Author: France 24

Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to take part in the traditional parade at the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics, the IOC said Tuesday. Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 18:57Modified: 19/03/2024 – 19:06 1 min The opening ceremony on July 26 will see thousands of athletes travel on boats down the River Seine for several miles (kilometers) toward the Eiffel Tower, instead of the normal parade of teams inside a stadium. The IOC said athletes from Russia and Belarus who are approved to compete at the Olympics as neutrals will have a chance only “to experience the event” —…

Back to homepage / Shows / arts24 Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 18:02 12:32 arts24 © FRANCE 24 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Andrew Sean Greer speaks to Eve Jackson about the sequel to his bestselling and celebrated novel “Less”. “Less is Lost”, about the hapless middle-aged gay writer Arthur Less, was a book that his agent told him not to write. Andrew talks about the American road trip that he undertook as a research project for the book, in which he unsuccessfully tried to go incognito. He says he wrote both the “Less” books as a reaction to Donald Trump winning the US…

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published…

Global temperatures “smashed” heat records last year, as heatwaves stalked oceans and glaciers suffered record ice loss, the United Nations said Tuesday – warning 2024 was likely to be even hotter. Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 15:31Modified: 19/03/2024 – 17:24 4 min The annual State of the Climate report by the UN weather and climate agency confirmed preliminary data showing 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded.And last year capped off “the warmest 10-year period on record”, the World Meteorological Organization said, with even hotter temperatures expected.”There is a high probability that 2024 will again break the record of…

Back to homepage / Shows / Tête à tête Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 16:39Modified: 19/03/2024 – 16:53 11:50 TÊTE À TÊTE © FRANCE 24 In an interview with FRANCE 24, the executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sounded the alarm about the plight of children in Gaza after more than five months of Israel’s war with Hamas. Catherine Russell said that an estimate of 13,450 children killed in the Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023 is “probably on the low end”. She noted that many more children are trapped in the rubble or are wounded and often separated from their…

Hong Kong legislators unanimously passed a new national security law on Tuesday, introducing penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection, and up to 20 years in jail for the theft of state secrets. Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 16:48 3 min The law, which the United States, Britain and the European Union have warned could further curtail freedoms in Hong Kong, was fast-tracked through the legislative process.UN rights chief Volker Turk denounced the “rushed” adoption, criticising it as “a regressive step for the protection of human rights”.But city leader John Lee called it “a historic moment…

Issued on: 17/03/2024 – 12:24Modified: 17/03/2024 – 12:29 01:35 Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the hostages held in Gaza. Anger continued to simmer among protesters, who clashed with police and blocked traffic, as they accused the Israeli government of inaction. Read more on related topics: Source link

Russia said on Tuesday that its forces had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian village of Orlivka, situated about four kilometres (2.5 miles) west of the town of Avdiivka, which Moscow’s forces captured last month after one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Earlier, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the United States “will not let Ukraine fail” as he attended a meeting of Kyiv’s Western allies in Germany. Russian spy chief says French military in Ukraine would be priority target for Russia Sergei Naryshkin, chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, said on Tuesday that any French military sent to…

Back to homepage / Shows / Perspective Issued on: 19/03/2024 – 12:48Modified: 19/03/2024 – 12:52 10:39 PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24 As the war in Gaza continues, France’s former ambassador to Israel has told FRANCE 24 how Israel has “shifted to the right, even to the far right” since he was in post. Gérard Araud, who also served as envoy to the US and UN, says he is not surprised by where Israel is today, having watched the gradual political drift. He also spoke of how difficult the situation is for US President Joe Biden ahead of the presidential election, and…

Donald Trump’s lawyers told a New York appellate court Monday that it’s impossible for him to post a bond covering the full amount of a $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals, suggesting the former president’s legal losses have put him in a serious cash crunch. Trump’s lawyers wrote in a court filing that “obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount” of the judgment “is not possible under the circumstances presented.” Trump claimed last year that he has “fairly substantially over $400 million in cash,” but back-to-back courtroom defeats have pushed his legal debt north of a half-billion…