Pro-Israel lobby group UN Watch alleged that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, "out of control", saying he'd previously called her a "horrible woman." But Guterres named no one in his remarks. He said “many” independent rapporteurs were “totally out of control,” without singling out any individual. The UN has since said linking the comment specifically to Albanese is a “misreading” of his remarks. Vedika Bahl fact-checks.
Read briefing Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are deliberating for a sixth day in Plymouth, Massachusetts after twice saying they can’t agree whether the former labor and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for killing her three young children. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis explains.
Read briefing A Nepalese worker recounts his harrowing escape from a hydropower project tunnel after last week's devastating flood. Around 900 workers remain trapped in tunnels at six hydroelectric plants in Nepal as the number of missing in the Himalayan disaster rose to 5,624 on Thursday, according to Nepalese and Chinese authorities.
Read briefing US oil giant Chevron, Italy's ENI and GE Vernova signed deals worth "tens of billions of dollars" with Venezuela, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday during a trip to Caracas where he and Interim President Delcy Rodriguez finalised the agreements.
Read briefing In tonight's edition, rights groups in Kenya call for an investigation after a top journalist is abducted overnight by heavily armed men. Also, trials for three potential vaccines against the Bunjeebuyyoo strain of Ebola are due to start over the next couple of months. And Senegalese consumers who are frustrated by the rising cost of living have launched a new campaign.
Read briefing U.S.' Chevron, Italy's Eni and other foreign energy producers committed on Wednesday to major project expansions to boost oil output in Venezuela, in a signing ceremony in Caracas overseen by interim President Delcy Rodriguez and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. FRANCE 24's Maya Yataghene reports.
Read briefing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Tuesday that his country's drones would make Russia's airspace "completely unsafe" for the duration of the war, drawing accusations of "state terrorism" from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Former British Military Intelligence Officer Philip Ingram explains that Zelensky's warning is addressed to "those international airlines from the Middle East, from South East Asia, China included that are still operating into Moscow" adding that "it's all part of the information war and bringing the overall conflict to the Russian people".
Read briefing Moroccan security forces displayed "total permissiveness" during last month's massive wave of migrants who crossed into the Spanish North African territory of Ceuta, according to a Spanish police report seen by a French news agency on Wednesday.Moroccan security forces displayed "total permissiveness" during the unprecedented migrant rush into Spain's north African territory of Ceuta in July, according to a Spanish police report seen by AFP on Wednesday.The report said the police deployment around the border "was clearly smaller than usual" and cited migrants who spoke of the "passive attitude" of Moroccan officers as tens of thousands of people crossed into Ceuta.On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and blaming Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for his government's handling of it.Waving Spanish flags, they shouted “A united Ceuta will never be defeated," and “Invaders – go home!” referring to the thousands of migrants still in the city.Last month, about 72,000 people poured into the small Spanish territory neighboring Morocco, with at least 90 dying in the effort to reach Europe.Read more‘We won’t go back’: Young Moroccan migrants in Ceuta refuse to abandon their European dreamMost of the migrants quickly returned or were ushered back over the border, but around 5,000, including 1,200 minors, remain in Ceuta weeks later, according to the national government. Difficult questions likewise linger over what caused the mass crossing that the government says was fueled by an online campaign on social media.The sudden influx of tens of thousands of migrants into Ceuta, which has a population of about 84,000, put a huge strain on resources and angered many residents. Local authorities said that Spain's central government ignored warning signs before the border was breached.“What happened to us was not a migratory crisis,” Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, said during an institutional act on Wednesday to mark the holiday. “What happened was the violation of Spain's territorial integrity.”Vivas is a member of Spain's leading conservative Popular Party which, with Spain's far-right Vox party, has latched onto the Ceuta crisis and made it the focus of a political fight to oust the left-wing government in Madrid.The organiser of Wednesday's protests in Madrid and more than 200 other towns is the officially nonpartisan Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. But the protests are being promoted by PP and Vox, which is strongly against irregular migration.
Read briefing Prime Minister Andy Burnham faced lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday for the first time since becoming U.K. leader six weeks ago, with wars in Europe and the Middle East weighing on his promise to kick-start the economy, ease the cost of living and oversee a radical redistribution of power from London to Britain's regions. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Dr Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in British Contemporary History at Newcastle University.
Read briefing In tonight's edition, Africa Disaster Relief is looking for 6 South Africans who went missing in the deadly floods on the border between Nepal and China. Also, South African illegal miners are undermining their own communities. And rising fuel prices are pushing Kenyans' shifts to electric vehicles.
Read briefing Lake Ontario is now appearing as “Lake America” on Google Maps for US users, following Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the lake. Canadians still see “Lake Ontario”, while users elsewhere see both names. But the change is far from universal: Apple Maps and MapQuest continue to use Lake Ontario. MapQuest has remained defiant against the move and since surged to the top of the US App Store download charts.
Read briefing The boom of data centers to power artificial intelligence was a topic of discussion at the G20 summit on Tuesday in North Carolina. Elon Musk told member countries that US companies need to find new energy sources outside of China to power these massive data centers. That same issue is also creating a backlash in the United States ahead of the midterm elections in November. Donald Trump is doubling down, calling those who are against the data centers, “backwards and poor.” FRANCE 24's Monte Francis explains.
Read briefing The White House on Monday said it’s partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners as part of President Donald Trump’s push to tap into Venezuela’s oil industry, setting up a deal that will give the Pentagon a stake over roughly a fifth of the country’s vast oil reserves. Venezuela's ruling party-dominated National Assembly backed the country's oil deal with the Trump administration in a vote on Tuesday. FRANCE 24's Carys Garland reports.
Read briefing President Donald Trump said Monday that the US would hit back against Iranian attacks on US targets in the Middle East, according to a Fox News reporter. The Iranian attacks were themselves a response to US strikes on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, the first flare-up in a month.
Read briefing In tonight's edition, a workers' strike at Kenya's main airport leaves travelers grounded. Also, Ghanaian cocoa farmers are ramping up their pushback against a new law preventing them from using their land for anything else without permission. And in Tunisia, Sidi Bou Said's been recognized by UNESCO as being important to global heritage.
Read briefing The National Rally plans to "penalize the wearing of the Islamic veil" with "a fine" if it comes to power, MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy, Marine Le Pen's lieutenant in the presidential election, stated on Sunday. "We will obviously fight Islamist ideology and we will penalize the wearing of the veil, also in solidarity with all the women around the world who are forced to wear it and who die for this freedom," the MP said. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis reports.
Read briefing As deadly floods hit the Nepal-China border, social media is being flooded with fake and misleading footage. In Truth or Fake, Vedika Bahl goes through viral videos falsely linked to the disaster, including AI-generated content and old recycled footage from India, Chile and Alaska. Some posts have racked up millions of views online, exploiting the tragedy to drive engagement for easy clicks or further perpetuate conspiracy theories.
Read briefing President Emmanuel Macron on Monday oversaw the signing of a 4.3-billion-euro ($4.9 billon) deal for Sweden to buy four French frigates as France and Sweden seek to tighten cooperation against a backdrop of growing Russian threats. Sweden is racing to boost its defences after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with the Nordic country becoming a NATO member two years later. FRANCE 24's James Vasina reports.
Read briefing US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in the first military action in a month, a US official said Sunday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the US attack on Larak island killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians, and vowed to punish those responsible.
Read briefing President Donald Trump on Sunday said prominent NBC anchor Kristen Welker will be reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for "rebuke or punishment" after she reported theRepublican president had "mixed results" in his endorsement of candidates for the November midterm elections.
Read briefing Pierre Picave, a French police officer and head of an LGBTQ rights association, was hospitalised after a nighttime attack in the Marais district in central Paris, prosecutors said Sunday. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire denounced the "despicable homophobic attack".The suspected attacker has been taken into custody.
Read briefing Life returned to normal in Niger's capital on Sunday, a day after mutineers stormed the presidential palace and a military base at Niamey's main airport, resisting forces loyal to the ruling junta until Russia’s Africa Corps intervened. State TV reported that dozens of soldiers were killed or arrested, with some paraded in front of cameras live on television.
Read briefing NASA has successfully launched its newest space telescope from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The telescope reached orbit just 10 minutes after liftoff and is now beginning its mission to shed light on some of the universe’s biggest unsolved mysteries. Named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, the telescope is being hailed by scientists as a “discovery machine.”
Read briefing Rescuers in Nepal and China on Saturday continued to search for the nearly 3,000 people missing after devastating flooding along the border with China engulfed entire villages earlier this week. At least 682 bodies were recovered in both countries, including 675 in Nepal and seven in China.
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