France Pledges €2 Billion in Military Aid to Ukraine
France will send €2 billion in military support to Ukraine, President Macron announced ahead of a key security summit in Paris.
President Macron visits cyclone-hit Mayotte, where Cyclone Chido left 100,000 homeless and 31 confirmed dead. Aid efforts intensify amid fears of disease and rising fatalities.
Thousands are feared dead, but officials in France's poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than five days after Chido struck, the worst storm to hit the islands in 90 years.
Many areas in the Indian Ocean archipelago remain inaccessible. Heavy rain in the capital Mamoudzou and other areas has compounded the turmoil for thousands of people whose shanty town dwellings were flattened.
Macron was due to bring four tonnes of food and medical aid, and is expected to fly over the islands to survey the damage, his office said.
The French leader, whose government has been accused by opposition politicians of neglecting Mayotte, will also visit a hospital and a neighbourhood and meet officials, the presidency added.
The French government authorised price controls on essential goods including bottled water and construction material on Thursday.
Health workers say they are bracing for a surge of disease as dead bodies lie unburied and people struggle to get clean drinking water.
Officials have warned it will be difficult to work out how many have died in a territory that is home to large numbers of undocumented migrants from Comoros, Madagascar and other countries.
Official statistics put the population at 321,000, but many say it is much higher. Some victims were buried immediately, in accordance with Muslim tradition, before their deaths could be counted.
The death toll in continental Africa, where the storm hit after passing through Mayotte, stood at 45 in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi, officials in those countries said.
Aid groups in Myanmar’s worst-hit areas urgently need shelter, food, and water after a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake killed over 2,700 people. Rescue efforts face challenges due to ongoing civil war, damaged infrastructure, and restricted aid access, with the toll expected to rise.
Russian forces carried out a drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, late Wednesday, injuring at least twenty one people and causing structural damage, according to Ukrainian officials.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for public office for five years after being convicted of embezzlement, ruling her out of the 2027 presidential race. She received a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and a €100,000 fine. Le Pen plans to appeal.
Apple marked its 49th anniversary by reaching a market capitalization of $3.3 trillion. Despite recent tech stock volatility, Apple's shares surged 28% in 2024.
The Armenian armed forces attempted three reconnaissance drone flights over Azerbaijan Army positions near Gerenzur, but all were successfully intercepted. Meanwhile, Armenian units repeatedly fired on Azerbaijani positions from multiple regions, escalating tensions in the area.
Taiwan has reported a sharp increase in Chinese military activity as Beijing concluded two days of war games around the island, intensifying tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Hunter Biden has voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., following criminal convictions that raised questions about his professional eligibility.
Within hours of Trump’s “Liberation Day” speech, a chorus of global voices began responding — some cautiously, others furiously. While the U.S. president promised to rebalance what he called “decades of economic exploitation,” world capitals began drawing their own red lines.
Standing in the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump declared what he called “Liberation Day”, announcing a raft of tariffs on U.S. trading partners — the most expansive use of trade powers in modern American history.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has firmly pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland, declaring that the Arctic island “belongs to the Greenlanders.”
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