Author: France 24

Ratings agency S&P on Friday downgraded France’s credit score for the first time since 2013, citing a deterioration in the country’s budgetary position. Source link

“Bridgerton” is back with more scandal and more sex! FRANCE 24’s Olivia Salazar-Winspear and Dheepthika Laurent take a look at everyone’s fan favourite focusing on Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s story. Meanwhile, “The Big Cigar” looks at the improbable story of a daring escape by Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panthers. Plus, they discuss the exploration of an alternate universe in sci-fi thriller “Dark Matter” and the return of BAFTA-winning Muslim girls rock band comedy “We Are Lady Parts”. Source link

Following an air strike – and subsequent fire – that left 45 Gazans dead at a camp for the displaced in the southern city of Rafah, Israel has stated that its munitions are not what triggered the blaze. The IDF said it’s investigating possible theories, including a Hamas weapons warehouse nearby that caught fire, thereby causing “secondary explosions”. Vedika Bahl probes these claims in this edition of Truth or Fake. Source link

Five years after the fall of the so-called Islamic State caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the EU’s anti-terrorism coordinator sees a more diffuse threat, coming from many different directions and spreading online. This is what Bartjan Wegter calls “mutant jihadism”. With FRANCE 24’s Armen Georgian, he discusses Afghanistan, IS-KP (Islamic State – Khorasan Province), and how the French authorities are trying to make the upcoming Olympic games secure – efforts that Wegter praises as “impressive”. Wegter admits that more needs to be done to tackle what he calls “borderline content” online that might be inciting hatred and fuelling individuals’ radicalisation.…

In August 2013, a chemical attack using sarin gas was perpetrated in Syria’s Ghouta region, northeast of Damascus, killing some 1,400 people. Attributed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the crime remains unpunished to this day. But Syrian refugees in Europe are fighting for justice. Activists, lawyers and witnesses have set out to track down those responsible, some of whom live in France. Yet many obstacles remain: the few witnesses living in exile fear reprisals on their families who have stayed behind, while there is no access to Assad’s Syria, making it impossible to carry out investigations on the ground.…

As decided by EU member states and the European Parliament, sales of internal combustion engine cars will be banned in the bloc by 2035, thereby forcing a transition to electric vehicles. How will Europe’s car manufacturers manage this major change? FRANCE 24’s Charles Pellegrin puts the question to Julia Poliscanova, senior director in charge of vehicles and e-mobility at the European Federation for Transport and Environment. Source link

In Israel, human rights groups have filed a court case in a bid to close the Sdei Teiman military prison. Set up after the October 7 attacks in the heart of the Negev desert, it serves as a detention centre for prisoners from Gaza. Numerous eyewitness accounts speak of mistreatment and torture. An internal investigation has established that at least two prisoners have died after beatings by soldiers. FRANCE 24’s Claire Duhamel and Robert Parsons investigate this secret prison. Source link

The US and Britain struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in several locations in Yemen on Thursday in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to US and British defence ministry officials. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments on the Israel-Hamas war. Source link

The U.S. and Britain struck 13 Houthi targets in several locations in Yemen on Thursday in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, three U.S. officials said. Source link

Novak Djokovic reached the French Open last 32 for the 19th successive year on Thursday as Roland Garros organisers banned alcohol from the stands in an effort to counter disruption from rowdy fans. Source link