Author: France24

Rescue efforts following a deadly earthquake on Friday that killed at least 2,886 people have been complicated in Myanmar, where four years of civil war have left infrastructure in tatters. Attacks have continued since the quake despite a unilateral 30-day ceasefire announced on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump’s second presidency was dealt a spinning blow by voters in Wisconsin Tuesday as they elected a liberal judge to the state’s Supreme Court, despite his powerful advisor Elon Musk pouring millions into the race in the aim to sway the polls. FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland reports.

After weeks of public anxiety, US President Donald Trump is set on Wednesday to announce a barrage of “reciprocal” global tariffs on friends and foes alike. The tarrifs are set to escalate a trade war that has affected financial markets and increased uncertainty about the economic future of the United States. FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago reports.

American actor Val Kilmer, who was first propelled to fame with “Top Gun” and went on to starring roles as Batman and Jim Morrison, died at age 65 on Tuesday night. “He was one of Hollywood’s biggest leading men in the 80s and 90s”, FRANCE 24 correspondent Alyssa Caverley reported from Los Angeles. 

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying the army would seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory and add them to Israeli security zones. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. 

The California-born and Juilliard-trained Hollywood star Val Kilmer died at age 65 on Tuesday night. Known for his roles in “Top Gun” and “Batman Forever”, he gained a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy and versatile actor whose career spanned decades. 

China’s military carried out “live-fire” drills targeting crucial ports and energy sites directed at Taiwan. Washington condemned the drills as “intimidation tactics” and Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te labeled Beijing a “foreign hostile force”.

Wisconsin voters elected liberal judge Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, dealing a blow to US President Donald Trump’s second presidential term. Crawford’s victory came despite the significant financial support Trump’s advisor Elon Musk spent on the race in the aim to sway the election outcome.

European visitors to Britain will have to purchase an electronic entry permit in advance for trips from Wednesday. The permit can be purchased online for £10 (12 euros) until April 9, when the price will rise to £16. The UK government follows other countries in seeking to strengthen immigration security by screening people before they cross its borders.

Ukraine and Russia both urged the US to address violations of a tentative deal after accusing each other of targeting energy sites on Tuesday – though a formal deal has not been put in place and the commitments taken by each side remain unclear. Kyiv is calling on Washington to toughen sanctions on Moscow, alleging violations of commitments made in Saudi Arabia. 

Democratic Senator Cory Booker broke the record for the longest US Senate speech on Monday and Tuesday, exceeding 25 hours in a fiery protest against President Trump’s “unconstitutional” actions. Before Tuesday, the longest Senate speech was Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour and 18-minute filibuster against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

Niger’s junta released around 50 people Tuesday, including former ministers, a diplomat, a journalist and soldiers linked to a 2010 coup attempt, following a national conference recommendation. Former President Mohamed Bazoum is still being detained despite global demands for his release.

The White House said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump will impose a new set of global tariffs on Wednesday, escalating a trade war that has affected financial markets and increased uncertainty about the economic future of the United States.

China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for large-scale drills Beijing said were aimed at practising for “precision strikes” and a blockade of the self-ruled island. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Stéphane Corcuff from the Lyon Institute of Political Studies. He says that the US is ranking the protection of Taiwan and its position in the Pacific on the same level as its home territory.

A Nigerian human rights and environmental NGO has filed a lawsuit in the Lagos High Court to stop Shell from selling its Nigerian assets to a local oil and gas company. HEDA says Shell is responsible for 35% of Nigeria’s oil spills and accuses the oil multinational of structuring the $2.4 billion deal to avoid responsibility for its long history of pollution.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei recently announced that his government would declassify all documents relating to Nazi fugitives who settled in Argentina after World War II. Following this announcement, users are sharing the viral claim that Adolf Hitler peacefully lived out his days in Argentina. We debunk these claims in this edition of Truth or Fake.

There was a sea of humanity out in the streets last Saturday to protest the jailing of Turkey’s popular presidential contender Ekrem Imamoglu, but now the country’s on a week-long post-Ramadan break. Will it be long enough to dull the momentum of Turkey’s biggest mass movement in more than a decade?

Russian forces continue to advance in Ukraine but at a slower pace than in recent months, according to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which shows Moscow’s territorial gains slowing down for the fourth consecutive month in March.

France winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey was named Six Nations Player of the Championship on Tuesday after scoring a record eight tries to help his team win the tournament. The win means Les Bleus have won the best player award four times in the past six editions.

South African TV and film writers Amy Jephta and Sean Drummond join Dheepthika Laurent on set to talk about their upcoming projects. Sean was head writer on the second season of “Unseen”, a wildly popular crime thriller on Netflix. He also talks about his 2017 neo-Western, “Five Fingers for Marseilles”, a film that inspired one of the songs on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album. Amy wrote the play “A Good House”, which has just finished its run in the UK. The biting satire explores post-apartheid legacies in modern-day South Africa. She also wrote the true crime series “Catch Me a Killer”, which traces the work of Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first criminal profiler.

French courts on Monday banned far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five years, ruling out the frontrunner for France’s 2027 presidential race. As Le Pen now faces a lengthy appeal process, her 29-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella could well become the National Rally’s new presidential candidate.