Author: France 24

French lawmakers are expected Monday to anchor the right to abortion in the country’s constitution, in a global first that has garnered overwhelming public support. Issued on: 04/03/2024 – 04:02 3 min A congress of both houses of parliament in Versailles starting at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT) should find the three-fifths majority needed for the change after it overcame initial resistance in the right-leaning Senate.If congress approves the move, France will become the only country in the world to clearly protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its basic law.President Emmanuel Macron pledged last year to include enshrine abortion…

Moscow, Riyadh and several other OPEC+ members on Sunday announced extensions to oil production cuts first announced in 2023 as part of an agreement among oil producers to boost prices following economic uncertainty. Issued on: 04/03/2024 – 02:27 2 min The plan to extend cuts to mid-2024 comes on top of previous cuts to both oil output and exports as some of the world’s largest energy producers drive to push up market rates.Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said it would cut its production by one million barrels per day (bpd) from April to June (Q2), while Russia announced 471,000 bpd of…

At least a dozen people died as gang members attacked the main prison in Haiti’s capital, triggering a breakout by several thousand inmates, an AFP reporter and an NGO said Sunday. Issued on: 04/03/2024 – 00:37Modified: 04/03/2024 – 00:39 1 min “We counted many prisoners’ bodies,” said Pierre Esperance of the National Network for Defense of Human Rights, adding that only around 100 of the National Penitentiary’s estimated 3,800 inmates were still inside the facility after the gang assault overnight Saturday.Haiti has been wracked for decades by grinding poverty, violence, political instability and recurring natural disasters but the country plunged…

Swiss voters on Sunday overwhelmingly backed a proposal to increase pension payments, a move hailed as “historic” by backers at a time when the country’s ageing population faces surging living expenses. Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 23:31 3 min A call by trade unions to add a 13th monthly pension payment each year secured nearly 60 percent backing, final results showed.But a separate vote to raise Switzerland’s retirement age to 66 from 65 was soundly rejected by three-quarters of voters.”This is historic,” Pierre-Yves Maillard, head of the Swiss Trade Union Federation (SGB), told AFP.Switzerland’s Greens Party celebrated a “significant victory… for…

The price of petrol in Cuba has risen by 500% since Friday. The ruling Communist Party says it has introduced this measure as part of a major stabilisation plan to get the Cuban economy back on its feet. But after years of facing a deepening economic crisis, Cubans fear that that they will not be able to withstand this latest blow. FRANCE 24’s Ed Augustin reports from Havana, Cuba.  Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 21:44 1 min Long queues of cars have been part of the scenery in Cuba for several years. Motorists literally spend whole days waiting to fill up…

A fertilizer-laden cargo ship, which sank in the Gulf of Aden after it was damaged by missiles from Yemen’s Huthi rebels, poses an environmental risk, the US military warned Saturday. Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 20:45 2 min The Huthis claimed the February 18 attack against the Rubymar, a cargo ship flying a Belizean flag and operated by a Lebanese firm, which transported combustible fertilizers.The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank in the Red Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile last month.”The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the…

Hundreds of Alexei Navalny supporters queued to lay flowers and pay tribute to the deceased opposition leader on Sunday, in a significant show of support for the anti-corruption campaigner, who died last month in an Arctic prison colony. Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 17:53 3 min The outpouring of affection for President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest opponent comes just two weeks before the Kremlin leader is set to secure another six-year term in an election where he will face no real competition.Read more‘Kremlin Leaks’: Files detail Putin’s €1 billion propaganda effort ahead of presidential voteLong queues formed Sunday outside the Borisovo cemetery…

Germany on Sunday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to sow disunity with the wiretap leak of a confidential German army discussion on the Ukraine war, at a time when Berlin is under pressure to supply the Taurus missile to Kyiv. Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 17:10Modified: 03/03/2024 – 17:23 1 min A 38-minute recording of the talks was posted online late Friday on Russian social media, with the participants discussing the possible use of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact.The discussions also covered the use of long-range missiles provided to Kyiv by France and Britain.”It is about using…

French farmers could stage more protests and blockades in the coming weeks to push the government to deliver on its promises to help the sector, the head of France’s largest farming union FNSEA said on Sunday.  Issued on: 03/03/2024 – 15:35Modified: 03/03/2024 – 15:43 1 min Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks over what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union, plus rising costs and low incomes.Read moreWhy French farmers are up in arms: fuel hikes, green regulation, EU directivesUnion boss Arnaud Rousseau was speaking to BFM TV on…

Léon Gautier was famous in France as the last representative of the “Kieffer Commando”, the only French unit to take part in the Allied D-Day landings on Normandy beaches in June 1944. As the 80th anniversary of D-Day approaches, some are seeing opportunities for financial gain. His descendants have decided to seek legal assistance to prevent any abusive or commercial use of his image. Gautier, who died on July 3, 2023 at the age of 100, was a nationally celebrated figure and a near-constant presence at World War II commemorations who used his stature to make sure the lessons of the war were not…