After two days in Paris, where he drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers, Pope Leo XIV is continuing his visit to France in the southwestern pilgrimage town of Lourdes. There, he is due to meet privately with survivors of clergy sexual abuse. His four-day trip is the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades. For more reaction, we can speak to Marc Artzrouni, the French representative for the global coalition “Ending Clergy Abuse”.
Read briefing More than 800,000 people filled the streets of central Paris to hear Pope Leo XIV say Mass on Saturday, according to Vatican estimates. The pontiff rounded out the second day of his four-day apostolic visit to France by praying at the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, a renowned pilgrimage site for Catholics from across the world.
Read briefing Protests are ongoing in Madrid right now, with many demonstrators holding signs and banners that read “Maricarmen vs the Vultures”. “Maricarmen, you are not alone.” Or “Ni una Maricarmen más.” Not one more Maricarmen.
Read briefing 🇫🇷 🇻🇦 During #Pope Leo XIV's giant Mass at the Place de la Concorde in #Paris on Saturday, he spoke directly to Catholic youth, calling them the "Church of today". The pontiff made efforts to connect with young people during his visit, holding a youth vigil at the Stade de #France on Friday.
Read briefing The eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal on Wednesday sparked a thousands-strong protest in the streets of Madrid Saturday, with demonstrators calling for greater protection for tenants. Widespread anger at rising housing costs have put pressure on centre-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose government is expected to approve a package of pro-tenant measures in its next cabinet meeting.
Read briefing 🇻🇦👀How do you get into one of the largest outdoor Mass in the world? Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass in front of hundreds of thousands of faithful on Saturday, September 26, in Paris. France 24’s Stella Elgersma was there to tell you more! #Pope #France #LeoXIV
Read briefing Yemen’s Riyadh-based President Rashid al-Alimi on Friday called on his people to mobilise and join the armed forces while offering a general amnesty to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have seized swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coast and imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Read briefing First, fighting continues between the Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front as fears of a regional spillover continue to mount. Then, both the opposition and the ruling UDPS party continue to blame each other for the violence in the latest mass protest. And, the Authenticity and Modernity party looks now to form a coalition to address the top voter issues including the cost of living crisis in Morocco.
Read briefing Armed with paper fortune-tellers and pop worship songs, young French Catholics from the Anuncio movement fanned out into the crowds awaiting Pope Leo XIV's arrival in Paris on Friday, hoping to bring strangers closer to God in one of Europe's most secular countries.
Read briefing On Friday, Pope Leo XIV praised the "splendor" of Notre-Dame de Paris, which has been restored following the devastating fire of 2019, saying "the heart of a people" beats within this place. He is the first pope to visit the cathedral since its reopening in 2024.
Read briefing It’s been a week of walkouts, power plays and diplomatic theatre — from a battle over press freedom in Washington, to a United Nations General Assembly marked by protests and departures, as leaders clashed over Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. There was also a rare red-carpet meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, as the US and China extended their trade truce and turned their attention to the race for dominance in artificial intelligence. And from the geopolitical to the spiritual, Pope Leo brought his call for restraint and regulation of AI to France, as he sought to position the Vatican as a moral voice in a rapidly changing world.
Read briefing French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday denied a report by Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the US Central Intelligence Agency had warned European governments of possible Russian drone attacks from the Mediterranean. He also said in a primetime TV interview that France will send troops and defence systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
Read briefing Flights between Iran and the United Arab Emirates have been suspended, following tighter US sanctions on Iran's aviation industry. The move effectively cuts Tehran off from Dubai, one of the region's most important commercial hubs. There are also huge backups near Iran's border with Turkey, as overland shipping routes struggle to fill the gaps. Also in this edition - Donald Trump and Xi Jinping hail strong ties between the US and China as they discuss AI, trade, and energy.
Read briefing In tonight's edition, Tigrayans in northern Ethiopia start panic buying supplies in the rush to stock up amidst fears that months of tensions have finally tipped over into full-blown conflict. Also, power cuts return to Senegal. And Yemis Alade, the Nigerian superstar, is out with a new album and speaks to France 24.
Read briefing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a combative speech at the UN General Assembly on Thursday in which he denied that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, lashed out at leaders, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and said attacking Iran was "one of the easiest decisions" he had ever made.
Read briefing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday mounted a forceful defense of Israel's actions in the region at the UN, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.
Read briefing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the world’s leaders Wednesday to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the UN General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target”. Watch his full speech above.
Read briefing A former British member of parliament implied that a video filmed from a helicopter on September 11, 2001 shows that no planes actually hit the World Trade Center's south tower, but this claim would be unfounded. The plane that hit the south tower hit the other side of the building, which isn’t visible in the video.
Read briefing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had enlisted fighters from 47 countries including North Korea, Ghana and India to fight against Ukraine. Zelensky also warned that his forces could target Russian heating and energy facilities in the winter months if Moscow continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Read briefing It's all about his high holiness here in France. For weeks already, the nation's been abuzz over the upcoming visit of Leo. From Friday evening mass at Notre Dame Cathedral and mass before 600-thousand faithful in Paris to the pilgrimage city of Lourdes and a trip to Metz, hometown of father of European unity Robert Schuman. A papal visit to France usually draws much attention to the symbiotic love-hate relationship between the church and a secular state of mostly-lapsed Catholics. And yes, there have been grumblings about the visit's cost to taxpayers. But the pushback's relatively muted. This new American pope seems genuinely popular here in France. We'll ask why.
Read briefing An ancient wall discovered this summer under a hospital in central Paris is thought to be a fragment of city ramparts built by Iron age settlers. Experts say the stone-and-wood structure could confirm the location of the ancient city of Lutetia.
Read briefing In tonight's edition, the United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN appearance. Also, Ghana’s beefing up its drugs authority in the wake of major drug busts in France, Belgium and South Africa. And it’s back-to-school season in Ivory Coast.
Read briefing French President Emmanuel Macron used his last address before the UN General Assembly as France's leader to urge the world's nations to stand alongside the United Nations in the face of a resurgent "law of the jungle". Macron also called for a moratorium on strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine war and an "open-source" model for frontier AI independent of China and the US.
Read briefing A year ago, Donald Trump went to the rostrum of the United Nations General Assembly - and after taxing an axe to US aid and development funding, read the world the riot act. One Iran war later, the US president sticking to script with a speech that borrowed much of the language of last year. With citizens on five continents now feeling the pain at the pump, we'll ask what it will take to tame a global energy crisis whose potential spiral mirrors the contagion of hostilities from the Strait of Hormuz to the mouth of the Red Sea?
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