Author: France 24

Achraf Hakimi on Wednesday became the first defender in over half a century to win African Footballer of the Year at the 2025 CAF Awards in Rabat, topping Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen after a trophy-filled season with PSG.

Today marks World Toilet Day, a day that seeks to inspire actions to tackle what the UN refers to as a global sanitation crisis, with some 3.4 billion people living without safe sanitation. In China this year also marks 10 years since Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “Chinese Toilet Revolution”, aimed at upgrading the country’s bathrooms and hygiene standards. Despite large improvements, work remains to be done. Report by FRANCE 24 correspondents in China, Jan Camenzind Broomby and Eudeline Boishult.

The European Union has proposed plans to ease the bloc’s strict data protection rules and delay central parts of its AI law.  Brussels says the aim is to boost innovation and competitiveness of European firms by cutting red tape, but digital rights groups see the move as capitulating to pressure from Big Tech and US President Donald Trump. Also in the segment, a Belgian farmer has taken TotalEnergies to court over climate change, hoping it would force the oil giant to change its practices. 

Film critic Emma Jones joins Eve Jackson to unpack Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s show-stopping return to Oz in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked: For Good”, the blockbuster sequel landing with sky-high expectations, brand-new music and even a headline-grabbing incident at its Asian premiere. But this week’s arts24 film show has far more than pink bubbles and green glamour.

Ten months after Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation in the occupied West Bank, more than 30,000 people remain displaced from three refugee camps. In recent weeks, some of those displaced have been staging protests, demanding the right to return to their homes. The prolonged displacement has spiralled into a dire “health crisis”, a coordinator with the NGO Doctors Without Borders told the Observers team.

Belgium and Spain have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The 16 European nations that will compete in the playoffs have been decided.

“Europe does not want to be the client” of the US or China in the field of technology, French President Emmanuel Macron told tech and political leaders gathered for a “digital sovereignty summit” in Berlin. At the event, biotech company Owkin unveiled a new pan-European platform to make biological data “AI-ready”. CEO Thomas Clozel speaks to France 24 about how new agntic and reasoning models can help bring medical research to the next level. 

A French court has rejected a demand by a consumer protection group to remove Perrier water bottles from markets over its “natural mineral water” labelling. It’s the latest in a longrunning scandal stemming from the revelation that Neslé and other manufacturers had treated water illegally to remove contaminants while labelling their products as natural mineral water. But first, Airbus booked a huge order of 150 A321Neo jets from FlyDubai, in a deal worth €24 billion. 

An Irish photographer has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his new exhibition here in Paris that raises questions about gender roles, identity and the relationships between those in the photographs and the photographer himself. Daragh Soden delves into the world of drag queens in photographs in which he often appears himself either as an admirer, a collaborator, a narcissist or a voyeur. He told us he was drawn to the world of drag queens both aesthetically and also conceptually. His exhibition is on display at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris until Christmas. He spoke to us in Perspective.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will receive a lavish welcome from US President Donald Trump on Tuesday as the two leaders sign defence and nuclear agreements during the prince’s first visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Despite not being the kingdom’s head of state, MBS is expected to be honoured with state-level pageantry, including a fly-by, cannon salute and a formal gala dinner, underscoring the unusually grand reception planned by the White House. Professor at Institute of Politics and Middle East Studies at Lancaster University, Simon Mabon, joins us to deepen the…