Author: France 24

The EU is set to pass a trade deal with South American trade bloc Mercosur after Brussels unveiled new concessions this week. HSBC has agreed to pay nearly 268 million euros to the French treasury to settle up a case over fraud on dividend tax payments. And, protest from hundreds of UK pubs over higher business rates seems to have convinced lawmakers.

British-Hungarian author David Szalay joins Eve Jackson on arts24 to discuss his controversial Booker Prize-winning novel “Flesh”, which follows István – a silent, violent and unsettling protagonist – from a bleak Hungarian housing estate to London’s super-rich elite. Szalay reveals why he called his book “risky,” how he made readers care about someone who says “OK” 400 times and what happens when Stormzy and Dua Lipa champion your work.

Yemeni separatist leader Aidarous Al-Zubaidi has fled to the United Arab Emirates with Emirati help after a failed military advance that strained relations between the Gulf countries, the country’s Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday.  Al-Zubaidi was accused of high treason and removed from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council on Wednesday. 

Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning holders, face arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille this Thursday in Kuwait in the Trophée des champions. After a trophy-laden 2025, PSG are eager to kick off 2026 in the same dominant fashion. Marseille, for their part, are chasing their first piece of silverware since 2012.

French doctors are striking over the Social Security Financing Act for 2026. According to Dr. Anna Boctor, Paediatrician and President of Jeunes Médecins, this signals an “authoritarian drift” in healthcare governance in a country long admired for its universal health care. Conditioning reimbursements on who prescribes care rather than why it is prescribed raises fundamental questions about medical autonomy, public health strategy, and democratic accountability.

Warner Brothers Discovery has rejected the latest takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying it’s still inferior to a rival offer from Netflix. Despite a $40 billion guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison, WBD’s board says the plan is a risky leveraged buyout, financed by debt. But first, the United States says it’s “selectively” removing sanctions to bring Venezuelan oil back into international markets, starting with the sale of up to 50 million barrels to the US. 

We take a look at the French films kicking off 2026, as Manon Kerjean tells us about ‘Furcy’, the true story of a slave living on Reunion Island in the early 19th century who discovers that he was, in fact, born free. We also discuss the moving family drama “The Wonderers” and hear from début director Joséphine Japy about bringing her personal experience to the film.

The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces traded blame over who started the deadly clashes on January 6, in which at least nine people were killed. A curfew has been imposed, and schools, universities and government buildings remained closed. This comes after a rare meeting in Paris between Syrian and Israeli representatives, with both seeking military de-escalation. FRANCE 24’s Wassim Nasr breaks it down for us.

Algeria defeated DR Congo thanks to a superb goal by Adil Boulbina in the last minute of extra time.

A severe cold snap has gripped Europe, causing deadly accidents and travel chaos.  In the German capital Berlin, freezing temperatures have made the situation even worse for tens of thousands of households that have been affected by a widespread power outage since Saturday.  A suspected arson attack claimed by a left-wing group is thought to have knocked electricity offline, sparking questions over the vulnerability of Germany’s wider infrastructure.