Author: France 24

Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the lack of troops and ammunition and the depth of Russia’s field fortifications are forcing Kyiv to adopt a more defensive strategy. As it waits for more Western support, the Ukrainian army is holding out for better days. Is “defend now, attack better later” Ukraine’s best shot? Two years after Russian forces invaded its territory, Ukraine has officially adopted a new strategy focused on defence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that the situation on the front lines was “extremely difficult” in his daily address on February 19.Since the failure of Kyiv’s summer…

Back to homepage / Shows / The 51% Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 13:14 12:28 THE 51 PERCENT © FRANCE 24 A special report here in France on the con artists who prey on the women suffering from endometriosis; a painful disease that affects millions and can sometimes lead to fertility problems. Also the Spanish government seeks to increase the number of mixed gender prisons with the aim of helping prisoners to get used to being in a society where women and men co-exist. Plus the Italian blockbuster movie with a distinct feminist message. And no, it is not ‘Barbie’. ‘There’s…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed a plan for post-war Gaza that envisions local Palestinian officials without links to Hamas or its foreign backers governing the territory, Israeli media reported Friday. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 12:05 2 min The proposal, which Netanyahu submitted to his security cabinet late Thursday, would also see the Israeli army persisting in its war on Hamas until it achieves key goals.Those include dismantling Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and securing the release of all hostages still held captive in Gaza.After the war ends, Gaza’s civil affairs would be run by “local officials with administrative experience”…

Since news broke on February 16, 2024 that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died while incarcerated in the Russian Arctic, there has been a resurgence of doctored images and fake news aiming to discredit Navalny and his family. We took a look at three of the most widely spread fake news items about Navalny. None of them are true. If you only have a minute…  A photo claiming to show Alexei Navalny doing a Nazi salute has been widely circulated on social media in the days since his death. But this image has been photoshopped. Moreover, it’s been circulating…

The United States plans to impose sanctions on more than 500 targets involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine, as fighting continues to rage two years after Moscow’s invasion, the Treasury Department said Thursday. Nearly a week after Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison, President Joe Biden met privately with his widow and daughter in California. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 01:41Modified: 23/02/2024 – 01:39 3 min The action to be rolled out on Friday will hit “Russia, its enablers, and its war machine”, a Treasury spokesperson told AFP.The official added that these sanctions will be introduced from both the Treasury…

Back to homepage / Middle East Israel-Hamas war Israel launched deadly air strikes on Rafah on Thursday, after threatening to send troops in to hunt for Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Another 97 people were killed over the past 24 hours in Hamas-run Gaza, the health ministry said, as a US envoy was in Israel for fresh efforts to secure a truce. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 04:46Modified: 23/02/2024 – 05:06 2 min A Palestinian looks at the destruction after an Israeli strike on…

An FBI informant charged with lying about US President Joe Biden and his son has been arrested again, just days after being released on bail, his lawyers said in a court filing Thursday. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 05:02 2 min Alexander Smirnov, 43, a dual US and Israeli national, was arrested last week and indicted for fabricating claims that Hunter Biden demanded multi-million-dollar bribes from Ukrainian firm Burisma — on whose board he was serving at the time — to protect it from an investigation when his father was US vice president.Earlier this week Smirnov was released by a court in Nevada,…

A fire engulfed two residential buildings in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Thursday, killing four people and leaving 19 others missing hours after the blaze started, authorities said. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 03:16 1 min The fire sent fleeing residents onto balconies where some were rescued by firefighters, officials said.Firefighters rushed to the scene on the outskirts of the city centre as flames burst from windows of the 14-story residential building where the blaze apparently started. Residents could be seen waiting for rescue on balconies, and firefighters used a crane to lift two residents from one of the…

A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines LUNR.O landed near the south pole of the moon on Thursday, the first US touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved entirely by the private sector. Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 00:49Modified: 23/02/2024 – 01:05 3 min The six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, touched down at about 6:23 pm EST (2323 GMT), the company and NASA commentators said in a joint webcast of the landing from Intuitive Machines’ mission operations center in Houston.As planned, the spacecraft was believed to have come to rest at a crater named Malapert…

Senegal’s President Macky Sall said Thursday his mandate would end as planned on April 2, but left open the new date for a presidential election which he postponed earlier this month. Issued on: 22/02/2024 – 23:03 3 min Sall has faced a clamour to set a date for the vote after his abrupt delay to the February 25 election triggered weeks of crisis.Amid simmering social and political tensions, the president put off a decision on the date until after a political dialogue due to begin on Monday. In an apparent move to pacify public opinion, Sall also said he would consider…