Author: France 24

The Trump administration has put aside its tariff threats, and is calling for a new trade bloc to focus on critical minerals. Ministers from 55 countries attended talks in Washington aimed at reducing their reliance on China, which dominates the production and processing of the elements. Meanwhile, Japan hopes to revolutionize its own mineral supplies, becoming the first to retrieve deep-sea mud containing rare earth elements. 

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24 Issued on: 04/02/2026 – 16:26Modified: 04/02/2026 – 16:28 08:45 min From the show Reading time 1 min A world-renowned fashion designer-turned-podcast host has spoken to FRANCE 24 about its success, and about those she has spoken to. Bella Freud is the great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis.…

Israeli proscutors on Wednesday filed charges against 12 suspects for smuggling goods into besieged Gaza. The suspects included reservist soldiers and the brother of the chief of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet. The charge sheet for “assisting the enemy in wartime” listed goods such as cigarettes and iPhones that were brought into the Palestinian enclave “for profit”.

Arsenal host Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final second leg. The Gunners won 3-2 in the first leg last month. They have lost only one of their last 14 matches.

Following a social media announcement by Donald Trump about a trade deal, Indian officials hailed the agreement as ‘the best in the region’ while making no explicit comment about the US president’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Moscow meanwhile says it hasn’t heard from India about any plans to do so.  We take a closer look at how much crude oil India imports from Russia. 

Forging a singular path as an independent filmmaker whose minimalist, bucolic style has impressed the critics at the Berlin and Cannes film festivals, Kelly Reichardt shows us another America: a land of wondering outsiders and protagonists plagued by doubts. For arts24, she discusses her latest film, “The Mastermind”, a timely heist movie starring Josh O’Connor as the unsuspecting orchestrator of a robbery in an art gallery.

Israel has reopened the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, but movement remains tightly restricted, with only a dozen people allowed to enter and a small number of wounded evacuated to Egypt. While the reopening is seen as a key step in the ceasefire process, far fewer people crossed than expected, leaving thousands of patients still waiting for urgent medical evacuation. Egypt says its hospitals are ready to receive more Gazans as numbers are gradually increased.

Britain on Tuesday unveiled its first national plan to curb “forever chemicals,” seeking to cut risks to human health and the environment, the government said. PFAS, used in products from cookware to food packaging, persist for decades and accumulate in nature, posing threats likely to endure for hundreds of years.

As the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics approach, France’s bobsleigh teams train at La Plagne. Romain Heinrich pilots the two- and four-man teams, while Margot Boch leads the women’s events. France aims for a top-10 finish amid strong German and American competition, with eyes already on 2030.

French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has survived the last of a series of no-confidence votes, allowing the full 2026 budget to be adopted. The centurist prime minister had pushed the bill through parliament without a vote after securing the backing of the Socialist Party in exchange for some costly concessions. Also in the segment, US President Donald Trump says he will lower tariffs on Indian goods after New Delhi committed to ending its purchases of Russian oil.