Man City blunted by 'giant performance' Inter in Champions League stalemate 19 Sep 2024, 3:03 am

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi praised his team's "giant performance" after holding Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in their Champions League opener. The expanded tournament format, designed to pit Europe’s top clubs against each other more frequently, saw both sides start their campaigns with a hard-fought stalemate.

US says Iran cyber hackers offered Trump 'stolen, non public' material to Biden team 19 Sep 2024, 1:58 am

US officials say Iranian hackers targeted Joe Biden's campaign with hacked information from Donald Trump’s electoral team in late June and early July, according to the FBI and intelligence agencies. The unsolicited emails were sent before Biden dropped out of the presidential race, with no evidence recipients responded to the messages.

Man killed during French security forces operation in New Caledonia 19 Sep 2024, 1:24 am

A man was killed during a French security forces operation in New Caledonia overnight, raising the death toll to 12 after four months of unrest. Clashes continue in Saint Louis, a stronghold of the independence movement south of Noumea, as tensions persist in the French Pacific territory.

Federal Reserve lowers US interest rates weeks before US election 19 Sep 2024, 12:51 am

The Federal Reserve slashed US interest rates by 50 basis points, its first cut in four years, lowering the benchmark rate to 4.75-5.00%. The move, double the typical 25 basis point adjustment, signals heightened concern about economic growth as inflation slows. The decision aims to safeguard the labor market amid growing uncertainties.

French mass rape survivor says 'humiliated' by lawyers' claims of complicity in her abuse 19 Sep 2024, 12:28 am

Gisele Pelicot expressed feeling humiliated during the trial of her ex-husband, after defense lawyers accused her of complicity in the abuse. She described the experience in court as degrading. Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging Gisele with sedatives, rendering her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers could rape her over nearly a decade.

What we know about Lebanon’s exploding pagers 18 Sep 2024, 7:03 pm

Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded almost simultaneously around 3:30pm local time on Tuesday killing at least 12 people, including two children, and wounding as many as 2,800 people in Lebanon and Syria, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad. More communication devices used by Hezbollah including walkie-talkies detonated on Wednesday across southern Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, killing at least nine and wounding hundreds.

Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped', says Ukraine military official 18 Sep 2024, 5:51 pm

A spokesman for the Ukrainian army said on Wednesday that the Russian counter-offensive in the Kursk region had been halted and that parts of that zone remained "under Ukrainian control". In western Russia, Ukrainian drones "destroyed" a warehouse containing missiles and artillery ammunition on Tuesday night, Ukrainian officials added.

Indian-administered Kashmir holds first local election after losing autonomy 18 Sep 2024, 3:41 pm

Five years after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood, the northern Indian region voted Wednesday in its first local election in a decade. The disputed Kashmir Valley has experienced profound changes since the last state elections were held in 2014, including inherited protections on land ownership and jobs.

Associate of Frenchman in mass rape trial admits to copycat abuse on his own wife 18 Sep 2024, 2:01 pm

An associate of Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman man who drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her in a case that has shocked France and the world, told a court that he committed similar crimes against his own wife under Pelicot's influence. Jean-Pierre Marechal met Pelicot on a website where they shared information about drugging and assulting their spouses. Police say Pelicot was among the men who Marechal invited to assault his wife.

Google wins EU court bid to overturn €1.49 billion antitrust fine 18 Sep 2024, 11:25 am

Google on Wednesday won a court challenge against a €1.49-billion fine levied by the European Union for abuse of dominance over online advertising in the latest in a series of legal clashes between the tech giant and the European Bloc. EU courts scrapped the fine after ruling that there has been "errors" in the initial assessment.

France's budgetary situation is 'very serious', new PM Barnier says 18 Sep 2024, 10:45 am

France has a "very serious" budgetary deficit, Prime Minister Michael Barnier said, weeks after France was placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules. Barnier, who was appointed to lead the French government on September 6 after months of political deadlock, has previously suggested tax rises to help stabilise finances.

Israel planted 5,000 pager explosives months before deadly blasts, Lebanese security sources say 18 Sep 2024, 8:24 am

Israel’s spy service injected explosive materials activated by coded messages into thousands of pagers during production, months before they were imported by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, a senior Lebanese security source said. Hezbollah fighters were using the low-tech devices, produced by the Taiwan-based company Gold Apollo, in an attempt to evade Israeli location-tracking, sources said. Gold Apollo said on Wednesday that the devices used in the blasts were manufactured by another company based in Budapest.

🔴Live: At least 20 killed, 450 wounded in fresh wave of Lebanon device explosions 18 Sep 2024, 8:01 am

Communication devices used by Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah detonated late Wednesday afternoon across the country's south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 450, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The attack comes a day after exploding pagers killed 12 people in Lebanon and Syria, including two children, and injured around 2,800 others. Follow FRANCE 24's liveblog for all the latest developments.

North Korea launches second set of short-range ballistic missiles in a week 18 Sep 2024, 6:24 am

North Korea continued a series of provocative maneuvers early Wednesday when, for the second time since Thursday, it fired a second round of short ballistic missiles – a move experts say could be linked to the isolated country's suspected illicit supplying of arms to Russia

US rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail on racketeering, sex trafficking charges 18 Sep 2024, 4:41 am

Superstar producer and businessman Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in jail after a judge denied his release on bail on Tuesday, facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy – accusations that follow numerous others grounded in events from 2009 onwards.

Bayern, Liverpool and Mbappé shine as new UCL 'league phase' kicks off 18 Sep 2024, 2:31 am

European football's most coveted competition debuted its new format on Tuesday, foregoing its classic 'group stage' games for a giant league compromised of all 36 teams. Bayern Munich scored a record-breaking nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé registered his first for the reigning champions, while both Liverpool and newcomers Aston Villa recorded wins. 

Second attempt on Trump’s life raises new concerns over security protocols 17 Sep 2024, 6:33 pm

Donald Trump escaped a suspected assassination attempt on Sunday, two months after he was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania. The FBI announced the arrest of a man suspected of targeting the former president on a golf course in Florida, once again raising questions about the security arrangements put in place by the Secret Service.

'We are getting close' to taking action against Hezbollah, Israeli ambassador to UN says 17 Sep 2024, 4:43 pm

FRANCE 24 spoke to Israel's new ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. Earlier this Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made the safe return of residents to the north of Israel – which is facing near-daily attacks by Hezbollah from neighbouring Lebanon – an official war goal. "We are still trying diplomatic channels in order to allow them to come back to their communities," Danon said of the residents. But he warned that Israel will "use other capabilities" if it sees no progress. "There is some point in life where you have to put a red line and understand that you have to take action. We are getting close to that moment".

Al Qaeda-linked group claims attack on military police base in Mali’s capital 17 Sep 2024, 10:57 am

Al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack on a military police base in Mali’s capital Bamako. Mali's army said in a statement that it had control of the situation in the capital after what it called a foiled infiltration attempt by "terrorists" into the Faladie military police school as well as other unspecified locations.

'I am a rapist,' says Frenchman accused of inviting scores of men to rape his drugged wife 17 Sep 2024, 10:21 am

Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old Frenchman accused of drugging and raping his then-wife Gisèle and recruiting dozens of other men online to come to their home and rape her while she was unconscious, told a hearing Tuesday morning that the 50 defendants in the mass trial "all knew" that they were being invited to sexually assault her. Gisèle requested that the trail in the southern city of Avignon be made public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

Hezbollah blames Israel after several killed, thousands wounded by pagers exploding across Lebanon 17 Sep 2024, 6:16 am

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday that killed at least nine people and wounded 2,750 more, according to the Lebanese health minister. Hundreds of Hezbollah members were among the wounded, security sources said. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel’s war goals now include the “safe return of the residents of the north to their homes” after they fled amid cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.