Author: France 24

A U.N. spokesman confirmed that nothing has entered Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing, which Israel said it reopened Wednesday, because fighting is still ongoing. With rockets falling and other military activities, there is an issue of safety of humanitarian personnel, he said. Story by Charlotte Hughes. Source link

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is continuing its planetary takeover, kicking off its European leg this week in France. Since her first concerts in March 2023 in the US, the pop star has been credited with boosting the national GDPs of the United States, Singapore and Australia. For a deeper look at the business phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, FRANCE 24’s Charles Pellegrin speaks with former music business executive, Professor Linda Bloss-Baum. She is the assistant director of the business and entertainment programme at American University’s Kogod School of Business.  Source link

Our guest is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed authors of her generation. More than 20 years after bursting onto the literary scene with her debut novel “White Teeth”, Zadie Smith’s sixth book “The Fraud” is out in French – based on real events in Victorian England. The British author speaks to Eve Jackson about her fascination with the Victorians, her experience of writing head-on about slavery for the first time and why she has always been interested in the sex life of the English. Source link

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations expressed disappointment Thursday at US President Joe Biden’s threat to stop certain arms supplies to Israel if it invades the crowded Gaza city of Rafah. More information on Israel’s reaction with ABC news correspondent in Jerusalem, Jordana Miller. Source link

The highest-grossing tour in history finally arrived in Europe on Thursday as Taylor Swift kicked off her European dates with four nights in Paris. How did she become who she is? Story by Natacha Milleret and Aurore Cloé Dupuis. Source link

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there. Story by Oliver Farry. Source link

“The most significant part of Rafah from an Israeli military point of view and from Hamas’s point of view too, is what is called the Philadelphia Corridor”, said FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Jerusalem Irris Makler. “That is the corridor at the side between Egypt and Gaza [ . . .], the area from which Hamas was smuggling goods and military equipment from Egypt into Gaza.” Source link

The highest-grossing tour in history finally arrived in Europe on Thursday as Taylor Swift kicked off her European dates with four nights in Paris. Source link

Hamas said it had informed Egypt and Qatar of its “approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire” in the conflict. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands”, but the government would send negotiators for talks. In the meantime, “Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war”. More information with our International Affairs Editor, Philip Turle. Source link

Thousands of Israelis rallied around the country Monday night calling for an immediate deal to release the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. The protests came as Israel’s War Cabinet voted to begin an operation on the city of Rafah, saying that a cease-fire proposal Hamas accepted earlier in the night was not in line with Israeli demands. Story by Yinka Oyetade. Source link