Air quality in Europe is improving but further action is needed to meet the European Union’s 2030 targets, the European Environment Agency said on Thursday, noting pollution still exceeds limits at up to 20% of monitoring stations across 39 countries.

No military hardware will roll through Red Square in Russia's grand World War II victory parade next month -- a precautionary measure given the threat of Ukrainian retaliatory strikes, the Kremlin said Wednesday. The move to a slimmed-down May 9 parade -- typically a bombastic display of Russia's military might -- comes more than four years into Russia's war in Ukraine that has killed hundreds of thousands and drained vast economic resources.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro vowed to “wean” the country’s economy off oil and coal when he was elected in 2022. But as his term draws to a close – with the first round of a presidential election set for May 31 – Petro’s ambitious energy transition plan remains unfulfilled, with the country still reliant on fossil-fuel production.

New maps of Gaza quietly issued by Israel a little more than a month ago have put thousands of displaced Palestinians inside an expanded restricted area, within boundaries the military says it ​can continue to change. FRANCE 24's Camille Corcoran reports.

Ahead of the EU-Armenia summit, joining us from Armenia’s newly inaugurated embassy in Paris, France 24's François Picard welcomes Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, who presents a country at a pivotal juncture: one defined by the simultaneous consolidation of peace and strategic repositioning. He asserts that “we now have peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” framing it not as a symbolic declaration but as an emerging reality, further underscored by the intention to “in...

Vladimir Putin and ​Donald Trump held a phone call on Wednesday ​in which the Russian leader put forward ideas on resolving the conflict over Iran's nuclear programme, a Kremlin aide ​said. Putin ‌also proposed a repeat of ⁠a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the anniversary of the end ‌of World War Two next month, the aide ⁠said. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert has more.

Two Jewish men were stabbed and injured in a London street on Wednesday, in what police called an act of terrorism. Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder in the city's latest antisemitic attack. The Metropolitan Police said the attack in the Golders Green area left two men, aged 34 and 76, hospitalized with knife wounds.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was back in court Wednesday to answer questions regarding documents written by Claude Guéant, his onetime right-hand man and former interior minister. Guéant’s statements – and Sarkozy’s denials – are the latest chapter in a public falling-out as Sarkozy appeals his conviction for illegally accepting Libyan funds for his 2007 presidential campaign.

🇺🇸 No sitting president has ever appeared on a #US passport. Yet the US State Department has unveiled a limited-edition version bearing Donald #Trump’s portrait to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of #Independence. 🪙 A commemorative gold coin featuring his image is also set to be minted for the occasion.

Russia ​will hold a scaled-back version of its Victory Day parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. For the first time in nearly two decades, the annual parade on Moscow's Red Square will not feature a military hardware display. The Kremlin said it was due to Ukraine's "terrorist activity".

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at the Paris Court of Appeal on Wednesday, where he is to be questioned about two documents written by his former right-hand man, Claude Gueant – documents that effectively mark a break with the defence in the appeals trial regarding allegations of Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential campaign. FRANCE 24's Carys Garland reports.

Almost all of Europe experienced above-average heat in 2025, a year that broke records for wildfires, sea temperatures ​and heatwaves ‌as climate change worsens, EU scientists and the World Meteorological Organization said ⁠on Wednesday. The findings set out how climate change is having increasingly severe consequences in ​Europe, at a time when some governments seek to weaken emissions-cutting policies ‌over economic concerns.

Mali's military leader on Tuesday made his first public appearance since unprecedented large-scale weekend attacks destabilised his ruling junta, visiting the wounded and meeting the ambassador of key ally Russia. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country's north, three days after launching a stunning wave of attacks, in what Moscow said remained a "difficult" situation.

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, April 29: Papers discuss public anger in Russia after an internet crackdown. Next: France launches a probe into the reappearance of the website that was used to recruit the men who raped Gisèle Pelicot. Also, what is "promotion burnout" and is there a Gen Z "burnout crisis"? Finally, 22 Buddhist monks carrying 110kg of cannabis are arrested at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka.

Britain's King Charles and Donald Trump hailed their countries' longstanding ties at a White House state dinner Tuesday -- despite the US president claiming the monarch agreed with him on Iran's nuclear weapons.

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of its third-largest producer and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn't able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.

King Charles III marked the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain with gratitude that the two countries united to build “one of the most consequential alliances in human history” while urging “that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.” Speaking Tuesday to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Charles repeatedly highlighted the historical and cultural ties that he said have cemented an enduring bond between the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

Four mountain bongos have arrived in Kenya after being returned from a Czech zoo in a bid to bolster numbers of the critically endangered species of which there are less that 100 left in the wild. Kenyan officials hailed the return as a “homecoming of the majestic bongos".

François Picard is pleased to welcome Dr. Folahanmi Aina, Political Scientist and Lecturer in the Political Economy of Violence, Conflict and Development at SOAS London. As a researcher of global security and political dynamics, his analysis of Mali’s evolving crisis focuses on the interplay between militarised governance, external partnerships, and the persistence of insurgent violence in the Sahel. According to Dr. Aina, the current trajectory under Colonel Assimi Goïta reflects a strategic...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes NASA has a “good shot” at returning astronauts to the Moon before 2029, citing progress on the Artemis II program, though he cautioned against guaranteeing success during his second term in office.

A Syrian court conducted the first hearing Sunday in the trial of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and senior figures from his government, one of whom appeared in person. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Nanar Hawach, Senior Analyst for Syria at the International Crisis Group, says that despite most perpetrators being tried in absentia, "transitional justice is integral for Syria to move on past the civil war and past atrocities".

A team of Iranian football officials left Canada before the start of this week's FIFA Congress due to the "inappropriate behaviour" of immigration officials at Toronto airport, Iranian media reported Wednesday. The Iranian federation's president is a former member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which is a designated terror group in Canada.

Since returning to office, Donald Trump has plastered his name, likeness and signature across a series of US government buildings and documents. In the latest on this list, the US State Department announced that to mark the USA’s 250th birthday, it was unveiling a limited-edition “patriot passport” featuring President Trump’s portrait. It's sparked criticism of "megalomania" and "vanity" from US lawmakers and average Americans alike.

The LEGO-style videos making fun of Donald Trump over his war in Iran have racked up millions of views on social media. FRANCE 24's Tehran correspondent spoke to the content creator blurring the line between entertainment and propaganda.

Russian forces must withdraw from "all of Mali" and the ruling junta will "fall sooner or later", a spokesman for Tuareg rebels told AFP, after Islamist insurgents and separatists launched attacks destabilising the west African country. FRANCE 24's Juliette Brown reports.

Memes, humour, and trolling of American politicians: This is how a handful of Iranian embassies have become superstars on “X”, attracting millions of views. But how did the old-fashioned and largely ignored accounts of Iran’s diplomats in South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom suddenly turn into Gen Z-style viral feeds, with millions of views?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing questioning from lawmakers for the first time since US President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran, which Democrats have contested as a costly conflict of choice waged without congressional approval. Watch our replay.

France has a reputation, among some, of being a vacation nation. Is this warranted? In this edition of Entre Nous, we dive into France's public holidays during the month of May. We discuss the country's infamous long weekends or "ponts", an ongoing political fight over the May 1 bank holiday and what researchers say is the ideal number of "jours fériés" or public holidays.

In Paris, parents are now dropping their children off at school in a climate of anxiety. For several months, reports of physical and sexual abuse involving nursery school children have been mounting. These cases are said to have taken place during after-school care and lunch breaks, when the children are supervised by non-teaching staff. In 2026 alone, 78 youth workers were suspended in Paris, 31 of them on suspicion of sexual abuse. Warning: viewers may find this report disturbing.

US Marines on Tuesday boarded a commercial ship in the Arabian Sea that was suspected of trying to violate the American blockade of Iranian ports, the US military said. The M/V Blue Star III was released by US forces "after conducting a search and confirming the ship's voyage would not include an Iranian port call," Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said in a post on X.

Social media is all abuzz over a video shot in Paris over the weekend. It was posted by a cyclist who found his bike parked in front of the Louvre Museum… colonised by a swarm of tens of thousands of bees. But this kind of phenomenon is less unusual than you might think in Paris.

Last year, the Election Commission of India launched a "Special Intensive Revision", or SIR, describing it as an exercise to eliminate duplicate or deceased voters. So far, 13 states and federally administered territories have completed the task, leading to the deletion of over 55 million voters from the electoral rolls. But this exercise has become a political flashpoint in West Bengal, where 9 million voters have been deleted ahead of a crucial state election.

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Eva Simon, Head of Tech & Rights Program at Liberties. Their report reveals a decline in media / press freedom across the EU. Drawing on data from 22 member states, she argues that the erosion of press freedom is part of a broader democratic decline. Ms. Simon emphasises that media / press freedom is deeply intertwined with the rule of law, political accountability, and the health of democratic institutions. "So there is a link between media ownership and de...

👑During his visit to the United States, the UK’s #King #Charles III punctuated serious speeches with a series of #jokes delivered in his own distinctive style, prompting laughter from #US President Donald #Trump and the audience. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸

Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted for threatening the life of Donald Trump, officials said Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of the US president was thrown out. The indictment by a grand jury in North Carolina stems from an Instagram post the 65-year-old Comey made in May last year that showed the numbers "86 47" spelled out in seashells. Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that "86" was slang for kill and "47" was a re...

An Indian billionaire's son offered on Tuesday to take hippos descended from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, rather than have the animals killed. Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to stay a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation.

French fighter pilots deployed in the Middle East have been assisting in intercepting Iranian drones and missiles. Commander Quentin, Captain Louis and Lieutenant Enzo were initially sent to the region as part of counterterrorism operations. But on February 28, as the conflict escalated, their mission took a new turn. Now back from deployment, they are speaking publicly for the first time about their experience.

France on Wednesday called on its citizens to leave Mali "as soon as possible" following weekend of attacks on government targets in cities across the country launched by jihadists and Tuareg separatists.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. With nine goals, it was the highest-scoring Champions League semifinal in history.

Julian Alvarez scored a penalty as Atletico Madrid held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday. Viktor Gyokeres had put Arsenal ahead from the spot before Alvarez equalised, while a late penalty call for Arsenal was overturned after a VAR review.

The energy shock and economic headwinds caused by the Iran war have increased uncertainty in Latin America - but the region remains resilient. That's according to Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank. He tells France 24 there are requests for "targeted support" like energy diversification and fertilizer needs. Also in the show - Jerome Powell gives his last press conference as Federal Reserve Chair, as his successor Kevin Warsh takes a step closer to confirmation.

In tonight's edition, Mali's separatists declare the country's junta will fall, a day after its military leader declared the situation is under control. Also, the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to send boots on the ground to protect its lucrative mines. And tens of thousands of migrants continue to brave the Eastern Route each year, despite the number of people dying on the journey doubling to a record high in 2025.

Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Michael Shurkin, Director of Global Programmes at 14 North Strategies, says that Mali faces a very high risk of a new coup d'état, adding that the jihadist group JNIM and the Tuareg rebels of the FLA "clearly have the initiative and the Malian government is on the backfoot".

Ahead of the Armenia-EU summit, joining us from Armenia’s newly inaugurated embassy in Paris, France 24's François Picard welcomes Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, who presents a country at a pivotal juncture: one defined by the simultaneous consolidation of peace and strategic repositioning. He asserts that “we now have peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” framing it not as a symbolic declaration but as an emerging reality, further underscored by the intention to “in...

There are those who want the US and Iran to settle and those who want regime change. Among the latter, there’s Israel of course and then there’s the United Arab Emirates who’ve signaled OPEC’s cautious response as a reason for quitting the cartel. The end of OPEC? How will its biggest producer Saudi Arabia respond? The Emirates also seem to have it in for Saudi ally Pakistan, suddenly demanding the immediate reimbursement of a 3-and-a-half billion dollar loan from the cash-strapped facilitato...

France has a long, slightly eccentric tradition of invention…did you know some of the revolutionary items you use everyday were first introduced to the public at Paris’s annual invention competition?

France has a long, slightly eccentric tradition of invention…did you know some of the revolutionary items you use everyday were first introduced to the public at Paris’s annual invention competition?

Angela Diffley is pleased to welcome Dr. Garret J. Martin, Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer, and the Co-Director of the Transatlantic Policy Center, in the School of International Service at American University. The US-UK transatlantic relationship is navigating a period of unprecedented friction. While diplomacy through a state visit from King Charles can help sustain dialogue, it cannot repair the growing transatlantic divide triggered by increasing uncertainty over America's alliance wit...

All of the Kenyan police officers deployed to gang-plagued Haiti as part of a security support mission have left the country, a Haitian source confirmed Tuesday, as another UN-approved operation gets up and running. Kenya took the lead in the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), greenlit by the UN Security Council in late 2023 to help Haiti's overwhelmed police secure the country from powerful gangs. However, armed groups remain in control of significant territory and continue to inf...

It has been nearly two months, ​but Rabih Khreiss still has trouble recognising his new life. The father-of-nine could once put food on the table through his car workshop in southern Lebanon, but is now barely surviving in a tent in the capital Beirut. Like so many others, the Khreiss family fled their southern hometown of Khiyam in the early ​hours of March ‌2, moments after learning that the Hezbollah armed group had fired into Israel in what would become the opening salvos ⁠of a new war.

We discuss the harrowing incident at the centre of Marta Bergman's poignant new film, as critic Manon Kerjean tells us why "The Silent Run" is a powerful, haunting take on the terrifying scenarios that many refugees face. We also review Alain Gomis's atmospheric journey through family rites and rituals in Guinea-Bissau in "Dao". Plus Laure Calamy and Vincent Macaigne negotiate belly laughs and bittersweet moments in "What is Love?" as a separated couple re-visiting their past on a trip to Rome.

A spokesperson for Mali's Tuareg rebel group Azawad Liberation Front pledged on Wednesday that the country's ruling junta "will fall" and said the group wanted to see Russian forces withdraw "from all of Mali" after weekend attacks by Islamist insurgents and Tuareg separatists targeting major cities.

One of the world's leading historians on the Palestinian people has told FRANCE 24 about how there is a future basis for peace in the region. Rashid Khalidi has spent years writing a series of books on the region and its conflicts, often through the eyes of his own family. He says that millions of people are not going to leave their land, so there's a basis for the two peoples to figure something out. Khalidi is in Paris for several appearances, including at the Arab World Institute. He spoke...

Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights.

Mali's military leader on Tuesday insisted the situation in his country was "under control" as he made his first public address since unprecedented large-scale attacks at the weekend destabilised his ruling junta. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country's north, three days after launching a stunning wave of attacks, in what junta chief Assimi Goita acknowledged was a situation "of extreme gravity". FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Philip Turl...

The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed eight people, including civil defence rescuers, and wounded two soldiers in the country's south, despite an ongoing ceasefire. The Israeli military, meanwhile, announced it had found and destroyed a large Hezbollah tunnel network used by elite fighters in southern Lebanon. FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.

OPEC faces a double crisis as it manages both the energy shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the departure of the UAE. Also in this edition: Airbus reports some disappointing quarterly results. Plus, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is sentenced to $5.5 billion in fines for its role in the deadly opioid crisis in the US.

François Picard is pleased to welcome Merijn Tinga, Biologist, Artist, Activist, affectionately known as the Plastic Soup Surfer. He joins us, not only as a scientist or activist, but as someone who spends hours a day on the water, experiencing directly the forces we so often abstract away. From the surfboard, everything becomes clear: "You become one with the wind, with the waves… you have one focus.” And yet, back on land, "you're immersed by this throwaway culture".

French prosecutors are investigating the reopening of the adult website Coco, now renamed Cocoland, on which sex criminal Dominique Pelicot used a chatroom to find dozens of strangers to rape his sedated wife Gisèle Pelicot. The platform has also been linked to crimes including including the sexual abuse of children and murder.