Lawsuits and regulations targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are multiplying, with France becoming the latest jurisdiction to consider tough new curbs on these long-life substances. On Thursday, a French legislator will introduce a bill to address what he calls the health "emergency" posed by exposure to PFAS in the environment. Widely used in everyday items, highly durable, and very slow to break down, PFAS have been detected in water, air, fish and soil in the remotest corners of the globe. Читать дальше...
World Central Kitchen, which is mourning the deaths of seven employees in Gaza in an Israeli strike has been feeding Gazans displaced since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas six months ago and last month helped organize the first maritime aid shipment to reach Gaza in nearly two decades. But the group, as well as other aid agencies, have now suspended operations. France 24’s Delano D’Souza takes a look at what this might mean for civilians in Gaza with famine looming, and the risks taken by aid agencies since the start of the war.
Private sector employment rose by 184,000 in March, ADP said in a statement. This was sharply above market predictions of 150,000 new jobs, according to Briefing.com. ADP also revised up the February jobs data, from 140,000 to 155,000. The hot jobs data will be well-received by the Biden administration as it seeks to talk up the president's economic record ahead of November's presidential election. But it also signals to the Federal Reserve -- which is locked in a years-long battle against... Читать дальше...
Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed nine people on Wednesday, injuring more than 900, while 50 hotel workers were missing en route to a national park, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to bring others to safety.
Mercedes are in search of a new driver after Lewis Hamilton announced in February he was leaving the team for Ferrari following 11 years with the Silver Arrows. Vettel won his four world championship titles with Red Bull from 2010-13. He retired from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season after six years at Ferrari and two with Aston Martin. But he has now hinted at a return to Grand Prix racing following talks with Wolff and several other team bosses. "I am speaking to Toto. I don't know if that qualifies as Mercedes... Читать дальше...
A severe dry spell induced by the El Nino weather pattern is wreaking havoc across southern Africa. "No Zimbabwean must succumb or die from hunger," Mnangagwa told a press conference. "To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide State of Disaster, due to the El Nino-induced drought." Due to poor rains, more than 2.7 million people will not have enough food to put on the table this year, he said. This season's grain harvest was expected to bring in just over half of the cereals needed to feed the nation, he said. Читать дальше...
The 46-year-old was detained at Madrid's Barajas airport shortly after flying in from the Dominican Republic but released shortly afterwards, a Guardia Civil police spokesman said. Sources close to the probe said he disembarked from the plane under a police escort before being questioned inside the airport. His arrest came two weeks after investigators searched 11 locations, including the RFEF's Madrid headquarters and Rubiales' house in the southern city of Granada, as part of a probe into alleged corruption and other crimes. Читать дальше...
"Preliminary results of a Lebanese army investigation have found that the observers were wounded by a landmine," the Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The ongoing investigation by the army and peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has yet to determine who planted the mine, the official added, noting three mines were in the area, "one of which exploded". UNIFIL said that military observers from Australia... Читать дальше...
An attack on a Moscow concert hall last month which left 140 people dead has revived fears for the Paris Games which begin on July 26. "Today there is no specific terror-related threat targeting the Olympic and Paralympic Games," Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told the France 2 channel. She said the opening ceremony on the Seine remained the "main plan" but suggested that an alternative was being prepared behind the scenes. Instead of parading through the athletics stadium at the start of the Games... Читать дальше...
In Senegal, as is the case across much of West African women are not entitled to land ownership rights as it is expected that they will leave their community when they marry. But now, a Senegalese association is fighting back against inequality, helping women farmers in the region learn about their rights, how to finance their projects and possibly influence future legislation.
The Premier League club's total revenue for the financial year to June 30, 2023 exceeded half a billion pounds for the first time, with the figure of £549.6 million ($691.2 million, 642 million euros) a significant increase on £444 million for the previous year. Operating costs, however, have risen by 21 percent to £487.9 million, with a loss of £86.8 million attributed to "significant and continued investment in the playing squad". In a statement accompanying the results, Levy said Spurs were looking for fresh investment. Читать дальше...
In Rwanda, 30 years after the genocide against the Tutsis, associations are tracking and archiving all documents related to the massacres. They aim to uncover new evidence, but above all, to better preserve the proof of the past. Kigali plans to digitise thousands of archives, but has also commissioned an NGO to record the testimonies of the surviving victims.
Left-wing pan-Africanist Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Tuesday became Senegal's youngest president, pledging systemic change, greater sovereignty and calm after years of deadly turmoil.
At least seven people were killed and more than 700 injured Wednesday by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings that extended to Japan and the Philippines before being lifted.
Israeli bombardment killed seven staff of the US-based food charity World Central Kitchen on Monday in an attack that UN chief Antonio Guterres labelled "unconscionable" and "an inevitable result of the way the war is being conducted". The remains of the six international staff, who were killed alongside one Palestinian colleague, were set to be taken out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Marwan Al-Hams, director of the city's Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital. Israel's armed forces... Читать дальше...
A book from Egypt that was written at the dawn of Christianity and is considered one of the oldest books in existence will go up for auction in June in London. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex - written in Coptic on papyrus around 250-350 AD, and produced in one of the first Christian monasteries - has an estimated sale value of $2.6 million to $3.8 million, according to Christie's.
Peru's president Dina Boluarte in political hot water and facing calls to step down amid questions about the provenance of her collection of Rolex watches. Boluarte is under investigation for illicit enrichment for possessing luxury timepieces watches without proving how she got them. Dozens of police and prosecutors raided her home and office over Easter weekend looking for evidence in the case.
Senegal's newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named his mentor and anti-establishment figurehead Ousmane Sonko as prime minister, just hours after being sworn in on Tuesday. Sonko, an opponent of former President Macky Sall, is popular among the West African nation's youth but was barred from the March 24 presidential election due to a defamation conviction. He denied any wrongdoing.
An explosion woke Luis Har in the middle of the night and he rolled off his mattress seeking cover. This was it, he thought, expecting the building where he was being held captive to collapse. Then came the massive gunfire. And someone shouted his name and called out: "It's the IDF, we've come to take you home." It was surreal, Har, 71, said of his February 12 rescue by Israeli special forces after more than four months in Hamas captivity. "Even today, I don't know what is real and what is not."
Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed seven people on Wednesday, injuring more than 700, with 77 trapped in tunnels and collapsed buildings, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to help some people descend to safety.
"We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement," Justice Richard Buteera, Uganda's deputy chief justice and head of the court, said in the landmark ruling. The legislation was adopted in May last year, triggering outrage among the LGBTQ community, rights campaigners, the United Nations and Western nations. The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex... Читать дальше...
Former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was promoted to senate president on Wednesday, taking over a key ceremonial role less than a year after handing power to his son.
"Aid organisations have been railing for weeks against what they say is Israel's indiscriminate bombing of civilian and not just military targets", said FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert. " Also for what they say is a failure to allow much-needed access to Gaza for relief workers", he added.
The nine-month-old had been hospitalised three times already in remote Badakhshan province because her mother had trouble breastfeeding. "She has gained a bit of weight, she has a bit of a glow," said 35-year-old Roya, cradling baby Bibi Aseya at the Baharak district hospital. "She drinks milk as well but she still doesn't smile," she added. "I would stay awake day and night, now I can sleep." Poor nutrition is rife in a country plagued by economic, humanitarian and climate crises two and a half years since the Taliban returned to power.
Belgian Marc Brys has been appointed Rigobert Song's replacement as Cameroon's national team coach, the country's sports ministry announced on Tuesday.
