Author: France 24

Icelandic police declared a state of emergency Saturday as lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula, the fourth eruption to hit the area since December. Issued on: 17/03/2024 – 08:26 2 min A “volcanic eruption has started between stora Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” said a statement from the Icelandic Met Office (IMO). Live video images showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced it had sent a helicopter to narrow down the exact location of the new fissure. The authority also said the police had declared a…

Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 12:32 00:50 A black market selling smuggled aid is growing in Gaza as people in the war-torn enclave become increasingly desperate for food and everyday products amid the relentless fighting between Israel and Hamas. While none of the aid was originally intended for sale, some Gazans are now forced to pay exorbitant prices to obtain basic supplies stolen from aid convoys. Read more on related topics: Source link

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he will not be backing Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 07:21 2 min “It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview with Fox News Channel Friday, weighing in for the first time since the former president became the presumptive GOP nominee. Pence ran against Trump for their party’s nomination but dropped his bid before voting began last year.The decision makes Pence the latest in a series of senior Trump administration officials who have declined to endorse…

Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 14:34Modified: 16/03/2024 – 14:40 05:19 © FRANCE 24 As the first aid boat to reach Gaza unloaded its cargo in the war-ravaged Strip Saturday, humanitarian groups continued to stress the importance of aid deliveries by land. “The aid delivered by sea or by air should be seen as complementary to land transportation, not as a substitute because these methods can’t replace the volumes that aid trucks by land can deliver,” Norwegian Refugee Council Middle East Head of Advocacy Samah Hadid told FRANCE 24. Read more on related topics: Source link

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Saturday evening that Western ground operations in Ukraine might be necessary “at some point”, days after meeting with German and Polish leaders. Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 22:49Modified: 16/03/2024 – 22:50 1 min Last month Macron refused to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, which prompted a stern response from Berlin and other European partners.But the French president has not recanted from his position, but stressed that Western allies would not take the initiative.“Maybe at some point—I don’t want it, I won’t take the initiative—we will have to have…

Ireland retained their Six Nations title with a gritty 17-13 win over Scotland at Lansdowne Road in Dublin on Saturday, March 16. Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 21:11Modified: 16/03/2024 – 21:37 3 min Tries by Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter got the Irish over the line as the hosts were thwarted time and again by a magnificent Scottish defence.The title — in winning two in a row they emulate Joe Schmidt’s Ireland side of 2014-2015 — is some consolation for missing out on historic Six Nations Grand Slams after being beaten by England last weekend.Peter O’Mahony has yet to discuss whether…

Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 18:08Modified: 16/03/2024 – 18:11 01:19 © FRANCE 24 Displaced by Israeli bombardment, the Tabatibi family gathered in central Gaza to eat together during the first Friday night of Ramadan, a scene that soon turned into a bloodbath. An air strike hit the building where they were staying as women prepared the pre-fasting meal, killing 36 members of the family, survivors told AFP on Saturday. FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent reports from Jerusalem. Read more on related topics: Source link

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…

Issued on: 16/03/2024 – 18:25Modified: 16/03/2024 – 18:28 01:39 More than 90,000 people have been displaced in southern Lebanon by the ongoing, near-daily clashes on the border with Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. With houses bombed and livelihoods lost, these displaced Lebanese voice hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza that would allow them to return to their homes. Read more on related topics: Source link

Despite several rounds of sanctions levied by Western powers over the war in Ukraine, the Russian economy registered strong growth in 2023 after a recession the previous year. Fuelled by increased public spending – particularly military spending – other industrial sectors also benefited from the war in Ukraine, with the country’s economic resurgence aided by continued revenue from oil and gas exports. It’s an electoral race without much suspense for the master of the Kremlin. Russia is holding a first round of presidential elections from March 15-17 that is widely expected to confirm a fifth-term victory for Vladimir Putin. In recent weeks, the Russian…