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Zelensky commits to Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaking it

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Ukraine would reciprocate any genuine ceasefire by Moscow but added that Russian forces were continuing to carry out attacks on its soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier announced a sur

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

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

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

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 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday until the end of Sunday. France 24's Douglas Herbert tells us more.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

‘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

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

Asien och Stillahavsområdet • 08:40

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

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.

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

'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.

'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

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.

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

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

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

US Supreme Court pauses Trump's deportations of Venezuelan migrants

The US Supreme Court issued a brief order early Saturday temporarily blocking the deportation of Venezuelan migrants detained in northern Texas. While US President Donald Trump has justified the mass detention and deportation of migrants under an 18th ce

Tunisian opposition figures get prison sentences of 13 to 16 years

Afrika • 06:10

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

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

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

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

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".

Fredag 18 april 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

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

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

‘She kissed the ground .. & she liked it’ Space rides, Ukraine, Iran & What is a woman?

A week on from Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, Witkoff has been in Paris for transatlantic talks. We assess the state of play for peace talks. We look at the significance of US-Iran nuclear talks, the first major level of engag

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

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

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

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

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

Asien och Stillahavsområdet • 16:40

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

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

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

'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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gaza's treasures pulled from the wreckage

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

France: snowfalls wreak deadly havoc in the Alps

On Thursday, April 17, 2025, a series of avalanches struck the French Alps following an intense spring snowstorm, resulting in the death of a 27-year-old British man at the Val Thorens ski resort. Authorities closed the resort and issued avalanche warnin

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

Perrier at risk of losing its 'natural mineral water' label after new contaminations

Perrier faces trouble after pathogenic bacteria were found in 75cl bottles at its Vergèze factory, according to ARS documents. A production line was halted, and 300,000 bottles blocked, with possible destruction under consideration. The sparkling water c

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

Client left brain-dead after botched cryotherapy session in Paris

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,

JD Vance says he is 'optimistic' about Ukraine peace deal at Meloni meeting

US Vice President JD Vance on Friday met with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome to discuss tariffs and a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of celebrating Easter at the Vatican. Vance said he would discuss the ceasefire negotiations with Meloni, add

Canadian debate overshadowed by Donald Trump

Canadians will head to the polls at the end of the month to elect a new parliament, following Thursday's second and final televised debate among party leaders. Topics included the cost of living, national sovereignty, and immigration. However, the spotli

Thirsty giants: Big tech's data centres multiply in drought-hit Spain

In recent years, Spain has become a leading destination for tech giants to set up their data centres in Europe. Madrid even aims to become a "digital hub" on the continent, like Germany and the UK. But at what cost to the environment? To cool down their

'The Trump whisperer': Papers react to Trump's meeting with Meloni

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, 18 April: Papers in Italy discuss Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's visit to the White House. Next, US President Donald Trump escalates his battle with Harvard University and academia in the United States. Also, rising chocolate and

Meloni in the US: Beyond 'speculation' of an EU rift, Italy sets sights on a 'zero tariff' agreement

Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni struck an optimistic tone on a potential US-EU tariffs deal as the Italian prime minister launched a charm offensive at the White House. The two far-right leaders shared warm words, with Trump calling Meloni "fantastic." C

High cost of cheap chocolate: Amid cocoa crisis, prices surge in mass-produced low-quality chocolate

Cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer, are struggling as climate change and plant diseases have hurt harvests in recent years. As mass-produced chocolate prices surge in supermarkets and chain stores, our guest Chocolate Maker

Autistic artist sets Guinness world record for largest art canvas in Abuja

An autistic artist has set a Guinness World Record for creating the largest art canvas in Abuja, showcasing talent and determination. The giant canvas, which was completed on the World autism awareness day, shows various faces representing a wide range o

Ivory Coast: Social awareness through music amid FEMUA festival

The FEMUA music festival is in full swing, and beyond its vibrant musical performances, FEMUA serves as a platform for social awareness, engaging attendees in discussions and initiatives that promote civic responsibility and road safety. Clémence Waller

Darfur: UN fears catastrophic situation as RSF claims Zamzam refugee camp

At least 57 civilians have been killed in clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the army in El-Fasher, Darfur. Civilians fear further violence as fighters close in on the city, including the Zamzam refugee camp, claimed by paramilitary forces. Jens

'We aren't scared': Meet the Turkish students defying Erdogan

The first trials of those arrested during recent anti-government protests in Turkey are expected to open this Friday. The rallies were sparked by the arrest one month ago of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, seen as a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erd