Author: France 24

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won a fifth term in power with her party taking three-quarters of seats in parliament, election officials said Monday after polls boycotted by the opposition as a “sham”. Issued on: 08/01/2024 – 09:30 2 min “The Awami League has won the election,” said Moniruzzaman Talukder, a joint secretary of the Election Commission a day after a vote boycotted by the opposition, with initial reports suggesting a meagre turnout of some 40 percent.Talukder said Hasina’s party had won 223 seats, but support of other lawmakers including from allied parties, means Hasina’s actual control over the…

East Jerusalem – Activists say a controversial deal to build a luxury hotel could destroy part of East Jerusalem’s historical Armenian quarter, accusing the company behind the plan of paying people to seize land by force. As Armenian Christians celebrate Christmas on Saturday, those who call Jerusalem’s Old City home say they are worried for their future. FRANCE 24’s Andrew Hilliar and Mélina Huet report.  Issued on: 06/01/2024 – 15:22 2 min In a corner of Jerusalem’s Old City near the Cathedral of Saint James, the fight for a plot of land has become tied to the future of the…

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa on Monday declared a country-wide state of emergency, including the prison system, after an “extremely dangerous” narco boss escaped from his maximum security cell and unrest erupted at several penitentiaries. Issued on: 09/01/2024 – 00:06 1 min “I have just signed a decree for a state of emergency so that the armed forces have all the political and legal support in their actions” against these “narcoterrorists,” Noboa said on his Instagram account.General Cesar Zapata, the national commander of police, told a press conference that the country’s armed forces had determined that one of the inmates in…

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…

The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights, a federal official said Sunday. Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared, said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.Homendy cautioned that the pressurization light might be unrelated to Friday’s incident in which a plug covering an unused exit door blew off the…

Six sailors set out on the 40,000km around-the-world Ultim Challenge from France on Sunday, hoping to complete one of the sport’s “biggest challenges” inside 50 days. Issued on: 07/01/2024 – 21:27 2 min Under bright winter sunshine in the Brittany port of Brest, the first such race on super-powerful but relatively fragile trimarans got underway.The Edmond de Rothschild, helmed by Charles Caudrelier, was the early evening leader with an advantage of a few nautical miles.Caudrelier, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue), Thomas Coville (Sodebo), Armel Le Cleac’h (Banque Populaire), Anthony Marchand (Actual) and Eric Peron (Adagio) were the six men to cross…

Back to homepage / Shows / The Debate Issued on: 08/01/2024 – 20:11 44:42 Draw down or second front? © France24 Second front or wind it down? The New Year begins with yet another trip by the U.S. Secretary of State to Israel. What message does Antony Blinken carry for Benjamin Netanyahu? As the war in Gaza enters its fourth month, we will ask about Washington’s calls for restraint and the potential for escalation with Lebanon, this in the wake of last week’s air strike that killed a senior Hamas official in a Hezbollah stronghold of Beirut. Blinken’s visit comes…

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has resigned, the French presidency said on Monday, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to give a new impetus to his second mandate ahead of European parliament elections and the Paris Olympics this summer.  Issued on: 08/01/2024 – 18:07 2 min Macron did not immediately name her successor.The French President and his government have struggled to deal with more turbulent lawmakers to pass laws since losing their absolute majority in parliament shortly after Macron was reelected for a second mandate in 2022.The change in prime minister comes after a year marred by political crises triggered by…

Back to homepage / Shows / The Interview Issued on: 08/01/2024 – 17:33 12:11 THE INTERVIEW © FRANCE 24 In exactly 200 days from now, the Olympic Games will be taking over Paris. There are promises of sporting glory, but security and logistical challenges are already raising a number of concerns, especially over the ambitious opening ceremony on the River Seine. FRANCE 24’s James Vasina spoke to Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games Executive Director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who sounded an optimistic note. “We feel extremely confident,” Dubi said in an interview from Lausanne, Switzerland. “These games are incredibly well-designed…

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…