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.
Former fighter pilot Rumen Radev has vowed to lead Bulgaria out of a chronic political crisis, with his grouping winning Sunday's general election – the eighth in five years. The 62-year-old has presented himself as a defender of the poor of the EU's poorest country as he walks a tightrope on Eur...
Bulgarian ex-president Rumen Radev, an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia, took an absolute majority in parliamentary elections that could spell an end to the country's half-decade of political uncertainty, according to near complete vote results on Monday. The European Union's...
Progressive Bulgaria, the party of Bulgaria's pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev was leading in Sunday's parliamentary election with 44.59% of votes, after 32% of votes were counted, official results showed. Radev, a eurosceptic and former fighter pilot who oppos...
Military cooperation between countries should not undermine mutual understanding and trust among regional countries, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, when asked about the annual joint military exercises hosted by the Philippines and the United States that will also...
A 7.5 magnitide earthquake struck northern Japan on Monday triggering tsunami warnings in the region, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The tremor was strong enough to shake large buildings as far as Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres away....
Bulgaria's former president and pro-Russian candidate Rumen Radev on Monday won a parliamentary majority in the country's elections according to near-complete results. Radev – an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia – hailed a "victory of hope"....
Following the victory of Rumen Radev in Bulgaria's general election, Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Dr. Petia Gueorguieva, Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia. According to Dr. Petia Gueorguieva, there are broader implications for Bulgaria...
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that bilateral negotiations with Israel would aim to end Israel's "occupation" of its northern neighbour. Aoun said the Lebanese delegation would be led by former ambassador to the United States Simon Karam. Follow our l...
Bulgaria’s ex-president Rumen Radev is on course to win a parliamentary election, according to exit polls, but may fall short of a governing majority. His Progressive Bulgaria coalition leads with, in a vote marked by low turnout and deep political instability, the country’s eighth election...
Andrey Kurkov is Ukraine's most prominent living novelist and one of the country's leading public intellectuals. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, he has remained in Kyiv and published three volumes of war diaries (Diary of an Invasion, The Year of the Locust, and Three Years on Fire). Sp...
An Australian former soldier charged with committing war crimes in Afghanistan vowed on Sunday to clear his name, saying he had never "run from a fight" in his first public comments since his arrest. Ben Roberts-Smith was granted bail on Friday after a high-profile arrest on five counts of "war cri...
Around one-third of global fertiliser production comes from the Gulf region, making the area’s stability crucial for global food supply chains. With the Strait of Hormuz, an essential transit route for energy and commodities, facing repeated disruptions, concerns are growing over the impact on fe...
FRANCE 24’s guest Mehran Kamrave, Director of the Iranian Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, analyses Iran’s strategy towards the United States, highlighting three key levers the regime can rely on: sanctions, the nuclear programme, and control over the Strait of H...
Armenians are set to head to the polls in June for their parliamentary elections, which the EU and Russia are closely watching. With support for joining the bloc at an all-time high, this could be a sign that the former Soviet country is moving away from Moscow, one of its closest allies. But forei...
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has patrolled southern Lebanon along the border with Israel since 1978, acting as a buffer force following Israel’s invasion of the region. Expanded after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the mission now monitors the ceasefire and sup...
On Saturday, Pedro Sánchez hosted left-wing leaders at rallies promoting democracy and progressive unity on Barcelona. A vocal critic of Donald Trump and the US-Israeli war in Iran, he called for peace and claimed far-right influence was waning, as a rival gathering of far-right leaders in Milan s...
The US Navy fired on an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman and took control of it, US President Donald Trump said Sunday. French shipping company CMA CGM confirmed that one of its ships was “fired upon with warning shots” on Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the crew was safe. Iran...
After weeks of US and Israeli strikes, Iranians are watching to see if ceasefire talks could lead to negotiations, while uncertainty over the future of the conflict persists. Despite foreign calls for regime change, analysts say Iran’s leadership remains entrenched, as economic pressure, repressi...
Since the end of the war in Syria last year, many Syrians have left Turkey to return home. Of the 3.6 million refugees living in the country, more than half a million are believed to have already gone back. These departures are weakening the Turkish economy, which relies heavily on low-cost labour,...
US-Iran negotiations show limited progress but remain tense, with disputes over enriched uranium and the Strait of Hormuz still unresolved. Donald Trump warns the conflict could resume if no deal is reached, while mediators say compromises may still be possible on nuclear restrictions....
Sudan is entering its fourth year of civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, a conflict the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with children among the main victims. In Darfur and beyond, thousands are displaced, many separated from their families, facing hunger, vi...
Sudan has entered its fourth year of devastating conflict, after fighting broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The war has left millions displaced and, according to the UN, created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis....
Iran's military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, its military command said, hours after reopening it and with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the vital waterway. The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump's optimism the day...
After the ceasefire in Lebanon, displaced families are returning to heavily damaged towns like Nabatieh, where homes, businesses and essential services have been devastated by the war. Residents face a mix of relief and trauma as they begin to rebuild their lives, relying on aid for basic needs whi...
Despite warnings from authorities about the fragility of the ceasefire with Israel, thousands of people are returning to their homes in southern Lebanon, as FRANCE 24's Cyril Payen reports from Beirut. Most do not see themselves as refugees, but rather as internally displaced people in their own co...
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by the war in the Middle East hasn't just affected oil prices. Despite a provisional reopening during the current 10-day ceasefire, global supplies of jet fuel, fertilisers, industrial CO2 and naphtha have already been affected, potentially leading to s...
The Trump administration on Friday issued a one-month sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products already loaded at sea, despite the treasury secretary indicating two days earlier that Washington would not renew the measure. The move comes amid efforts to ease global en...
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that a French soldier who was part of international forces stationed in southern Lebanon was killed, adding that evidence suggests Hezbollah was responsible. Earlier, Iranian patrol boats fired at an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, acc...
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday hosted a video conference with their European allies to discuss the possible deployment of a multinational force to the Strait of Hormuz once the war in Iran is over. Macron welcomed Iran's announcement that the wate...
