Author: France 24

Mount Athos, in northern Greece, is the beating heart of the Orthodox Christian faith and home to 2,000 monks. But for the past year, it has also become a place of refuge and pilgrimage for Ukrainian soldiers. For these men, wounded at war and suffering from deep trauma, Mount Athos’s retreats offer them a respite from the front lines. The goal is to heal their trauma through faith and soothe their invisible wounds before returning to battle. Eric de Lavarène and Alexandros Kottis report.

Volatile weather affecting harvests, uncertainty in global trade and rising production costs could soon make everyday treats like coffee, tea and chocolate a luxury. But are the farmers growing them getting a fair share of the price surge? Yuka Royer discusses this and more with Jason Archie-Acheampong, sustainable sourcing lead for coffee and cocoa at the Fairtrade Foundation.  

Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum is on Saturday finally opening its doors, unveiling a vast collection of artefacts – some never before seen by the public – after more than two decades in the making and a series of protracted delays caused by political instability, the Covid-19 pandemic and regional conflicts.

Three weeks into the ceasefire, daily life in Gaza is slowly resuming. Some schools and universities have reopened, a small sign of recovery after years of conflict. For many, going back to lectures gives hope to resume a normal life. Camille Knight takes us to Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, where children and students are slowly returning to class.

Ligue 1 matchday 10 was full of surprises. With nine matches scheduled on Wednesday, the day promised to be intense. Heavily favoured against Lorient, PSG could only manage a 1-1 draw. The European champions still retained the top spot in the league, ahead of Monaco, who rose to second place after their spectacular 5-3 victory over Nantes.

Preliminary research published in Nature suggests that COVID-19 vaccines, particularly Pfizer and Moderna, may offer unexpected benefits for cancer patients. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who received the vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived significantly longer. Researchers found that the mRNA in the vaccines might enhance the immune system’s response to cancer treatments, independent of any virus-related effects.

A rare meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea has brought a 10 percent reduction in US tariffs and a one-year postponement of China’s rare-earth export controls, a limited de-escalation of the two countries’ trade war. Also in this edition: America’s central bank cuts interest rates for the second time this year, amid a lack of economic data due to the ongoing US government shutdown.

In this episode of arts24, we’re at Paris Games Week, where the hit French video game “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” has gone from digital epic to musical phenomenon. Composer Lorien Testard’s symphonic tour “A Painted Symphony” is taking sold-out audiences by storm across France. Next, we head to Paris’s newest cultural landmark as the Fondation Cartier unveils its spectacular new home opposite the Louvre – a Jean Nouvel-designed masterpiece blending Haussmannian charm with modernist flair. Finally, Hollywood’s love affair with the musical biopic continues. From Elvis to Bob Marley, we explore why rock legends’ real-life stories keep striking box office gold…

The Israeli army on Thursday said the remains of two hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza hours after Hamas’s armed wing said it would transfer their remains as demanded under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

France drew (2-2) against Germany in the semi-final return leg and are out of the Women’s Nations League. Germany will face Spain in the final.