Author: France 24

In a first of its kind lawsuit, the US state of California has sued ExxonMobil for fraud over plastic recycling. The state’s attorney general accuses the oil giant of deceiving the public for decades by promoting recycling as a solution to plastic waste management while knowing that it isn’t viable to do so at scale. France 24’s Yuka Royer speaks with Alyssa Johl, Vice President of Legal and General Counsel at the Center for Climate Integrity. 

“Tens of thousands” of people in Lebanon have fled their homes since Monday amid Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah targets in the south of the country, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday. The UN children’s agency UNICEF separately said further escalation in the conflict, which has so far killed more than 550 people including 50 children, “will be absolutely catastrophic for all children in Lebanon”.

Garage Punk queens The Darts formed in 2016 and have since attracted fans around the world. They are currently on a 100-date tour of Europe which has taken them from Spain to Finland. They popped by FRANCE 24 to tell us about their latest album “Boomerang” and how they keep going from venue to venue. We also look at new releases from Manu Chao, Katy Perry and Sophie. 

Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei was in intensive care in Kenya on Tuesday after she was doused with petrol and set on fire allegedly by her partner in the latest horrific case of gender-based violence in the East African country.

Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Monday killed 182 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, in by far the deadliest cross-border escalation since war erupted in Gaza on October 7. Many Lebanese had received phone and text messages from Israel telling them to leave the targeted areas, but the time given for them to evacuate before the strikes began was in some cases “very limited”, reports France 24’s correspondent in Beirut Rawad Taha.

Used to competing with relatively few spectators in the stands, Paralympic athletes have commented widely on the buzz they’re getting from competing in Paris, with enthusiastic French fans turning out en masse to support the more than 4,000 Paralympians at the 2024 Games.

Sri Lankan voters will head to the polls this Saturday to choose a new president. We’ll see why the economy will be at the heart of the campaign with the financial collapse of 2022 still present in peoples’ minds. In 2024, economic indicators have recovered but Sri Lankans are still suffering. Also in this edition, Donald Trump accuses the US federal reserve of “playing politics” after it cut its target interest rate.

An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 34 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country’s history as others remained missing hours after the blast. Details by Morgan Ayre.

An award-winning writer and poet has spoken to FRANCE 24 about her motto “Do it Afraid”, as she prepares to launch her latest book of poems. British Nigerian poet Theresa Lola first became known six years ago when she was awarded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, and the following year was the Young People’s Laureate for London. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing from University of Oxford, earning a distinction. Her second poetry book “Ceremony for the Nameless” is due out in a month or so. She said she would always encourage others who wish to write to…

French Paralympic Judokas Cyril Jonard and Jason Grandry both secured bronze medals in men’s judo Saturday. FRANCE 24’s James Vasina reports from Paris.