Author: France24

The United Nations has denounced attacks on the civilian population in Sudan, including a recent airstrike on a market in North Darfur that left dozens of casualties. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on Sudan’s brutal war and the UN’s ‘grave’ concerns over on-going attacks on the Sudanese civilians, FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee welcomes Ali Trayo, Journalist, Author and Analyst on African Affairs, including peace and security.

Russia’s defence units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight including two over the Black Sea, its defence ministry said on Wednesday, a day after the US reached deals with Moscow and Kyiv to pause Black Sea attacks. There were no details on whether the drones were aimed at Black Sea targets or just flying over the waters. Follow the latest developments on our liveblog.

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday is expected to determine whether former president Jair Bolsonaro and close allies must face trial on charges of attempting to stage a coup after his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In the digital age, we are often reminded of the minefield that awaits us online—and the need to remain vigilant. As we whimsically share life’s most cherished moments—at times simple, at times exceptional, we bask in the excitement without a care in the world. All the while, a darker underworld lurks beneath the surface. Artificial intelligence offers a whole new world of possibilities, albeit bipolar, as it unlocks a Pandora’s box and unleashes “deep fakes” and disinformation, spreading bias, socio-economic inequality, and political instability. But what happens when an everyday private citizen falls prey to “virtual insanity”? A Norwegian family man, nestled in the heart of Scandinavia, “googles” himself on ChatGPT in a lighthearted quest to uncover a hidden digital jewel. What unfolds next could have only been conceived by the minds behind Black Mirror or the X-Files. In the world of AI, Arve Hjalmar Holmen is not the good-natured father loved and cherished by his family—he’s a ruthless child killer. Thrust into this digital nightmare, Mr. Holmen takes swift legal action against OpenAI, and agrees to share his harrowing ordeal with FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine. Only now do we really begin to understand, first-hand, how AI can veer abruptly from a marvel of technological innovation to a veritable existential threat.

South Korea’s deadliest wildfires in decades have claimed at least 18 lives and caused widespread devastation. The government declared its highest-level crisis alert, mobilising a national response as fires ravaged villages and a historic temple, the acting president announced.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday to overhaul US elections, requiring citizenship proof to register and insisting ballots arrive by Election Day. The order demands states collaborate with federal agencies on voter lists and prosecutes election crimes, threatening to withdraw federal funds from non-compliant states.

Hundreds of Palestinians protested in northern Gaza on Tuesday, demanding an end to the war with Israel and chanting anti-Hamas slogans, witnesses said. The crowd, mostly men, shouted “Hamas out!” and “Hamas terrorists” in Beit Lahia.

US Vice President JD Vance will visit Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday to discuss Arctic security and meet US troops, his office stated Tuesday, amid heightened tensions caused by the Trump administration’s stated desire to take over the territory. Vance, a key foreign policy voice for Trump, will be accompanied by his wife, Usha.

President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of a journalist who was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, while denying that classified information was shared by US officials. “The guy’s a total sleazebag,” Trump said of The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, adding that “nobody gives a damn” about the story that has sparked a major row in Washington. FRANCE 24’s James Vasina reports.

The U.S. said it had reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks by the two countries on each other’s energy facilities. Speaking in Ukraine’s Black Sea city, residents said they feared the agreement with Russia would be fragile. FRANCE 24’s August Hakansson reports.

South Sudan’s opposition says several of its key political figures were arrested on Tuesday. Just a day earlier, an army base linked to First Vice President Riek Machar was bombed as tensions rise in the country, seven years after the official end of its civil war. A fragile peace is hanging by a thread in the world’s youngest nation. 

Is there a rift between the U.S. Vice President and Elon Musk? That’s what a viral audio recording allegedly of J.D. Vance is suggesting. But the extract is a deepfake generated by artificial intelligence. Over the years, this technology has become increasingly sophisticated, as France 24’s Charlotte Hughes explains

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which almost doubled its number of MPs in elections a month ago, suffered its first setback on Tuesday when it failed to win any top positions in the new parliament. FRANCE 24’s Alex Aucott speaks to Jacob Ross, Research Fellow at The German Council on Foreign Relations. He says that the by keeping AfD marginalized in top positions, Germany’s traditional parties are showing weakness against the far-right.

Attorney Generals in several US states have warned users to delete their accounts and protect their data, after 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection and its CEO stepped down on Sunday. The company is best known for its saliva test kits that enable users to track their ancestry, but it has been struggling with the fallout of a massive data leak in 2023. Plus, a French entrepreneur hopes to revive Tupperware after buying the bankrupt airtight container maker’s French business. 

Israel on Tuesday said it had killed an Al Jazeera employee in the Gaza Strip, accusing the journalist, Hussam Shabat, of being a “sniper terrorist” for Hamas. The network said Shabat was killed Monday in an Israeli strike on his vehicle in northern Gaza. FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen speaks to Jodie Ginsberg from the Committee to Protect Journalists. She says Israel frequently smears journalists and produces no credible evidence to suggest that they are terrorists.

The mysterious case of a missing toddler from a rural village in the French Alps in July 2023 riveted France’s attention on Emile Soleil – or Little Emile, as he came to be known. The case took a surprising turn on Tuesday with his grandparents and two of their adult children detained by police.     

Thousands of students chanting angry slogans hit the streets of Istanbul on Tuesday as a court jailed an AFP journalist and six others for covering the biggest protests to hit Turkey in over a decade. The demonstrations erupted after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, in a crackdown that has seen more than 1,400 people arrested, including 11 Turkish journalists. FRANCE 24’s Jasper Mortimer reports from Ankara.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed US-brokered agreements towards Ukraine and Russia halting strikes in the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure, but criticised Washington for agreeing to ease restrictions on Russian exports. FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen speaks to Peter Zalmayev of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. He says that following the deal, ‘Putin is feeling very confident he can continue playing Donald Trump for a fool’.

The Trump administration’s top intelligence officials stressed to Congress the threat they said was posed by international criminal gangs, drug cartels and human smuggling, testifying in a hearing Tuesday that unfolded against the backdrop of a security breach involving the mistaken leak of attack plans to a journalist. FRANCE 24’s Antonia Kerrigan reports.

Nearly two years on and it’s back to Khartoum for Sudan’s civil war. The forces of junta leader Abdelfattah al-Buhran ousting those of ally-turned-foe Mohammed Hamdam Daglo. For the leader of the RSF militia, it’s win some, lose some with gains instead in North Darfur province.  

Russia has insisted that a US-brokered agreement to halt military activity in the Black Sea would only take effect once certain sanctions were lifted, including those targeting its state-owned agricultural lender. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on the US push towards a ceasefire, FRANCE 24’s Delano D’Souza welcomes John E. Herbst, Former United States Ambassador to Ukraine and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.

Thousands of protesters once again took to the streets of Istanbul Tuesday after a week of demonstrations against the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival. Seven journalists covering the protests have been remanded in custody, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.

FRANCE 24 spoke to the CEO of the French development agency AFD, Rémy Rioux. He discussed the situation of foreign aid worldwide after US President Donald Trump suspended US development aid and moved to close down USAID, the main US government agency responsible for foreign aid. “It’s a shock for our world,” Rioux said. According to the UN, the US covers 47 percent of the world’s annual humanitarian aid needs. The UN also predicts that some 305 million people will need emergency humanitarian aid in 2025, which will require $47 billion.