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. 

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.

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.

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.

A man suspected of a gun attack in the Paris suburbs last week, killing one person and wounding seven including a child, has admitted to "targeting individuals who appeared to be Muslim, African, or North African," prosecutors said on Thursday. The attack came amid an increasingly tense political climate, with just six months to go before next spring's presidential election. 

They have left everything behind to get away from US President Donald Trump's America. Entrepreneurs, academics, scientists and students: tens of thousands of US citizens have moved to Ireland in recent years. Last year alone, some 10,000 Americans settled there and nearly 100 even applied for asylum – citing political, racial or gender persecution.

A humanitarian aid mission is set to enter the Ukrainian town of Oleshky, a Ukrainian official said on Thuirsday, as a localised truce between Kyiv and Moscow, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, held for a third day. Some 2,000 residents in the Russian occupied city have been cut off from essential supplies amid reports that many are starving.

Tens of thousands of US citizens have fled the United States since Donald Trump's return to power two years ago. Given the language and a shared history, Ireland has been among the top choices for Americans looking for an alternative. FRANCE 24's team reports.

In this edition of Perspective, we focus on the tragic train collision that killed at least 68 people in Spain on Wednesday. We're joined by Nicholas Kingsley, executive editor of Railway Gazette International. 

French anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen said the suspect in the Trappes racist attack, which killed one person and injured five others, had been brought before a French court. FRANCE 24 International Affairs Editor Philip Turle has more.

A man suspected of a gun attack in the Paris suburbs last week that killed one person and wounded five including a child has admitted to "targeting individuals who appeared to be Muslim, African, or North African," prosecutors said on Thursday. FRANCE 24's Charli James reports.

Spain's second high-speed rail disaster this year, in which one train struck another from behind, killing 69 people, has raised fresh concerns about the safety of the country's rail network ahead of a national election. Three days of mourning have begun in the country.

In Spain, the deadly train accident that killed 69 people and injured scores has once again brought national railway safety under the spotlight. Spain’s transport minister reported an "error" and "inexplicable circumstances" that led to one of Europe's deadliest train disasters this century.

At least 13 people were killed when a Russian drone struck a busy railway station in Ukraine's Dnipro on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, describing the attack as "horrific" and urging Kyiv's allies not to ease sanctions on Moscow.

The French anti-terrorism prosecutor, Olivier Christen, gave a press conference on Thursday about the recent racist terrorist attack that killed one man and wounded five others, including a 12-year-old girl, in Trappes. Watch our replay.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down on February 7, 2027, nearly nine months before her term expires, the ECB said Thursday. Her successor will be appointed by the European Council under EU treaty rules.

Spain entered three days of mourning on Thursday after a high-speed train collision killed 69 people and injured scores more. The incident has prompted fresh questions about rail safety and management. 

Canada and the European Union will pursue closer ties but have dropped a proposal for associate EU membership, according to a joint declaration ahead of Thursday’s summit in Montreal. Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking to reduce Canada’s reliance on the US, despite warnings from Donald Trump.

A rail collision in Spain that claimed at least 68 lives on Wednesday came after a train was ordered to go in "error" despite a technical failure that halted all services, the transport minister said. The first findings about the accident in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha are likely to revive questions about rail safety in Spain after another high-speed collision in January killed 46 people. FRANCE 24's James Vasina reports.

Questions are being raised about Spain's rail safety as authorities launch an official investigation into the cause of Wednesday's high-speed train collision, which killed at least 68 people and wounded around 100 more, in the country's second fatal rail crash this year.