Two US fighter jets downed in Mideast, one crew member rescued
Summary:
A US fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace on Friday, triggering a search operation by Washington which rescued one crew member. A second US Air Force aircraft went down later in the day, according to a US official. The whereabouts of any other crew were not immediately known.
Trump seeks massive $1.5 trillion defence budget amid Iran war
Summary:
Engaged in a costly war against Iran, the White House unveiled its proposed budget for 2027 on Friday, asking Congress to increase the United States’ already massive defence spending by more than 40 percent over the course of a year. This would be a record in the country's recent history if Congress approves the proposal as is.
Iran: US fighter jet downed, War “It’s not a show”, The Space Race, Will Syrians leave Germany?
Summary:
It’s been a week that began with President Trump addressing the nation for the first time since the Iran War began five weeks ago. Expectations that he might signal an end to the conflict—or announce a ground offensive or a split from NATO—were unmet. Instead, his 18-minute speech echoed his social media rhetoric: a mix of “we’re almost done” and threats of escalating attacks, including striking every Iranian power plant if a deal isn’t reached. On the Strait of Hormuz, he told allies simply to “just take it.”
Cuba begins prisoner release after announcing more than 2,000 pardoned
Summary:
Cuban authorities began releasing prisoners on Friday after announcing the day before that 2,010 inmates had been pardoned, marking a second wave of releases in less than a month as Havana faces increased pressure from the United States.
Baltic Sea strikes: How Ukraine aims to undermine Russia's oil profits from Iran war
Summary:
Ukraine has in recent days intensified drone attacks on ports and refineries in Russia’s Leningrad region on the Baltic Sea. Yet Kyiv’s strategy of trying to stop Moscow from reaping the benefits of oil disruption in the Middle East doesn’t come without significant risk.
Everest guides caught up in $20 million fake rescue scam
Summary:
Over 4,700 trekkers could have been affected by a multi-million-dollar insurance #scam. #Mountain guides, helicopter companies and private hospitals would overcharge #insurance companies for fake #emergency rescues, sometimes #poisoning climbers in the process.
French-owned CMA CGM container ship passes Strait of Hormuz
Summary:
A container ship belonging to French shipping group CMA CGM has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, MarineTraffic vessel tracking data shows, in a sign that Iran may not consider France a hostile nation. It is the first French-owned vessel to make it through the channel since US-Israeli attacks began on Iran at the end of February. Until the war led to the effective closure of the Strait, it was the route for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert tells us more.
On the ground: 'Massive explosion' rocks northern Tehran
Summary:
A large explosion shook northern Tehran on Friday, FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah reports from the Iranian capital, with smoke seen rising from the site of the blast, as the Israeli military said it had launched a "wide-scale wave" of strikes, alongside parallel attacks in Beirut.
French prosecutors open hate speech probe into polarising news channel CNews
Summary:
The Paris prosecutor's office announced Friday it had launched an investigation into alleged racist comments following remarks made in late March on French news channel CNews targeting the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis Bally Bagayoko.
Filmmaker Ilker Catak’s ‘Yellow Letters’ pits artists against the powerful
Summary:
Filmmaker Ilker Catak explains how his political thriller – exploring authoritarianism and the artistic process – grew out of a desire to examine the complexities of marriage. "Yellow Letters", which won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, serves as a cautionary tale. Catak says the story is not confined to Turkey – where his characters’ lives are upended by creeping censorship – but offers a broader warning about the fundamental freedoms that must be defended.
How a Russian influence network is spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Ivory Coast
Summary:
The Company – a network of Russian agents specialised in disinformation operations – has been carrying out a vast propaganda campaign against the Ukrainian embassy in Ivory Coast. When the pan-African media outlet The Continent received a trove of leaked documents about this operation, the FRANCE 24 Observers team joined forces with a consortium of international journalists to investigate the inner workings of this network.
From 250 to 700 dollars per article: How Russia influenced West African media content
Summary:
A leak of confidential documents from a network of Russian agents operating on the African continent reveals how Russia managed to place hundreds of articles in 35 different West African French-language media outlets – sometimes without their knowledge. The FRANCE 24 Observers team worked with an international media consortium coordinated by Forbidden Stories to analyse these leaked documents, which show just how susceptible these media outlets are to foreign interference.
Border town of Tiné caught in the crossfire as Sudan war spills into Chad
Summary:
The war in Sudan is spilling into Chad with increasing intensity. In mid-March, a drone strike – the fourth and deadliest cross-border attack from Sudan – killed 20 people in the town of Tiné, which has become a frontline in the conflict’s spillover. Chadian authorities have not officially identified those responsible, and both the Sudanese army and RSF rebels deny involvement. Since the strike, tensions in Chadian areas near the Sudanese border have escalated. The Chadian army has been placed on “maximum alert,” some citizens are calling for armed resistance, and hundreds of civilians are fleeing the border region. Harold Girard and Brahim Abakar Oumar report.
Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon after spending a day around Earth
Summary:
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo. The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans and a Canadian on course for a lunar fly-around early next week.
Asian nations ramp up coal power amid Middle East energy crunch
Summary:
With Iran effectively turning the Strait of Hormuz into a toll gate, energy shortages are worsening across Asia. Amid the supply crunch, countries are increasingly turning back to coal for electricity, potentially slowing efforts to tackle climate change.
Italy's head coach quits after team fails to qualify for World Cup
Summary:
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso resigned on Friday, three days after failing to qualify the national team for the 2026 World Cup and one day after the announcement that Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina was stepping down.
Strikes hit Lebanon as Israel vows to occupy swathe of south after war
Summary:
Lebanon said Israeli strikes hit near Beirut's main airport road on Tuesday, as the UN Security Council held an urgent meeting after three peacekeepers were killed in the south. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country's military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the current war against Hezbollah has ended. FRANCE 24's Olivia Bizot reports from Tyre, Lebanon.
8 killed, 95 wounded in US-Israeli attacks on Iran bridge
Summary:
At least eight civilians were killed and 95 others wounded in US and Israeli attacks on a bridge in Iran's northern Alborz province on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported. According to the report, the B1 bridge, located in the provincial capital Karaj, is one of the highest bridges in the Middle East and among the most complicated projects in Iran. It was targeted twice with missiles on Thursday.
Iran Guards recruit children to ‘defend the homeland’, placing them in line of fire
Summary:
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting children as young as 12 for the “defence of the homeland”. More than a month into the war triggered by the US and Israel, rights groups highlight the life-threatening risks for Iranian children and stress that the use of minors in the military constitutes a war crime.
The fight for mineral data in DRC: Belgian museum, US mining firm at odds over archive maps
Summary:
Just a few kilometers from Brussels, the cellars of the Royal Museum for Central Africa hold one of the world’s most valuable mining archives. Colonial-era maps and surveys had previously detailed minerals like cobalt, lithium, coltan, and tungsten, essential for the digital and energy transition. Now, a battle over digitization is unfolding, with these documents literally worth their weight in gold. KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is looking to AI in order to locate new deposits faster.
