Author: France 24

The head of the 2012 London Olympics, Briton Sebastian Coe, and the chief of international cycling, Frenchman David Lappartient, are among the names being mentioned as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) looks to elect its new president. Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry is the only woman among the seven candidates who would not only become the IOC’s first female president if she is elected, but the first to come from Africa. The election will take place in March 2025.

Boeing announced a hiring freeze and costcutting measures amid a crippling strike at its assmbly plants that has brought production of its best-selling jets, including the 737 Max, to a virtual halt.But first, lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance made their case against a US law, signed in April, that gave them until January 19th to sell the app to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban. The legal battle is expected to go all the way to the Supreme Court.

An Iranian woman who fled to France after taking in protests in Iran two years ago following the death of Mahsa Amini has spoken to FRANCE 24, saying her actions against the Iranian regime were worth it. Marjane Jangjoo escaped after 30 men came to her workplace to arrest her and her colleagues for joining the demonstrations. She spent several months in hiding before making her way across snowy mountains to cross the border. She says the Iranian regime is like a robe which little by little is shredding a thread, and that one day real change will come so…

 Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi of Morocco set a new world record in the women’s marathon for runners with visual impairments as the Paris Paralympics wrapped up on Sunday with China topping the medals table, ahead of Britain and the United States.

Boeing workers in Washington and Oregon will be voting on Thursday night on whether to accept a new contract offer that increases wages by 25 percent over the next four years. If the deal is turned down, as has been predicted by union organisers, they will need a two-thirds majority to approve strike action. Also in this edition, we take a look at the plight of migrant workers in Singapore as Pope Francis calls for them to have a “fair wage” during his visit to the city-state.

Persecution of bereaved relatives. Impunity for perpetrators. Rampant executions and infighting among the opposition. A bleak picture confronts opponents of Iran’s clerical authorities two years after a protest movement erupted that they hoped would be a turning point in the four-and-a-half-decade history of the Islamic republic. 

FRANCE 24’s Genie Godula brings us the latest from the 50th edition of the American Festival in Deauville, as Hollywood stars flock to the beach resort on the Normandy coast. As Michael Douglas receives a special award for his career in cinema, we take a look back at the actor and producer’s love affair with France. The seaside setting has always had a starring role in the festival’s success and we learn more about the enduring appeal of its iconic boardwalk and celebrity-themed beach huts. 

The Paris 2024 Games came to a close just like they started, in the rain, but amid a festive atmosphere with an electro-party at the Stade de France on Sunday to conclude the Paralympics – and put an end to six weeks of thrilling sport in the French capital.

The most ambitious mission yet in the billionaire space race saw Jared Isaacman become the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space on Thursday, in partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Polaris Dawn mission has been welcomed by the aerospace community for pushing the boundaries of 21st-century spaceflight, but dismissed by some in the general public as just another vanity project for the rich. On this week’s Tech 24, we discuss what the mission has achieved, and its lofty hopes for the future.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday one of its employees was killed this week during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the first such death in more than a decade. UNRWA said the employee was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper” which took place in the Faraa refugee camp in the northern West Bank