Middle East: Rising tensions on Israel’s border as Iran negotiations falter

Russia rejects Tuareg rebels' call to withdraw from Mali, Kremlin says

US: Hegseth under fire in Congress over Iran war as diplomacy stalls

Pete Hegseth faced sharp criticism in Congress over launching the Iran conflict without approval, as Democrats condemned the war’s justification and its estimated $25 billion cost. Meanwhile, Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal on the Strait of Hormuz, leaving negotiations at an impasse while...

Crude oil prices hit four-year high as Iran war threatens to drag on

Brent crude has jumped to its highest level since the start of the Ukraine war after US President Donald Trump signalled that the American blockade on the Strait of Hormuz could last for months. Also in this edition: the US Federal Reserve prepares for a new chief as its board tries to maintain pol...

US: Supreme Court weakens voting rigths act

The Supreme Court of the United States struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, ruling it relied too heavily on race and weakening protections under Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 6–3 decision, driven by the court’s conservative majority, is expected to make it harder f...

'Haitian solutions for Haitian problems: Every international intervention in Haiti has failed'

As the Kenyan peace force is set to leave Haiti, Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr. Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law Conflict and Global Development at the University of Reading. She argues that the crisis in Haiti reflects deep structural failures, not just “gang violence.” She calls the Ke...

Global press freedom falls to lowest level in 25 years, RSF warns

Freedom of the press has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, NGO Reporters without Borders (RSF) warned Thursday as it released its annual global ranking. The group reported a worldwide decline in media freedom, citing factors ranging from US President Donald Trump’s “systemat...

Iran crisis, World Cup tensions overshadow FIFA Congress in Vancouver

Football officials gather in Vancouver on Thursday for FIFA’s 76th Congress, weeks before the expanded World Cup kicks off in North America. War in Iran, logistics and Russia’s ban top the agenda. Iranian federation officials left Canada abruptly, casting a shadow over the meeting....

Middle East war live: US naval blockade ‘doomed to fail’, Iran’s president says

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that a US naval blockade on Iranian ports was “doomed to fail” and would increase regional instability. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. ...

Europe air quality improves but falls short of 2030 targets, European Environment Agency warns

Air quality in Europe is improving but further action is needed to meet the European Union’s 2030 targets, the European Environment Agency said on Thursday, noting pollution still exceeds limits at up to 20% of monitoring stations across 39 countries....

Russia scales down WW2 victory parade due to Ukrainian threat

No military hardware will roll through Red Square in Russia's grand World War II victory parade next month -- a precautionary measure given the threat of Ukrainian retaliatory strikes, the Kremlin said Wednesday. The move to a slimmed-down May 9 parade -- typically a bombastic display of Russia's...

Assad regime trials are 'integral for Syria to move on' from civil war, atrocities

A Syrian court conducted the first hearing on Sunday in the trial of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and senior figures from his government, one of whom appeared in person. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Nanar Hawach, Senior Analyst for Syria at the International Crisis Group, says that...

'Uncertainty but a lot of resilience' in Latin America, says IDB head

The energy shock and economic headwinds caused by the Iran war have increased uncertainty in Latin America – but the region remains resilient. That's according to Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank. He tells FRANCE 24 there are requests for "targeted support" like en...

Viral LEGO-style AI videos blur line between entertainment and propaganda

The LEGO-style videos making fun of Donald Trump over his war in Iran have racked up millions of views on social media. FRANCE 24's Tehran correspondent spoke to the content creator blurring the line between entertainment and propaganda....

Armenia's FM hails peace, embraces future: EU, elections, neighbours, 'huge' infrastructure projects

Joining us from Armenia’s newly inaugurated embassy in Paris, France 24's François Picard welcomes Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, who presents a country at a pivotal juncture: one defined by the simultaneous consolidation of peace and strategic repositioning. He assert...

Putin, in call with Trump, put forward ideas on Iran, Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin and ​Donald Trump held a phone call on Wednesday ​in which the Russian leader put forward ideas on resolving the conflict over Iran's nuclear programme, a Kremlin aide ​said. Putin ‌also proposed a repeat of ⁠a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the anniversary of the e...

Tuareg rebels urge Russian forces to leave Mali

Russian forces must withdraw from "all of Mali" and the ruling junta will "fall sooner or later", a spokesman for Tuareg rebels told AFP, after Islamist insurgents and separatists launched attacks destabilising the west African country. FRANCE 24's Juliette Brown reports....

REPLAY: US lawmakers grill Pentagon chief Hegseth over Iran war

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing questioning from lawmakers for the first time since US President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran, which Democrats have contested as a costly conflict of choice waged without congressional approval. Watch our replay....

France's public holidays: The art of the long weekend

France has a reputation, among some, of being a vacation nation. Is this warranted? In this edition of Entre Nous, we dive into France's public holidays during the month of May. We discuss the country's infamous long weekends or "ponts", an ongoing political fight over the May 1 bank holiday and wh...

Russia will not display military equipment at Victory Day parade due to Ukraine threat

Russia ​will hold a scaled-back version of its Victory Day parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. For the first time in nearly two decades, the annual parade on Moscow's Red Square will not feature a military hardware display. The Kremlin said...

Abuse at French after-school programmes: Parents sound the alarm

In Paris, parents are now dropping their children off at school in a climate of anxiety. For several months, reports of physical and sexual abuse involving nursery school children have been mounting. These cases are said to have taken place during after-school care and lunch breaks, when the child...

As war nears two months, displaced Lebanese families sink into despair

It has been nearly two months, ​but Rabih Khreiss still has trouble recognising his new life. The father-of-nine could once put food on the table through his car workshop in southern Lebanon, but is now barely surviving in a tent in the capital Beirut. Like so many others, the Khreiss family fled...

Mali junta chief makes first appearance since rebel attacks

Mali's military leader on Tuesday made his first public appearance since unprecedented large-scale weekend attacks destabilised his ruling junta, visiting the wounded and meeting the ambassador of key ally Russia. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country's...

Mali's Tuareg rebels vow regime 'will fall', urge Russian forces to withdraw

A spokesperson for Mali's Tuareg rebel group Azawad Liberation Front pledged on Wednesday that the country's ruling junta "will fall" and said the group wanted to see Russian forces withdraw "from all of Mali" after weekend attacks by Islamist insurgents and Tuareg separatists targeting major citi...

Buddhist monks-in-training caught with 110kg of cannabis in Sri Lanka

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, April 29: Papers discuss public anger in Russia after an internet crackdown. Next: France launches a probe into the reappearance of the website that was used to recruit the men who raped Gisèle Pelicot. Also, what is "promotion burnout" and is there a Gen Z "burnout cri...

Airlines worldwide cancel flights, raise fares amid Middle East conflict

Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soari...

King Charles highlights US-UK bond during busy day of diplomacy with Trump and Congress

King Charles III marked the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain with gratitude that the two countries united to build “one of the most consequential alliances in human history” while urging “that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.” Speaking T...

'You'd be speaking French': King Charles pokes fun at Trump during state dinner

Britain's King Charles III used his speech at a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday to poke fun at US President Donald Trump who, in January, told European leaders that without US aid in World War II they would be speaking German. "Dare I say that, if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking Fren...

Europe hit by record heat, glacier loss and marine extremes per climate report

Europe recorded its hottest year yet in 2025, with unprecedented heatwaves stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, rapid glacier melt, record sea temperatures and expanding wildfires, according to a major climate report warning that the continent is warming twice as fast as the global aver...

Middle East war live: Trump warns Iran ‘better get smart soon’ as peace talks stall

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Iran did not know how to sign a non-nuclear deal “and better get smart soon” in a post on social media. The president claimed that Iran had been “militarily defeated” by the US, speaking at a state dinner during a visit from Britain's King Ch...

Middle East peace talks stall amid Hormuz tensions, ceasefire violations in Lebanon

Efforts to revive talks over the Middle East war have stalled as the US weighs Iran’s latest proposal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route, while tensions in Lebanon continue to escalate despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah....