Author: France 24

A spirited husky unexpectedly joined the women’s team sprint cross-country race qualifier in Tesero on Wednesday, delighting Olympic spectators with a surprise dash across the finish line ahead of the athletes.

In Africa clean cooking is an issue of major concern, and with a billion people relying on wood and charcoal to cook their food each day there is a disproportionate number of deaths due to fine particle air pollution. FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen speaks with Andy Herscowitz, CEO of Mission 300 Accelerator, about the group’s aim to expand access to modern and cleaner cooking technologies across Africa. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/rockefeller-foundation-global-energy-alliance-clean-cooking-alliance-energy-corps-scale-modern-cooking-technologies-in-africa/

Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, has decided to leave her position as the EU’s top central banker before the end of her mandate in October 2027, according to a report in the Financial Times. The move could allow for her successor to be named ahead of presidential elections in France. Also in this edition, Venezuela’s interim government issues its first statement on the disputed oil-rich territory of Essequibo. 

Of the three major European film festivals, Berlin’s annual event has often featured political films and commentary. Yet this year’s jury president Wim Wenders stirred up controversy when he said that artists should “stay out of politics”, prompting Indian author Arundhati Roy to cancel her appearance at the festival. Film critic Emma Jones brings us up to date on this heated debate and flags up the movies making headlines at the Berlinale so far.

UN missions from 85 member states on Tuesday condemned what they described as Israel’s expanding control in the West Bank, warning it could amount to de facto annexation. In a joint statement, they said unilateral measures violated international law and urged Israel to reverse them immediately.

Japan’s Ami Nakai led the women’s figure skating event after the Olympic short program on Tuesday, landing a triple axel to score 78.71 points ahead of teammate Kaori Sakamoto, with American Alysa Liu third, as Germany swept the two-man bobsled medals in dominant fashion after mistakes hurt other US contenders.

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Shein over suspicion that the online retail giant has violated the EU’s Digital Services Act. The probe comes months after the online retail giant came under fire for allowing child-like sex dolls to be sold on its site. But first, France is inching closer to finalise a massive deal over the sale of 114 Rafale fighter jets to India, as Emmanuel Macron kicks off his state visit. 

As Iran faces growing international outrage over its violent crackdown on protesters, Iranian-French actress Mina Kavani is bringing a story of exile and resistance to the Paris stage.

Iran and the United States reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles” in a second round ​of indirect talks over their nuclear dispute on Tuesday, but that does not mean a deal is imminent, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. FRANCE 24’s Angela Diffley brings you this analysis

Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard led a commanding display in men’s alpine skiing at the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics on Monday, securing a fourth Swiss victory in five events. China’s freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu claimed silver in the big air, and Japan celebrated a historic pairs figure skating triumph.