Author: Frank Deux

For the second year in a row, the city of Ouidah in Benin is playing host to Vodun Days – a celebration of the region’s long spiritual traditions. France 24’s correspondent Lilaafa Amouzou visited the festival and found out about efforts to dismantle myths about Vodon. Celebrating Benin's Vodun heritage

Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked for a meeting with Donald Trump to try to end the “bloody mess” of the Ukraine war, the US president-elect revealed Thursday, just days before his January 20 inauguration. Trump has often criticised the massive military aid Washington has sent to Kyiv.

With the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) leading the Austrian government’s coalition talks for the first time in the country’s history, an estimated 50,000 people rallied in Vienna to urge the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) not to join forces with the FPOe. Tens of thousands of people protested across Austria on Thursday against the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe)’s possible return to power after it was tasked with trying to form a government. While the far-right party has previously been a member of the country’s government several times, it is the first time that it is leading coalition talks. The FPOe topped…

US President-elect Donald Trump suffered another legal blow on Thursday, as the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s bid to stop sentencing in his hush money conviction, with two conservative judges voting against the incoming president. Trump-bid-to-stop-hush-money-sentencing-denied-by-us-supreme-court”>Trump bid to stop hush money sentencing denied by US Supreme Court

US dignitaries united to pay tribute to Jimmy Carter on Thursday, as all five living US presidents attending the former president’s funeral in his home state of Georgia, lauding Carter’s humility and commitment to promoting world peace. All five living US presidents attend Jimmy Carter's funeral in Georgia

With uncertainty lingering over US support for Ukraine under incoming US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Western allies in Germany on Thursday to strategize securing Ukraine’s battlefield position against Russia.

The body of Bedouin Arab hostage Youssef al-Zayadna was repatriated to Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, in what it termed as a “complex and difficult operation” as mediators continue to push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Israeli troops recover body of hostage from Gaza

Venezuela’s opposition is speaking out against the arrest of a prominent pro-democracy activist and a member of the opposition party, among others, ahead of the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro, who will be sworn in for a third term.  Venezuela's opposition decry arrests, plan protests ahead of Maduro inauguration

Known for never backpedaling his scandalous statements, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the co-founder of France’s right-wing National Front party who died on Tuesday aged 96, amassed a series of controversies throughout his time in the political arena — from calling the infamous Nazi gas chambers a “detail” of World War II, to publicly hurling homophobic slurs at political opponents. From Holocaust denial to homophobia: Jean-Marie Le Pen’s controversies

Accused of belonging to the Palestinian group Hamas, which was then Bashar Al-Assad’s bête noire, Mohamar Ouda was arrested by the Syrian army in Yarmouk in 2015. He spent seven years in prison, where his executioners inflicted all kinds of torture on him that still haunt him day and night. Seven years of torture by Assad’s executioners: ‘I will never forgive them’

A fast-moving wildfire broke out Tuesday northeast of Los Angeles hours after another blaze tore through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood along the coast, prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands.  High winds spread second Los Angeles wildfire as tens of thousands evacuated

Iran slams Macron’s ‘deceitful’ remarks on its role as a regional security threat Iran’ foreign ministry on Wednesday rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s claim that Iran posed the main security threat in the Middle East. Macron on Monday said Iran was accelerating its nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at making a nuclear bomb. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the comments as “baseless, contradictory, and speculative,” and called for France “to reconsider its non-constructive approaches to peace and stability”.  Iran slams Macron’s ‘deceitful’ remarks on its role as a regional security threat

Hours after US President Joe Biden welcomed exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in the US, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said seven foreigners, including two Americans, had been arrested for planning unspecified “terrorist acts” days prior to Maduro’s inauguration into a third presidential term. Two Americans, five other 'mercenaries' detained in Venezuela

France 24 correspondent Wassim Cornet reports from Los Angeles, where authorities have ordered thousands to evacuate the Northern Palisades neighbourhood as a massive wildfire, buoyed by the strongest windstorm in almost 15 years, careened down the coast of southern California on Tuesday. People were seen leaving their cars to flee on foot, forcing authorities to remove the vehicles with bulldozers to allow hundreds of firefighters to attempt to contain the blaze. Thousands ordered to evacuate Los Angeles suburb as wildfire rages

US President-elect Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., visited Greenland on Tuesday, while his father refused to rule out military or economic coercion as a means to purchase the mineral and oil-rich island. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring the Danish territory, as well as the Panama Canal, saying on Tuesday that they are necessary to ensure the US’ “economic security”.

Chad and Senegal hit back at comments made by President Macron claiming that African countries in the Sahel had “forgotten to say thank you” to France for helping to combat jihadist insurgencies. Both countries have demanded in recent months the withdrawal of French troops from their territories as France’s military presence in West Africa continues to wane. Chad FM accuses Macron of ‘contemptuous attitude towards Africa’

The US Department of Defense has added Chinese social media giant Tencent and battery leader CATL to a list of firms it says work with the Chinese military. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: Nippon Steel vows to keep trying to acquire US Steel under the new Trump administration, and the 2025 CES gets underway in Las Vegas. Pentagon says Chinese tech firms Tencent, CATL affiliated with Beijing’s military

France’s far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen died Tuesday aged 96, according to local media. Le Pen founded France’s National Front party, which is now known as the National Rally and led by his daughter Marine. French far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at age 96

The South Asian kingdom of Bhutan has become a champion of environmental protection. Its forests are protected by the constitution, environment classes are taught in school and its electricity is 100 percent hydroelectric. All of this has contributed to making Bhutan the first carbon-negative country in the world. However, that doesn’t mean it’s immune to the effects of climate change. Because of global warming, Bhutan’s glaciers are melting and threatening to flood the villages down below. Our regional correspondents report. In carbon-negative Bhutan, glaciers are threatened by climate change

A South Korean court has approved a new arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon suk Yeol after he resisted an attempt by police last week. Anti-graft investigators are seeking to detain Yoon over his botched bid to impose martial law on the country early December.  South Korean investigators secure new arrest warrant for President Yoon

More than 2.7 billion in prizes Good morning. We start the live narration of the day of the Christmas Lottery draw. The bass drums are already ready at the Teatro Real in Madrid and will begin to move at 9:00, Spanish peninsular time. In total, 2,702 million euros will be distributed. The jackpot prize is valued at four million euros per series (which translates into 400,000 euros per tenth), while the second will distribute 125,000 euros per tenth and the third, 50,000 euros. Finally, the fourth prizes will give away 20,000 euros per ticket, while the fifth prizes will contribute…

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrived in France on Friday after spending five months in detention in Greenland based on an extradition request filed by Japan. He spoke to FRANCE 24 about his time in detention and his plans for the future.  ‘The most powerful weapon in the world is a camera,’ says anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

Pilar Alegría, Diana Morant, Óscar López and, predictably, María Jesús Montero return to their native regions to replicate the success of Salvador Illa in Catalonia Read Disembarkation of ministers, with little work as ministers, for control…

Kawéni shantytown, Mayotte, December 19, 2024. MORGAN FACHE FOR THE WORLD How many people will France mourn on Monday, December 23, the day of national mourning decreed by the president on Thursday during his visit to the French archipelago? The authorities have refused to comment. A number is eagerly awaited, but life-threatening emergencies are taking precedence over making these initial estimates. Anger is mounting, and the Interior Ministry admits that logistical difficulties are preventing it from helping those who have no water, electricity or food, six days after cyclone Chido passed through. “Neighborhoods remain difficult to access. The priority is…

One has 57 pages. The other, only two. The first is dated November 21. The second, last Thursday. The first analyzed the messages sent or received by email or instant messaging applications by the provincial chief prosecutor of Madrid, Pilar Rodríguez, between March 8 and 14. The second, those that contained the electronic devices of the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, on the same dates. They are two of the three reports that the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has sent in the last month to Judge Ángel Hurtado in an attempt to advance the investigations…