Author: France 24

Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 14:44 In the run-up to February 7 presidential elections, repression has increased in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus that borders Iran and Armenia. Any opposition to President Ilham Aliyev is silenced. Human rights activists, journalists and political opponents are on the receiving end of the regime’s wrath on a daily basis. Our reporters Karina Chabour and Roméo Langlois met victims of torture who are denouncing a violent system of repression. They also looked into the Council of Europe’s ambiguous links to the regime in Baku. In November 2023, several journalists and a member…

Chilean firefighters were battling rapidly expanding wildfires Saturday that officials fear have claimed around 10 lives and are threatening hundreds of homes, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency. Issued on: 03/02/2024 – 06:47Modified: 03/02/2024 – 06:45 2 min About a dozen fires have been raging since Friday.The blazes are concentrated in the Vina del Mar and Valparaiso tourist regions, where they have ravaged thousands of hectares of forest, cloaked coastal cities in a dense fog of gray smoke and forced people to flee their homes.”We have preliminary information that several people have died, around 10,” said Sofia…

The United States on Friday carried out strikes against Iranian forces in Iraq and Syria in retaliation over a drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan. Issued on: 03/02/2024 – 09:40Modified: 03/02/2024 – 09:59 3 min Here is what we know so far:Hitting Iran unit, but not Iran The US military said the air strikes hit more than 85 targets inside Iraq and Syria targeting both the elite Quds force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and affiliated militia groups.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least 18 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the strikes in eastern Syria.The…

Michelle O’Neill on Saturday becomes the first nationalist leader of Northern Ireland’s government, when the assembly returns after the end of a two-year boycott by the biggest pro-UK party. Issued on: 03/02/2024 – 07:43 3 min The Sinn Fein politician’s nomination will be confirmed at a special sitting of the devolved legislature, which will also see the appointment of a deputy first minister and ministers.Under the 1998 Good Friday or Belfast Agreement that ended three decades of sectarian violence over British rule in Northern Ireland, the first minister and deputy first minister posts are equal.But the appointment of a Roman…

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…

France’s agriculture minister said Friday that the worst of a crisis that saw farmers block roads nationwide for days was over, as protesters began lifting roadblocks following government promises of cash and eased regulation. Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 15:50 3 min In some of the angriest protests that have spread across Europe, French farmers have been out in force for more than a week, using tractors to block key roads into Paris and other major highways nationwide.The litany of farmers’ complaints is long, ranging from burdensome environmental rules to cheap imports of produce from outside the EU such as Ukraine,…

A number of photos and videos that circulated on social media and were picked up by pro-democracy media outlets show the aftermath of an air strike on the village of Ka Nan, in the west of Myanmar on January 7, 2024. While the state television outlet claimed that reports of the air strike were “fake news”, a visual investigation published by “Myanmar Witness” documented the attack and proved the Myanmar Air Force’s involvement. Seventeen civilians are believed to have been killed. Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 14:48 6 min A civil war between the ruling junta and armed ethnic groups has…

The announcement that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “without delay” has put an abrupt end to fractious talks on organising elections and reinstating civilian rule. With their emphasis on restoring “national sovereignty” and driving out terrorist groups, the three West African countries’ military governments have made it clear that organising elections is not their primary concern.    Since successive coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been trying to get the countries’ military leaders to commit to holding elections to reinstate civilian governments.…

Carl Weathers, the US actor who played boxer Apollo Creed in the first four “Rocky” films alongside Sylvester Stallone, has died at the age of 76, US media reported Friday, citing a family statement. Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 21:35 1 min Weathers, who also starred in the 1987 film “Predator,” opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, was recently seen on the small screen in “Star Wars” spin-off series “The Mandalorian,” a role for which he won an Emmy. We lost an icon. Carl Weathers was a phenomenal talent, a true professional, and a dear friend. All my sympathies and love to his family.…

Issued on: 02/02/2024 – 23:45 DR Congo too good for Guinea to book their place in the final four. Ademola Lookman scores again as Nigeria reach a record fifteenth AFCON semi-final. To discuss all the football action, Leo McGuinn is joined by sports journalist Thando Sibiya and France 24’s James Vasina live from Ivory Coast. Source link