Latest headlines from around the world.
Paris Book Festival kicks off amid Grasset publishing controversy
The annual Paris Book Festival is honouring Iceland this year, and Icelandic author Jón Kalman Stefánsson will be doing a book signing. He tells us about his latest novel, "Celestial Bodies at the...
Where is US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin?
This week, FRANCE 24's media show Scoop looks at growing international alarm after US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was detained in Kuwait. Prior to his arrest, Shihab-Eldin shared publicly...
India’s harvest festivals under climate strain
As people across India celebrate traditional agrarian spring festivals, climate change has become an unwanted guest at the table. How are communities rising to the pressure on harvests, water, and...
Trump says 'thank you' after Iran announces opening of Strait of Hormuz
Iran and US declare Strait of Hormuz "completely open," but Iran adds that passage is on a "coordinated route" set by Tehran.
Iran war: Strait of Hormuz open amid Israel-Lebanon truce
As a 10-day ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel took effect, the Israeli military said its forces are going to remain in southern Lebanon. Iran and Donald Trump say the Strait of Hormuz is no...
A cultural stroll through the French Caribbean island of Martinique
This week we're taking our cameras over 6,000 km from Paris, to the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Visual artist Valérie John opens the doors of her "studio-artwork" in La Trinité, where in...
Hannover Messe 2026: Brazilian flair awaits visitors
With war in Iran on hold, the world's largest industrial trade fair opens in Hannover. And Brazil, this year's partner country, is pulling out all stops to convince visitors it's a reliable technol...
Starmer, Macron push forward efforts to reopen Strait of Hormuz
French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday chair a meeting of allies to consider sending a multinational force to ensure security and free-flowing trade in the St...
Britain, France chair meeting on Hormuz
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Friday host a video conference with their European allies to discuss the possible deployment of a multinational forc...
UK: 'Furious' PM Starmer refuses to step down over Mandelson
Pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer is growing over his naming of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite red flags. The PM says he was not told that Mandelson failed a background check before...
Italy: 25 hostages freed as Naples bank gang vanishes underground
A group of three masked robbers held 25 people hostage during a bank heist in Naples on Thursday 16 April 2026 before escaping through a tunnel connected to the city’s sewer network, authorities said.
Living under threat of landslides: The Italian villages at risk of disappearing
With its mountains, hills and fragile cliffs, Italy is one of the European countries most susceptible to hydrogeological disasters: landslides, sinkholes, erosion and floods. The situation is causi...
Military operation against Hezbollah 'still not complete,' Israel's defence minister says
US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire on Friday after a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades.
Cyprus: Global politics felt at Candidates chess tournaments
The FIDE Candidates tournaments are two of the most important events in the chess calendar. This year, they took place in Cyprus. But tension relating to Russia and the war in the Middle East was n...
Palestinians hand over suspect in 1982 attack on Jewish restaurant in Paris
Hicham Harb is suspected of directing the attack in the Rue des Rosiers and acting as one of the gunmen who shot at diners.
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead and missing in shipwrecks in 2025, UNHCR says
The Rohingya mainly leave from huge camps in Bangladesh, where more than 1 million refugees forced to flee across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine state live in squalid conditions.
Elderly Frenchwoman held by ICE has returned to France, foreign ministry says
An 85-year-old Frenchwoman who was arrested by ICE after her American veteran husband died has returned to France, the French foreign ministry announced Friday. The detention of Marie-Thérèse Ross...
Nigeria: Students abducted enroute to Uni entrance exams
The governor did not specify the exact number of those kidnapped, but local media said it was 17. The incident comes amid a surge in violence in different parts of the country.
Students heading to Uni entrance exams abducted in Nigeria
The governor did not specify the exact number of those kidnapped, but local media said it was 17. The incident comes amid a surge in violence in different parts of the country.
Hormuz standoff shows no signs of letting up for vital shipping to resume from Gulf
Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remained at minimal levels on Friday resulting in a giant parking lot, as the US-Iran standoff continues with the same cautious approach since Monday.
Brussels launched an age checking app. Hackers say it takes 2 minutes to break it.
Cyber experts say they have found holes in Brussels' age verification app, despite claims by the EU executive that it is "technically ready.”
Strait of Hormuz: Macron, Starmer meet at Elysée Palace
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Friday host a video conference with their European allies to discuss the possible deployment of a multinational forc...
Lebanon erupts in joy as 10-day ceasefire with Israel takes effect
A 10-day truce appeared to be holding in Lebanon early Friday, promising a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and possibly clearing one major obstacle to a deal betwe...
Kremlin's digital crackdown: VPN restrictions 'a new, sophisticated effort for censorship in Russia'
Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Hugh WILLIAMSON. As Human Rights Watch Director for Europe and Central Asia, he views Russia’s restrictions on VPNs as part of an architecture of censorship tha...
Inside the football mafia: Young players targeted by fake recruiters in Senegal
In Senegal, a generation of young men pin their hopes on football as a chance for a better future. These footballers are prepared to sacrifice everything to reach foreign leagues, making them the p...
Germany’s Affordable Art Fair draws crowds with artworks under €500
Germany is hosting the Affordable Art Fair Berlin from 16 to 19 April 2026. The event brings together dozens of galleries and focuses on artworks priced under €500, aiming to broaden access to cont...
'Older women are in demand by younger men': Papers discuss dating trends
PRESS REVIEW – Friday, April 17: We take a look at how papers are reacting to the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Next: the UK suffers food shortages "from Trump's war". Also: did Pete Hegset...
Irfan Nooruddin: 'Much to be gained by having more women in India's highest parliamentary body'
François Picard is pleased to welcome Irfan Nooruddin, the Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Indian Politics in the Asian Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service. As a scholar of Ind...
Latest news bulletin | April 17th, 2026 – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this April 17th, 2026 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Chess: Uzbekistan's new star shows Asia's continued rise
Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan has earned the right to challenge India's Dommaraju Gukesh for the world title. Both men are under 21 and from Asia, underlining an ongoing demographic shift in top...
Three charged over attempted arson on Persian-language TV channel, UK police say
Iran International is one of several Persian‑language outlets critical of Iran's clerical leadership operating from abroad.
Myanmar frees over 4,000 prisoners in annual tradition
Myanmar's new president says he wants stability and reconciliation in a nation torn apart by a military coup. Those to be released include former President Win Myint.
Nueva Germania: The failed 'Aryan project' in Paraguay
A new home for the "Aryan race." That was what German emigrants envisioned when they founded Nueva Germania in Paraguay in 1886. It failed back then but a version of the town still exists today.
Europe leads postwar security talks
Donald Trump has said that another round of talks between the United States and Iran could take place as soon as this weekend. Meanwhile, this Friday, the French and British leaders are due to chai...
Lebanon: Mass displacement after weeks of strikes
There is a sense of both caution and hope. Although the Lebanese army had warned residents who fled the south not to return, footage shows vehicles already moving back toward the area. Six weeks of...
China and Russia ties driving North Korean economic recovery, Seoul ministry says
China has long been the diplomatically isolated country's main economic backer, though Pyongyang has also drawn closer to Moscow since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Germany news: Far-right AfD ahead of Merz's conservatives
The far-right Alternative for Germany has nudged ahead of its political rivals in a new poll, the most recent of several that it has topped. Meanwhile, a last-ditch attempt to save whale Timmy is u...
Nuba Mountains, a fragile refuge on Sudan's front line
Squeezed between Sudan and South Sudan, the self-governed Nuba Mountains are grappling with complex war dynamics while hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees they are scarcely able to support.
Overshadowed by Iran, Gaza stuck between war and peace
With the war in Iran, the conflict in Gaza has faded from international attention. Despite a six-month ceasefire, efforts to end the conflict have stalled.
Escaped wolf Neukgu captured after nine-day search in South Korea
A two-year-old wolf that escaped from O-World zoo in Daejeon, South Korea, has been safely recaptured after spending nine days on the loose. The male wolf, Neukgu, was born at the zoo in 2024 and i...
