Author: France 24

After two years of a presidential vacuum, Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun was elected president Thursday in the second round of a parliamentary vote. Addressing parliament shortly after the vote, Aoun emphasised the need for reforms and said his tenure would be focused on national reconstruction and maintaining Lebanon’s territorial integrity. FRANCE 24’s Rawad Taha reports from Beirut.

The Netherlands is the world’s leader in fresh flower production. Over the past decade, the sector has grown by a fifth. But NGOs have been warning about the high levels of pesticides in Dutch flowers. One study even showed that a third of the substances analysed were banned in the European Union, some of them more than 20 years ago. In France, a florist who worked with flowers from the Netherlands recently obtained recognition of her daughter’s death from cancer from the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund, putting Dutch flower sellers in the hot seat. Our correspondents report.

Tech companies showing off their latest innovations at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, one of the world’s biggest industry events, are gearing up for a new era of protectionism under a second Trump presidency. With more than a third of the world’s consumer electronics made in China, industry groups expect prices to significantly rise for consumers in the US. Also in this edition: US regulators probe Tesla’s vehicle-summoning feature after several reports of crashes.

Film critic Emma Jones tells us why Nicole Kidman’s latest role – as an executive who embarks on an affair with her intern – is perhaps more shocking for a Hollywood audience than a European one. Her performance in “Babygirl” won Kidman the best actress prize at the Venice Film Festival; we discuss some of the film’s taboos and standout moments. We also go through some of the big winners at this year’s Golden Globes, including French auteur Jacques Audiard for “Emilia Perez” and Demi Moore for “The Substance”. Emma tells us why Adrien Brody and Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres…

Falling temperatures and heavy rains have ravaged shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands without basic necessities or shelter, said the Red Cross on Wednesday. Citing the deaths of eight newborn babies due to exposure, the Red Cross once again called for unimpeded aid access to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Didier Deschamps, the France coach since 2012, will step down from the job when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup, the French Football Federation said Tuesday.

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, abruptly announced it will get rid of independent fact checkers and replace them with a “community notes” system like the one used on X. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there had been too much accidental censorship.  Rights groups accused him of currying favour with the incoming Trump administration. Plus, Getty Images and Shutterstock announced a plan to merge to better prepare for the age of AI. 

Ten years after the terrorist attacks on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people, in arts24 we’re talking about freedom of expression and the role of satirical cartoons in today’s world with two cartoonists. Presenter Eve Jackson is joined by Kak, the president of Cartooning for Peace – an organisation that fights for freedom of the press around the world – as well as the Iranian artist, cartoonist and human rights activist Kianoush Ramezani, who has been living in exile in France since 2009.

Hamas has yet to clarify whether an initial batch of captives it said it was prepared to release were dead or alive, Israel said Monday, amid a months-long attempt to strike a deal to end the fighting in the besieged Palestinian enclave. The negotiations continue as Israel kept up its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where the UN’s World Food Programme said one of its convoys was struck by Israeli fire.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, at least 50,000 Ukrainians have lost limbs, according to the health ministry; a figure that includes both soldiers and civilians. The number is constantly rising, with complications like long evacuation times from the battlefield and infection risks. Our Perspective guest is helping amputees heal and re-integrate into society. Olga Rudnieva is the CEO and co-founder of the Superhumans Center – a clinic for psychological assistance, prosthetics, reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation for people affected by the war.