Von der Leyen calls on EU to defend role in 'hostile' world

Was Russian drone incursion deliberate or accidental?

Poland shot down what it said were Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine. The incident will ratchet up tensions betw...

NATO, EU condemn 'Russia's reckless behaviour' after Poland drone incursion

NATO on Wednesday slammed Moscow's "reckless behaviour" after Russian drones violated Polish airspace, and hailed the alliance's "very successful reaction" to counter the incursion. EU chief von der Leyen meanwhile said Russia had carried out a "reckless and unprecedented" violation of Polish airsp...

Sebastien Lecornu, the loyal Macron ally set to become PM at 39

Sebastien Lecornu, named Tuesday as France's new prime minister, has served as defence minister for over three years during much of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is seen as a deeply loyal, if discreet, ally of President Emmanuel Macron. Still just 39, Lecornu has been one of the few faces of con...

Poland says shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace

Poland said early Wednesday that multiple Russian drones entered and were shot down over its territory with help from NATO allies, describing the incident as an “act of aggression” carried out during a wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine....

Von der Leyen urges EU to fight for place in 'hostile' world

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday urged Europe to assert its independence in a "hostile" world, as she condemned Russia's drone incursion in Poland and pushed for tougher action against Israel over Gaza....

Poland 'closest to open conflict since WWII', PM says after Russian drones shot down

Poland is the closest it has been to open conflict since World War Two, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday after the NATO member state shot down Russian drones over its territory. He said Poland had asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which states that members...

Poland: Russian drones shot down after violating airspace

Poland invoked NATO Article 4 for urgent talks after multiple drones entered its airspace overnight during strikes on western Ukraine, marking the first time Russian drones have been downed over the country....

Poland downs drones that violated its airspace during Russian strikes on Ukraine

The Polish military said early Wednesday that it had downed drones that violated its airspace as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine. France 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv....

Live: Israel warns enemies 'no place they can hide' after strikes on Hamas in Qatar

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday warned Israel's enemies they were not safe anywhere, after Israeli strikes a day earlier targeted Hamas's senior leaders in Qatar. "Israel's long arm will act against its enemies anywhere. There is no place where they can hide," said Katz. Follow ou...

Poland downs drones that violated its airspace during Russian attack on Ukraine

War in Ukraine: Russia denies targeting Poland during overnight drone attack

Russia said on Wednesday that it did not attempt to strike targets on Polish territory after NATO air defences helped counter drones that entered Polish airspace overnight. The downing marks the first time that a NATO country has shot down missiles and drones during Russia's three-and-a-half year w...

Princeton academic Elizabeth Tsurkov released from militia captivity in Iraq

Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was released from captivity in Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Suani and US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, after more than two years of being held hostage by a Shiite militia. Tsurkov was researching pro-Iran factions when she was k...

Iran resumes cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog under new framework

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency agreed to a "new form" of cooperation on Tuesday after Tehran paused the partnership in the wake of its war with Israel in June. The UN watchdog will resume its monitoring of Iran's nuclear programme, which will be developed with "greater transparency...

Trump could end the war within the next 24 hours, former Israeli diplomat says

Speaking on FRANCE 24, former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas says that 'President Trump could end the war within the next twenty four hours if he so desires' adding that 'one phone call to Mr Netanyahu, telling him in no unequivocal terms "End the war now" and the war ends'....

Attack on Hamas in Doha: 'Israel operating without fear of consequence, in environment of impunity'

Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas' political leadership in Qatar as the group's top figures gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a US ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and f...

'Huge shift in awareness' in Europe about Ukraine's need for weapons, MP says

A Russian strike on Tuesday killed 24 people waiting for pension payments in a front-line town of eastern Ukraine where Russian forces are massing forces for a large-scale offensive, officials said. Speaking on FRANCE 24, Ukrainian MP Lisa Yasko, says that there has been a 'huge shift in awareness'...

Israeli strike on Qatar: What impact on Trump's Gaza ceasefire proposal?

Israel launched an audacious attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, expanding its military actions that have ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state where the Palestinian Islamist group has long had its political base. It comes amid discussions on a ceasefire proposal bet...

Russian strikes kill at least 20 people in eastern Ukraine, says Zelensky

A Russian air strike on the eastern region of Donetsk has killed at least 20 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. In a social media post, he wrote that an aerial bomb hit the village of Yarova and urged Ukrainian allies to respond to the attack, which he described as “b...

Panic in Gaza City as Israel orders residents to evacuate ahead of assault

The Israeli military on Tuesday dropped leaflets on Gaza City urging its Palestinian residents to evacuate ahead of an assault Israel’s defence minister has likened to a “mighty hurricane”. “You have been warned – get out of there!” Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu said....

Israeli military urges full evacuation of Gaza City, threatening 'mighty hurricane'

Israel's military on Tuesday ordered Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of a new offensive, after Israel warned it would step up its military attacks in the strip in a "mighty hurricane" if Hamas does not free the last hostages it holds....

Norway Labour Party wins election as populists make gains

Norway's minority Labour Party government won a second term in power on Monday while the populist right achieved its best-ever election result, official results showed, in a ballot dominated by concerns over rising living costs and wars in Ukraine and Gaza....

Is the EU a strategic powerhouse or an ineffectual player?

European political leaders tried to switch off for a few weeks in August, but they must have had a lot on their minds. Russian forces have advanced in the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine.  A summit in Alaska between the Russian and American presidents set off alarm bells in Kyiv and in the EU. And mem...

Russia struck Kyiv govt building with Iskander ballistic missile, Ukraine says

Russia used an Iskander ballistic missile in its deadly attack on a Ukrainian government building in Kyiv on Sunday, a top Ukraine official said. The impact of the powerful missile, which did not fully detonate, left a “gaping hole” in the building, and several people dead....

ICC to hear charges against fugitive Ugandan rebel chief Joseph Kony

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday opened war crimes hearings in absentia against elusive Ugandian warlord Joseph Kony, whose Lord’s Resistance Army was responsible for the murder of some 100,000 people and the abduction of 60,000 children. Kony’s last-known appearance was in 2006 when...

'Intergenerational fairness': In final speech to parliament, Bayrou unveils how pension is funded

As France's embattled Prime Minister makes one final appeal to French Parliament, FRANCE 24's François Picard welcomes Renaud Foucart, Economist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Lancaster University Management School. While Mr. Foucart does take issue with Bayrou's previous wa...

French PM says confidence vote 'a test of truth', warns of debt threat

France's excessive debt pile is "life-threatening" for the country, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Monday as he defended billions of euros of budget cuts ahead of a confidence vote expected to bring down his government, which he labelled a "test of truth". His address, Bayrou's final chance to...

'Very unlikely' Bayrou swayed any MPs in final speech before confidence vote

France's over-indebtedness is putting its survival at stake, Prime Minister François Bayrou warned ahead of a confidence vote he is expected to lose later on Monday. But the prime minister's remarks, his last before the vote, are unlikely to have won over any lawmakers, says France 24's Clovis Cas...

Bayrou offers 'doom and gloom' in final speech before confidence vote

French Prime Minister François Bayrou warned the country’s excessive debt pile is "life-threatening" as he made his final speech to parliament ahead of a confidence vote that he is widely expected to lose. France 24’s French politics editor Marc Perelman and international affairs editor offer...

No doubt IS group 'will rise again' if US forces withdraw from Iraq, Barzani says

In an interview with FRANCE 24, the head of Iraq's Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, warned that the planned withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq would lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State (IS) group. Barzani also addressed violence against religious minorities in Syria,...

REPLAY: French PM Bayrou makes final speech to parliament before confidence vote

French Prime Minister François Bayrou made his final speech to parliament Monday ahead of a confidence vote in which his government is widely expected to be toppled. Defending the budget proposals that led to the vote, Bayrou warned France's excessive debt pile is "life-threatening" for the countr...