Author: France 24

Amid rising tensions over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, threats from the Islamic State group, and France’s history of homegrown Islamist terror plots as well as far-right extremism, there were real concerns about France’s ability to ensure adequate security during the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, French security services managed to keep thousands of athletes and millions of fans safe – a “gold-medal” performance, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. 

The Pentagon said Sunday that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. The moves come as tensions soar in the region following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. “It has to be noted, it’s pretty rare for the Pentagon, for the US, to actually publicly state submarine movements, so that in itself is pretty significant,” FRANCE 24’s Kethevane Gorjestani said in an analysis, adding…

At 19, Israeli man Yoni has to put aside his plans to join the military and instead enter rehab for drug abuse that has worsened since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks. Health professionals said Yoni’s case is not an exception in wartime Israel, noting a surge in drug and alcohol abuse as well as other addictive behaviours. Psychiatrist Shaul Lev-Ran, founder of the Israel Center on Addiction, carried out a study with his team, and found “a connection between indirect exposure to the October 7 events and an increase in addictive substances consumption” of about 25 percent.

French basketball star Victor Wembanyama said Saturday’s defeat by the United States would motivate him and his teammates to go for a gold medal at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Even though France also lost to Team USA in the Tokyo final in 2021, Wembanyama remains optimistic: “We have diamonds coming out of our country, so we have every chance. If it wasn’t this time it will be the next.”

An Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City early Saturday, killing more than 60 people, Palestinian health authorities said, in one of the deadliest strikes in the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, claiming it hit a Hamas command center within the school. Hamas denied using the school as a command center.

France coach Thierry Henry described his team’s Olympic performance as “magical” despite their agonising extra-time defeat against Spain in the men’s football final on Friday.

A Microsoft report released Friday said Iran was laying the groundwork to sway voters ahead of the US presidential election, including by creating fake news sites and impersonating activists online. The report also reveals how Russia and China are exploiting US political polarization to advance their own interests.

Letsile Tebogo’s 200m gold made history, Stephen Curry helped steer the USA basketball clear of a massive upset to Serbia, and Sharon van Rouwendaal dedicated her punishing 10km swimming victory to her late dog on Day 16 of the Paris Games. 

A fire broke out at a Russian military airfield hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border, state media reported early Friday, with authorities ordering evacuations in the area due to a “massive” drone attack. The attack in the Lipetsk region came as pro-Kyiv forces pressed a new cross-border offensive in neighbouring Kursk, in what appears to be the most significant attack on Russian soil since the conflict in Ukraine began. As Ukraine continues a major cross-border offensive in the north to counter relentless Russian shelling and aerial bomb attacks in frontline Ukrainian regions, FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen is joined by…

The Israeli military on Thursday ordered another mass evacuation in large areas around Khan Younis in southern Gaza, saying its forces will soon operate there in response to Palestinian rocket fire. The evacuation order came after Israel said it was revoking the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the West Bank, citing Oslo’s “anti-Israel behaviour” since the start of the Gaza war.  Follow our liveblog for the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war.