Top stories – France 24 - International News 24/7

The Syrian army and members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group launched a major ground offensive on Friday aimed at ending the years-long presence of hundreds of militants in a border area between the two countries.

The death toll in anti-government protests in Venezuela since April has reached 100, after a third death was reported from a day-long nationwide strike against embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's rule, prosecutors said Friday.

Last year, more than 300 people were kidnapped in Afghanistan. Although abductions of foreigners by the Taliban tend to make the headlines, more than 90% of the victims are in fact Afghans. Terrorist groups, but more often criminal gangs, are to blame. FRANCE 24 reports on the resulting disastrous social and economic consequences for the country.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to end its programme aiding rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

After two second-place finishes, Edvald Boasson Hagen finally got a stage victory at the Tour de France.

Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday as tensions mounted over new security measures installed at the highly sensitive holy site known as both the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque.

The battle for Iraq's second city of Mosul is officially over and the Islamic State group defeated - that's according to the army. But the city is still enduring sporadic suicide attacks. Meanwhile, new challenges lie ahead: clearing the rubble and defusing mines before rebuilding homes and infrastructure. But perhaps the most difficult task of all will be to repair a society fractured by sectarian mistrust. FRANCE 24's Simona Foltyn reports from Mosul.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, President Donald Trump's embattled spokesman during the first six months of his presidency, is resigning his position, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The French government on Thursday gave the green light for the cull of dozens of wolves in mountainous areas where sheep are under sustained attack.

Germany's government is signaling to Turkey that its patience is running out and it can hit back against escalating provocations, but has sought to stop well short of burning its bridges with its NATO ally.

Qatar's ruling emir said on Friday that his embattled Gulf nation remains open to dialogue with four Arab countries that have isolated it, but that any resolution to the crisis must respect his country's sovereignty.

The Philippine Congress on Saturday voted to extend President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in the south until the end of the year to defeat Islamist gunmen.

Thousands of young athletes launched the International Francophone Games in Abidjan on Friday after a series of shootings in Ivory Coast's main city that raised security concerns.

A US airstrike killed 16 Afghan police and wounded two others in Helmand province, officials said Saturday.

Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a foreign policy adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told FRANCE 24 on Friday that Iran was open to “dialogue” with Saudi Arabia despite escalating tensions.

With “Les Bleues” among the favourites, France is hoping the women’s Euro tournament will help spur interest in the game – and lay old prejudices to rest – ahead of the 2019 World Cup, the first to be held on French soil.

Chris Froome all but secured a fourth Tour de France title by finishing third in Saturday's 20th stage time-trial in Marseille as Maciej Bodnar took the stage victory.

Israeli security forces on Saturday raided the home of the Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death three Israelis and restricted movement for Palestinians from his West Bank village, the military said.

Jeff Sessions discussed Donald Trump's White House bid with the Russian ambassador, according to US intelligence intercepts cited in the Washington Post on Friday, contrary to the attorney general’s public assertions.

Somaliland’s three-year-long drought has crippled the economy of the breakaway, semi-desert territory in the Horn of Africa.

Latest Images