Catalonia's President Pere Aragones said Wednesday that he had dissolved the Spanish region's parliament and called early elections for May 12 after his proposed budget was rejected by the assembly.
US President Joe Biden announced the initiative last week as the war has left Gaza's population struggling to survive, especially in the north where Israeli restrictions have hampered overland access. The plan to build a "floating pier" would provide some two million meals or bottles of water per day, but Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder said the project could take "up to 60 days" to be fully operational. In late February, the United Nations warned famine in Gaza was "imminent", with one... Читать дальше...
Brook pulled out of England's recent Test tour in India in January, citing personal reasons. The 25-year-old has now revealed the reason was because his grandmother "was ill and didn't have long left". Brook on Wednesday confirmed he will not be joining up with Delhi Capitals, who paid £380,000 ($486,000) to sign him in December. "I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL," he wrote on Instagram. "I was so excited to be picked by Delhi Capitals... Читать дальше...
Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, in its third campaign, has many star names who defected from the PGA Tour, including reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm and 2023 PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka. Talks to finalize a controversial framework agreement from last June to unify the PGA and PIF have dragged beyond a December deadline, something McIlroy sees as a factor in television rating declines for PGA signature tournaments, down 30 percent for last week's event at Bay Hill. "I want the train to... Читать дальше...
Georgieva, 70, has run the IMF since 2019, and indicated last week that she would be "honored" to helm the organization once more after her current term expires on September 30 -- if she is backed by member states. "The Executive Board has adopted an open, merit-based, and transparent process for the selection of the next Managing Director," the IMF executive board coordinators Afonso Bevilaqua and Abdullah BinZarah said in a statement. "The Board intends to complete the process by end-April 2024," they added. Читать дальше...
Najmul hit 122 not out off 129 balls, and was ably supported by one of his predecessors as captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, who was unbeaten on 73, as Bangladesh raced to 257-4 in 44.4 overs after bowling out Sri Lanka for 255 runs. The pair added 165 in their unbroken fifth-wicket stand, saving Bangladesh from a potential mid-innings collapse, coming together at 92-4. Dilshan Madushanka took two early wickets and Pramod Madushan joined him to leave Bangladesh struggling at 23-3, in a little over five overs. Читать дальше...
The two-mile chase, feature of the second day of the National Hunt festival, looked nailed on to give Willie Mullins his 100th Festival winner with El Fabiolo. The master Irish trainer's runner was sent off as the shortest priced favourite since Flyingbolt won this race back in 1966. His cramped odds were in part due to the morning defection of his principal rival, Jonbon. Nicky Henderson's runner, second to El Fabiolo in last year's Arkle Chase at the festival, was withdrawn, along with Shishkin... Читать дальше...
Some pro-Palestinian accounts on social media are sharing a photo that they claim shows two Israeli female soldiers who were ‘subjected to gang rape and violence’ within the Israeli army. We tell you where this photo really comes from in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Three years ago, Biljana Cicic-Stanic gave birth to her son Vuk in Serbia. What she remembers most about childbirth is the pain, violence and humiliation she endured. "Literally, from the moment labour starts until it ends, you are tied up non-stop," says Biljana. "You can’t scream, you’re not allowed to scream." According to a 2022 report, women in Serbia are regularly subjected to various forms of violence at maternity clinics and hospitals, including having their stomach pushed during labour and... Читать дальше...
Lithuania blamed Moscow on Wednesday for an overnight attack by a hammer-wielding assailant on Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, outside the aide's home in Vilnius. France 24's international affairs commentator Doug Herbert takes a look at Volkov's background, and why he might be a Kremlin target.
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill on Wednesday that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner or be banned from the United States.
Scientists are also baffled. From an evolutionary perspective, animals generally take every chance they can get to have as many offspring as possible to boost their odds of survival. So why have some species evolved to have menopause, in which females live many years after they stop being able to reproduce? That there are so few other examples in the animal kingdom only deepens the mystery. Out of 5,000 mammals, just five species of whales with teeth -- including killer whales, beluga whales and... Читать дальше...
Acclaimed British choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne joined France 24 to talk about his production of Rome + Juliet, currently playing in Paris, which he describes as a “unique” interpretation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece.
With the future of the world's biodiversity-rich coral reefs threatened by climate change, some experts are looking for rehabilitation strategies to go alongside broader efforts to slash planet-heating pollution. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution say one such method to help reefs rebuild could be sound, after they broadcast audio from a healthy reef to entice coral larvae to settle on the seabed at a degraded reef. Coral larvae use a range of signals from reefs, including chemical cues... Читать дальше...
The eldest child of French World War II Resistance leader and first postwar president Charles de Gaulle, has died aged 102, the family said on Wednesday.
Mathias Vicherat, director of the prestigious Sciences Po school located on Paris's Left Bank, said he was stepping down after being ordered to stand trial in a domestic violence case. He became the target of angry protests by students demanding his resignation after he and his partner Anissa Bonnefont were briefly detained in December, each accusing the other of domestic violence. Sciences Po, founded in 1872, is a hugely influential cornerstone of French elite education and a cradle of political power. Читать дальше...
Police swooping on club offices have become commonplace in recent seasons as financial scandals engulfed Italy's most widely supported team Juventus as part of a broader controversy over player transfer profits in professional football. Tuesday's raid of Milan's headquarters, a short distance from the iconic San Siro stadium where they play their home fixtures, focussed on their current CEO Giorgio Furlani and his predecessor Ivan Gazidis. Milan as a club are not on the list of suspects targeted... Читать дальше...
A plunging Egyptian pound and record high inflation rates has many consumers tightening their spending this Ramadan. While the holy month is traditionally a time of fasting and increased prayer, it is also an opportunity for many families to come together over nightly meals. To combat the cost of living crisis, the government is running a low-price food market. But the catch is, so far it's only during Ramadan.
A Spanish aid boat was en route to Gaza on Wednesday, opening a new maritime corridor intended to allow deliveries of desperately needed food to the Palestinian territory ravaged by months of war between Israel and Hamas. France 24's Delano D'Souza takes a look at how much aid could be transported through the maritime route and how it will be delivered.
Last December, Jordan amended its labour laws to offer women greater protection in the workplace. But in a country where harassment at work affects nearly 50 percent of women, according to women’s rights groups, prosecutions remain few, largely because victims fear reprisals.
A small group of Israeli protesters briefly entered the Gaza Strip via the Erez border crossing in late February. A few days before this illegal incursion, several videos appeared online showing a group of Israeli farmers trying to drive into Gaza on their tractors. These protesters want to restore Israeli settlements in Gaza, 19 years after Israel's 2005 disengagement from the zone, when the government dismantled 21 settlements that had been home to some 8,000 Israelis.
The German has spoken to Edwards, with whom he had a successful relationship as the club's sporting director until he left in 2022, but there will be no dramatic U-turn. "We had that conversation, (but) that is not a subject to talk about," Klopp told reporters. "Can you imagine I changed my mind?" "It's like, 'Never ever another club in England' and next year I signed for our neighbours. I think before I say these things. "For me it is the best club in the world and I am still leaving. I just... Читать дальше...
North, who has won 120 caps, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was the "right to time step away". The 31-year-old, who has been recalled to the starting side for the clash in Cardiff, is second on Wales's all-time list of try-scorers with 47, behind Shane Williams (58). "I've decided that the game on Saturday will bring my international career to an end," said North, now playing club rugby for Welsh regional side Ospreys. "After 14 years it feels like now is the right time to step away. Читать дальше...
FRANCE 24 spoke to Basil Budair, a British orthopaedic surgeon and member of IDEALS, a charity providing medical aid in conflict zones. He recently returned from a mission at Gaza's European hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis – one of the last health centres still operating in the besieged enclave. The World Health Organization has described the state of healthcare in Gaza as being "beyond words". Budair called the situation "completely unimaginable" and regretted the lack of staff and medical equipment at the European hospital. Читать дальше...
North, who has won 120 caps, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was the "right to time step away". The 31-year-old, who has been recalled to the starting side for the clash in Cardiff, is second on Wales's all-time list of try-scorers with 47, behind Shane Williams (58). "I've decided that the game on Saturday will bring my international career to an end," said North, now playing club rugby for Welsh regional side Ospreys. "After 14 years it feels like now is the right time to step away. Читать дальше...