Author: France 24

Syria insurgents, backed up by their Turkish allies, on Friday pushed ahead with their lightning advance and shelled the country’s second city Aleppo. Since the rebels on Wednesday launched their first major offensive against government troops in five years, they have seized more than 50 towns and villages in northern Syria.

They hit the headlines shortly after Islamist fundamentalists proclaimed a caliphate in Syria and Iraq: the young women who packed their bags and embarked upon a new life, unaware of the fate that would await them. A new film, “Rabia”, imagines the journey of a young French recruit and her encounter with the notorious Madam known as the “Black Widow of ISIS”. Plus, comic strip cowboy “Lucky Luke” celebrates 78 years as the most American of Belgian cartoon icons and we get a glimpse inside the home of the breathtaking art of flying trapeze: the Winter Circus in Paris.

France will face Croatia in the Nations League quarterfinals, rekindling their 2018 World Cup final clash, while Spain takes on the Netherlands in another high-profile matchup. 

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, November 28: The French government’s revelation that it may not enforce the ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu draws ire in the press. Some dailies wonder if this “about face” was a requirement in order for France to broker the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. In other news: the threat of a no-confidence vote against French Prime Minister Michel Barnier grows. Plus: a deer in Canada has been spotted wearing a yellow hi-vis vest – but it’s unclear who is behind it!

Australia’s Senate on Thursday passed a social media ban for children under 16 that will soon become the first law of its kind in the world. Platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram will be liable for fines of up to $33 million for failing to block those under 16 from holding accounts.

Taiwan’s Olympic boxing champion Lin Yu-ting pulled out of the World Boxing Cup Finals in Britain on Wednesday, the country’s sports chiefs said, saying that organisers had questioned her gender eligibility. The featherweight was one of two women boxers kicked out of last year’s world championships after the Russian-led International Boxing Association accused them of being men.

Another looming political crisis is battering France’s reputation on global markets. Borrowing costs spiked as investors looked to a possible vote of no confidence over the government’s budget proposal. That led the spread between French and German bond yields to hit its highest level since 2012. Also in the show – Ursula von der Leyen vows to increase the EU’s defence spending, as Russia ramps up its own defence budget. 

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, November 27: We look at reactions and analysis as an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal is agreed. The local and international press ponder if peace will be long lasting and what the deal means for the war in Gaza.

British director Elizabeth Sankey bravely recounts her story of frightening isolation and unwanted thoughts after childbirth in her spellbinding documentary “Witches”, which is out on Mubi. The film features interviews with medical professionals, historians and fellow sufferers, and uses old film footage showing pop cultural representation of witches. The director speaks to Eve Jackson about her own experience in a mother and baby psychiatric ward and shares her perspective on how women with mental health issues have been stigmatised and misunderstood over time.

In this Science segment, we tell you more about obstetric and gynaecological violence, a form of violence against women that has remained hidden for a long time. However, in the privacy of a medical consultation or childbirth, many women say they have experienced violent behaviour from doctors, either verbally or physically. FRANCE 24’s Julia Sieger tells us more.