Новости за 29.03.2024

Srettha Thavisin became Thailand’s prime minister in August 2023, putting an end to nine years of the country’s military dominating its politics. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the businessman-turned-politician said he "truly believes" the future of Thailand will be more democratic.

France has asked about 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand extra military, police and civilian personnel to help safeguard the Paris Olympics this summer, government sources said on Friday, amid a complex geopolitical and security outlook. The country plans to deploy about 45,000 French police and security forces, 20,000 private security personnel and around 15,000 military personnel each day to protect an event that will see millions of sports fans and tourists stay in the country for several weeks at the height of summer.

Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60% of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. Expectations of shortages of cocoa beans - the raw material for chocolate - have seen New York cocoa futures more than double this year alone. They have hit fresh record highs almost daily in an unprecedented trend that shows little sign of abating.

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday announced an overhaul of Nigeria's economic governance intended to ease financial hardship and boost productivity, establishing a multi-layered framework to bolster coordination, planning and implementation. FRANCE 24's Sam Olukoya reports.

South Africa's electoral commission said on Thursday it had excluded former president Jacob Zuma from standing in the May 29 general election. Zuma, 81, was forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations. FRANCE 24's An Wentzel reports.

The airlines's chief executive, Bilal Eksi, attended a ceremony at Mitiga International Airport on Thursday to mark its first flight to Libya since 2015. "We are delighted to start flights again to Libya, with which we have historical ties," Eksi said. "We will continue to bring cultures together in Africa, as in many continents," he added. A company spokesman told AFP on Friday that Turkish Airlines will operate flights to Tripoli three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Turkish... Читать дальше...

The situation in chaos-wracked Haiti is "cataclysmic", with more than 1,500 people killed by gang violence so far this year and more weapons pouring into the country, the UN said Thursday. In a fresh report, the United Nations rights office detailed how "corruption, impunity and poor governance, compounded by increasing levels of gang violence (had) eroded the rule of law and brought state institutions... close to collapse".

Russia on Thursday blocked the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The Israeli army said Tuesday that it had killed Marwan Issa, deputy leader of the armed wing of Hamas, in a strike earlier this month. He was "eliminated in a precise strike two weeks ago by the air force based on intelligence from the Shin Bet," the Israeli internal security agency, said army spokesman Daniel Hagari.

Oscar best picture winner "Oppenheimer" was finally released on Friday in Japan, where its subject -- the man who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb -- is a highly sensitive and emotional topic.

In September 2022, the US Treasury Department threatened foreign banks with secondary sanctions for servicing Mir cards, a Russian card payment system. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in February that Russia has been using the system to evade Western sanctions, which have targeted Moscow's financial system. The Union of Banks of Armenia said the country's commercial banks "will stop servicing Mir cards as of Saturday, because of the risk of secondary sanctions." An exception... Читать дальше...

The Crusaders outscored the visitors by five tries to four in Christchurch to avenge their 33-29 defeat away to the Chiefs in Hamilton on the opening day of the season. Having won Super Rugby titles in each of the last seven years under previous head coach Scott Robertson, the Crusaders had started the 2024 campaign under his replacement Rob Penney with five straight loses. This was a significantly improved display from the hosts, who were disciplined throughout and took their chances in front of a home crowd. Читать дальше...

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a plan to seize 800 hectares of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the largest land seizure since the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israeli and Palestinian authorities according to NGO Peace Now. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent and Claire Duhamel explored the roads around Jerusalem, some of which are included in the planned seizure, and spoke with a Palestinian land planning engineer who said Smotrich's plan is aimed at "increasing control" in the territory.

The couple, now in their 50s, got hitched at midnight on March 29, 2014, the very moment the historic Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force. "It was fantastic," Wale recalled of their nuptials and the landmark moment in gay rights that paved the way for tens of thousands of similar unions. "For most of our lives, I don't think we even dreamt that we would be able to be married," he told AFP in an interview. Allard, 58, and Wale, 59, became one of the first same-sex couples to marry... Читать дальше...

The yearly move to daylight saving time is a busy period for the pensioner, who has to manually adjust every one of his timepieces. Work started well ahead of the beginning of European summer time early Sunday morning, when the continent's clocks will skip forward an hour. "I start one or two weeks before and I continue after the clocks change, stress free," Stechbarth told AFP, sitting in his lounge. His collection includes not just classic mechanical clocks but a few digital models with LED displays. Читать дальше...

The African Union on Friday congratulated anti-establishment opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in Senegal's presidential election and hailed the "unanimous acceptance of the results".

While most Filipinos went to church or spent the holiday with family, hundreds gathered in villages around San Fernando city, north of Manila, to watch men punish themselves in a bid to atone for their sins or seek miracles from God. Dozens of bare-chested flagellants wearing black shrouds and crowns made of vines walked barefoot through dusty, narrow streets, rhythmically flogging their backs with strips of bamboo tied to ropes, their blood soaking the top of their trousers and spattering onlookers. Читать дальше...

Korean-born US comic-book artist Jim Lee has been one of the genre's great stars since his early days at Marvel in the 1980s, working on "X-Men". When he switched to DC, he helped revive its iconic characters, eventually rising to be president and chief creative officer. He sat down with AFP to talk about his inspirations, the risk of "superhero fatigue" and why he might have been a sort of "AI engine" in his early days. Does the simplistic black-and-white morality of superhero stories still have a place in today's world? Читать дальше...

Tredget, originally from Perth, Western Australia, is aiming to become the first person to busk at every London Underground station. With 272 stops on the network, it is a daunting task. "It's pretty overwhelming when I look at the map sometimes, seeing how many stations I've got left to complete", he told AFP shortly after ticking off his 124th stop, Upton Park. "But it's also quite uplifting to know that I'm pretty close to the halfway mark." Tredget's journey began in April 2023, after a guitar student of his cancelled a lesson. Читать дальше...

An Israeli air strike on Syria's Aleppo province killed at least 36 Syrian soldiers on Friday, according to a war monitor, which added that Hezbollah weapons depots were located in the area. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in Israel's war on Hamas.

Images of the pair smiling and warmly embracing during Macron's three-day visit to Brazil circulated online this week alongside light-hearted captions and montages suggesting a loving relationship between the leaders. "Some have compared the pictures of my visit to Brazil to those of a wedding," Macron wrote Thursday on X. "I tell them it was one. France loves Brazil and Brazil loves France," he said. Macron's tweet was accompanied by picture of himself and Lula smiling during the visit, overlaid... Читать дальше...

Russia on Thursday blocked the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Extreme heat is one of the most deadly problems from climate change even though it receives less attention than other knock-on effects like hurricanes and flooding, two of the world's leading humanitarian organisations warned Thursday.

Senegal's anti-establishment leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye, whose weekend election victory could be officially confirmed within days, was welcomed at the presidential palace Thursday by outgoing leader Macky Sall.

"Cowboy Carter" -- the honkified second act of Queen Bey's "Renaissance" trilogy -- was already out in parts of the world where the calendar had flipped to Friday, and will continue its global drop as the clock strikes midnight in each time zone. The 42-year-old megastar also covers Paul McCartney's "White Album" classic "Blackbiird," which she stylizes with a double-i spelling. McCartney wrote the 1968 song about the Little Rock Nine, nine Black teenagers who became Civil Rights Movement icons... Читать дальше...