'Trump really looking for a success: He overestimated ability to push Putin toward a real ceasefire'

“Yes, but…” Truce seeking in Ukraine, Mark Carney's elbows

This week, our set of experts gathered around Gavin Lee to take a look at the latest in Ukraine-Russia ceasefire proposal, clashes and mass killings in Syria and Donald Trump's tariff war against EU and its neighbouring countries. ...

Defence shortages create ‘temptation for Putin to test us’: EU Defence Commissioner Kubilius

The EU has just launched an ambitious-sounding defence plan, “ReArmEU”, and it is also publishing a landmark white paper on defence. The person at the heart of these initiatives is our guest on the programme; Andrius Kubilius is the EU Commissioner in charge of defence and space. A Lithuanian...

Philippine ex-President Duterte faces charges for war on drugs

On this week’s show we get the latest reaction from the Philippines after the shock arrest of the country’s former president, Rodrigo Duterte. He’s facing charges of crimes against humanity for his war on drugs. We speak to Human Rights Watch’s Asia Carlos Conde who tells us the political f...

Europeans boycott US products to protest against Trump tariffs

As US President Donald Trump escalates a trade war with the European Union – most recently by threatening a 200% tariff on wine and champagne – Europeans are taking matters into their own hands by starting grassroots boycotts of American products that are mobilising tens of thousands of consume...

‘End of an era’: Donatella Versace steps down from Versace fashion house

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, March 14: We look at reactions from the European papers as Vladimir Putin says he's open to a ceasefire but says the conditions need to be reworked. For the press, the Russian President is dictating his terms. Also, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces sweepin...

French finance minister calls Trump's trade war 'idiotic', plans US trip

French Finance Minister Eric Lombard slammed the burgeoning trade war between the US and the EU as "idiotic", promising to travel to the US in the coming days to try to de-escalate the situation. US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to slap 200 percent tariffs on European alcoholic drin...

Live: Trump says US had ‘good’ talks with Putin, strongly urged 'surrounded' Ukrainians to be spared

President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States had "good and productive discussions" with Russia's Vladimir Putin the day before, and that there is “a very good chance” of putting an end to the war. Trump also said his country had strongly urged Putin to spare the lives of the Ukrainia...

Ex-Philippines leader Duterte attends ICC hearing on drug war case via videolink

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, on Friday attended a hearing by videolink that informed him of the charges he is facing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague over his brutal war on drugs. Duterte is accused of orchestrating the killing of thousands of peop...

China urges end to 'illegal' sanctions on Tehran as it hosts Iran nuclear talks

China on Friday called for sanctions against Iran to be lifted as it hosted talks on Tehran's nuclear programme in Beijing. Iran's government has said that no new nuclear deal with the US is possible as long as Washington's unilateral sanctions remain in place. ...

Pro-Palestinian protesters take over Trump Tower in New York

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators Jewish Voice for Peace took over US President Donald Trump's hotel in New York on Thursday in protest of activist Mahmoud Khalil's arrest, leading to 98 arrests. Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, was detained by ICE officers on Saturday without a wa...

Putin agrees in principle to Ukraine ceasefire proposal

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed in principle to the US-drafted proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but noted that the potential agreement in its current format needed revisions. Putin notably highlighted his objective to reclaim the Kursk region in southeastern Russia, which...

UN experts accuse Israel of genocidal acts and sexual violence in Gaza

United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of “the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence” in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Mara Bernasconi, Policy & Advocacy Advisor at Handicap Internationa...

NATO's 'Trump whisperer' treads carefully on Greenland and defense

He's been dubbed the "Trump whisperer," but NATO chief Mark Rutte struggled to get a word in Thursday as the US president mused about annexing Greenland and criticized allies over defense spending. The former Dutch prime minister visited the White House seeking to convince a skeptical Donald Trump...

'Putin is clearly not interested in stopping the war on any terms other than Ukraine's capitulation'

Russian President Vladimir Putin expresses "serious" reservations about Washington's plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President Donald Trump. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Peter Zalmayev, Director...

'Profitable today, unprofitable tomorrow'?: Businesses wary of long-term projects amid trade war

Canada, a neighbor and close ally that is the US' biggest aluminum provider, has announced countermeasures to Trump's metals tariffs and has taken the dispute to the World Trade Organization. Some Canadian retailers have pulled American bourbon from their shelves as relations between the two countr...

Putin says he supports ‘idea’ of Ukraine ceasefire, but that it needs ‘detailed work’

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first public comments on a Washington-proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, saying he supported the “idea” of a truce, but that the plan in its present form needed “more detailed work”. He also said the “root causes” of the c...

🔴 Follow live: Putin 'in favour' of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but says it must lead to 'long-term peace'

Russia's wartime economy: resilient or on the edge of collapse?

Since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's economy has proved to be robust despite sanctions, inflation and labour shortages. But how long can it last? Charles Pellegrin takes a deep dive with his guest Richard Connolly, associate fellow and specialist on the Russian economy at the Royal U...

'Passportisation', propaganda: In occupied Ukraine, Russia lays down roots

As Ukraine and Russia edge closer to peace talks, neither side seem willing to compromise on the sovereignty of the occupied territories that Russia has seized in east Ukraine. For the Ukrainian nationals who live there, ‘Russification’ has become an inescapable part of daily life. ...

Trump wielding tariffs 'indiscriminately as a weapon for geopolitical predominance'

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and spirits if the European goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on an already-escalating trade war and widening rift between the US and Western...

US-Canada tourism takes a hit as Trump trade war heats up

The 48th International Tourism Salon gets underway in Paris, with the world's #3 destination the United States seeing a big drop in Canadian visitors. The United Nations prepares for budget cuts amid an efficiency drive after 7 years of liquidity crisis. ...

Putin orders army to drive remaining Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region

Dressed in military fatigues for a surprise visit to soldiers in the Russian region of Kursk on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to swiftly recapture the rest of the area taken by Ukrainian troops in a shock counter-offensive in August. ...

Duterte takes responsibility for deadly Philippines drug war, expects long ICC battle

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court Wednesday, told supporters in a Facebook video that he takes full responsibility for his administration's deadly "war on drugs". The ICC arrest warrant alleges Duterte armed death squads that...

G7 foreign ministers meet in Canada amid rising tensions with Trump

Foreign ministers from the G7 countries and the EU convene in La Malbaie, Quebec, on Thursday amid escalating tensions with US President Donald Trump over his contentious foreign policies, including his stance on Ukraine and tariff impositions. The two-day meeting follows seven weeks of strained re...

Syrian Kurds celebrate Damascus deal as coastal residents remain wary after violence

This week saw a major breakthrough for Syria's interim leaders, in their efforts to unify the war-torn country, as the Kurdish-led militia that controls the north-east agreed to merge with the new government. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Kawa Hassan, from the Middle East and North Africa Pr...

Trump vows further action as US trading partners hit back at steel and aluminium tariffs

A new, 25 percent import tax on all steel and aluminium coming into the United States has taken effect, drawing swift retaliatory measures from Canada and the European Union. Donald Trump warned of a further response. Sweeping metal tariffs imposed during Trump's first term did have some positive...

Ukraine truce dominates G7 talks clouded by Trump's Canada threats

G7 foreign ministers will meet in Canada Wednesday to discuss moves to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shrugged off questions about a prospective takeover of his country's northern neighbor. FRANCE 24's Christopher Guly reports from Ottawa....

Imposition of tariffs makes US an inefficient 'high-cost producer', economist says

FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to Marcus Noland, Executive VP of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, about the trade war triggered by the Trump tariffs. He says that there's no evidence that Trump's strategy will pay off and that the imposition of tariffs is turning the United States...

What is going through Putin's mind?

FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert breaks down what could be Putin's strategy and ultimate goal, following the proposal accepted by Ukraine of an immediate 30-day ceasefire....

All is forgiven? US resumes aid as Ukraine agrees to truce

Talk about mood swings: is that epic White House bust-up that we are still processing already water under the bridge? Donald Trump’s envoys making that recent dumpster fire of a sitdown with Volodymyr Zelensky sound like a fading memory. The US now unpausing military assistance to Kyiv and talkin...