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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in Asia have requested currency swap lines from the United States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Middle East war. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Dr Kristi Diwan, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute.
The European Union has unveiled plans to shield households and businesses from the energy crisis, triggered by the war with Iran. The bloc says it has spent an additional €24 billion on energy imports beacuse of higher prices since the war began, and it urged more investment in renewable energy. Also in the show - French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurates a lithium mine, to reduce reliance on i...
Pope Leo XIV visited a notorious prison in Bata on the last leg of his Africa tour Wednesday, delivering a rare public critique of inmate conditions in Equatorial Guinea. In his address, the pontiff urged respect for human dignity, highlighting concerns about overcrowding and justice in a country long accused of rights abuses.
The US Navy has fiercely denied claims that its warships in the Middle East are running low on food and leaving its sailors “hungry all the time,” as Washington’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues. Photos showing dismal, mostly-empty trays of food circulated online, with the claims that shortages are rife after a month and a half of war.
FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Negah Angha, Former National Security Advisor under US President Joe Biden, about the ongoing standoff between Iran and the United States, which has choked off all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. She says that "right now both sides are testing each other" adding that "Iran has been articulating to the US and Western allies the impact and the control that the...
President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that a second French soldier had died following an attack on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon last week, which he said was carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with the spokesperson of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, Tilak Pokharel.
Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war. Iran's parliament speaker said on Wednesday that the Islamic republic would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US naval blockade remained in place, calling it a "blatant violation of the ceasefire". FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah reports from T...
A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said. A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility. FRANCE 24's Camille Corcoran reports.
Will the world have enough fuel to fill the tank and fertilize the crops? The seizure of ships by Iran adding to global jitters as the extension of a ceasefire offers zero visibility on prospects for the planet’s biggest choke point for oil and gas. Nearly two months on, the Paris-based International Energy Agency is calling it the biggest-ever energy disruption in history. We’ll ask about prices ...
In Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV called for greater freedoms during a mass attended by nearly 100,000 worshippers.
Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, April 22, tightening its grip on the strategic route.
Oil refineries set ablaze, missiles hitting pesticide factories, an oil slick in the Strait of Hormuz... In under two months, the US and Israel’s war on Iran has inflicted a heavy toll on the environment, fuelling concerns over the public health impact on local populations.
This week's film show on arts24 spotlights a trio of strikingly different releases, led by Antoine Fuqua's highly anticipated biopic "Michael", which features a breakout performance from nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop, alongside Colman Domingo's chilling turn as patriarch Joseph Jackson.
French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud says he has been sentenced in Algeria to three years in prison and fined over his award-winning novel “Houris,” which revisits the country’s civil war. The ruling reflects the mounting pressure on authors confronting Algeria’s violent past and raises fresh concerns over freedom of expression.
The United Nations is pushing its proposal for a humanitarian corridor to get fertiliser and other essential goods through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked since the start of the Iran war. This plan, which FRANCE 24 has seen, has yet to be approved by several countries.
The United Nations is pushing its proposal for a humanitarian corridor to get fertiliser and other essential goods through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked since the start of the Iran war. This plan, which FRANCE 24 has seen, has yet to be approved by several countries.
European Union ambassadors unblocked on Wednesday a 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine that is critical for Kyiv's ability to keep up the fight against Russia. The loan, which was approved by the European Council in December, had been halted by a Hungarian veto amid a dispute over oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline.
As the French government expands its support for rising energy costs, Prime Minister Lecornu has announced a significant increase in monthly fuel subsidies aimed at helping low-income workers and key industries. These new measures will provide targeted relief for frequent drivers, farmers, and fishermen as economic pressure continues to mount.
Delano D'Souza is pleased to welcome Dr. William Lawrence, Senior Academic and Research Fellow-in-Residence and the Director of the North African Area Studies Program at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. As a former US diplomat in the Muslim world, he views what we are witnessing as a deliberate embrace of chaos and unpredictability as a coercive tool. Yet such theatrical instability carr...
The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been completely closed for six months, a direct consequence of the conflict between Kabul and Islamabad. Despite several mediation attempts, negotiations have failed, and the two countries remain at a diplomatic impasse in a war that has already displaced tens of thousands of people and claimed numerous lives.
A risk management analyst has spoken to FRANCE 24 about what it means, amid the ceasefire, if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. Paymon Azmoudeh is a senior consultant with the risk and compliance practice at Forward Global. He says he thinks the calculation on all sides is that going back to war is not in anyone's interest. He explained to us in Perspective what it means if the stat...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was grilled during questions in Parliament over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain's top diplomat to Washington, effectively brushing aside security concerns. Starmer once again faced calls to resign from the opposition, after former top civil servant Olly Robbins testified this week that there was an "atmosphere of pressure" from Downing Street to ap...
It is a French tradition to give friends and family lilies of the valley on Labour day, the 1st of May. And after a rainy winter, these spring flowers have come into their own earlier than usual. Our colleagues at France 2 took a look behind the scenes at lily of the valley harvest.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was grilled during questions in Parliament over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain's top diplomat to Washington, effectively brushing aside security concerns. Starmer faced calls to resign from the opposition, after former top civil servant Olly Robbins testified this week that there was an "atmosphere of pressure" from Downing Street to approve Mande...
The European Union has said it will resume budgetary aid to Ethiopia, which was suspended when a brutal civil war broke out in 2020. The EU suspended its annual budgetary support payment in December 2020, a month after the start of the war between government forces and rebels from the northern Tigray region, which continued for two years and claimed some 600,000 lives. FRANCE 24's Tom Canetti repo...
Nigeria’s jet fuel shortage is being driven by disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz that have curtailed global supplies of middle distillates, a fuel marketers’ group said, squeezing airlines already grappling with soaring costs. Products such as jet fuel and diesel that normally pass through the strategic waterway have become less available worldwide, pushing up prices, the Major Energies Marketer...
In Paris, a powerful tribute celebrates one of the most influential figures in Congolese painting. Chéri Chérin, who passed away just a few months ago, leaves behind a vibrant and socially engaged body of work. A voice of the people and a keen observer of his time, he played a key role in bringing Congolese popular art to an international audience. FRANCE 24’s Awa Diouf and Anaïs Chesnel report.
In Zimbabwe, around 8000 schools are in the process of receiving internet access under the Presidential Internet Scheme. Thousands of antennas are to be installed in rural areas. The project, which started at the beginning of the year, could transform the lives of children, many of whom have never seen or used a computer linked to the internet.
EU member states on Wednesday gave a preliminary approval to unlock a €90 billion loan for Ukraine. The decision comes after delays linked to an oil dispute with Hungary over the Druzhba pipeline.
