Author: France 24

The lead singer of The Village People, Victor Willis, has died at age 74. The band and his wife shared the news separately on social media saying that he passed away on the 30th of June 2026 after a short but aggressive illness. The family have requested privacy. Eliza Herbert takes a look at the life and legacy of the international pop disco star.

Stuart Norval welcomes Jean-Luc Gleyze, President of the Departmental Council of the Gironde, and Stéphane Delpeyrat-Vincent, former firefighter and founder of WARUCENE, a research firm specialising in wildfire prevention. The Gironde wildfires expose the growing challenges of land management in a warming world. Offering complementary perspectives, Jean-Luc Gleyze, speaking from the front line of the emergency response, presents the fires as a test of social solidarity, institutional coordination, and public resilience. By contrast, Stéphane Delpeyrat-Vincent argues that increasingly destructive wildfires are not simply emergencies to be fought, but symptoms of a deeper structural failure: landscapes managed for a climate that…

The US-Israel war on Iran is widening once again, with the US and Saudi Arabia launching joint airstrikes on Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. Earlier, Tehran targeted US bases in Jordan and ships in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump is now vowing further retaliation, raising fresh concerns that the conflict is entering a dangerous new phase.

The proposal to spin off the commercial rights to the World Cup and other competitions into a semi-private company has triggered a fierce backlash, with critics warning it could create conflicts between investors’ profit motives and FIFA’s role as the sport’s regulator.

More than three decades after the fatwa over “The Satanic Verses” and nearly four years after surviving a knife attack that left him blind in one eye, Salman Rushdie returns with “The Eleventh Hour”, his first work of fiction since the assault. Speaking to arts24’s Eve Jackson at Porto’s new BABELL literary gathering, the celebrated novelist reflects on resilience, censorship, mortality and why storytelling remains one of humanity’s greatest acts of freedom.

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome General Michel Yakovleff, Professor at Sciences-Po and Former Vice-Chief of Staff at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (Shape).. He presents a strategic rather than tactical reading of the current lull in the US-Iran conflict. He argues that the apparent de-escalation is not evidence of diplomatic progress but of mounting structural constraints. Rather than viewing pauses in hostilities as signs of imminent peace, he frames them as consequences of political pressure, military logistics and industrial limitations. At the centre of his argument is the proposition that modern warfare is ultimately governed by sustainability. Missile…

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House once again on July 28. But the Israeli Prime Minister is likely to get a cooler welcome in Washington than on previous trips. The US’s full-scale air war on Iran – which Netanyahu reportedly had a major role in convincing Donald Trump to launch – has become a major headache for the US President. Meanwhile continued deadly strikes on a devastated Gaza despite a cease-fire, the occupation of southern Lebanon, and mounting settler violence in the West Bank have all helped to sour opinion on Israel, both among the American public…

More than 120 journalists and photographers are expected at the headquarters of the French Football Federation for the presentation of Zinédine Zidane as manager of the French national team.

Tangier, Morocco’s iconic port city and gateway between Europe and North Africa, is hosting the first edition of the International photography festival “Photo Tangier”. This year’s theme is “The Call of the Open Sea”. The event will span two and a half months, from the 17th June to the 31st August, transforming Tangier into an open air creative space in which private galleries, museums, and public spaces come together as one big work of art.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones launched by Iran-backed militias from Iraq targeting oil facilities and Riyadh on Monday, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed separate drone strikes on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure. The attacks mark a renewed escalation involving Saudi Arabia despite a recent lull in fighting between the United States and Iran.