Author: France 24

David McCloskey worked in CIA field stations across the Middle East throughout the Arab Spring and conducted a rotation in the Counterterrorism Center, briefing Congressional oversight committees, senior White House officials, ambassadors and military officials. He has since written several novels, including “Moscow X” and “Damascus Station”, which has just been published in French. He joined us on Perspective to tell us more about his former life as a spy, what pushed him to write and the fine line between fiction and reality. Source link

Haiti has been in the grips of a renewed crisis ever since heavily armed gangs formed an alliance this February and forced Ariel Henry to step down as prime minister. The Caribbean nation has long been plagued by gang violence, with armed groups fostered in the shadows by power-hungry political and economic elites. But now more than 80 percent of Haiti’s capital is controlled by an alliance of armed groups, and they’re vowing they won’t lay down their arms unless they get a seat at the negotiating table. Haiti’s under-resourced police, which is often accused of rampant corruption, are left…

The armed wing of Hamas said it had taken “prisoner” at least one Israeli soldier in an ambush on Saturday in the Gaza Strip, a claim Israel denied. Meanwhile Israeli police clashed Saturday with protesters calling on the government to negotiate the return of hostages held in Gaza. FRANCE 24’s Rob Parsons reports. Source link

Tunisia’s president abruptly replaced the interior and social affairs ministers Saturday night in a surprise cabinet reshuffle following a wave of arrests that has raised fresh fears for the health of the young democracy. The reshuffle comes on the heels of a string of arrests over the past two weeks of around 10 human rights activists, lawyers and journalists. Source link

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he “strongly opposes” ending the war in Gaza, ahead of his war cabinet meeting amid intense diplomacy to forge a truce and hostage release deal. Source link

Rafael Nadal admits he will be facing “one of the toughest opponents possible” when he plays Alexander Zverev in the French Open first round on Monday. Source link

Rocket sirens sounded across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, for the first time in months on Sunday, as Hamas claimed to have fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza. Only one person was reportedly wounded in central Israel from rocket debris, FRANCE 24’s Rob Parsons said, reporting from Jerusalem. Source link

Naomi Osaka swept to her first victory at the French Open in three years on Sunday, setting up a potential showdown with Iga Swiatek, as Carlos Alcaraz maintained his record of never losing in the first round of a Grand Slam. Source link

Gaza officials said Israeli strikes on a centre for displaced people killed dozens in a “massacre” near the southern city of Rafah on Sunday, while the Israeli army said it had targeted Hamas militants. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said in a statement that the strikes “claimed the lives of 35 martyrs and left dozens injured, most of them children and women”. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments on the Israel-Hamas war. Source link

Tadej Pogacar won the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, crossing the finish line in Rome in glorious sunshine and with the biggest winning margin in almost six decades. Source link