Author: News Desk

What leading the France24 website today?  Much of the France 24 website is dominated by the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, brokered by France and the US. It brings an end to almost a year of fighting and nearly two months after Israel launched a ground attack.  The French mass rape trial dominates the local news on the site – as prosecutors seek the toughest sentence possible for the men at the centre of one of the most horrific cases in modern France. It is a story that has gripped France and the world. 

Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants have begun a ceasefire in a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting. As a region on edge wonders whether it would hold, FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen welcomes Yossi Mekelberg, Associate Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme at Chatham House in London. 'At a certain point, a war must end with some political arrangement'

It’s hard to believe she’s only been out of power for three years. While no one expects Angela Merkel’s supporters to rally behind calls to “make Germany great again”, the excitement surrounding the release of her memoirs highlights a sense of nostalgia for a leader whose record-breaking tenure came to embody stability in a changing world. But what is Merkel’s true legacy?  What's left of the German model? The Merkel years revisited

Displaced people living in Sudan’s North Darfur state cheer at the arrival of the first convoy of food and supplies in months, but the glimmer of hope is still vastly short of what’s needed. Also, Namibia heads into general elections, with the ruling party SWAPO facing stiffer than ever competition amid popular frustration over disparities. Plus we head to the Gambia, which plans to reduce plastic waste by 86 percent over the next 10 years. But some fear economic fallout for the poorest. World Food Programme scales up operations to deliver aid in famine-hit Sudan

Rumours about the US returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine have been circulating since November 21, when The New York Times published an article citing several unnamed US officials who “suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union”. At this stage, these are baseless claims since Washington does not even have these nuclear weapons to begin with. We explain in this edition of Truth or Fake.

What’s on the front page of Die Welt?  The front page of Die Welt this morning – 27/11/2024 – reports on Donald Trump’s tariff threats and how it hit the auto industry. On his first day in office, Donald Trump wants to introduce high tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada. This will hit the country’s own car industry hard – a popular vehicle is largely produced in the two countries. An analyst is recommending that a German manufacturer withdraw from the US.

What’s on the front page of Der Spiegel? 

China brutally oppresses the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang – and Volkswagen operates a factory there of all places. The company is now separating from the plant. Volkswagen is ending its controversial presence in the Chinese Uighur region of Xinjiang. The company announced that it had reached an agreement with its Chinese partner SAIC, with whom the German car company operates its plant in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, to sell the factory. The buyer is Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification (SMVIC), a subsidiary of the state-owned Shanghai Lingang Development Group. Volkswagen will also sell its test track in Turpan, which is also…

Sharon Stone has often chosen clear words towards Donald Trump. Now she says in Italy that the country knows “what happens under a fascist government.” She obviously sees her home in a different place. If celebrities had the influence that is sometimes attributed to them, the USA would probably be a different place today. Like many Hollywood actresses, Sharon Stone has repeatedly warned against Donald Trump being re-elected as US president. The result is well known. Now the “Basic Instinct” star used a visit to the film festival in Turin, Italy, to vent her frustration. And to once again criticize her own home country, the…

Lightning struck the railway line between Lüneburg and Uelzen. This has an impact on several long-distance connections. Trains via Berlin and Frankfurt are also affected. After a lightning strike in the Lüneburg district of Lower Saxony, there are significant delays and cancellations in German rail traffic. Long-distance traffic to and from Hamburg in particular is severely affected, as Deutsche Bahn announced. Delays and train cancellations are therefore to be expected in all long-distance traffic. According to a spokeswoman, the lightning strike occurred on Tuesday in the municipality of Deutsch Evern. “The disruption is expected to continue at least until early afternoon,”…