Author: France 24

As France’s newly-formed government faces pressure to finalise its spending plans for 2025, budget minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the state of public finances was worse than was expected only a few days ago, and that this year’s budget shortfall could top 6% of GDP, far above the government’s earlier estimate of 5.1%. Plus, Commerzbank has named Bettina Orlopp as its new CEO, as it tries to fend off a possible hostile takeover by Italy’s UniCredit. 

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, September 25: As conflict escalates in the Middle East, papers are asking “did the US president fail to read the writing on the wall?” The New York Times questions PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s good faith in negotiations, while Haaretz slams the US president’s failure to heed warnings to that effect. Meanwhile in France, newly appointed ministers are already bumping heads and clashing with the prime minister himself. Finally, we look at some of the Bird Photographer of the Year laureates.

Voting continues in India’s contested province of Jammu and Kashmir, with the second phase of the election to renew the 90 seats of the legislature. This is the first vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status which guaranteed its own flag, constitution and statehood; downgrading Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a federal territory directly ruled by New Delhi. Kashmir, the most militarised zone in the world, is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed in its entirety by both. Many Kashmiris have long supported the idea of an independent territory and have boycotted…

One of the greatest filmmakers of all time speaks to Eve Jackson on arts24 about his new movie. Francis Ford Coppola has five Oscars and two Palmes d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. The man who gave us the “Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”, “Dracula”, “The Rainmaker” and “The Conversation” now brings us an ambitious original sci-fi apocalypse drama, “Megalopolis”, starring Adam Driver. It’s wildly original – and has left the critics baffled.

Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi on Thursday became the first from the refugees team to clinch a medal at the Paralympics. “Zakia’s victory is a huge milestone … it’s very big for us, it puts us in the limelight and showcases that these athletes deserve to be here,” Refugee Paralympic Team Mission Chief Nyasha Mharakurwa told FRANCE 24. 

For several decades now, France has been struggling with doctors leaving rural areas and people there not being able to access medical care. Maternity wards are also part of this trend, with 30 percent of them shutting down over the past 20 years. The health ministry wants to pool resources into larger, better-equipped maternity wards to protect patients’ safety, but medical teams and patients are worried. What consequences do mothers-to-be face when you have to drive an hour to give birth? And what health risks does this situation pose for newborns? FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin and Pauline Godart went to…

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.