Author: News Desk

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday announced a major concession in a bid to end a standoff with the opposition over the budget, which has caused jitters on financial markets and risks bringing down his minority government. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, at Lancaster University. French PM Barnier announces concession in bid to end budget standoff

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Chad said on Thursday that it was ending its defense cooperation pact with former colonial power France in a decision that could see French soldiers withdraw from the Central African country. “The government of the Republic of Chad informs national and international opinion of its decision to end the accord in the field of defense signed with the French Republic,” Chad’s Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement on his ministry’s official Facebook page. However, “This is not a break with France like Niger or elsewhere,” Koulamallah told AFP. Chad spurns French support The former colony said that the…

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South Korea’s largest K-pop agency Hybe lost over $423 million in market cap on Friday after rookie group NewJeans announced it was terminating its contract with Hybe sub-label ADOR. The announcement, which follows a months-long management dispute between ADOR and Hybe, sent the company’s shares plunging as much as 6.97% on Friday. The five-member girl group, formed in 2022, said in a press conference late Thursday that it was leaving the agency, claiming ADOR had breached its contract with the band. “Staying here would be a waste of time and would only bring pain, mentally,” group member Hanni said. “There…

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The European Union is poised for a fresh chapter as the new von der Leyen Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, prepares to take office on December 1. Following a vote in Strasbourg, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) gave their confidence to the new College of Commissioners, marking the start of an ambitious five-year term. In her address to the European Parliament, President von der Leyen presented her vision for Europe, emphasizing freedom as the core principle of the European Union. “Because fighting for freedom connects us as Europeans. Our past and our present. Our nations and…

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A series of human errors caused a New Zealand navy ship to plough into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry into the disaster released on Friday. The ship’s crew did not realise autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as it maintained course towards land, a summary of the inquiry’s first report published on Friday said. The full report has not been made public. All…

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A series of human errors caused a New Zealand navy ship to plough into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry into the disaster released on Friday.The ship’s crew did not realise autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as it maintained course towards land, a summary of the inquiry’s first report published on Friday said. The full report has not been made public.All 75 people on…

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French authorities arrested 26 people and seized €11 million as they smashed a migrant trafficking ring suspected of bringing several thousand people from South Asia into France, border police told AFP on Thursday, November 28. Charging between €15,000 and €26,000 per person, the traffickers are suspected of having smuggled several thousand people from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal into France since September 2021, the force said. Authorities estimate the network generated several million euros in illegal profits, which were laundered through construction companies, gold trafficking and informal transfers of money back to South Asia. The arrests took place between March…

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The Government delegate, Pialar Barnabé, on the left, along with Carlos Mazón, the Minister of Emergencies and the Interior, Juan Carlos Valderrama, the Vice President Susana Camarero, and the Vice President Francisco José Gan Pampols, at a Cecopi meeting this week.The political fight between the PP and the PSOE at the expense of the management of the dana, which has caused 222 deaths in the province of Valencia, is being fought on all fronts. Perhaps the most unexpected was the one that was revealed this Thursday in the control session of the Valencian Cortes: that of the clothing used. The…

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