Author: France 24

Critics are deriding as a step backward a new French energy bill that favours the further development of nuclear power and avoids setting targets for solar and wind power and other renewables. Issued on: 09/01/2024 – 08:26 2 min France, like other EU countries, aims to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.The proposed text, which is slated to go before the cabinet early next month and then be submitted to lawmakers, reaffirms France’s commitment to nuclear power to ensure “energy sovereignty”.The country became a leader in nuclear power generation after the 1973 oil crisis, building over 50 such power plants that…

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that left at least 84 dead at a commemoration for slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Wednesday. FRANCE 24’s Wassim Nasr explains the roots of the deep animosity between the Sunni Islamic State group and the late leader of the Shiite state’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.  Issued on: 05/01/2024 – 17:52 Click on the player above to watch the video report. Source link

A historic private mission to land on the Moon faced near-certain failure Monday after the spacecraft suffered a “critical loss” of fuel, dealing a major blow to America’s hopes of placing its first robot on the lunar surface in five decades. Issued on: 08/01/2024 – 16:51Modified: 09/01/2024 – 05:03 4 min Fixed to the top of United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which was making its first flight, Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander blasted off overnight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, then successfully separated from its launch vehicle.A few hours later, Astrobotic began reporting technical troubles, starting with an…

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…

United and Alaska Airlines both reported on Monday that loose hardware had been discovered on some of their Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes during preliminary inspections after a dramatic mid-flight incident last week. Issued on: 09/01/2024 – 05:22 3 min The disclosures come as US federal transportation inspectors continued to probe what caused a so-called door plug component to blow out last Friday on an Alaska Airlines passenger plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing.United said Monday it had “found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening.”Hours…

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Friday that the group will “inevitably” respond to the assassination of Hamas’s deputy political leader in Beirut this week, saying it “cannot remain silent” to such an incursion on Lebanese territory.   Issued on: 05/01/2024 – 21:29 3 min “The response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech. Nasrallah appeared to be making the case for a response to the Lebanese public at the risk of escalating the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.…

When some French schools reopen in September this year, they will pilot a mandatory school uniform under a two-year trial period initiated by Education Minister Gabriel Attal. The initiative aims to tackle inequality among French students and reduce bullying and peer pressure. But some public school teachers, psychologists and experts remain sceptical, saying the uniforms are just putting a “plaster” on such issues.  Two navy blue polo shirts – one short-sleeved, another covered in a jumper – are draped over mannequins on a stage. Embroidered across the chest is a tiny, rectangular French flag on the right and the words “La…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks in Istanbul on Saturday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on how to de-escalate regional tensions, saying later that Turkey was committed to playing a “productive” role in postwar Gaza. Blinken said a “big part” of his whirlwind, eight-day trip will be looking at how the international community can “make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread”. Read our liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.  Source link

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…