Author: France 24

The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations announced, against a backdrop of devastating war in Gaza. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 20:25 3 min Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s holiest sites, said through its official SPA news agency on Sunday that the Supreme Court had announced “Monday, March 11, 2024, the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year”.Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.After the sighting of the crescent moon, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced a Monday start for Ramadan,…

President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday for the first time that he backed new end-of-life legislation that would allow what he called “help to die” and wanted his government to put forward a draft bill to parliament in May. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 19:12 1 min France’s neighbours Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands have adopted laws that allow medically assisted dying in some cases. But France has resisted that step, in part under pressure from the Catholic Church.The Claeys-Leonetti law on the end of life, adopted in 2016, authorizes deep sedation but only for people whose prognosis is threatened in…

Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 11:37Modified: 10/03/2024 – 11:54 01:47 A boat laden with food for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza was “ready” to set sail from Cyprus, an NGO said, as fighting raged between Israeli troops and Hamas militants ahead of Ramadan. The sea route aims to counter aid access restrictions, which humanitarians and foreign governments have blamed on Israel, more than five months into the war which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million people struggling to survive. Read more on related topics: Source link

Ukraine on Sunday slammed Pope Francis’s call to negotiate with Russia two years into its invasion, vowing “never” to surrender after the pontiff said Kyiv should “have the courage to raise the white flag”. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 17:49 3 min The 87-year-old Catholic leader fuelled anger in Kyiv this weekend after he said in an interview that Ukraine should negotiate with Russia, which has seized large swathes of its territory in the offensive.It is not the first statement by Pope Francis during Moscow’s invasion that has caused outrage in Ukraine. The pontiff has also made statements slammed by Russia.”Our…

Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, the reigning Olympic open water champion, has called on organisers of this year’s Paris Games to draw up a “plan B” in case events cannot be held in the Seine due to poor water quality. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 13:37Modified: 10/03/2024 – 13:35 3 min Last August, the marathon swimming test events were cancelled because the water was too dirty, as were the swimming legs on two of the four days of triathlon and para-triathlon tests.Organisers have insisted “there is no plan B” but the Brazilian called for a rethink.”It’s a concern,” Cunha told AFP…

Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 14:43Modified: 10/03/2024 – 14:49 03:53 © FRANCE 24 Despite the recent media attention on the opening of a maritime corridor aimed at delivering aid to Gaza by sea, aid officials have pointed out that sea deliveries can’t make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. “The most efficient way to bring food in is by land, by trucks, and that’s not happening”, said Jason Straziuso, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.     Read more on related topics: Source link

French rescue workers were on Sunday searching for seven people, including two children, missing after violent storms swept the south of the country with most believed to have been swept away in cars on flooded bridges.  Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 14:22 1 min A family of four, including two children aged four and 13, was caught in the floods while trying late Saturday evening to drive across a bridge over the river Gardon in the village of Dions, north of the city of Nimes, the prefecture said.The father and the two children were still missing but the mother, 40, who…

Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 11:45Modified: 10/03/2024 – 12:27 01:22 As Muslims across the Arab world get ready to celebrate Ramadan, which follows a lunar calendar and could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon, Palestinians in Gaza are facing a difficult month ahead with no end in sight to the ongoing war. Read more on related topics: Source link

Residents of Haiti’s capital scrambled for safety on Saturday following the latest spasm of gang violence, with a UN group warning of a “city under siege” after armed attackers targeted the presidential palace and police headquarters.  Criminal groups, which already control much of Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have unleashed havoc in recent days as they try to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry as leader of the Western hemisphere’s poorest country.On Saturday, dozens of residents were seeking safety in public buildings, with some successfully breaking into one facility, according to an AFP correspondent.The…

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…