Author: France 24

French authorities seek to shore up investment in the defense sector, aiming to raise €5bn in new capital. EU officials say they will delay implementing a first set of tariffs on goods from the US. Plus, the Bank of England holds its key interest rate at 4.5%, and warns of global trade uncertainty.

Located in the southern West Bank, the village of Masafer Yatta was made famous by the film “No Other Land”, which won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film. The movie, the joint brainchild of Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra and Israeli director Yuval Abraham, recounts daily life in a region under continuous attack from extremist Israeli settlers. Here, a unique form of activism exists between Israelis and Palestinians. Our correspondent Claire Duhamel reports from Masafer Yatta, with Josh Vardey. Warning: some viewers might find these images distressing.

A new live action remake of “Snow White” stars Gal Gadot and Rachel Ziegler; film critic Emma Jones tells us why revisiting the 1937 animated classic has stirred up controversy for Disney and resulted in a quieter premiere than usual. We also discuss poignant French comedy “The Safe House”, starring Michel Blanc in one of his final roles before his death in 2024. Plus we hear why Italian snow-swept drama “Vermiglio” impressed the jury at the Venice Film Festival, and a young woman in southern Tunisia takes her fate in hand in Mehdi M. Barsaoui’s “Aïcha”.

Pope Francis is no longer using mechanical ventilation to help him breathe in the latest positive update on his health, the Vatican said on Wednesday. The 88-year-old pontiff has spent more than a month in hospital battling pneumonia in both lungs.  

Brussels prepares to release a proposal on boosting investment into European firms via reforms to capital markets regulations. Also in this edition: entrepreneurs show off their ideas for a more sustainable use of outer space at a London trade show.

Gaza’s health ministry on Wednesday registered 970 deaths in two days as Israel launched new strikes on the besieged enclave. The Israeli military denied carrying out an air strike on a UN building in central Gaza that killed at least one foreign aid worker and seriously wounded five others, according to Hamas officials. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

His recent documentary, “From Ground Zero”, is a cinematic mosaic of life in Gaza since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 sparked all-out war in the region. Rashid Masharawi joins us to talk about the work of documenting the struggles and tragedies of the Palestinian people, as well as the moments of joy and hope. Rashid’s new film, “Passing Dreams”, explores family ties and the quest for freedom, in a landscape where geopolitical tensions affect every aspect of day-to-day life. We also discuss cinema’s great potential and his hope that Palestinian filmmakers can one day make features without campaigning…

On March 17th 2020, France locked down for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic. Five years later, sufferers of a condition that’s become known as Long Covid are still struggling to obtain recognition and effective treatment plans. FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin has met with Long Covid patients and specialist doctors who are searching for answers. 

France will face off against Scotland at the Stade de France outside Paris on Saturday, fighting for a victory of four or more tries that would guarantee Les Bleus the Six Nations title. 

Lawmakers in Germany’s Bundestag have passed a colossal defence and infrastructure spending package tabled by Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. It includes a special 500 billion euro fund to update the country’s infrastructure over the next 12 years and an exemption of big defence spending from its prized “debt brake” system designed to ensure fiscal discipline. Plus, residents in western Senegal are voicing anger over a gigantic mining operation by France’s Eremet.