Author: France 24

Sporadic gunfire rang out in Port-au-Prince Friday night, an AFP correspondent there heard, as residents desperately sought shelter amid the recent explosion of gang violence in the Haitian capital.   Issued on: 09/03/2024 – 08:20 3 min Humanitarian conditions continued to deteriorate, and aid groups and NGOs have warned of a shortage of medical resources and food supplies after armed groups unleashed widespread chaos on the long-troubled Caribbean nation last week.According to an AFP journalist on the scene, gunshots were heard throughout the capital late Friday, especially concentrated in the southwestern districts of Turgeau, Pacot, Lalue and Canape-Vert. Fearful residents scrambled to…

France is planning to have some of its arms manufacturers produce much-needed military equipment directly on Ukrainian soil to help the country in its war against Russia, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Friday.  Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 10:43 2 min “Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future,” he said.”The idea is to have the first production units running this summer,” Lecornu added.He hinted the companies involved would include tank maker KNDS, the holding…

Back to homepage / Shows / Reporters Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 11:49 43:51 Reporters © FRANCE 24 By: Constantin SIMON | Aruna POPURI Long dominated by the United States, the Asia-Pacific region is grappling with an increasingly assertive China. Tensions are mounting around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, both in the air and on the water, with numerous incidents of late involving Chinese fighter planes, collisions between ships and reefs being turned into military outposts. Filmed in Japan, China, Taiwan and the Philippines, our documentary explores a new “cold war” pitting President Xi Jinping’s authoritarian China against the…

A cascade of sexual violence allegations has rocked the French film industry in recent months, with actor Judith Godrèche leading the charge for a reckoning about gender-based abuse. Calls to safeguard actors on set are growing, as is the need for intimacy coordinators – a job that is yet to be officially recognised in France. For the first time in history, an actor spoke to MPs in the French upper house of parliament about sexual violence and gender-based abuse in the film industry last week.Addressing the Senate’s women’s rights committee, actor Judith Godrèche called for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into…

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…

A ship was preparing to leave Cyprus in the coming days and head for Gaza with humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger and shortages of essential supplies after five months of war. The vessel, belonging to the Spanish NGO Open Arms, will make a pilot voyage to test the corridor, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus, where she’s inspecting preparations for the sea corridor. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World…

Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 07:41Modified: 07/03/2024 – 08:06 01:59 In northern Gaza, long queues of desperately hungry women and children lined up at a street kitchen on Wednedsay in great need of a meal. Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to remain in northern Gaza even though Israel ordered the evacuation of the entire region in October. They have received barely any aid in weeks, causing the UN to warn of impending famine. The World Food Programme halted deliveries in the north of Gaza on February 20, after its convoy of trucks faced gunfire and looting. As a last resort, countries like Jordan…

The African Union on Friday joined the United States and European Union in welcoming Senegal’s decision to hold a presidential election on March 24 after weeks of turmoil triggered by the vote’s delay. Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 18:12 1 min President Macky Sall plunged Senegal into crisis with a last-minute postponement of the presidential poll, originally scheduled for February 25.After a month of uncertainty which sparked outcry at home and abroad, the country’s top constitutional body on Thursday agreed with the presidency for the vote to take place on March 24, before the end of Sall’s mandate.African Union Commission chairman,…

Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 16:36Modified: 08/03/2024 – 09:19 07:09 United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten this week released her report on allegations of sexual violence committed on October 7 during Hamas’s attacks on Israel and in its aftermath. Patten found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli women were subjected to sexual violence, including rape, gang rape and “sexualized torture”. She sat down with FRANCE 24’s Jessica Le Masurier to discuss the report. Read more on related topics: Source link

The United States unveiled sanctions Friday on two companies over their roles supporting Russian mercenaries the Wagner Group, noting that Moscow has tried to use affiliated businesses to secure revenues and further its interests in Africa. Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 22:48Modified: 08/03/2024 – 22:50 1 min “The United States remains focused on disrupting the networks that enable Russia’s illicit and destabilizing activities in Africa,” said US Treasury Under Secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson.In a statement, the Treasury said those targeted “sought monetary gain from illicit natural resource extraction.”They also allegedly supported the Wagner Group and others affiliated…