Author: France 24

In this edition of arts24, we bring you a candid conversation with one of our greatest living authors about race, class and womanhood. From her extraordinary debut novel “Purple Hibiscus” to the Women’s Prize-winning “Half of a Yellow Sun,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has established herself as one of literature’s most vital voices. Her TED talk “We Should All Be Feminists” was sampled by Beyoncé, her words have been printed on Dior T-shirts, and Time magazine has named her one of the 100 Most Influential People.

Health authorities in France’s Reunion Island on Friday launched an emergency plan to boost staff in hospitals to deal with the spread of the chikungunya virus. This comes as the Indian Ocean territory reported over 6,000 new cases of the mosquito-borne disease last month. Matthew-Mary Caruchet reports.

Paris St Germain won their 13th Ligue 1 title overall on Saturday after a 1-0 win over Angers. The record-extending win highlights the extent to which they have dominated domestically since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

Will global trade ever be the same? In the name of “unrelented economic warfare” allegedly waged by friend and foe alike against the United States, Donald Trump is unveiling a dizzying list: worldwide tariffs, targeted tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, carve-outs, exceptions, all leading to confusion. Trump also signed an executive order ending duty-free shipments of small-value packages from mainland China and Hong Kong; a major blow to e-commerce companies.

Amadou Bagayoko, Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer of the acclaimed Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, has died aged 70 after an illness, his family said Friday. With his wife Mariam Doumbia, Amadou blended traditional Malian sounds with rock and blues, earning global acclaim and selling millions of records worldwide.

One of the dramatic consequences of Donald Trump’s accession to power is the drastic reduction in USAID funding. For the State Department’s deputy spokeswoman, these cuts are not a matter of elimination: the United States wishes to “reorient” aid. FRANCE 24 correspondent in Washington Fraser Jackson went to meet her.

France says a response from the EU to Trump’s new 20 percent tariff will “probably” come at the end of the month. A government spokesperson told French media RTL that services will be targeted, not just goods, including digital products from Big Tech companies like Google and Apple.

The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed Hamas commander Hassan Farhat in the Sidon region of southern Lebanon. The strike also killed Farhat’s son, who was a member of the Palestinian militant group, and his daughter, according to Hamas’ military wing.

An author described by the Los Angeles Times as a writer of unique genius has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his new novel “Wild Houses”. Colin Barrett, who grew up in the northwest of Ireland, bases his books around a series of characters from the region. “Wild Houses” tells the story of a small-town revenge kidnapping that goes very wrong. He says that as a writer you don’t choose the subjects and locations yourself, but they choose you. He spoke to us in Perspective.

Stocks plummeted on Thursday after Donald Trump’s trade war escalation sparked a global sell-off. Beijing is amongst those worst hit by the announcement, and has called the move “bullying”. Reports hint that it could soon be the end of Elon Musk’s time in Washington. Plus, Trump’s tariffs target odd locations like uninhabited volcanic islands home to penguins.