From Gaza to Paris: Former FRANCE 24 fixer evacuated from the enclave testifies
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Ivory Coast President Ouattara, 83, says will seek fourth term
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Deadly Russian air raids hit Ukraine as Trump warns of sanctions
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France leads UN talks on Israel-Palestine two-state solution
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China: Deadly floods hit the north of the country
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France: Paris election shows split in the Republican party, Culture Minister and ex-PM to face off
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Colombia ex-president Uribe guilty in bribery trial
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Turkey battles wildfires, arrests suspects as heatwave grips Mediterranean
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Thailand and Cambodia ceasefire holds as wary displaced villagers return home
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Ukrainian drone attack sets Russian oil depot on fire as Zelensky announces prisoner exchange
An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi sparked a major fire, Russian officials said on Sunday, August 3, as the two countries traded strikes and the Ukrainian president announced a prisoner exchange. More than 120 firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, which was caused by debris from a downed drone striking a fuel tank, Krasnodar regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billowing above the oil depot. Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily stopped flights at Sochi's airport. Farther North, authorities in the Voronezh region reported that four people were wounded in another Ukrainian drone strike. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Sunday. Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Mykolaiv, according to the State Emergency Services, wounding seven people. The Ukrainian air force said Sunday Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles against Ukraine. It said 60 drones and one missile were intercepted, but 16 others and six missiles hit targets across eight locations. The reciprocal attacks came at the end of one of the deadliest weeks in Ukraine in recent months, after a Russian drone and missile attack on Thursday killed 31 people, including five children, and wounded over 150. The continued attacks come after US President Donald Trump last week gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline − August 8 − for peace efforts to make progress. Trump has threatened to impose new economic sanctions on Russia if progress is not made, while expressing doubt about how effective they would be. "You know, they're wily characters, and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens," Trump said Sunday evening of the Russians. He said his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday, the final days before his new deadline. Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Take the survey Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners following their latest round of negotiations in Istanbul in July. "There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people," he wrote on X, saying that the lists of individuals to be swapped were being worked on and that they were working to "unblock the return of our civilians." There was no immediate comment from Russia. Zelensky also said he discussed with top Ukrainian officials "the negotiation track − specifically, the implementation of the agreements reached during the meetings with the Russian side in Istanbul, as well as preparations for a new meeting." Each of the three rounds of talks between the countries this year has resulted in prisoner exchanges but yielded no breakthrough in reaching a ceasefire.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Russian missile and drone strikes injure at least 18 across Ukraine
Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukraine continued overnight on Sunday, destroying homes and injuring at least 18 people in several cities across the country. According to Ukraine's air force, 60 Russian drones and one missile were intercepted overnight Sunday, but 16 drones and six missiles struck targets across eight locations. In Mykolaiv, the State Emergency Services reported at least seven injured following Russian missile strikes on residential areas. Authorities in Kharkiv region said 11 people were wounded in strikes on Ukraine's second-largest city. The overnight Russian attacks followed Saturday strikes that killed at least seven people and injured over 20 in Donetsk and Kherson oblasts. Earlier in the week, a Thursday missile attack killed 31 people including five children in Kyiv, injuring 150 others. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces conducted drone strikes across the border in Russia, hitting an oil depot near Sochi where debris from a downed drone ignited a fuel tank. Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin reported no casualties as more than 120 firefighters battled the blaze that temporarily closed the city's airport. Videos shared on Telegram showed massive smoke pillars rising from the burning depot, while debris also struck a nearby garage. Russian officials reported three people killed by Ukrainian drone attacks overnight into Saturday. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its air defences shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea. These claims could not be independently verified. Ukrainian authorities said the attacks targeted Russian energy and defence sector sites. Russia's escalating attacks mark the deadliest week in Ukraine in recent months, with fighting intensifying amid stalled peace talks and a breakdown between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Last week, Trump shortened the deadline he gave Putin to 8 August for peace efforts to make progress. On Thursday, Trump said that special envoy Steve Witkoff will be heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its all-out war in Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made. But the date and other details of the trip have not been announced yet.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Netanyahu asks ICRC for help after 'profound shock' of Gaza hostage videos
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday, August 3, to aid hostages in Gaza, as outrage built at videos showing two of them emaciated. The prime minister's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and "requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and (...) immediate medical treatment." The ICRC said in a statement it was "appalled by the harrowing videos" and reiterated its "call to be granted access to the hostages." In response, Hamas's armed wing said that it would allow the agency access to the hostages but only if "humanitarian corridors" for food and aid were opened "across all areas of the Gaza Strip." The al-Qassam Brigades said it did "not intentionally starve" the hostages, but they would not receive any special food privileges "amid the crime of starvation and siege" in Gaza. Over recent days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war. The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, both of whom appeared weak and malnourished, have fuelled renewed calls in Israel for a truce and hostage release deal. A statement from Netanyahu's office on Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and "expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations." Netanyahu "told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing," the statement added. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people had rallied in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining captives. There was particular outrage in Israel over images of David, who appeared to be digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave. The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a "famine is unfolding." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the images "are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas," calling for the release of "all hostages (...) immediately and unconditionally". 'Hamas must disarm' Kallas said in the same post on X that "Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza" − demands endorsed earlier this week by Arab countries, including key mediators Qatar and Egypt. She added that "large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need." Israel has heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, while UN agencies, humanitarian groups and analysts say that much of what Israel does allow in is looted or diverted in chaotic circumstances. Many desperate Palestinians are left to risk their lives seeking what aid is distributed through controlled channels. On Sunday, Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed nine Palestinians who were waiting to collect food rations from a site operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near the southern city of Rafah. Five more people were killed near a different GHF aid site in central Gaza on Sunday, while Israeli attacks elsewhere killed another five people, said civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal. 'Provocation' In Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir conducted a Jewish prayer at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, and called for the annexation of Gaza. The site is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, though they are barred from praying there under a long-standing convention. This was the first time a government minister openly prayed inside the compound, Israeli media reported. In a statement filmed at the compound, Ben Gvir said that "the response to Hamas's horror videos" should include annexing Gaza and the "voluntary emigration" of its population.
