With France preparing to vote in the first round of the municipal elections on Sunday, Paris has become a battleground between left- and right-wing forces fighting to shape the capital’s future. FRANCE 24 looks at how the city’s affordable housing crisis is shaping the tight-run race.  For man»»»

French artificial intelligence startup AMI on Tuesday said it has raised $1 billion to develop AI systems designed to understand the physical world "in the way animals and humans do", unlike the language-based models behind chatbots such as ChatGPT. The company said it expected to pr»»»

Paris gears up to turn the page after 12-years of Anne Hidalgo. Can the French Socialist party retain control of City Hall after ruling the city for 25 years? Find out who the main contenders in the race are in this edition of Entre Nous. »»»

Doha, Qatar: Sharing photos from fire that broke out in the fuel tanks of one of the facilities in Muharraq Governorate, Bahrain's Ministry of Interior said that the Civil Defence teams are continuing their efforts to control the fire. The Ministry in another post told the residents in three parts »»»

Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias will visit Bulgaria on Thursday at the invitation of caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov. The two ministers and the delegations they lead will discuss current issues in the field of security and defence, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry’s press»»»

Caretaker Energy Minister Traicho Traikov will hold a meeting on Thursday with Prof. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, coordinator of the Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity (CESEC) initiative, the Energy Ministry said. The main topic of discussion is expected to be accelerating work on the »»»

Members of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan have approved in the third reading a draft law introducing amendments to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic «On the State Civil Service and Municipal Service.» The bill was initiated by MP Dastan Bekeshev. The document proposes granting citizens of Kyrgyzsta»»»

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, visited the United States, where he met heads of the working group on bilateral economic cooperation. "On instructions from [Russian] Presid»»»

Shell, the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader, has declared force majeure on LNG cargoes it buys from QatarEnergy and sells to its clients worldwide, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Qatar, the world's second-largest exporter of LNG, announced a production halt at its 77 million t»»»

A drone attack on an apartment building in the Mangaf area, south Kuwait, injured two people and caused a minor fire on Thursday morning. Firefighters quickly rushed to the scene, evacuated residents, and brought the fire under control, Spokesman of the Kuwait Fire Force Brig Mohammad Al Gharib tol»»»

The Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of four Bahraini nationals and identified a fifth, currently at large abroad, for espionage activities in coordination with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) via elements in Iran. The arrested individuals are: Murtadha Hussain Awal, 25 Ahmed »»»

Deputies approved in the third reading the draft law «On the ratification of the protocol amending the agreement between the Government of Kyrgyzstan and the Government of Kazakhstan on state border crossing points of December 25, 2003, signed on August 22, 2025, in Bishkek.» The decision was made »»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian drone attack targeting the port of Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman, which caused damage to several fuel tanks at the port. Qatar considered the attack a blatant act of aggression and a flagrant violat»»»

Norwegian police said on Wednesday they had apprehended three brothers suspected of carrying out Sunday's bombing at the US embassy in Oslo, in an attack investigators have branded an act of terrorism. The powerful early-morning blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) damaged the entrance t»»»

Parliament is set to debate at first reading five bills proposing amendments to the Penal Code, according to the agenda adopted for Thursday's plenary sitting. Four of the bills have been approved by the National Assembly’s Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, while one has been rejected.»»»

A woman suspected of murdering her husband has been detained in Chui region. The press service of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of Chui region reported. According to police, on March 11, 2026, at approximately 12:20 p.m., a woman U.V. reported the murder of her husband, P.A., in a house o»»»

Over the past weeks, the bodies of anonymous migrants have washed up on the shores of Sicily, victims of the recent extreme weather caused by Storm Harry as they were attempting to cross the sea from north Africa. The cyclone has underlined a brutal reality: that the central Mediterranean remains o»»»

Ukraine has sent drone expert teams to several Gulf countries to help in their fight against Iran's drones. The Ukrainian military has experience downing Iranian Shahed drones and the government “sees this as an opportunity,” explains FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg, reporting from Kyiv. With the war ag»»»

The country is consistently working to develop its processing industry, and the sector is showing steady positive growth. During the reporting period, the share of food processing enterprises, including beverage and tobacco production, in the total volume of processing industry output was 18.8 perc»»»

Dubai: Dutch carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 28 due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The airline said passengers booked on the affected services will be contacted and can either »»»

Spain has permanently withdrawn its ambassador from Israel, formally downgrading the level of diplomatic relations with the country. The long-strained relations between Madrid and West Jerusalem have deteriorated amid the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran. Spain is the only Western nation that ha»»»

WASHINGTON (AP): House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling financial portfolio Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world's wealthiest men. Richard Kahn, who worked closely with Epstein for years and now se»»»

Manama: Bahrain told residents to stay home after an Iranian attack on fuel tanks on Thursday as Tehran carries out a campaign in the Gulf to disrupt global energy markets. Also Read: US-Israel war on Iran Day 13: Trump pledges to end war amid ongoing attacks on Gulf nations"The blatant Iranian agg»»»

Twenty people have been admitted to the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital as a result of the mass food poisoning, the hospital’s chief physician, Gulzhigit Aaliev, told 24.kg news agency. According to him, 19 people have been hospitalized, and another is receiving outpatient treatmen»»»

Kyrgyzstani Iskandar Rasulzhanov took third place at the Youth World Boxing Cup, which is taking place in Montenegro. The Adriatic Pearl tournament for athletes under 19 years old kicked off in Budva. The Kyrgyz athlete competed in the 80-kilogram weight class, starting in the quarterfinals, where »»»

As travel between the UAE and India picks up, several airlines have resumed scheduled and non-scheduled flights to key destinations. On March 12, travellers can expect services from Indian carriers as well as UAE-based airlines, helping passengers reconnect with family and continue business and lei»»»

Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney, Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London, warned of a “radical acceleration” in the speed at which military targets are identified through the use of AI, and how quickly action is taken against them. She said this raise»»»

Officers of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) detained the former manager and chief accountant of Leilek district branch of Kyrgyz Pochtasy OJSC. The agency’s press center reported. During efforts to prevent corruption crimes at state-owned enterprises, cases of embezzl»»»

A police officer has been detained in Bishkek on suspicion of fraud, the press center of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) reported. According to the SCNS, an officer of the Security Department of Pervomaisky District of the Interior Ministry’s Security Service, K.u.A., took a large »»»

WASHINGTON: Dozens of Democratic senators demanded answers from the Trump administration on Wednesday as a growing body of evidence suggested that the US was likely responsible for a strike at an elementary school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children. The letter from more than»»»

Like many school systems facing teacher shortages, South Carolina’s Allendale County has looked overseas for help. A quarter of the teachers in the rural, high-poverty district come from other countries. The superintendent praises the international educators — mostly from Jamaica and the Philippine»»»

A truck driver suspected of rape was detained in Bishkek. The Patrol Police Department’s press service reported. According to the department, on March 10 at approximately 8:35 p.m., the 102 emergency service received information that an unidentified truck driver had committed a crime — he raped a w»»»

As Hungary approaches the 2026 parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has framed the vote as a decisive moment for the country’s future security and economic stability. Speaking during a campaign stop in Balatonfüred, PM Orbán warned that Europe is living through a period of significa»»»

Iran does not need mediators with Israel because it does not consider it a party to negotiations, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali told Sputnik in an interview. "Iran does not officially recognize the Zionist regime as a party with which to negotiate. To date, there have been no cases of m»»»

UAE airlines continue to operate on a reduced schedule as regional airspace gradually reopens. Emirates, Etihad Airways, Flydubai, and Air Arabia have all updated their flight operations, offering rebooking and refund options to affected passengers. Authorities and airlines emphasise that travel is»»»

Fuel prices in Vietnam rose again on March 11,  despite the government having decided to draw on its fuel price stabilisation fund to soften the impact of the ongoing global oil market turmoil. According to Reute»»»

A proposed record release of emergency strategic oil reserves  from the International Energy Agency (IEA) could offer temporary relief to global markets if Middle Eastern supply disruptions deepen, but it will not prevent prices from rising again. »»»

South Korea will release 22.46mn barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves as part of a coordinated plan by members of the International Energy Agency to supply 400mn barrels to global markets, Yonhap News Agency reports. »»»

The United States will release 172mn barrels of oil from its emergency stockpiles starting in the week as part of an effort to curb rising energy prices following the outbreak of war between US and Israeli forces with Iran. »»»

Japan plans to begin releasing oil reserves as early as March 16 in an effort to contain a potential surge in petrol and other petroleum prices brought about by the conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said late on March 11. »»»

A proposed record release of emergency strategic oil reserves  from the International Energy Agency (IEA) could offer temporary relief to global markets if Middle Eastern supply disruptions deepen, but it will not prevent prices from rising again. »»»

The United States will release 172mn barrels of oil from its emergency stockpiles starting in the week as part of an effort to curb rising energy prices following the outbreak of war between US and Israeli forces with Iran. »»»

South Korea will release 22.46mn barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves as part of a coordinated plan by members of the International Energy Agency to supply 400mn barrels to global markets, Yonhap News Agency reports. »»»

A proposed record release of emergency strategic oil reserves  from the International Energy Agency (IEA) could offer temporary relief to global markets if Middle Eastern supply disruptions deepen, but it will not prevent prices from rising again. »»»

The abrupt suspension of services by China's state-owned shipping giant COSCO at the Pacific-side port of Balboa marks the most visible commercial reaction yet to Panama's decision to seize control of two strategic terminals flanking the Panama Canal, a move that has triggered legal disputes, diplo»»»

Events linked to the conflict in the Middle East are expected to increase China’s overall energy import bill, but the economy is less dependent on oil and natural gas than many of its peers, while large domestic reserves built up in recent years can be deployed to limit pass-through to consumers, a»»»

G7 powers and China are battling for influence over the development assistance agenda for Central Asia. The rivalry is reflected in the growing attention paid to the region by proxy development institutions, the G7-led, Ma»»»

The abrupt suspension of services by China's state-owned shipping giant COSCO at the Pacific-side port of Balboa marks the most visible commercial reaction yet to Panama's decision to seize control of two strategic terminals flanking the Panama Canal, a move that has triggered legal disputes, diplo»»»

A proposed record release of emergency strategic oil reserves  from the International Energy Agency (IEA) could offer temporary relief to global markets if Middle Eastern supply disruptions deepen, but it will not prevent prices from rising again. »»»