Author: France 24

Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeed Iravani, has urged the UN secretary-general and the president of the Security Council to condemn what he calls “unlawful threats” from U.S. President Donald Trump, following his statement that the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go” if more protesters were killed amid ongoing demonstrations in Iran over the rising cost of living. Assistant Professor of Middle East Politics in Washington DC, Sina Azodi, explains further.

Manchester City were held to a goalless draw by Sunderland in the 19th round of the Premier League. The Sky Blues, on a run of six straight League wins, failed to make a breakthrough. City remain second, four points behind Arsenal.

As Bulgaria formally adopts the euro currency this January 1, residents in the capital Sofia queued up in front of ATMs just after midnight to withdraw the new banknotes. Also in this edition: the world’s 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their fortunes in 2025. Plus, on the occasion of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” finale, we see how the show became a cash machine for the streaming giant over the past decade.

Netflix has released the final episode of one of its biggest original hits, with the season five finale of Stranger Things going live on the platform at 1 a.m. GMT; the 1980s-set sci-fi adventure series has captured the cultural zeitgeist and become Netflix’s longest-running cash cow, as Carys Garland explores.

Current protests in Iran, now in their sixth day, have become the biggest since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. Although protests took root in economic issues, demonstrator chants against Iran’s theocracy have been heard. US President Donald Trump threatened the US could intervene were protestors killed, prompting government representatives to denounce a ‘red line’.

Ivory Coast delivered a thrilling spectacle on the final Group F day at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Trailing 2-0 after just 21 minutes against already-eliminated Gabon, the Elephants turned the game around in the second half. In the round of 16, Ivory Coast will face Burkina Faso on January 6 in Marrakech.

More than 20 million people in the United States will face sharply higher health insurance costs as of January 1 after enhanced tax credits that helped enrollees in the Affordable Care Act afford coverage expired overnight. The expiration of the subsidies will mostly affect families, small business owners and self-employed workers.     

The European Union’s controversial new rules on polluting industrial imports went into effect on January 1st, following a two-year transition period. Heavy goods such as steel, aluminium and cement are now subject to a new fee levied according to the amount of CO2 emitted during their production. China issued a statement slamming the measure as unfairly targeting Chinese goods.   

The coming year brings a host of new exhibitions to the French capital, including blockbuster shows from modern masters Matisse and Renoir, to photographer Martin Parr’s witty observations on environmental destruction, and an exploration of the history of video game music.

A member of Iran’s security forces was killed, marking the first reported death after several days of demonstrations over soaring inflation, in what has been the most significant unrest in the country since nationwide protests three years ago. Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Lund University, Rouzbeh Parsi, shares his insights.