In the last few years, Moldova has emerged as an unexpected new destination for medical tourists, attracting patients from across Europe and beyond. Over 36,000 international patients come to the country every year, 60% of»»»

Romania’s trade deficit in goods contracted by 15% y/y to €2.33bn in January, as imports (-7.7% y/y) continued to fall faster than exports (-4.7% y/y), according to data published by the statistics office INS. For nine consecutive months, Romania’s exports have performed comparatively better than i»»»

Moldova’s economy expanded by 2.4% y/y in 2025, supported by a strong recovery in the second half of the year after a weak start (chart), according to national statistics data. In Q4 alone, GDP increased by 3.6% y/y, altho»»»

Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a strategic partnership agreement in Bucharest on March 12, marking a new stage in bilateral relations and outlining plans for cooperation in defence, energy and transport. »»»

EU presidency chair Cyprus has changed its stance on lifting EU sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and now opposes it due to historical disputes with Turkey, a bne IntelliNews source familiar with the Coreper discussions in the EU on March 13. »»»

EU presidency chair Cyprus has changed its stance on lifting EU sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and now opposes it due to historical disputes with Turkey, a bne IntelliNews source familiar with the Coreper discussions in the EU on March 13. »»»

Four years after the invasion of Ukraine triggered sweeping Western sanctions, Russia has managed to preserve one of its most important channels of global influence: civil nuclear exports. Russia’s nuclear exports are boom»»»

Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a strategic partnership agreement in Bucharest on March 12, marking a new stage in bilateral relations and outlining plans for cooperation in defence, energy and transport. »»»

A Russian military court on March 12 handed down life sentences to four ​Tajik gunmen and 11 accomplices over the major March 2024 terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall entertainment venue in outer Moscow, in which 149 people perished. »»»

EU presidency chair Cyprus has changed its stance on lifting EU sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and now opposes it due to historical disputes with Turkey, a bne IntelliNews source familiar with the Coreper discussions in the EU on March 13. »»»

As tensions escalate across several fronts in the Middle East, information is spreading almost as quickly as the events themselves. Social media platforms are often the first place where images, videos, and reports of alleged attacks or military developments appear. But alongside legitimate informa»»»

PARIS, France — The war in the Middle East has largely paralysed the Gulf region's crucial oil industry, which has been hit by attacks and an export blockade.The war has forced companies to dramatically slow or even halt production -- and restarting it will not be easy, even when the war is over.Wh»»»

PARIS, France — For anyone in the import business, the economic risks from the war in the Middle East arrive by sea -- and that goes for everyone who buys their products, too.As the war rages into its third week, the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz has upended not just the oil »»»

The FBI opened a terrorism investigation after a gunman opened fire Thursday at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, killing one person and wounding two US Army personnel, officials said. The suspect, previously convicted of aiding terrorists, was subdued by ROTC students after entering a »»»

Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday that officials held recent talks with the US aiming to resolve "differences" between the two countries. The US is currently maintaining an energy blockade on Cuba which has affected communications, education and transportation and seen millions»»»

A French officer was killed in a Shahed drone attack in Iraq, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Earlier the Iran-backed Iraqi group, Ashab Alkahf, warned that French interests in the region were now targets after the arrival of a French air»»»

US media reported on Friday that roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are headed for the Middle East.  Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Friday it had carried out around 7,600 strikes in Iran and 1,100 in Lebanon since launching its joint operation with the US a»»»

Israel continued its bombing campaign in Lebanon early Friday, expanding attacks on the capital Beirut beyond the southern suburbs and into the north and centre of the city. FRANCE 24's senior reporter Catherine Norris-Trent reports from Beirut.»»»

François Picard is pleased to welcome Farad Khajkvar, Director of Studies at the School of Higher Studies, EHESS, author of the forthcoming book in French, Iran: The End of Totalitarianism. He sees today’s Iran as a system in which religion has become subordinate to politics, and politics itself is»»»

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded and "likely disfigured", casting doubt on his ability to lead after nearly two weeks of conflict. Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, US De»»»

Amid the current crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr. Guy Laron, Author of "Oil Wars", Historian and Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. According to Dr Laron, what we are witnessing is not merely a regional co»»»

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Salah Hijazi, who is the Deputy Head of the Politics Desk at the Francophone Lebanese daily, L'Orient-Le Jour. He warns Lebanon is trapped in a dangerous stalemate, where the war is no longer governed by Lebanese calculations alone but by a wider regional confront»»»

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Hassan Al-Sayed. Field Coordinator for the NGO Solidarités International, joining us from Saida in southern Lebanon, a city that has rapidly transformed into a refuge for hundreds of thousands displaced. A significant proportion of the population remains trapped i»»»

Beirut – As Israel steps up its bombing campaign on Lebanon, many hospitals have had to close, leaving only a handful of healthcare facilities still operating. For patients with chronic illnesses — and the doctors and nurses treating them — every trip to the hospital now carries»»»

France’s armed forces ministry on Friday said a drone strike killed a French soldier and wounded six others in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as "unacceptable" and insisted Paris’s role in the Middle East war remained strictly defensive. A drone s»»»

It’s been a week that’s seen a new Ayatollah proclaimed in Iran. Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has not been seen in public and is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being injured in the same strike that killed his father. State television showed crowd»»»

France 24’s Gavin Lee speaks with Jennifer Gavito, former US diplomat and Senior Advisor at The Cohen Group, about Washington’s strategy in the current conflict and what President Donald Trump is seeking to achieve. They discuss the objectives behind the US military campaign, the risks of escalatio»»»

In tonight’s edition: a new report warns that trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe are increasingly passing through West Africa. The new US ambassador to South Africa has backtracked on his criticism of the "Kill the Boer" chant. And more than a month after Cyclone Gezani devastated east»»»

Housing is always a key issue in political campaigns, and it’s no different in these local elections – it may be the top concern on voters’ minds. For this edition, we head to the Basque Country in south-west France, where the picturesque coast has become a tourist hotspot. While tourism bring»»»

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. But while conservatives once fought tooth and nail against the left’s dream of a city of more trees and »»»

Afghan authorities said Friday that Pakistani air strikes hit Kabul and border provinces overnight, killing six people in the capital. A Pakistani security official confirmed the operation, saying it targeted the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Islamabad has stepped up strikes in Afghanistan amid rising m»»»

Nearly 80 years ago, a brutal crackdown on Jeju Island in southern Korea claimed tens of thousands of lives. In the aftermath of World War II, the Korean peninsula was drawn into the Cold War and divided in two: a Soviet-backed regime in the North, and a US-supported nationalist government in the S»»»

US President Donald Trump said the American military had destroyed all military targets on Iran's Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf amid the ongoing conflict. "Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle»»»

Last year's War of the Worlds – starring Ice Cube as a man who must save humanity from an alien invasion without leaving his desk – has swept the board at this year's Razzie Awards, for the worst films of 2025. As Hollywood gears up to honour the year's best films at the Oscars on Sunday, the Prime»»»

The Iranian armed forces have carried out strikes on suspected locations of Israeli and US commanders, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday. "Ten shelters and locations on occupied territories, as well as three US assembly and shelter sites in the region, were identified a»»»

The first meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, could potentially take place this year during the Caspian Summit in Tehran, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali told Sputnik. "Of course, all this should be put aside for when we're pas»»»

François Picard is pleased to welcome Sophie in 't Veld, former Dutch MEP and member of Volt Europa. She argues that the EU faces a profound structural crisis in its capacity to act on the global stage. What appears as policy debate is, in practice, an internal academic discussion with little »»»

Russia is wrong to think the war in Iran will give it respite in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The leaders were meeting for talks on ways to increase pressure on Russia, including increasi»»»

The United States will temporarily allow the sale of Russian oil already at sea, the Treasury Department said on Thursday, as energy prices surged after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered war in the Middle East. The license permits cargoes loaded by March 12 to be delivered and sold until April 1»»»

EU states on Friday supported new rules banning AI tools that generate sexualised deepfakes, following a backlash over images made with Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok. EU nations on Friday backed a ban on AI systems generating sexualised deepfakes, after an outcry over such images produced by Elon Mus»»»

The EU is in a bind. EU institutions and many member states have condemned the Iranian government’s waves of repression against its own population. At the same time, the EU has said it would welcome a more democratic form of government in Iran. At the same time, it does not want to appear too close»»»

It’s no secret that farmers across the EU have grown increasingly frustrated with the state of their industry. Profitability is falling, competition from abroad is fierce, and worries about paperwork and bureaucracy continue to mount. Fewer young people are taking over the family farm, opting for o»»»

Russia on Friday said it summoned the United Kingdom and France ambassadors to protest a Ukrainian strike using Storm Shadow missiles on a factory in Bryansk, calling it a provocation that could undermine peace efforts. The Russian ​Foreign Ministry said on ​Friday that it had summoned the British »»»

Kubanychbek Kapalov, deputy head of the Bailiffs Service under the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kyrgyzstan, shot himself in Bishkek. Sources in law enforcement agencies reported. According to their information, the incident occurred last night at around 11 p.m. An ambulance service reported that »»»

Oil markets fell and picked up again on Wednesday, as the International Energy Agency reportedly considers its largest-ever release of emergency crude stockpiles to stabilise global markets, while Iran is said to have laid naval mines in the Hormuz Strait. In this edition, we look at how the latest»»»

The European Union is facing an “almost existential moment” as it seeks to weather global turmoil. That is the warning from Ireland’s Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris. He says the current conflict in the Middle East serves as “a stark reminder of how Europe must become much more ener»»»

Iran's Tasnim news agency has published a list of potential targets for Iran on Telegram, including the offices of tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia in Gulf countries and Israel. Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Doha for FRANCE 24.»»»

On March 14, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., avalanche control operations will be carried out at kilometers 294–304 of Bishkek—Naryn—Torugart road (Kara-Unkur Gorge) to prevent avalanche hazards. The press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan reported. Due to the operations, t»»»

Hungarian lender K&H Group is deepening its push into integrated digital services and artificial intelligence (AI) as customers increasingly expect banking to match the speed and simplicity of major online platforms. D»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused Ukrainians of plotting to attack his family, but security analysts say the footage showing a former Ukrainian military person is likely manipulated and part of a broader disinformation campaign ahead of Hungary’s 2026 parliamentary elections. »»»