The Kennedy Center board voted Tuesday to close most of the Washington performing arts complex for safety repairs, hours after a judge again blocked efforts to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building. Trump said the $257 million renovation plan depended on recognising his role in the project.
In tonight's programme, thousands of Africans end up amidst the war in Ukraine fighting or working on behalf of the Kremlin. We speak to a journalist who just got back from Ukraine. Also, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the C64 opposition coalition held a demonstration in the capital Kinshasa. And finally, Kenya's celebrating a stellar athletics victory as the country beats London in the race to host the 2029 World Championships.
European Union envoys have pushed back the expiry of EU Russia sanctions listings by seven days until September 22, a spokesperson for the EU's Irish presidency said on Monday, after failing to agree on a six-month renewal. At issue is whether to de-list Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov. France has joined Slovakia in a call to remove him, citing national security concerns, EU diplomats said. FRANCE 24's August Hakansson reports.
Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Rex Li, Professor of International Relations at King's College London, says that China "is trying to promote an alternative international security order and project itself as a stabilising force in world politics", adding that while Beijing "is increasingly willing to play a more significant part in ending the conflict in the Middle East, so far we haven't seen any concrete proposals coming from China".
Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Rex Li, Professor of International Relations at King's College London, says that China "is trying to promote an alternative international security order and project itself as a stabilising force in world politics", adding that while Beijing "is increasingly willing to play a more significant part in ending the conflict in the Middle East, so far we haven't seen any concrete proposals coming from China".
People in the single-currency Eurozone have been invited to vote on the designs of upcoming euro bank bills. Proposed designs include historic figures like Marie Curie and Leonardo da Vinci, as well as a vertical format. They are expected to enter circulation around 2030. But first, as higher fuel prices stemming from the Iran war hurt consumers, fishermen in southern France scuffled with police as they tried to blockade an oil depot.
NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace and Denmark accused a Russian frigate of firing flares at a Danish military helicopter on Tuesday, in incidents that heightened tensions along the alliance’s eastern flank.
Céline Dion on Saturday fulfilled her dream of returning to the stage after years battling a rare neurological disorder with a sell-out concert in an arena west of Paris. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, vocal coach Elena Hurstel says that Céline Dion's performance in Paris has been defined by emotion, explaining that "we can really see the new Céline. It's not about being perfect, it's about being the woman she became, about being real".
A viral selfie allegedly showing Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and other leaders together at the BRICS summit in New Delhi is AI-generated. A SynthID watermark shows it was created using OpenAI tools, while several leaders pictured, including Brazil’s Lula and Turkey’s Erdogan, did not attend. Another AI selfie features former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in 2024. Both images were widely shared online, including by official embassy accounts. Vedika Bahl fact-checks.
Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Dr. Walaa-Eldeen Bakry, Principal Lecturer in Project Management and Finance and Director of Executive Education at Westminster Business School, says that "Carney is deliberately aiming to diversify the Canadian trade policy", explaining that it "can actually offer a more reliable route in terms of energy exports from Canada into the EU and we have seen last year a significant increase in oil exports to some European countries".
The European Union accused Russia on Tuesday of the "reckless" firing of flares at a Danish frigate which, with the shooting down of a drone over Lithuania, heightened the continent's anxiety over the Ukraine-Russia war. Danish analysts are calling for NATO and the EU to step up their response to Russia, according to FRANCE 24's Copenhagen correspondent Trine Villemann.
François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of Autocracy, Inc. According to Applebaum, the upheaval in American diplomacy and foreign policy transcends any one administration. She describes a full-fledged transformation in the way the United States exerts power, pivoting away from leadership of a democratic alliance and toward a transactional, mafia-style politics that fuses ideology, private economic interests, personal relationships and geopolitical leverage.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Europe in the middle of a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking a deeper relationship with the European Union that could give Canadians greater freedom to work and study there. FRANCE 24's Christopher Guly reports from Ottawa.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for free and secure navigation in the Red Sea during talks in Cairo on Tuesday, as the kingdom vowed to respond "firmly" to attacks by Yemen's Houthis. The two regional powers discussed the threat posed by the Iran-backed group's control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell has more.
The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space, a remarkable revelation after previous warnings about countries such as Russia possibly weaponizing a global frontier long agreed in treaties to be used for only peaceful purposes. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports.
First, there was Donald Trump’s surprise decision to strike Iran. Then, came the quagmire of a war without an exit strategy. Now, six months later, with access to the Gulf all but shut… global shipping holding its breath over the other end of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia drawn back into Yemen as Iran-backed Houthis threaten access to the Red Sea.
The world’s biggest AI companies are working to create a new industry standards body, OpenAI said on Tuesday, as rising concerns over the risks of artificial intelligence fuel pressure for greater oversight and safer development of the technology.
NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday. Separately, Denmark said that one of its air force helicopters was fired on with flares as it was carrying out surveillance of a Russian frigate in the Baltic Sea. France 24’s Philip Turle takes a look at what Moscow’s motives might be for this seeming increase in incidents inside NATO and EU territory.
Average diesel prices in the United States struck a record high of just under $6.27 a gallon Tuesday, pressuring President Donald Trump ahead of midterm congressional elections. Diesel prices have soared as Washington's war with Iran disrupts the world's flow of fuel, though Trump has repeatedly downplayed the effects of the war, pinning the blame on Kyiv instead for its attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia, the group claimed Monday, and also seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, bolstering the rebels' ability to control a key maritime shipping route.