Author: France 24

In this week’s edition of Destination Paris, we focus on French star Léon Marchand, who dominated the French swimming trials to secure his place at the Paris Olympics. We also look at preparations for the opening ceremony on the River Seine. Plus, we bring you an excerpt from an exclusive FRANCE 24 interview with Olympic icon Tommie Smith. He reflects on the historic moment when he and his teammate John Carlos raised their fists on the podium in Mexico at the 1968 Olympics to denounce racism in the United States.  Source link

Friends and family searched for missing hajj pilgrims on Wednesday as the death toll at the annual rituals, which were carried out in scorching heat, surged past 900. Source link

The head of the Israel Defence Forces said the army is facing troop shortages amid rising casualties in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Yet enlisting more troops is difficult due to rising public opposition to the war and an open conflict between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his defence minister. Source link

Israel and Hezbollah traded fresh cross-border fire late Thursday, as fears of a regional conflict grew after Israel revealed it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive and the Iran-backed militants vowed to blanket their foe in rockets. In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged visiting Israeli officials to avoid escalation in Lebanon and seek a diplomatic resolution. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war. Source link

Ottawa on Wednesday listed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity while calling on Canadians in the Islamic country to leave.  Source link

Candidates for France’s snap election defended their economic programmes at the employer association Medef, though business leaders remain skeptical about how their spending plans will be funded.  Meanwhile, the think tank Institut Montaigne put a price tag on different parties’ key election promises from the ruling Ensemble’s tax-free bonuses to the far right National Rally’s VAT cut on energy and fuel to the left-wing New Popular Front’s freeze on prices of essential goods.  Source link

England struggled to show their credentials to win Euro 2024 in a 1-1 draw with Denmark that left them with work to do to reach the last 16, while Spain and Italy will battle it out to reach the knockout stages later on Thursday. Source link

Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive. Source link

Kylian Mbappé trained wearing a blue, white and red face mask with the rest of his teammates on Thursday ahead of France’s game against the Netherlands at Euro 2024. Source link

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday that nowhere in Israel would be safe if a full-fledged war breaks out between the two foes, and also threatened EU member Cyprus for the first time and other parts of the Mediterranean.  Source link