multiple short range ballistic missiles towards the sea

Pacific Asia • 2:21 AM

1 min

North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the eastern sea Tuesday, South Korea's military reported. The missiles flew 400 km, landing outside Japan’s exclusive zone without causing damage. This follows a North Korean intercontinen

Read the article

Iran arrests female student who stripped to protest harassment

Pacific Asia • 10:15 AM

1 min

Iranian authorities arrested a female student on Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping to her underwear outside her university, reports said. The woman, who has not been identified, had been harassed inside Tehran's pre

Read the article

Two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards killed in helicopter crash

Pacific Asia • 8:29 AM

1 min

Two of Iran's Revolutionary Guards have died in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the country's restive southeast, state media said Monday, adding that the fatalities included a general in the elite force.

Read the article

Turkey sacks three more mayors in Kurdish-majority southeast

Pacific Asia • 7:03 AM

1 min

The Turkish government stripped three elected pro-Kurdish mayors of their posts in southeastern cities on Monday and replaced them with state officials, citing charges on terrorism-related offences.

Read the article

Chinese investors show irrational enthusiasm for Trump ‘meme stock’

Pacific Asia • 3:47 PM

1 min

The share price of a small Chinese company in financial difficulties has skyrocketed in recent days. The company's only real asset is its name: Wisesoft, which in Chinese sounds like the phrase 'Trump wins big'. Chinese investors are prone to buying shar

Read the article

Air pollution levels in Lahore rise 40 times above WHO limit

Pacific Asia • 11:32 AM

1 min

Air pollution levels in Pakistan's second biggest city Lahore reached an unprecedented high on Saturday, soaring more than 40 times above the WHO’s acceptable limit for pollutants. Authorities have imposed strict new restrictions, including partial work-

Read the article

China sends three new-generation astronauts to space station

Pacific Asia • 4:46 PM

1 min

China has declared its latest space mission "a total success", after the Shenzhou 19 spaceship carried three astronauts to its space station. The young crew includes the country's first female space engineer. The launch comes some 21 years after China co

Read the article

Typhoon Kong-rey makes landfall in Taiwan, killing at least 2

Pacific Asia • 3:28 AM

1 min

Two months after Typhoon Gaemi battered Taiwan, Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall on the island on Thursday, as massive waves, serious floods and ferocious winds cut power, cancelled flights, killed at least two people and injured 580.

Read the article

Fight for women's rights in Afghanistan is a universal one, former minister says

Pacific Asia • 10:17 PM

1 min

Afghan women are now forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Koran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. It's the latest restriction on women following laws that ban them from raising their voices and showing their fa

Read the article

In Shanghai, Halloween sends shivers down China's spine

Pacific Asia • 7:13 AM

1 min

Chinese authorities are seeking to limit Halloween celebrations in Shanghai, fearing that the festivities could serve as a platform for political dissent. For the regime, the October 31 holiday, imported from the United States, could become a means of cr

Read the article

North Korea launches intercontinental missile, escalating threat to US mainland

Pacific Asia • 11:37 PM

1 min

North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday, marking its first test in nearly a year, aimed at demonstrating its capability to strike the US mainland. Leader Kim Jong Un ordered the launch, calling it a “military action” to counte

Read the article

Will Russia's war against Ukraine go global? Enter the North Koreans

Pacific Asia • 7:22 PM

1 min

Ukraine's president warns it could lead to "a world war." Is Volodymyr Zelensky overreacting by sounding the alarm over the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia? NATO believes the troops are destined for the Kursk region on the border with Ukrai

Read the article

China sends three astronauts on space mission to further hopes of landing on moon

Pacific Asia • 7:13 AM

1 min

A three-person crew of Chinese astronauts set off on a mission to Tiangong space station on Wednesday where they will work on projects to advance China's goal of sending its own astronauts on the Moon and constructing a lunar base. "We're witnessing a ne

Read the article

Chinese crew blasts off on 'dream' mission to Tiangong space station

Pacific Asia • 7:11 AM

1 min

A three-person crew of Chinese astronauts set off on a mission to Tiangong space station on Wednesday where they will work on projects to advance China's goal of sending its own astronauts on the Moon and constructing a lunar base. China's only woman spa

Read the article

India's female healthcare workers seek protection following murder of trainee doctor

Pacific Asia • 1:44 PM

1 min

Indian is still reeling from the rape and murder of 31-year-old trainee doctor Moumita Debnath in a Kolkata hospital on August 9. The horrific crime is a reminder of the lack of security for women in the country, but it also highlights the worrying situa

Read the article

Berlin slams ‘inhumane’ Tehran for executing German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd

Pacific Asia • 6:59 PM

1 min

Slammed by Berlin as an "inhumane regime", Iran on Monday executed dual German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd after detaining him since 2020, when he was captured while travelling through the United Arab Emirates, according to his family. He had been

Read the article

Major defeat: Japanese politics in turmoil as ruling party loses majority

Pacific Asia • 4:47 PM

1 min

Uncertainty shrouded Japan’s political landscape on Monday after the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 15 years. FRANCE 24 speaks to Jeffrey J Hall, special lecturer at Japan's Kanda Universit

Read the article