Author: France 24

Syria’s national unity plan aims to rebuild trust, governance, and social cohesion in the aftermath of years of civil conflict. Aleppo, once the country’s economic hub and a focal point of the war, serves as a key case study in this effort.

In this edition of our arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with UK-based Nigerian musician Obongjayar. He’s just released his second album called “Paradise Now”, a danceable record inspired by partying. He even hosted a series of parties of the same name in London as he was producing the record. The Ivor Novello-nominated musician moved from Nigeria to London as a teenager and his music is infused with West African rhythms, pop, punk and dance. Aside from nightlife, “Paradise Now” also talks about love, religion, belonging and calling out political inaction – like on the diss track “Jellyfish”.

Carlos Alcaraz retained his French Open title after coming back from two sets down and saving three match points against Jannik Sinner in a 5-hour and 29-minute final, the longest in tournament history.

US import duties on steel and aluminium tariffs are now officially at 50 percent this Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump signed a directive bumping them up from 25 percent. The move has led some of the biggest exporters of metals to the US, such as Mexico, to ask for an exemption. Also in this edition: an iconic French glassware brand is celebrating its 80th birthday and going through a renaissance after it was transformed into an employee-owned co-op last year.

Four people were killed and others injured by Israeli forces on Sunday as Palestinians making their way towards an aid distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip came under fire, according to Palestinian paramedics. It was the latest deadly incident near sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Palestinians have described areas around the sites as chaotic and dangerous, with dozens of fatal shootings over the past week.

Ana de Armas takes on the high-octane stunts as a dancer-turned-assassin in the big-budget action thriller “Ballerina”. Film critic Emma Jones tells us why de Armas’s charisma and talent for physical feats make her a compelling lead for this detour within the John Wick universe.

Carlos Alcaraz will defend his French Open title when he faces top-ranked Jannik Sinner in a Grand Slam final for the first time at Sunday’s French Open men’s championship.

Japanese video game company Nintendo launched its newest console, the Switch 2, this Thursday. With gamers lining up around the world to collect their pre-orders as early as midnight, investors are hopeful the product will help continue to boost the company’s share price, which has risen by over 30 percent since the start of the year. Also in this edition: South Korean cosmetic brands are looking to expand in the US market, despite tariff uncertainty.

Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, six of them after they opened fire near a US-backed aid distribution centre where thousands of Gazans have been gathering daily since May to receive humanitarian aid.  

In this special edition for World Oceans Day, we spotlight the urgent, haunting work of Mandy Barker, the award-winning British photographic artist using sea-salvaged fashion waste to expose the truth about plastic pollution. Her cyanotype series “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Imperfections” reimagines the work of 19th-century botanist Anna Atkins, replacing seaweed with clothing scraps collected from 121 beaches around the UK. The result is both poetic and jarring, earning praise from none other than Sir David Attenborough, who supports Barker’s work for its power to inspire real change.