Author: France 24

A group of charities claimed Wednesday that French police were cracking down on Paris sex workers ahead of the Olympics. Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 09:26Modified: 07/03/2024 – 09:27 1 min A report issued by 17 non-government organisations who work with prostitutes said that they “shared the same conclusion” as to the increased repression and sometimes changes in police practices.”The approach that we characterise as ‘repression first’ has obvious consequences on the security and health of sex workers,” it added.Charities working in two hotspots — the Boulogne and Vincennes woods to the west and east of Paris — had noted “increased police patrols…

The army chiefs of military-ruled Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced the creation of a joint force to battle long-running jihadist rebellions raging in their countries. Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 05:09 1 min The new force “will be operational as soon as possible to take into account the security challenges in our space”, Niger’s army chief Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement following talks in Niamey.”We are convinced that, with the combined efforts of our three countries, we will manage to create the conditions for a shared security,” he added.The size of the joint force was unspecified…

The UN Security Council expressed its concern over the deteriorating situation in violence-gripped Haiti on Wednesday, as Washington ramped up pressure on absent Prime Minister Ariel Henry to secure a political settlement. Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 02:47 3 min Armed gangs who control swaths of the country launched a coordinated effort to oust Henry last week, attacking the airport, prisons and police stations and threatening a full-scale civil war.”The situation is critical,” said Security Council member Ecuador, whose ambassador to the UN José Javier De La Gasca Lopez-Domínguez called for Wednesday’s meeting.The United States called for the prime minister to…

Back to homepage / Americas infographic US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump swept to victory in statewide nominating contests across the country on Tuesday, setting up a historic rematch in November’s presidential election, though Nikki Haley’s surprise victory in Vermont denied Trump a clean sweep of states in the race for the Republican nomination.  Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 08:57 1 min US President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, each picked up more than a dozen states on Super Tuesday. © AP The Super Tuesday primaries are the largest voting day of the year outside of the November general election.…

Senegalese President Macky Sall has scheduled a delayed presidential election for March 24, the government said on Wednesday, after a top court ruled that a proposal to hold the vote after his mandate expires on April 2 was unconstitutional. Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 22:10 1 min The announcement caps a dramatic evening that saw Sall dissolve the government and replace Prime Minister Amadou Ba with Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba so that Ba, the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate, can focus on his electoral campaign, the presidency said.Earlier the Constitutional Council ruled that a proposal from a national dialogue commission for the…

Back to homepage / Shows / Focus Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 11:39 07:38 FOCUS © FRANCE 24 Sunday’s major prison break in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, in which gangs allowed thousands of inmates to escape, has plunged the country even deeper into chaos. Authorities declared a state of emergency and curfew in the capital, 80 percent of which is controlled by criminal gangs. Since the shock assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, the country has been mired in a political crisis, which has in turn led to a security and humanitarian disaster. Amid a brutal turf war between gangs, more than…

The sound of a large explosion reverberated around the Ukrainian port of Odesa as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greece’s prime minister ended a tour of the war-ravaged southern city Wednesday. Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 19:30 1 min Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the delegations were getting into their vehicles when they heard the blast, which he called a “vivid reminder” that Odesa is gripped by the war with Russia with Russia. It is one thing to hear about the war and “quite another to experience war firsthand,” Mitsotakis said.Zelenskyy said the explosion caused an unknown number of dead and…

Authorities in Iran are cracking down on small businesses that sell “un-Islamic” clothing and other products on social media, notably Instagram. Owners of Instagram businesses say they have been contacted by the Islamic Republic’s cyber police, who take control of their pages, replacing images of their products with messages saying the pages have been closed for reasons of “#IslamicHijab” or that, “According to a court order, this page has been shut down”. Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 17:40Modified: 06/03/2024 – 17:42 5 min While Iran’s notorious “morality police” have kept a low profile since the eruption of the “Woman Life, Freedom”…

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday the scale of public support for him since his death was proof that his cause lived on, and called for a massive election day protest against President Vladimir Putin. Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 11:52 2 min In a YouTube video; Yulia Navalnaya said she had drawn hope from the huge crowds that turned out last week for the funeral of her husband, who died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16.  Since his burial, supporters have submerged his grave in a sea of flowers.“Looking at you, I am…

Back to homepage / Shows / arts24 Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 14:47 12:45 arts24 © FRANCE 24 Amjad Al Rasheed’s directorial debut was also the first Jordanian film to be screened at the Cannes film festival last year. “Inshallah a Boy” focuses on a courageous mother and widow who’s constrained by the patriarchal society she lives in. Amjad joins us in the studio to talk about making a film that addresses sensitive topics like inheritance and abortion, and how securing regional funding for his feature was a win for the nascent Jordanian film industry. We also check out Terence Davies’…