Author: France 24

Ukraine on Saturday vowed to triumph over Russian “darkness” as it entered a new year of war weakened by a lack of Western aid and with Moscow emboldened by fresh gains. To mark the second anniversary, a virtual summit of G7 leaders was set to take place at Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attending. Read FRANCE 24’s coverage of the day’s events. When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, many expected victory within days, but Ukraine fought back, forcing Russian troops into humiliating retreats.Since then, however,…

France’s Eiffel Tower that had been closed for five days by a strike will reopen Sunday after the monument’s management announced a deal had been struck with unions. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 14:51 1 min The stoppage since Monday at one of the world’s best-known tourist sites was the second within two months in protest at what unions say was insufficient investment.The tower’s operator SETE said it had reached agreement with the unions on Saturday “under which the parties will regularly monitor the company’s business model, investment in works and revenue through a body that will meet every six months”.With…

Two years after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the end of the war is nowhere in sight. Ukrainian refugees in France are each adapting in their own way, with many preparing to stay for the long term. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 14:52 4 min Two years of Russia’s war in Ukraine have forced over 14 million people – nearly one third of Ukraine’s population – to flee their homes, according to the UN. Around 69,000 of those people have found refuge in France as of January 2024.The figure is modest compared to European countries like Poland and Germany, which have welcomed…

Britain’s Conservative Party suspended one of its lawmakers, Lee Anderson, on Saturday after he said the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was under the control of Islamists. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 20:19Modified: 24/02/2024 – 20:21 1 min Khan, the first Muslim to be mayor of London and a member of the opposition Labour Party, is a frequent target of Conservative criticism for his handling of policing in Britain’s capital, including regular pro-Palestinian marches.On Wednesday hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside parliament, during a chaotic vote over whether to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exact language to use.The…

West Africa’s regional bloc known as ECOWAS has lifted travel, commercial and economic sanctions imposed on Niger that were aimed at reversing the coup staged in the country last year, a senior official announced Saturday. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 16:39 2 min The sanctions will be lifted with immediate effect, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray said after the bloc’s meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, that aimed to address existential threats facing the region as well as implore three junta-led nations that have quit the bloc to rescind their decision.The lifting of the sanctions on Niger is…

The body of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed to his mother, more than a week after he died in an Arctic penal colony, his spokesperson said on Saturday. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 17:36 1 min Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, died on February 16 in one of Russia’s toughest prisons in northern Siberia, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely seen as political retribution for his opposition.“Alexei’s body was handed over to his mother. Many thanks to all those who demanded this with us,” Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on X,…

Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 15:31 Palestinian Bedouin communities in the West Bank are used to aggression from Israeli settlers. Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, they have seen an increase in efforts by extremist settlers to take their land – and their sheep.  Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has multiplied, particularly against Palestinian Bedouin communities, who make their living by herding and farming. The Observers editorial team was able to contact a herder in the Jericho region who denounces a campaign of harassment aimed at forcing…

Back to homepage / Middle East LIVE More than 100 people were reported killed early Saturday in overnight strikes across Gaza, as Israel’s spy chief was in Paris for talks seeking to “unblock” progress towards a truce and the return of hostages held by Palestinian militants.Read our liveblog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.  Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 08:04Modified: 24/02/2024 – 08:49 2 min A man walks amid the debris of destroyed houses in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian…

Angry French farmers stormed into a major Paris farm fair on Saturday ahead of a planned visit by President Emmanuel Macron amid growing rage over costs, red tape and green regulations. Issued on: 24/02/2024 – 09:05Modified: 24/02/2024 – 09:11 1 min Facing dozens of policemen inside the trade fair, the farmers were shouting and booing, calling for the resignation of Macron and using expletives aimed at the French leader.Macron, who is having breakfast with French farmers’ union leaders, was scheduled to walk within the alleys of the trade fair afterwards.In another sign of how tense relations between farmers and the…

 A Tunisian imam expelled from France for alleged hate speech said on Friday he would take legal action in a bid to overturn the decision.  Issued on: 23/02/2024 – 17:13 2 min Mahjoub Mahjoubi, from the town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze in the south of France, denounced his removal as “arbitrary”.The cleric’s decision came a day he was expelled from France for “radicalism” and “unacceptable remarks”, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in a statement posted on X on Thursday.”The radical Imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi has just been expelled from the national territory, less than 12 hours after his arrest. We will not…