Danger at every corner: How Ecuadoran city of Guayaquil became unliveable

france24.com/en/ • 16h, 5m ago

The Latin American nation of Ecuador has been experiencing an unprecedented security crisis for several months. In the port city of Guayaquil, now under the control of drug gangs, residents are living in fear.

Saudi court ‘secretly’ hands 11-year sentence to women's rights activist

france24.com/en/ • 13h, 8m ago

A Saudi court has recently sentenced women's rights activist Manahel al-Otaibi to 11 years in prison in a "secret hearing", according to two human rights groups who denounced the ruling as contradictory to the kingdom’s “narrative of reform and women’s empowerment”.  

Turkey’s Israel trade freeze aimed at forcing Gaza truce, Erdogan says

france24.com/en/ • 1, 7m ago

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey's move to halt trade with Israel was aimed at forcing the country to a ceasefire over Gaza and increasing the amount of humanitarian aid entering the besieged enclave. Erdogan's words came after the UN humanitarian office said that an Israeli military offensive in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk. Read our live blog to say how all the day's developments unfolded.

Hundreds in Burkina Faso protest at US response to HRW massacre report

france24.com/en/ • 9h, 59m ago

Hundreds protested outside the US embassy in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Friday, against Washington's reaction to Human Rights Watch accusations of an army massacre of civilians, an AFP journalist saw.

Police remove pro-Palestinian student protesters from Paris's Sciences Po university

france24.com/en/ • 18h, 38m ago

Police entered Paris' Sciences Po university on Friday to remove dozens of students staging a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall, AFP journalists saw, as protests fire political debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

France estimates that 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the Ukraine war

france24.com/en/ • 9h, 15m ago

France estimates that 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in an interview published on Friday.

Trust deficit at the heart of India’s electronic voting debate

france24.com/en/ • 19h, 57m ago

As voters in more than 80 constituencies were casting their ballots on April 26 in the second phase of India’s mammoth general election, the country’s Supreme Court issued a critical ruling on the electoral voting system. Rejecting a petition filed by an NGO, the court ruled that India needs to nurture a "culture of trust" in e-voting. But the lack of trust lies at the heart of the issue, explains FRANCE 24's Leela Jacinto.

French MPs say ‘non’ to English at the Paris Olympics

france24.com/en/ • 20h, 56m ago

Having long battled the creeping use of English in advertising, music and film, French MPs have declared a new struggle: keeping their home Olympics this year free from anglicisms.

'We are pressuring the mountain too much': Nepal court limits Everest climbing permits

france24.com/en/ • 14h, 8m ago

Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, a lawyer confirmed Friday, just as expeditions prepare for the spring climbing season.

Brazil still grappling with dark period of military dictatorship, 60 years on

france24.com/en/ • 13h, 5m ago

Six decades after the military coup that plunged Brazil into 21 years of dictatorship, the country is still struggling with its old demons. FRANCE 24’s team went to meet deeply divided Brazilians – Bolsonaro supporters who are nostalgic for the dictatorship and survivors and left-wingers who want to make sure that this dark period of history is not forgotten.

World Press Freedom Day: Gazan journalists in the line of fire

france24.com/en/ • 18h, 34m ago

More than six months after the start of Israel's devastating offensive in response to the October 7 attacks, Palestinian journalists in Gaza continue to pay a heavy price. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), more than 100 have been killed, with at least 20 slain in the line of duty. Meanwhile, the international press is still banned from accessing the Palestinian enclave, much to its frustration. For RSF, Gaza is on the verge of becoming a "news black hole". So under what conditions are journalists reporting from the ground there? How is information reaching us? FRANCE 24's Tarek Kai reports. Warning: This report contains distressing images.

Germany's FM says Russia will face consequences for 'intolerable' cyberattack

france24.com/en/ • 16h, 16m ago

Germany's top diplomat on Friday said Russia will face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of masterminding an “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack, as NATO and European Union member countries said they will not let Russia’s “malicious" behavior in cyberspace go unanswered.

Fresh arrests on US campuses as police break up Gaza protest camp at UCLA

france24.com/en/ • 23h, 8m ago

Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several universities on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week.

UNESCO awards its World Press Freedom Prize to all Palestinian journalists

france24.com/en/ • 1, 36m ago

UNESCO on Thursday awarded its world press freedom prize to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza, where Israel has been battling Hamas for more than six months.

Why a bill to curb ‘foreign influence’ in Georgia has triggered mass protests

france24.com/en/ • 22h, 44m ago

Georgia has been engulfed by huge protests triggered by a proposed law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union.

China launches probe to collect samples from far side of the moon

france24.com/en/ • 18h, 50m ago

China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.

Taiwan detects dozens of Chinese aircraft and five naval ships around island

france24.com/en/ • 21h, 38m ago

Taiwan's defence ministry said Friday it had detected 26 Chinese aircraft and five naval vessels around the self-ruled island in the previous 24 hours. 

UK Labour Party easily wins by-election as Tories brace for more losses

france24.com/en/ • 20h, 53m ago

Britain's ruling Conservatives lost a parliamentary seat to the main Labour opposition Friday, as the country awaited local election results likely to pile more pressure on embattled leader Rishi Sunak.

Gaza protests: French students demand an end to ties with Israeli universities

france24.com/en/ • 1, 15m ago

Student protests against Israel have entered their second week in France. A town hall event Thursday at the prestigious Sciences Po school in Paris ended with the administration refusing to create a working group to investigate ties with Israeli universities, which students across France want to see cut over the war in Gaza. It is just one demand of many that are motivating students across France and beyond to keep protesting.

Marseille, Atalanta tie in first leg of Europa League semifinal

france24.com/en/ • 1, 14m ago

Marseille's Europa League semi-final tie against Atalanta is finely poised going into the return after the teams drew 1-1 in Thursday's first leg in France.

Tbilisi rocked by clashes over 'foreign influence' bill for third consecutive night

france24.com/en/ • 1, 29m ago

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia on Thursday to protest against a "foreign influence" bill likened to Russian laws silencing dissent, an AFP journalist said.