Author: France 24

Senegalese presidential candidates launched their shortened campaigns on Saturday, two days after a court confirmed the election would be held on March 24, ending weeks of uncertainty and kick-starting a competition that remains wide open. Issued on: 09/03/2024 – 11:40 2 min Tensions have gripped the country since early February, when a bid by President Macky Sall to postpone by 10 months a vote that had been due to take place on Feb. 25 provoked widespread protests and warnings by critics of democratic backsliding.Senegal, a country of 18 million, is normally one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.The worst of…

Issued on: 09/03/2024 – 10:30Modified: 09/03/2024 – 10:51 02:02 A ship bearing humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza, the European Commission president said Friday as international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Israel said Friday it welcomed the maritime corridor, but cautioned it would also need security checks. Aid deliveries by land remained the most effective way to meet the needs in Gaza according to aid officials. Read more on related topics: Source link

France inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution Friday, a powerful message of support for women’s rights on International Women’s Day. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti used a 19th-century printing press to seal the amendment in France’s constitution at a special public ceremony. Applause filled the cobblestoned Place Vendome as France became the first country to explicitly guarantee abortion rights in its national charter.The measure was overwhelmingly approved by French lawmakers earlier this week, and Friday’s ceremony means it can now enter into force.While abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the US, it’s legal in nearly all of…

China’s “Two Sessions” congress that began this week is the country’s most important political event of the year. To understand what’s at stake, it helps to have some fluency in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) parlance. Terms such as “new productive forces” and “new three” appear vague, but they speak volumes about the party’s agenda during the 10-day congress. China’s annual political extravaganza has attained cruising speed. The “Two Sessions” congress of two of the country’s most important political bodies has already touched on economic recovery, the modernisation of the army, foreign relations and the question of Taiwan.During the event, nearly 3,000…

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…

Sporadic gunfire rang out in Port-au-Prince Friday night, an AFP correspondent there heard, as residents desperately sought shelter amid the recent explosion of gang violence in the Haitian capital.   Issued on: 09/03/2024 – 08:20 3 min Humanitarian conditions continued to deteriorate, and aid groups and NGOs have warned of a shortage of medical resources and food supplies after armed groups unleashed widespread chaos on the long-troubled Caribbean nation last week.According to an AFP journalist on the scene, gunshots were heard throughout the capital late Friday, especially concentrated in the southwestern districts of Turgeau, Pacot, Lalue and Canape-Vert. Fearful residents scrambled to…

France is planning to have some of its arms manufacturers produce much-needed military equipment directly on Ukrainian soil to help the country in its war against Russia, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Friday.  Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 10:43 2 min “Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future,” he said.”The idea is to have the first production units running this summer,” Lecornu added.He hinted the companies involved would include tank maker KNDS, the holding…

Back to homepage / Shows / Reporters Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 11:49 43:51 Reporters © FRANCE 24 By: Constantin SIMON | Aruna POPURI Long dominated by the United States, the Asia-Pacific region is grappling with an increasingly assertive China. Tensions are mounting around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, both in the air and on the water, with numerous incidents of late involving Chinese fighter planes, collisions between ships and reefs being turned into military outposts. Filmed in Japan, China, Taiwan and the Philippines, our documentary explores a new “cold war” pitting President Xi Jinping’s authoritarian China against the…

A cascade of sexual violence allegations has rocked the French film industry in recent months, with actor Judith Godrèche leading the charge for a reckoning about gender-based abuse. Calls to safeguard actors on set are growing, as is the need for intimacy coordinators – a job that is yet to be officially recognised in France. For the first time in history, an actor spoke to MPs in the French upper house of parliament about sexual violence and gender-based abuse in the film industry last week.Addressing the Senate’s women’s rights committee, actor Judith Godrèche called for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into…

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…