Author: France 24

Israel’s army said it would advance preparations for the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and return all the remaining hostages. The news came after Israel launched dozens of air strikes and artillery attacks on Gaza City overnight, Gaza’s civil defence agency said. At least 20 homes were destroyed, with multiple casualties reported, including children. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

Argentina’s struggling President Javier Milei suffered a new setback Thursday as Congress overturned his vetoes of laws increasing funding for public universities and pediatric care. Story by Daniel Quinlan.

Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer saved three consecutive penalties in stoppage time to seal a 1-0 Europa League win over Roma on Thursday. Hakon Haraldsson’s early strike gave the French side the lead, while Roma failed to capitalise on a late Aissa Mandi handball that offered them a lifeline.

After breaking most music industry records during her “Eras” tour in 2023 and 2024, Taylor Swift is back with the hotly anticipated account of that time in the form of her twelfth studio album. “The Life of a Showgirl” brings in pop princess Sabrina Carpenter and Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, who produced Swift’s synth pop album “1989” and mega hits “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”. The release coincides with a weekend screening of a behind-the-scenes documentary, where the US star will unveil a new music video from this latest album. FRANCE 24’s Olivia Salazar-Winspear tells us more.

As GenZ youth protests are spreading worldwide, Alison Sargent welcomes Dr. D.B. Subedi to get to the heart of the driving force of these new collective protests. Dr. Subedi situates the Moroccan Gen Z protests within a wider range of youth-led movements across Asia and parts of Africa, showing how shared structural stresses: inequality, corruption, institutional decay are all fueling collective frustration. He contrasts the uniquely Moroccan triggers (lack of funding for social services, public hospitals, alongside heavy investment in international events) with the broader grievances seen elsewhere: distrust in rulers, diminishing faith in institutions, and lack of economic footholds. He…

It is two years since Hamas attacked Israeli communities along the Gaza border. In response, Israel launched a devastating war in the Palestinian territory. We take a closer look at the heavy toll this conflict has had on Palestinian women and girls. Also, in 2024, Belgium’s groundbreaking law gave sex workers full employment rights. Our team on the ground report on whether the law is really working. Plus Verdi’s 19th-century opera “Aida” returns to Paris with a fresh, modern twist in a new production by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, warned that “rapid and abrupt” cuts in US funding for AIDS programmes were threatening the advances made in fighting the epidemic in recent years. She expressed hope that some of the programmes that had been suspended by the Trump administration were being reinstated, but noted that “steady declines” in funding from Europe and other donors were putting fragile populations, especially “in low-income countries of Africa”, at risk of “more new infections and more deaths”.

Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer made history by saving three penalties in a row to secure his team’s 1-0 win over AS Roma, their second victory in as many Europa League fixtures this season. 

This week, we focus on the Zucman tax. Named after French economist Gabriel Zucman, the proposal targets the ultra-wealthy and is the French left’s answer to the country’s public finance woes. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has already rejected it, but has acknowledged the desire for more fiscal justice in France. To help us better understand why this tax has come about and what it hopes to achieve, Charles Pellegrin is joined by Giulia Varaschin, policy advisor at the EU Tax Observatory, of which Gabriel Zucman is the director. 

Choreographer and dancer Akram Khan took inspiration from the Nabataean tribes of the Saudi Arabian desert for his latest creation “Thikra: Night of Remembering”, as he delves into regional traditions with Saudi artist Manal Al Dowayan. He tells us why staging an all-women production in the kingdom came naturally, despite taboos surrounding public performances and why his work has always been informed by a female gaze. We also discuss his life-changing collaboration with the late director Peter Brook and his upcoming projects as Khan tours his last production with the dance company he founded 25 years ago.