The EU warned TikTok’s new rewards feature could be addictive. Now the app's suspended it

france24.com/en/ • 6h, 50m ago

TikTok announced Wednesday that it had suspended a feature that rewarded users for watching and liking videos on its new Lite app, available in France and Spain, after the EU launched an investigation Monday over child-safety concerns.

🔴 Live: Israeli forces carrying out ‘offensive action’ in southern Lebanon

france24.com/en/ • 4h, 14m ago

Israeli forces are carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, defence minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday without specifying whether ground troops had crossed the border. Gallant added that Israeli military strikes had killed half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon. Read our liveblog to follow today's developments in the Middle East.

Spanish PM Sanchez considering resignation after wife's graft probe

france24.com/en/ • 10h, 5m ago

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday he was "reflecting" on the possibility of resigning after a court opened an investigation into his wife Begona Gomez on suspicion of graft.

Biden signs bill to provide $61 billion in new military aid for Ukraine

france24.com/en/ • 8h, 23m ago

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine, with the Pentagon quickly announcing a new $1 billion package headed for Kyiv, featuring desperately needed air defense and artillery munitions.

Iran sentences popular rapper to death for supporting Mahsa Amini protests

france24.com/en/ • 5h, 18m ago

An Iranian court has sentenced to death a popular rapper jailed for more than a year and a half for supporting nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, local media reported Wednesday.

Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US universities, targeting financial ties with Israel

france24.com/en/ • 3h, 24m ago

Students at an increasing number of US universities are gathering in protest camps to demand that their schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies that are enabling its months-long conflict in Gaza. FRANCE 24's New York correspondent Jessica Le Masurier reports from Columbia University, where students have resumed their protest just days after they were evicted by the police.

Russia, Ukraine to exchange displaced children in Qatar-brokered deal

france24.com/en/ • 7h, 4m ago

Russia and Ukraine have agreed in a Qatari-brokered deal to exchange almost 50 children displaced by Moscow's invasion, the Kremlin's children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova announced in Doha Wednesday.

CAF president Motsepe says aiming for African team to win 'next World Cup'

france24.com/en/ • 5h, 43m ago

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe discussed his ambitions for African football and his tenure as CAF president. He also rejected accusations of defamation from Cameroon's football federation president Samuel Eto'o and responded to allegations of sexual abuse involving several youth football team coaches in Gabon.

French court confirms ex-PM Fillon's conviction in 'fake jobs' scandal

france24.com/en/ • 4h, 38m ago

France's Court of Cassation on Wednesday confirmed the conviction of former premier François Fillon in a fake jobs scandal that wrecked his 2017 presidential bid but ordered a new trial for his sentencing.

Blinken eyes US-China ties on visit, but trade, Taiwan, Tiktok mark challenges

france24.com/en/ • 2h, 48m ago

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform -– all areas of contention between Washington and Beijing. 

US Senate passes $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

france24.com/en/ • 6h, 53m ago

The Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.

What will Britain's Rwanda Act mean for Afghan asylum seekers?

france24.com/en/ • , 35m ago

Justice Department to pay $139 million to USA Gymnastics sex abuse victims

france24.com/en/ • 10h, 10m ago

The United States Justice Department said Tuesday it had agreed to pay almost $139 million to victims of sex abuser Larry Nassar, for its bungled investigation into the former USA Gymnastics team doctor.

‘Ugly speech’ but not a surprise: Modi accused of anti-Muslim rhetoric on campaign trail

france24.com/en/ • 13h, 49m ago

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign speech over the weekend calling the country’s Muslims “infiltrators” has sparked an outcry ahead of the second phase of the multiphase vote. But while Irfan Nooruddin from Georgetown University concedes it was incendiary, he notes that it comes as no surprise.

Students, teachers, parents protest Argentina university budget cuts

france24.com/en/ • 10h, 12m ago

Hundreds of thousands of Argentines took to the streets on Tuesday, protest organizers said, to voice outrage at cuts to higher public education under budget-slashing new President Javier Milei.

Maduro announces return of UN rights office to Venezuela

france24.com/en/ • 6h, 1m ago

President Nicolas Maduro announced Tuesday that a United Nations human rights office would begin operating in Venezuela once again, after it was suspended and its staff ordered to leave in February.

Ukraine suspends overseas consular services for military-age men

france24.com/en/ • 12h, 44m ago

Ukraine authorities on Tuesday suspended consular services for men of fighting age living abroad, after announcing measures to bring them home amid manpower shortages in the army fighting Russia.

French air traffic controller strike threaten travel chaos at Paris airports

france24.com/en/ • 15h, 32m ago

French air traffic controllers are to stage a one-day strike Thursday that risks seeing most flights cancelled at the two main Paris airports, France's leading aviation association warned Tuesday.

Police arrest more than 130 at New York University Gaza demonstrations

france24.com/en/ • 1, 38m ago

More than 130 people were arrested overnight during pro-Palestinian protests at the New York University campus as student demonstrations gather pace in the United States over the Israel-Hamas war.

Top French far-left MP Mathilde Panot summoned by police over Hamas comments

france24.com/en/ • 17h, 38m ago

The leader of far-left MPs in the French parliament was on Tuesday summoned for questioning by police in an investigation into suspected justification of "terrorism" over comments on the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel. 

UK Parliament approves controversial Rwanda deportation bill

france24.com/en/ • 1, 20m ago

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's latest effort to send some migrants to Rwanda finally won approval from Parliament early Tuesday, hours after he pledged deportation flights would begin in July.