Author: France 24

Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, the reigning Olympic open water champion, has called on organisers of this year’s Paris Games to draw up a “plan B” in case events cannot be held in the Seine due to poor water quality. Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 13:37Modified: 10/03/2024 – 13:35 3 min Last August, the marathon swimming test events were cancelled because the water was too dirty, as were the swimming legs on two of the four days of triathlon and para-triathlon tests.Organisers have insisted “there is no plan B” but the Brazilian called for a rethink.”It’s a concern,” Cunha told AFP…

Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 14:43Modified: 10/03/2024 – 14:49 03:53 © FRANCE 24 Despite the recent media attention on the opening of a maritime corridor aimed at delivering aid to Gaza by sea, aid officials have pointed out that sea deliveries can’t make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. “The most efficient way to bring food in is by land, by trucks, and that’s not happening”, said Jason Straziuso, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.     Read more on related topics: Source link

French rescue workers were on Sunday searching for seven people, including two children, missing after violent storms swept the south of the country with most believed to have been swept away in cars on flooded bridges.  Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 14:22 1 min A family of four, including two children aged four and 13, was caught in the floods while trying late Saturday evening to drive across a bridge over the river Gardon in the village of Dions, north of the city of Nimes, the prefecture said.The father and the two children were still missing but the mother, 40, who…

Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 11:45Modified: 10/03/2024 – 12:27 01:22 As Muslims across the Arab world get ready to celebrate Ramadan, which follows a lunar calendar and could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon, Palestinians in Gaza are facing a difficult month ahead with no end in sight to the ongoing war. Read more on related topics: Source link

Residents of Haiti’s capital scrambled for safety on Saturday following the latest spasm of gang violence, with a UN group warning of a “city under siege” after armed attackers targeted the presidential palace and police headquarters.  Criminal groups, which already control much of Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have unleashed havoc in recent days as they try to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry as leader of the Western hemisphere’s poorest country.On Saturday, dozens of residents were seeking safety in public buildings, with some successfully breaking into one facility, according to an AFP correspondent.The…

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…

When Hollywood gathers for the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, the blockbuster biopic is widely expected to overpower all competition — including its release-date companion, “Barbie” — at an election-year Oscars that could turn into a coronation for Christopher Nolan.   Issued on: 10/03/2024 – 08:21 4 min The Oscars, kicking off on ABC at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday, are springing forward an hour earlier than usual due to daylight saving time. But aside from the time shift, this year’s show is going for many tried-and-true Academy Awards traditions. Jimmy Kimmel is back as host. Past winners are flocking back as…

Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 18:20 2 min Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden’s “instrument of accession” to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Department in Washington.“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It’s historic for the alliance. It’s history for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said. “Our NATO alliance is…

Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 10:56 It was one of Spain’s deadliest terrorist attacks in history. On the morning of March 11, 2004, ten bombs exploded almost simultaneously at the Atocha train station in the Spanish capital Madrid. Nearly 200 people were killed and more than 1,500 wounded. Twenty years later, survivors of the incident are still waiting to know the truth behind the bombings. On the morning of March 11, 2004, a series of ten coordinated explosions on four commuter trains bound for Madrid’s Atocha station during rush hour, killing 191 people.José Maria Aznar, then prime minister, and his Popular Party…

Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 12:53Modified: 08/03/2024 – 13:52 Just days after French President Emmanuel Macron provoked a backlash among allies by declaring he could not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, a senior minister has doubled down on the message, saying Europe must thwart Vladimir Putin before he presses his military drive further into Europe. “Vladimir Putin will not stop in Ukraine, so this is the reason why we need to make him fail,” Jean-Noël Barrot, the newly appointed French Minister Delegate for Europe told FRANCE 24.  Macron blindsided many allies late last month when, speaking after a Ukraine-focused…