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Russia plans to boost defence spending by a quarter for 2025

Russia will boost its defence budget by nearly 30% next year, surpassing welfare and education spending, a draft budget showed. The 2025 defence budget is set at 13.5 trillion rubles ($145 billion), up from 10.4 trillion in 2024. Military expenditure has

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Georgia judge overturns state law banning abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy

A judge in the southern US state of Georgia overturned a stringent state-wide abortion law introduced after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. The Georgia judge ruled that the ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnanc

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‘October Surprise’: The US election phenomenon that can sway a presidential race

Few American presidential elections have sailed all the way through to Election Day without one – or more – unexpected news events, sometimes turning a race totally on its head. This last-minute phenomenon is known as an “October Surprise” and has change

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UN extends Kenya-led security mission in Haiti amid rising hunger, violence

The UN extended its authorization of a multinational policing mission in Haiti led by Kenya on Monday amid reports of thousands of deaths due to gang violence this year and rising levels of acute hunger in the country. The transitional council governing

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Congolese basketball legend Dikembe Mutombo dies aged 58

Defensive player Dikembe Mutombo was an eight-time NBA All-Star who won accolades for his exceptional shot-blocking. He also was also known for his humanitarian work in Central Africa, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Harris, Trump battle for Pennsylvania’s Polish-American voters

With Pennsylvania set to be one of the major battleground states in the US presidential election, its large Polish community are finding themselves at the centre of a political tug-of-war, with both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris pitching for their votes

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More than 120 dead across southeastern US in aftermath of Hurricane Helene

At least 121 people have been killed across a wide swath of the southeastern US after torrential rains and flooding brought by Hurricane Helene downed power and communication lines, blocked roads, and caused supply shortages. Officials said the death tol

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France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen goes on trial in much-awaited EU embezzlement case

The political stakes are high for Marine Le Pen as the French far-right leader and other party officials went on trial Monday for allegedly embezzling EU funds. The much-awaited trial could upend the political future of France's three-time presidential c

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Japanese former boxer hails acquittal ‘victory’ after four decades on death row

The world's longest-serving death row inmate hailed his historic acquittal as a "complete victory" on Sunday, just days after a Japanese court declared Iwao Hakamada innocent of a 1966 quadruple murder. The 88-year-old former boxer spent 46 years on deat

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🔴Live: Lebanon repositions border troops as Israeli incursion looms

Lebanon's army is "repositioning and regrouping forces" at the southern border following threats of an Israeli incursion, a military official said on Monday, as the US State Department said Israel told the US it had begun conducting small raids targeting

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Venezuelan opposition figure Machado wins European rights award

Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado said Monday she was "honoured" to receive a European human rights prize for her efforts to defend democracy following Venezuela's presidential elections in July. Machado is now in hiding in Venezuela as m

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Kris Kristofferson, US country music icon and actor, dies at 88

Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar who rose to fame as a country music superstar and Hollywood actor, has died at 88. Kristofferson passed away peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, surrounded by family, according to spokeswoman Ebie McF

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Britain becomes first G7 nation to end coal power with last plant closure

Britain's last remaining coal power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, will stop electricity generation on Monday after 57 years of operation. The closure aligns with the government's coal phase-out policy, initiated nearly a decade ago.

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Yesterday

Hurricane Helene kills dozens as emergency supplies are rushed to North Carolina, Florida

Hurricane Helene unleashed torrential rains, leaving scores stranded or homeless, as recovery efforts commence after the storm claimed dozens of lives. The hurricane caused billions of dollars in damage across the US Southeast, with several million resid

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Russia says it downed more than 100 Ukrainian drones in one of the war's largest barrages

Moscow said on Sunday that its air defences downed 125 Ukrainian drones overnight, in one of the largest barrages seen in Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In Ukraine, more than a dozen civilians were injured in an overnight barrage of Ru

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Nepal shuts schools as floods and landslides kill more than 150

The death toll from flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains in Nepal has reached at least 151, with dozens of people still missing, officials said Sunday, warning that the toll was expected to rise further as reports come in from villages across th

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Nasrallah killing reveals the extent of Israel's infiltration of Hezbollah

The killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah caps a series of stunning Israeli operations that exposed the extent to which Israeli spy agencies have penetrated the powerful Iran-backed militant organisation and tracked its shadowy command

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Trojan cars: Why the US fears Chinese cyberattacks on electric vehicles

The White House announced a plan this week to ban the sale or import of connected vehicles containing “specific pieces of hardware and software” that could be made in China or Russia, citing national security fears. While the threat of cyberattacks on co

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Austria's far-right Freedom Party comes out ahead in legislative election

Vote projections showed that Austria’s far-right Freedom Party won national legislative election for the first time on Sunday. The far right has benefited from voters’ anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other concerns.

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Israel pounds Hezbollah in Lebanon and strikes Yemen’s Houthis

The Israeli military launched consecutive strikes on Lebanon on Sunday while appearing to expand its confrontation against Iranian-backed proxies in the region by striking dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen. This comes a day after Hezbollah confirmed its

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Russia to formalise revised nuclear doctrine in warning to the West

Amendments to Russia's nuclear doctrine have been prepared and "will now be formalised", the Kremlin said Sunday, days after President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consi

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Saturday, september 28, 2024

Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, robbing Iran of top ally

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had "eliminated" Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on the group’s headquarters in Beirut. Nasrallah's death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, depriving Tehran of an influential ally who helpe

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SpaceX launches rescue mission for two NASA astronauts stranded at the ISS

SpaceX on Saturday launched a mission to rescue two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station (ISS), though the return leg of the mission to bring the two home will not be completed until next year. The two test pilots were marooned on the ISS

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Manhunt after 17 killed in double mass shooting in South Africa

The shooting victims, including 15 women, were killed while attending a family gathering near the town of Lusikisiki in a rural area of Eastern Cape province. South Africa, a country of 62 million, recorded 12,734 homicides in the first six months of thi

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Death of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah raises question of what comes next

The death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is prompting speculation over the future of the militant group and what it will mean for Lebanon as well as for the broader Middle East. Attention is also turning to the man widely regarded as Nasrallah's hei

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Who is Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah?

Lebanon's Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who Israel said on Saturday it has killed, led Hezbollah through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation into a military force with regional sway and becoming one of the most prominent Arab figure

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dead at 64, led a clandestine life on the run

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike targeting the group's headquarters in Beirut late on Friday. Nasrallah led Hezbollah through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation from an armed group into a p

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'This is the beginning of Hezbollah's response': Rocket attacks target northern Israel

FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin reports from Jerusalem about the first signs of a Hezbollah response to Israel's deadly strikes on Beirut and the ongoing threat of an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.

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Chinese exports fuel Russia's 'war machine' in Ukraine, Blinken says

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed doubts Friday about China's efforts to pursue a peace deal in Ukraine, saying Beijing's exports to Russia were fuelling Moscow's "war machine". China and Brazil have been trying to rally the world's emerging

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World figures react to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

Global and regional leaders reacted on Saturday to news of the death of longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike on Beirut. Nasrallah is by far the most powerful figure to be targeted by Israel in weeks of clashes and exchanges

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Nasrallah's death was necessary to achieve Israel's war aims, says Netanyahu

The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had “eliminated” Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Friday in Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed his death, vowing to continue its fight against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyah

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Friday, september 27, 2024

‘One roof’: Lebanese citizens mobilise to shelter people fleeing Israeli strikes

Nearly half a million people have fled southern Lebanon and the western region of Baalbek since the Israeli military began dropping bombs in those areas on September 23, according to the Lebanese minister of foreign affairs. The FRANCE 24 Observers spoke

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Putin’s nuclear threats: empty rhetoric or a shift in battlefield strategy?

President Vladimir Putin made a chilling declaration this week when he proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear war policies. One of the most concerning was the possibility of mobilising the country’s nuclear arsenal if another nuclear power supports a non-n

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Some 60 more women accuse Mohamed Al-Fayed, ex-owner of Harrod's and the Paris Ritz, of sex abuse

Some 60 women have come forward with new allegations since a BBC documentary aired last week detailing sexual assault claims against Mohamed Al-Fayed, the former owner of Harrod's department store and the Paris Ritz. A former executive assistant at the R

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Trump, Zelenskyy meet ahead of a US election with high stakes for Ukraine

Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York to discuss the war in Ukraine ahead of November’s US presidential election. The meeting came after Trump, an outspoken critic of US and Western su

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Israel targets Hezbollah command near Beirut as Lebanon death toll tops 700

The Israeli military struck Hezbollah's central command in the southern Beirut suburbs on Friday, with Israeli TV reporting that Hamas chief Hassan Nasrallah was the focus of the strikes. The latest bombardment came as the death toll from Israeli strikes

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Climate activists sentenced to jail for throwing soup at Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’

Two climate activists who threw soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery in 2022 were sentenced to prison by a UK court on Friday. Another five members of the British environmental group Just Stop Oil were sentenced in June fo

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Oscar-winning British actress Maggie Smith has died at 89

British actress Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89, her publicist and family said on Friday. The two-time Oscar-winner won over a new generation of fans in recent years by starring in the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey.

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War over water in Central Asia's Ferghana Valley

In the Ferghana Valley of Central Asia, neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are at loggerheads over crucial water resources. This territorial dispute is exacerbated by climate change and the gradual melting of glaciers in the region. Is the future of

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France's mass rape trial sparks timid debate about systemic male violence

The horrific mass rape trial that has roiled France over the past month has prompted growing calls for a wider reckoning with the culture of male domination and indifference to abuse that paved the way for the decade-long ordeal suffered by 71-year-old G

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Workers take down Olympic rings from Eiffel Tower – for now

Although the Olympic rings have been taken down from the Eiffel Tower, a proposal by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo would see the iconic monument adorned with lighter, less prominent versions of the symbol in tribute to the success of the 2024 Olympics.

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More than 30 killed as Tropical Storm Helene surges across southeast US

At least 35 people have been killed in four states as Tropical Storm Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, continues to sweep across the southeastern United States. Rescuers are rushing to save people trapped in fl

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France’s debt rose to 112 percent of GDP in second quarter, data show

France’s public debt increased to near €3.23 trillion, or 112 percent of GDP, between April and June, official statistics showed Friday. The data was published as the country’s new government is looking to tackle the mounting debt pile, with Prime Minist

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French rugby hero Dupont wraps up post-Olympics vacation with NFL workout

French rugby superstar Antoine Dupont paid a visit to the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday, two months after inspiring France to a historic rugby sevens gold at the Paris Olympics. But he played down rumours of a future shift to American football.

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Underground hospital prepares for attack near Israel’s border with Lebanon

Nahariya hospital in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, was the country’s first to be fully equipped underground in order to continue treating patients in wartime. FRANCE 24’s reporters visited the facility as it prepares to treat civilians a

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Fate of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah unknown as Israel targets group's headquarters in Beirut

Israel launched massive air strikes on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut late Friday, with Israeli media reporting that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was targeted in the strikes. An Iranian government source said Tehran was trying to confirm Nasrallah'

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'Catastrophic' Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida

More than a million people were without power as Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday night in the Big Bend region of Florida. Thousands have evacuated as authorities warned of a "nightmare" storm surge scenario.

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Peace with Azerbaijan 'within reach', says Armenian PM

Armenia says peace with Azerbaijan is 'within reach', according to its prime minister Nikol Pashinyan. He made the comments during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

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Harris meets Zelensky and slams Trump's 'surrender policy' for Ukraine

US Vice-President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, pledging support to the country. Meanwhile her opponent, Donald Trump, said he would be meeting with Zelensky on Friday.

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Thursday, september 26, 2024

Former defence minister Ishiba to become Japan's PM after winning ruling party vote

Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan's next prime minister after emerging triumphant from the final round of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership vote Friday. Ishiba narrowly edged out former prime minister Shinzo Abe

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Argentina’s poverty rate soars above 50 percent under ‘anarcho-capitalist’ Milei

Poverty in Argentina soared to almost 53 percent in the first half of 2024, the national statistics bureau reported on Thursday. The figure has risen sharply during the mandate of President Javier Milei, who has introduced a drastic austerity program in

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‘Ukraine will prevail,’ Biden tells Zelensky after pledging $8 billion in military aid to Kyiv

US President Joe Biden on Thursday told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that “Ukraine will prevail” after pledging nearly $8 billion in military aid and long-range munitions to help Kyiv fight Russian forces. Biden, who has less than four mo

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Senegal’s Sonko accuses former government of ‘embezzlement en masse’, vows probe

Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Thursday accused former president Macky Sall of having run a government rife with corruption, amounting to “embezzlement of public funds en masse”. Sonko, who made the accusations as he presented findings of a re

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Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’: Is the war in Ukraine reaching its endgame?

The coming weeks could be decisive for the war in Ukraine: As President Volodymyr Zelensky calls for bold action from Western allies to achieve his “victory plan”, former US president Donald Trump has pledged that Washington will “get out” of the conflic

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Kenya set for full Haiti deployment amid call for shift to UN mission

Kenya is aiming to complete by January its full deployment of a stabilization force in violence-torn Haiti, President William Ruto said Thursday, as Haiti's leader suggested making it a UN peacekeeping mission.

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Macron and Trudeau rekindle diplomatic ‘bromance’ with Canada visit

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday arrived in Canada where he was greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a series of meetings mainly centred on French-language ties and the development of artificial intelligence. The two leaders, whose di

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‘Stop sending weapons to Israel,’ says Palestinian leader Abbas in UN speech

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on the world to stop providing Israel with weapons, saying it has devastated the Gaza Strip to the point where the Palestinian territory is no longer fit for living. Abbas made the plea in

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Far-right lawmakers nominate Musk for top EU rights award

Far-right lawmakers have proposed Elon Musk for the EU's top rights prize for the second year in a row as a champion of "free speech", the European Parliament said on Thursday.

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Heavy fighting in Khartoum as Sudan army pushes to retake paramilitary positions

Sudan's army launched artillery and air strikes in Sudan's capital on Thursday in its biggest operation to regain ground there since early in its 17-month war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses and military sources said.

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'Maduro is weaker and weaker,' says Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

FRANCE 24 spoke to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was supposed to run as the opposition's candidate for president in the July 28 election, before she was barred from doing so. Instead, veteran diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia ran

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