Author: France 24

“They [the hostages] appear to be in good enough health for women who were held for 15 months in unknown conditions of captivity,” said Noga Tarnopolsky, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Tel Aviv. “Not every day of hostage-for-prisoner exchange is going to go like this. What we have been told to expect is that of the 33 hostages on the list of those to be in this first 42-day-phase of a ceasefire agreement, that at least a third will return home dead.” 

Promises made by Donald Trump to unleash the fracking industry played a vital role in his fight to win Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the 2024 US election. Despite the consequences the industry has had for the health of rural communities like Dimock in the north of the state, many residents continue to support the incoming president.

Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt has put out a statement after a French woman was swindled into sending her life savings – €830,000 – after being scammed by his AI likeness. The woman appeared on primetime television on French channel TF1, claiming the fraudster sent daily photos, videos and even IDs as Brad Pitt, claiming the money was needed for secret cancer treatment. Her story has unleashed a torrent of widespread cyberbullying, memes and mockery online. Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake.

Canadian rapper Drake sued his longtime label Universal Music Group on Wednesday for promoting rival Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us”, saying the diss track released as part of a bitter rap beef last year contained false accusations that put him and his family in danger. 

The incoming US administration under Donald Trump may go “as far as war” with Iran, said Eberhard Kienle, research professor at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). While Trump appears to prefer pressure through economic sanctions, “with Iran, there may be an exception … maximum pressure may go as far as war,” Kienle said.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is currently under pressure from right-wing members of his cabinet, according to Scott Lucas, professor of American Studies and International Politics at the Clinton Institute of University College Dublin. “I think the biggest influence on Netanyahu will not be Donald Trump. It will be those right-wing ministers that threaten to bring down his government,” Lucas said.

TikTok plans to shut US operations of its social media app used by 170 million Americans on Sunday, when a federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Nadine Strossen, New York Law School Professor Emerita and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. She says it is “nonsensical” for the US to single out one single social media app.

David Lynch, the American filmmaker, writer and artist who scored best director Oscar nominations for “Blue Velvet”, “The Elephant Man” and “Mulholland Drive” and co-created the groundbreaking TV series “Twin Peaks” has died at age 78, his family said on Thursday.

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was a “political decision” for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli political commentator Dr. Ori Goldberg told FRANCE 24. “He (Netanyahu) understands two things: one is that Israel has absolutely nowhere else to go, and its condition is beginning to deteriorate both externally and internally, but also I think he understands that there has been a subtle shift in Israeli public opinion over the past several weeks … his future voters are tired of the war and want it to end”, Goldberg said.

As France celebrates half a century of legal abortion, FRANCE 24’s Oliver Farry welcomes Kei Yoshida, Senior Legal Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights, offering an in-depth look at women’s health, reproductive rights, and the progressive trend spanning the globe.