Author: France 24

People in Martinique are protesting the cost of living. That’s because food products on the island cost up to 42% more than in mainland France. Sri Lankans are gearing up for a presidential election – and this year, the economy will be at the top of voters’ minds. The Bank of England decided to hold its key rate steady at 5%, a day after the US Federal Reserve kicked off its own rate cuts with a half percentage point reduction.

The explosion of pagers and walkie talkies in an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon has seen the country’s entire hospital sector mobilized to treat the wounded. The victims, mostly young, underwent eye surgery and, in many cases, amputations. For the medical teams of the French Hospital of the Levant in Beirut, it has meant working non-stop. Our team on the ground send this report.

Director Mohammad Rasoulof had escaped a prison sentence in Iran just days before his latest film screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” went on to stun critics and win the Jury Prize. Critic Emma Jones tells us why it was her favourite film of the festival and how Rasoulof managed to incorporate the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests to great effect. We also discuss Francis Ford Coppola’s epic project “Megalopolis” and see James McAvoy in a chilling new role in “Speak No Evil”. Plus, French actress and director Julie Delpy injects her unique…

One of France’s leading Paralympians has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his motto in life, as he reflects on the success of this summer’s Paralympic Games here in Paris. Stéphane Houdet told us that “everyone has two lives, and the second one starts when you understand that you have only one”. He says sport is about communication and what we can do together worldwide. Houdet is a three-time Paralympic tennis doubles champion – in 2008 in Beijing, 2016 in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo, as well as a silver medallist in singles and a bronze medallist in doubles at the…

We take a look at some of the findings that emerged from this year’s European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Barcelona. Some 30,000 people attended the forum to hear what advances doctors and researchers have made in the fight against cancer.

The US Federal Reserve lowered its key lending rate by a deeper-than-expected 0.5%, in its first rate cut in more than four years. The move indicates that while monetary policymakers are confident about taming inflation, their focus has shifted to supporting the slowing job market. Plus, France 24’s Yuka Royer speaks with Regina Mayor, Global Head of Clients & Markets at KPMG International, about what is top of mind for global CEOs amid economic uncertainty and technological advances. 

Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated late on Wednesday afternoon across Lebanon’s south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, security sources and witnesses said, further hiking tensions with Israel a day after similar explosions launched via the group’s pagers.

Australian author Anna Funder talks to Dheepthika Laurent about her latest book “Wifedom”, a part-fiction, part non-fiction and part-hybrid novel about Eileen O’Shaughnessy. She was the highly educated wife of George Orwell, who played a pivotal but largely uncredited role in his career. Anna Funder also responds to criticism by the Orwell Society that the book portrayed Orwell as “maleficent” and talks about what propelled her to leave her career as a government lawyer to pursue writing full-time.

European football’s most coveted competition debuted its new format on Tuesday, foregoing its classic ‘group stage’ games for a giant league compromised of all 36 teams. Bayern Munich scored a record-breaking nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé registered his first for the reigning champions, while both Liverpool and newcomers Aston Villa recorded wins. 

Bacterial illnesses resistant to available antibiotic medicines will cause more than 39 million deaths worldwide over the next 25 years and indirectly contribute to an additional 169 million deaths, according to a forecast published on Monday. FRANCE24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Ben Cooper, Professor of Epidemiology at the Centre for Global Health Research at Oxford University, one of the authors of the report. He says that vaccines, hygiene and antibiotic education are key to avoid the crisis.