The Latest Breaking News from FRANCE 24

FRANCE 24 spoke to exiled Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. This Ukraine-based paramilitary group of Russian volunteers has been involved in cross-border incursions into Russia's Belgorod region in the past last few days. Ponomarev claimed the pro-Ukrainian, anti-Putin group "didn't lose…

A Russian official in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine said Wednesday that the territory was targeted by numerous drones overnight, following an armed incursion into the territory from Ukraine. The news comes after the state TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russia would achieve…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has effectively knocked out the country’s film industry, resulting in a starkly diminished presence at the Cannes Film Festival this year – though the war is still very much part of the Cannes conversation. Maciek Hamela’s documentary “In the Rearview”, about the evacuation of Ukrainian refugees,…

Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania joined early frontrunners for the Palme d’Or in Cannes with her haunting “Four Daughters”, about the decision by a group of teenage girls to join the jihad in Syria. Meanwhile, Africa’s “Cannes moment” continued with the timely screening of Sudanese drama “Goodbye Julia”, whose director spoke…

A young girl’s experience of puberty gets the body-horror treatment in Amanda Nell Eu’s playfully rebellious “Tiger Stripes”, the first feature by a Malaysian female director to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. FRANCE 24 spoke to Eu about the making of the movie and its universal message.

The Cannes Film Festival kicks off and while seven out of the 21 directors nominated this year are female, there's anger over the opening movie starring Johnny Depp who's staging a comeback after winning a defamation trial against his former wife, Amber Heard, who accused him of abuse. Also protests…

In Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus, education has become the leading economic sector. No less than 23 universities are concentrated in the small self-declared state recognised only by Turkey, which has occupied it since 1974. They attract students from developing countries by offering affordable courses with a "European" stamp of approval. But…

Ukraine's armed forces are braced for the country's much-touted counteroffensive. Near the southern frontline in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, an intensive ground assault training programme is currently taking place. FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent, Johan Bodin and Dmytro Kovalchuk went to meet the troops poised to try and break through Russia’s…

The record number of African films at the 76th Cannes Film Festival has fuelled talk of a moviemaking revival on the continent, powered by a new generation of female directors. Fittingly, this year’s Carrosse d’Or award, part of the Directors Fortnight strand, went to Mali’s Souleymane Cissé, the veteran director…

Europe is monitoring its groundwater levels, hoping to avert acute shortages over the summer and mitigate a crisis in some of the driest areas. FRANCE 24's Science reporter Shirli Sitbon looks at the situation in France, where it has rained in some regions in recent weeks, but not everywhere. Many…

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. This Wednesday also marks exactly 10 years since gay marriage became legal in France. Since then, around 7,000 such marriages have taken place each year in the country. Back in 2013, FRANCE 24's reporters Pauline Godart and Claire Paccalin…