The Latest Breaking News from FRANCE 24

France hosts its second Rugby World Cup from September 8 to October 28, with 20 teams vying for the coveted Webb Ellis Cup as the sport celebrates its 200th anniversary. FRANCE 24 takes a look at the tournament in numbers.

General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup last week that toppled Gabon's 55-year-old ruling dynasty, took the oath of office as interim president on Monday, promising "free, transparent and credible elections" to restore civilian rule but without giving a timeframe.

China's artificial intelligence (AI) market is currently worth €20 billion, but that figure could more than double within two years. Beijing aspires to overtake the US to become the world leader in the sector by 2030. AI technology enables machines to imitate human intelligence to generate texts, images and videos…

July 2023 saw the third edition of a fashion competition in Paris called Africa Fashion Up. It aims to give a platform to young, up-and-coming African talent. Five designers from across the continent presented their collections at the Musée du Quai Branly, as they celebrated local craftsmanship with a global…

The Greek island of Paros, in the Cyclades, is a popular tourist destination during the summer season, when around 450,000 visitors flock to the picturesque island of 12,000 inhabitants. But locals have become exacerbated by this huge influx of tourists and the illegal privatisation of certain beaches. Protests have even…

Russia's defence ministry on Friday said it had destroyed a total of 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week. Also on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told a business forum in Italy that there can be no "sustainable peace" in Ukraine unless the country regains control of Crimea, Donbas and…

Chinese real estate group Country Garden has posted record losses of €6.5 billion for the first half of 2023 and warned that it could default on its debt if its financial performance "continues to deteriorate". The news underlined the country's struggling growth, since the property sector may represent as much…

A group of senior military officers in Gabon seized power in the early hours of Wednesday, shortly after the country's election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term. The United States, the UK, France and others condemned what appeared to be the eighth military coup in west…

The ouster of Gabon’s President Ali Bongo early Wednesday came shortly after the country’s election commission announced the official results of the August 26 presidential election, handing the incumbent another disputed victory. But this time, it provided the spark for a military takeover to end more than half a century…