Author: France 24

Persistent rain and cold temperatures have thrown a wet blanket on the Paris Grand Slam tournament, leaving disgruntled fans starved of action and organisers grappling with a huge backlog of matches – and more rain forecast in the days ahead.  Source link

Can Israel ignore the pressure? Young people outraged by the graphic images of the Rafah tent fire that killed dozens of civilians out in the streets of Paris and Marseille, this as Ireland, Norway and Spain recognize a Palestinian state and international courts mount cases over the war in Gaza.  Source link

As one of the winners of the Africa Lyric’s Opera prize, Aaron-Casey Gould has just wrapped up a string of concerts across France, performing a repertoire that embraced Verdi, Gershwin and contemporary African compositions. He joins us to talk about introducing a younger generation to the traditional repertoire, his latest, playful role at the Vienna Volksoper and a modern opera inspired by the drag ball scene of 1980s New York, where he sings the role of “House of Legendary”‘s charismatic mother. Source link

An AI-generated image that says “All Eyes on Rafah” has gone viral on social media. We tell you about the origin and meaning of this viral phrase in this edition of Truth or Fake. Source link

A centuries-old British institution is set to be sold to a foreign firm. Royal Mail’s parent company has accepted a £3.6 billion takeover offer by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP group. Privatised about a decade ago, the postal service that dates back to Tudor times has struggled in the era of emails. Meanwhile, the world’s biggest mining firm BHP has walked away from a $49 billion plan to take over British rival Anglo American, after the latter rejected a request to extend talks.  Source link

French pharmacists launched their first walkout in 10 years on Thursday, closing up shop over drug shortages, pharmacy closures and fears medications could be sold online, as well as higher pay. Source link

Iran on Thursday began the formal registration of presidential candidates ahead of a snap vote next month to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash. Source link

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing. Meanwhile Israel’s military said Wednesday it seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the war in Gaza. Source link

Many social media users are sharing images claiming to show the Egyptian soldier who was killed following an exchange of fire between Israel and Egypt, near the Rafah border crossing, on Monday. We reveal the true identity of this soldier in this edition of Truth or Fake. Source link

Israel’s army said Wednesday it took control of a vital Gaza-Egypt corridor it suspects aided weapons smuggling as the ground offensive against Hamas in the border city of Rafah intensified. Source link