Author: France 24

What do the absence of French observers at Azerbaijan’s February 7 presidential election, a group denouncing “French colonialism” and an online campaign targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics have in common? They are three facets of a new offensive strategy adopted by Azerbaijani diplomacy towards France. FRANCE 24 investigated this shift with the Forbidden Stories consortium and other media outlets as part of “The Baku Connection” project. Azerbaijan’s February 7 presidential election, which handed President Ilham Aliyev an unsurprising and unopposed victory with 92% of the vote and a fifth term in office, provided the backdrop for the latest illustration of…

Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 13:45Modified: 20/02/2024 – 20:26 01:23 Filming for the fourth season of the hit Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has gotten underway in the French capital. It’s a huge draw for tourists hoping to get a glimpse of the actors and perhaps more importantly, the show’s famously eccentric costumes. Read more on related topics: Source link

Chile will once again try to resolve the mystery of what really killed Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda, who many believe was poisoned by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, a court said Tuesday. Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 19:08 2 min An appeals court in Santiago ordered the reopening of the investigation into the death of Neruda, who was a prominent member of Chile’s Communist Party when military dictator Augusto Pinochet took power in 1973.In a statement, the court said that the “investigation has not been exhausted as there are precise procedures that can be carried out to clarify the facts.”Neruda…

Dozens of photos and videos that have been either “doctored” or taken out of context so as to negatively portray Rohingya refugees have been circulating on Indonesian social media. This wave of disinformation has become so intense that the United Nations is worried about the refugees’ safety – even in Aceh province, which has, historically, been considered very welcoming. Our Observer, an Indonesian journalist who specialises in fact-checking for a publication called Mafindo, has been looking at the rise in online hate speech and fake news targeting the Rohingya. Hundreds of protesters forced a group of Rohingya refugees to leave their…

Sweden said Tuesday it would give 7.1 billion kronor ($682 million) worth of military equipment to Ukraine, in a boost for the country as it struggles to fight off Russia’s invasion. Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 10:46Modified: 20/02/2024 – 10:47 1 min “The reason we are continuing to support Ukraine is a matter of humanity and decency. Russia started an illegal, unprovoked and indefensible war,” Defence Minister Pal Jonson told a news conference.The package will consist of artillery shells, air defence, boats and underwater weapons such as mines and torpedoes as well as training for Ukrainian soldiers.It marks Sweden’s 15th aid…

Back to homepage / Shows / Business Daily Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 11:45 03:57 BUSINESS DAILY © FRANCE 24 Israel’s GDP fell by 19.4 percent in the last quarter of 2023, according to preliminary figures published by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday. It’s the biggest contraction the economy has seen since the early days of the Covid pandemic, and can be attributed to the impact of the war on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks. In this edition of Business Daily, we take a look at what that conflict means for Israel’s workforce and construction sector, as…

Russia’s FSB security services said on Tuesday it had arrested a US-Russian woman suspected of treason for raising funds for the Ukrainian army. Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 09:34 1 min The FSB in the central Urals city of Yekaterinburg said it had “suppressed the illegal activities” of a 33-year-old woman, a resident of Los Angeles with dual citizenship, and taken her into custody.It said the unnamed woman had been “proactively collecting funds… which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces”.Russian state news agency RIA Novosti posted a video…

Taiwan on Tuesday protested China’s boarding of a tourist boat, as tensions rise around the Kinmen archipelago, which lies a short distance off China’s coast but is controlled by Taiwan. Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 07:16 2 min Taiwanese media reported the King Xia, carrying 11 crew and 23 passengers, was boarded by the Chinese coast guard for about 32 minutes on Monday. Taiwan’s coast guard escorted the boat back to Kinmen, and it then continued its sight-seeing voyage.Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling told journalists at the legislature on Tuesday that the incident “hurt the feelings of our people, created…

Spain’s opposition conservative party retained control of Galicia, its traditional stronghold, in a tight regional election on Sunday, a boost for its under-fire leader. Issued on: 19/02/2024 – 00:32 3 min The Popular Party (PP) won 47.5 percent of the vote, giving it an absolute majority of 40 seats in the 75-seat regional parliament, official results with 95.5 percent of the vote counted showed.The party has governed Galicia since 2009, winning majorities in each of the last four elections under Alberto Nunez Feijoo who in 2022 left the rural northwestern region of some 2.7 million residents to become national party…

The High Court in London Tuesday will begin hearing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s final UK appeal against extradition to the United States to face trial over publishing secret military and diplomatic files. Issued on: 20/02/2024 – 03:59 2 min Washington wants the 52-year-old Australian citizen extradited after he was charged there multiple times between 2018 and 2020 in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of files relating to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The long-running legal saga in Britain’s courts is now nearing a conclusion, after Assange lost successive rulings in recent years.If this week’s two-day bid to appeal –…