Author: France 24

A huge blast rocked a military base in Iraq late on Friday, leaving a 5-metre-deep and 10-metre-wide crater in the ground, FRANCE 24 Regional Correspondent Lina Malers said. The explosion, which killed one person and injured eight others, hit the base at Calso, where former pro-Iranian paramilitary group Hashed al-Shaabi – now integrated into the regular army – is stationed. Source link

Issued on: 20/04/2024 – 10:53Modified: 20/04/2024 – 11:15 02:44 © FRANCE 24 Hamas political leader Imsail Haniyeh will meet Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday with Middle East tensions at a high after Israel’s reported attack on Iran and Gaza bracing for a new Israeli offensive. “Haniyeh sees Erdogan as a man with a voice in Washington and in Europe,” FRANCE 24’s Jasper Mortimer said, adding that Erdogan who “likened Israel to Nazi Germany” has, however, “no chance of mediating between Hamas and Israel”. Read more on related topics: Source link

Issued on: 20/04/2024 – 10:55Modified: 20/04/2024 – 11:18 01:36 The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — and a possible ban of TikTok. The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to get them passed. Read more on related topics: Source link

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West Africa where the country was home to a major drone base. Issued on: 20/04/2024 – 08:24Modified: 20/04/2024 – 08:25 3 min The long-expected move effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia, which has ramped up its focus on Africa and backed military regimes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell accepted the call to remove troops in a meeting in Washington with the prime minister of the junta, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, US officials…

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…

Unofficial sources in Israel say its forces carried out a surgical strike on a military target in Iran, reports FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler. Source link

An organisation of Olympic sports federations on Friday said the decision by World Athletics to award prize money to gold medallists in its events “undermines the values of Olympism”. Source link

After Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel on April 13, Jordan finds itself caught between the two enemies. Friday morning’s suspected Israeli strikes in central Iran have intensified fear that the country could be dragged into an escalation against its will. Having been historically neutral in the two countries’ decades-old struggle, the Hashemite kingdom is now seeing its delicate balancing act threatened. Source link

It’s the oldest, largest contemporary art show in the world: the Venice Biennale has kicked off its 60th edition under the heading “Foreigners Everywhere”. Arts editor Eve Jackson brings us the latest from the event, explaining why the artist and curator selected for the Israeli pavilion chose to keep it closed. The Biennale’s artistic director, Adriano Pedrosa, had called for a more inclusive selection of artists this year; we hear about the Ethiopian, British and Canadian pavilions who are changing the face of post-colonial art. Plus our reporters give us a glimpse of a floating museum, as the Art Explora…

With less than 100 days to go before Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics, which organisers plan to open with an elaborate waterborne ceremony on the Seine river, concerns are mounting about the efficiency of the anti-drone shield meant to protect the French capital from a potential terror attack. According to several security sources, recent tests have exposed some worrying flaws in the system. Source link