Author: France 24

After shrinking briefly in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel’s GDP is predicted to grow by 4 percent this year. The country’s tech sector – specifically its defence startups – has played a big part in this performance but challenges, notably demographic ones, are on the horizon. Meanwhile, the destruction caused by Israel’s war in Gaza has reduced GDP per capita in the Palestinian enclave by 83 percent and reconstruction plans there have yet to begin.

Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.

British and Irish cinema have been in the spotlight at the Breton resort of Dinard for more than three decades, with films like “The Full Monty” and “Billy Elliot” getting their starts at the town’s annual film festival. FRANCE 24’s Culture editor Eve Jackson brings us the latest from this year’s edition, from its line-up to the financial woes that could spell the end of the festival.

French prodigy Paul Seixas claimed his first Monument win at the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday. The victory makes the 20-year-old the fourth-youngest winner of a Monument race.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would speak “very soon” with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported death from plague of a laboratory technician, as Washington and the World Health Organization pressed Moscow for greater transparency and clarity over conflicting accounts of the incident in Siberia.

The EU’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, arrived in Beijing this Thursday for two days of talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao. Sefcovic stated his goal of “rebalancing” an “unsustainable trade deficit”. One particular area of concern is the auto sector, where Chinese hybrid vehicles have increased their European market share to 25 percent. Also in this edition: Microsoft unveils its new AI-powered PCs in a bid to rival Apple.

Yemen said Saturday that forces were advancing against the Houthis around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a week after the country’s Saudi-backed government announced that it was initiating a counter-offensive to take back territory seized by the pro-Iran group during last month’s lightning offensive. In Riyadh, diplomatic sources reported a missile attack on the civilian airport, with at least five Saudi nationals wounded being treated in intensive care. 

We bring you all the latest from Paris Fashion Week. For Weinsanto, audacity is about finding a lightness, as embodied by the LGBTQ+ community. At Issey Miyake, it’s about sensuality rooted in the Japanese concept of Ma, the space that bridges the gap between fabric and skin. It’s a similar story at Yohji Yamamoto who, at 83, is still on the hunt for emotions.

Lionel Messi said farewell to Argentina fans Tuesday in an emotional final international appearance, scoring in a 3-0 win over Benin at Buenos Aires’s Monumental Stadium as 85,000 supporters celebrated a career that brought the country its long-awaited 2022 World Cup triumph.

The World Health Organization joined Western leaders on Wednesday in urging Russia to share more information about what killed a plague institute worker in Siberia as reports emerged of a second suspected case. The Kremlin said Moscow had shared what it knew and accused the media ​of spreading “false information”.