While African leaders and Russian officials gather to discuss security, trade and political cooperation at the Africa-Russia summit, one sensitive issue is notably absent from the agenda: the recruitment of Africans to fight for Russia in Ukraine. More than 1,400 Africans have been enlisted since 2023. In Tunisia, concern is growing as the families of several men who travelled to Russia for work or study are still searching for answers about the fate of their loved ones. FRANCE 24's team in Tunisia reports. 

In this edition of Access Asia, we explore why anti-Indian sentiment is rising in the United States in the wake of the foiled plot targeting a Hindu temple in Illinois. We ask the executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate what's behind the trend, and whether the rhetoric coming from the Trump White House is to blame.

At least 60 Christians have been killed in Ethiopia in what the Orthodox Church has declared as religious violence. It is still unclear who was behind the attack, with rebels and local government blaming each other. Around 20 houses have been burned down, as FRANCE 24's correspondent Tom Canetti reports.

The International Olympic Committee is upbeat just 24 hours before competition gets under way at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. Venues are ready to host the first-ever Olympic event on the African continent. FRANCE 24's correspondent Aminatou Diallo reports from the ground.

Tanzania is marking the first anniversary of a bloody election that left many traumatised. The October 29, 2025 election, in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan won with 98 percent of the vote after most of the opposition was excluded, triggered days of protests that security forces brutally suppressed. Many government critics say they still fear abduction, arbitrary arrest and politically motivated prosecutions.

As hundreds of thousands across France are expected to take to the street again this weekend to protest the high cost of living, oil and gas giant TotalEnergies has posted record profits for the quarter to September. The company has kept fuel prices lower than rivals at its pumps, but motorists are wondering whether it could bring them lower still.

Alexander Zverev secured his place as the next world No. 1 by beating Tallon Griekspoor (6-4, 7-5) at the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna. The 29-year-old German will top the ATP rankings on Monday, November 2, replacing Jannik Sinner. He will become the first German world No. 1 since Boris Becker in 1991, and the 30th player in history to reach the top spot.

Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party alleged on Thursday, without ​providing evidence, that Arab parties' record gains in an election this week were driven in part by voter fraud. These accusations represent an escalation of anti-Arab rhetoric by Netanyahu and his far-right partners after Arab-led parties made a historic showing in the election – giving them a potential kingmaker role in the next government

Israel's final election results confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost its majority of parliamentary seats and that weeks of difficult negotiations among very different parties, from ultra-Orthodox Jewish to secular to Arab-led, lie ahead. The results released early Friday showed Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in Tuesday's elections. The main opposition bloc won 48. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Philip Turle tells us more.

Spain began demanding answers on Thursday after the toll from the country's second high-speed train collision this year rose to 69 people, with scores injured and distraught relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones. One of Europe's deadliest rail disasters this century struck south of Madrid on Wednesday morning when a service by state operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to private Spanish company Iryo. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid, Spain.

With the US approaching a potentially consequential midterm election, the political landscape appears to be shifting. Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Dr Richard Johnson, Senior Lecturer in US Politics & Policy at Queen Mary University of London, who examines the prospect of a sweeping Democratic victory. He argues that the party could achieve gains of a magnitude not seen since Barack Obama's historic presidential election in 2008. Johnson sees a combination of Democratic enthusiasm, and growing support among independents, white college-educated voters and Latinos, and signs of defections from Donald Trump's fiercely loyal electoral coalition.

Newspaper Novaya Gazeta, one of the last vestiges of independent journalism in Russia, announced Friday that it was closing down, citing pressure from authorities who recently searched the home of its senior editor and earlier this year detained one of its journalists.

France's economy unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter while inflation rose more than anticipated, piling pressure on the government ahead of further nationwide protests this weekend that are ​making it ‌more difficult to cut spending. Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned that the economy could be "headed for a wall" if parliament fails to approve a deficit-reducing budget soon.  

Russia said its forces struck energy infrastructure in and around Ukraine's capital on Friday as an aid ⁠convoy entered the beleaguered Russian-held city of Oleshky ​in southern Ukraine, carrying food and medical supplies as part of a localised ceasefire deal. Ukrainian officials said 527 people would be evacuated from the city to areas controlled by Kyiv. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

France will deploy some 70,000 police officers in Paris and other cities ahead of a new round of nationwide protests on Saturday, with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warning of a "very high risk of public disorder". The minister pledged an "extremely firm" response after mass protests on October 17 degenerated into rioting and looting.

French investigators on Thursday questioned former prime minister Édouard Philippe, a candidate in next year's presidential election, in a case of alleged embezzlement of public funds. His lawyer welcomed the move, noting that magistrates had chosen not to place the ex-PM under formal investigation.

Binance said on Thursday that a security breach had affected an estimated $6.3 billion in assets, potentially making it the biggest cryptocurrency heist on record. The world's largest crypto exchange said it had recovered or frozen about $3 billion, while analysts have pinned the blame for the hack on North Korea.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition won the most seats in the general election but fell eight short of a parliamentary majority, final results showed Friday. Arab party groupings emerged as potential kingmakers, while allegations of foreign interference threatened to complicate efforts to form a government.

North Korea has tested attack drones, cruise missiles and rocket launchers at a weapons demonstration, state media reported Friday, as Kim Jong Un called for faster development of military drone and artificial intelligence technology. The tests follow a series of weapons trials and rising tensions with South Korea.

In tonight's edition: Concern is growing in Tunisia as the families of several men who travelled to Russia for work or study are still searching for an answer about the fate of their loved ones forcibly conscripted to the war in Ukraine. Also, a year after Tanzania's controversial election, fear hasn't faded. And Dakar is ready to make history, as the first Olympic event ever held on African soil gets underway this weekend.