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Iran confirms security chief Ali Larijani killed, state media says

Congo-Brazzaville’s Sassou Nguesso reaps landslide re-election win, provisional results suggest

Congo-Brazzaville’s incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected for a fifth term in a landslide win, provisional results showed Tuesday. Sassou Nguesso, 82, is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, and has been at the helm for a total of 42 years. The main opposition boycotted the vote, describing it as a farce.

Trump team applying pressure to media: Tell the war's story the way we see it

Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Robert Corn-Revere, Chief Counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, explains that the FCC pressure on news organisations "is simply a threat being wielded by a powerful regulator to try to condition the behaviour of broadcast stations" because television licences are not supposed to be up for renewal until after the current administra...

War in Iran exposes cracks in Trump's MAGA coalition

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war. Kent, a former Green Beret and political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and...

War on Iran: As top leaders and commanders are killed, 'regime will harden and close ranks'

As Israel announces it has killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, Annette Young is joined by Negah Angha, Visiting Fellow at King's College London. In assessing the reported killing of senior Iranian leadership figures, Ms. Angha argues that such developments represent a serious shock to the Iranian political system but not an existential threat to the regime itself. The Islamic Republic was ...

Larijani was 'key to Iran's reach in the Gulf region'

Reporting from Doha for FRANCE 24, Hoda Abdel-Hamid explains that Iranian security chief Ali Larijani "was key to Iran's reach to the Gulf region" adding that "the GCC and Iran were two parties deeply suspicious of each other, it took decades for them to get close to each other and Larijani played a big role in that". Ali Larijani was reported to have died in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday.

Trump says NATO's refusal to help on Iran is "very foolish mistake"

US President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at "foolish" NATO over Iran, saying the United States needs no help after allies rebuffed his calls to join efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. FRANCE 24's international affairs editor Kethevane Gorjestani explains.

Indian tankers carrying LPG arrive at port after safe passage through Strait of Hormuz

Two Indian-flagged tankers together carrying over 92,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas have arrived at ports in Gujarat state after safely passing through the Strait of Hormuz.  New Delhi has been negotiating with Iran, but the government denies discussing the possible release of Iranian tankers it seized in February as part of the bargain. Meanwhile, global crude prices jumped again am...

France’s ex-president Sarkozy maintains innocence in Libya funding appeal trial

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday maintained his innocence as he returned to court to appeal his conviction for seeking financing from Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential campaign. If Sarkozy loses his appeal, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Fearing Israeli strikes, a Druze village screens for Hezbollah militants among Lebanon’s displaced

In the predominantly Druze city of Aley, located on Mount Lebanon, authorities scrupulously check the identity documents of the many displaced who seek refuge there. They hope the measures will reassure a population fearful of inciting Israeli strikes because of the potential presence of Hezbollah militants among the arrivals fleeing southern Lebanon.

Cuba restores electricity network, vows 'unbreakable resistance' to US pressure

Cuba widely restored its electricity network on Tuesday after more than 24 hours of blackouts across the Caribbean island, which is under increasing pressure from the US to change its communist government. Cuba's leader Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday said the US would face "unbreakable resistance" if Washington tried to impose reforms.

Cuba vows 'unbreakable resistance' as US pressure mounts

Cuba's leader on Tuesday said the US would face "unbreakable resistance" if it tries to take over the impoverished island nation, as communist authorities scrambled to fix a nationwide electricity blackout.

REPLAY: Trump accuses NATO of 'foolish mistake' over Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States ​had been informed by most of its NATO allies that they did not want to get involved with the country's military ​operation ‌in Iran, a move he described ⁠as a "very foolish mistake". Trump's remarks came as he hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office to mark St Patrick's Day.

Cubans abroad will be able to invest, own businesses on island

Cubans living abroad will now be allowed to invest and own businesses on the island, a senior government official said Monday, unveiling a key reform as the economy struggles under intense US pressure.

'Misguided' military operation: Trump’s appeal for Hormuz support draws no commitments from allies

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Peter Trubowitz, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Phelan US Centre at the London School of Economics. According to Professor Trubowitz, what we are witnessing is a dynamic in which both sides are trying to expand the scope of the conflict in order to gain leverage. Iran has broadened the battlefield by targeting regional actors and threate...

'I tell my children it’s just thunder': How ordinary Iranians are dealing with war

As US and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran, many residents there live in fear, choosing to limit outings as much as possible. France 24's Carys Garland and Ludovic de Foucaud take a look at how one family are trying as best they can to continue life as normal amid the constant threat of bombardments.

Pakistan denies it targeted Kabul hospital, says it hit 'terrorist' targets

Pakistan on Monday said it had carried out precision strikes on "military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" in Kabul but denied Afghan claims that strikes hit a drug treatment centre, killing hundreds of civilians.

Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war

The director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has announced his resignation, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran. Kent said on social media that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Who will win the race to become Paris mayor?

The Paris mayoral race narrowed on Monday as a former minister hoping to wrest control of the French capital from the left sealed a deal to join forces with a fellow right-winger for the second-round run-off. France 24's Marc Perelman takes a look at how things might go when France heads to the polls this Sunday to choose not only the capital's next mayor but vote in local elections across the cou...

Former Belgian diplomat first to stand trial over 1961 murder of Congo’s Lumumba

A former Belgian diplomat has been ordered to stand trial over the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, who became the first prime minister of Congo after the country’s independence from Belgium. The 93-year-old suspect is the first person to be prosecuted in the case. All other suspects have passed away.

France's second homes: The price of a place in the sun

With the second round of French municipal elections coming up, we take a look at what was a hot-button, campaign issue in many towns and cities: second homes. In some of France’s coastal and Alpine communities, permanent residents are priced out of buying or renting because of vacation homes. We dive into how many second homes France has, who owns them and what mayors are trying to do about some o...

Israel strikes Beirut as number of displaced mounts

Israeli airstrikes rained down on three neighbourhoods in Beirut early Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported, as Lebanon said more than one million people had been displaced in two weeks of fighting.

Larijani's death would be a 'significant blow' but may not deter Iran

Israel said Tuesday it had killed Iran's powerful national security chief, Ali Larijani, in what would be a huge blow to the Islamic republic, but probably not one that would deter Tehran from continuing the war against Israel and the US, says France 2''s correspondent in the Iranian capital Reza Sayah.

British photographer Mark Neville on documenting four years of war in Ukraine

A British photographer who has spent the last four years living under near-daily attacks on Kyiv has told FRANCE 24 that his nervous system has adapted to the war in Ukraine. Mark Neville says he feels he now has an advantage over people living in the rest of Europe, as his body has naturally adapted to the situation. He has set up a charity, Postcode Ukraine, which makes deliveries of humanitaria...

Britain hit by ‘unprecedented’ meningitis outbreak, two students dead

Britain has been hit by an “unprecedented” meningitis outbreak, the country’s health minister warned Tuesday after two students died from catching a rare bacterial strain of the disease. So far, 15 cases have been reported. The outbreak has been linked to a Canterbury nightclub.