Author: France 24

The Paris 2024 Games came to a close just like they started, in the rain, but amid a festive atmosphere with an electro-party at the Stade de France on Sunday to conclude the Paralympics – and put an end to six weeks of thrilling sport in the French capital.

The most ambitious mission yet in the billionaire space race saw Jared Isaacman become the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space on Thursday, in partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Polaris Dawn mission has been welcomed by the aerospace community for pushing the boundaries of 21st-century spaceflight, but dismissed by some in the general public as just another vanity project for the rich. On this week’s Tech 24, we discuss what the mission has achieved, and its lofty hopes for the future.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday one of its employees was killed this week during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the first such death in more than a decade. UNRWA said the employee was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper” which took place in the Faraa refugee camp in the northern West Bank

Navid Sinaki speaks to Dheepthika Laurent on arts24 about how much of his own story is echoed in his novel “Medusa of the Roses”. It traces an illicit gay romance in modern-day Iran and explores a little-known reality: that the government subsidises sex changes for gay people willing to transition. He also talks about visiting Iran for last time in his 20s, the vibrant Iranian cinema industry and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, launched after the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.

After eleven days of fierce action, the Paralympics are finally coming to an end in Paris. In today’s edition of Paris Games, FRANCE 24 journalist Leo McGuinn is joined in the studio by Jean-Emile Jammine, James Vasina, Camille Knight and Gemma Stevenson to discuss wheelchair tennis and why Japan were dominant. They are later joined by Dr. Christopher Brown to talk about the legacy of Paris 2024 and look back at the best moments of the Games. Finally, they look ahead to Los Angeles 2028.

The athletes have crossed the finish line of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Now economists are trying their best to accurately assess the economic impact of this global event on the city and on France. Our guest, Wladimir Andreff, is one of them. He is a specialist of sports economics and a professor emeritus at the university of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. 

Israel faced international condemnation Thursday after a strike killed 18 people, including 6 UN staffers, at a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, where the Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants.

Eve Jackson brings you a roundup of the week’s arts and entertainment news, including pop megastar Taylor Swift’s domination of the MTV Video Music Awards. Earlier this week, Swift drew more than 10 million likes on her Instagram page for her post endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the November US election. Listen to her rally the fans to register to vote in the US presidential election in November. 

Footballer Kylian Mbappé’s former club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said Thursday that a dispute over €55 million in what the star player says are unpaid wages could now be settled in a “legal forum”. Mbappé rejected a mediation process proposed by the French football league’s governing body to settle the matter.

Visa-free travellers going to the UK will have to get permission prior to their visit as the government expands its Electronic Travel Authorisation, or ETA, scheme to all visitors. A similar plan is also in the pipeline for the European Union.  Plus, the Olympics may be over but the medal race continues. Around 1,400 people from nearly 70 countries are taking part in the 47th edition of the WorldSkills competition that’s underway in the French city of Lyon.