Author: France 24

Italy recovered from conceding the fastest goal in the competition’s history to get their defence of the European Championship title off to a winning start on Saturday as they came back to beat Albania 2-1 in front of a partisan crowd.  Source link

More than 1.5 million Muslims braved extreme heat to reach Mount Arafat on Saturday for the high point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, praying for hours, especially for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza. More information with FRANCE 24 news anchor Peter O’Brien. Source link

Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits Australia seeking to repair relations after a diplomatic spat between the two countries triggered punitive tariffs. While in Australia, he will visit a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant, as Beijing eyes more investment in critical minerals. Also in this edition: Muslim pilgrims fill Saudi Arabia as the kingdom tries to boost tourism in a pivot away from oil exports, and the US Surgeon General calls for warning labels on social media platforms. Source link

France’s football federation has called for the national team’s neutrality to be respected and for Les Bleus to not be politicised amid heightened uncertainty over elections back home as the side prepare to launch their Euro 2024 campaign.  Source link

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in a blast in southern Gaza Saturday, the military said, in one of its heaviest losses of the war, as witnesses reported street battles between troops and Palestinian militants.  Source link

Netherlands forward Wout Weghorst loves to make a big impression off the bench and he did it again Sunday late in a 2-1 win over Poland at the European Championship.  Source link

An explosion in southern Gaza killed eight Israeli soldiers, the military said Saturday, making it the deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months. “The Israeli troops were returning after fierce fighting”, said FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Israel Irris Makler. “There was a convoy of armoured vehicules, and there was a huge blast [. . .] I’ve heard two explanations, nothing confirmed yet: either it was an anti-tank missile or it actually went over a bomb beneath the road.” Source link

Christian Eriksen scored for Denmark in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024 on Sunday, almost three years to the day since he nearly died in his team’s opening game at the last tournament. Source link

Israel’s military announced on Sunday that it would pause fighting throughout daytime hours along a route in southern Gaza to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries destined for desperate Palestinians enduring a humanitarian crisis sparked by the war, now in its ninth month. Source link

Britain put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales ’ first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis early this year. More information with FRANCE 24 journalist Benedicte Paviot. Source link