Author: France 24

Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes the first Syrian president to visit the White House on Monday, capping an extraordinary turnaround for the former al Qaeda operative who is now leading efforts to end his country’s international isolation. Sharaa will push for the permanent lifting of sanctions on Syria when he meets with US President Donald Trump, who hopes in return to bring Damascus into the Abraham Accords normalising ties between Israel and several Arab states.

Paris Saint-Germain won (3-2) away at Olympique Lyonnais. PSG are back at the top of the table, while OL are 7th.

As France marks 10 years since the November 13 attacks, a new study is examining how trauma is still rippling through affected families and reshaping the lives of the next generation who were children when the violent attacks tore through Paris. 

The French finance ministry says it will ban Chinese e-commerce giant Shein if child-like sex dolls reappear for sale on the site. Shein pulled the dolls after France’s consumer watchdog said it discovered them last week. Under French law, distributing child sexual abuse material online is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a hefty fine. We bring you that story and more in this Monday’s business news.

New York elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani its new mayor, Chinese e-commerce giant Shein faced suspension in France as it opened its first-ever physical store in Paris and a baby hippo made her debut appearance at Berlin zoo. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at the week’s most striking images.

Members of Iraq’s security forces, along with internally displaced citizens, began voting in the parliamentary elections on Sunday – the sixth since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Polls opened at 7 am for 1.3 million security personnel across 809 polling centers and will close at 6 pm before they are deployed to provide security on the main election day on Tuesday. France24 correspondent Lina Malers reports the latest from Baghdad, Iraq.

A fourteen-man South Africa beat France 32-17 in Paris on Saturday after Lood De Jager’s shoulder charge on full-back Thomas Ramos saw the South African lock given a red card. Although les Bleus took an early lead in the second half the South African side fought back to win the Autumn Nations Series match.

Small businesses worldwide are being targeted by scammers using fake Google Maps reviews to extort money. The fraudsters post one-star reviews – ever-more convincing thanks to AI – then demand payment to take them down. FRANCE 24 investigated one scheme targeting businesses in France and Spain.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, including best album, record and song. Next up with seven nods is pop superstar Lady Gaga, making a splashy comeback to touring with her album “Mayhem”.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed three people, including two brothers in a car on the slopes of Mount Hermon. The IDF said they were “terrorists” smuggling weapons. The EU called on all parties to respect a ceasefire reached in November 2024.