'China Targets': New investigation explores how Beijing extends its repression worldwide
12:38
China has instrumentalised the UN, Interpol and Western law enforcement to hunt down and intimidate government critics living abroad, according to a new worldwide investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. In a series of reports, the ICIJ sheds new light on China's long-running "transnational repression". One of its lead authors speaks to FRANCE 24 about their findings.
But first, amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, cross-border families are trapped in the fallout of the ensuing diplomatic tit-for-tat.
And as Vietnam marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon, we take a look back at the devastating war with the United States and at how the country has been transformed into a fast-growing free market economy under a Communist leadership.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Israeli military announces Syria shelling after projectiles launched
The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying he held Syria's leader "directly responsible". A military statement said that "two projectiles were identified crossing from Syria into Israeli territory, and fell in open areas", adding in a subsequent statement that its "artillery struck in southern Syria" following the launches. Syria's official news agency SANA reported shelling "targeting the Yarmuk Basin, in the west of Daraa" province. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties. There were no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side due to the projectiles, which the military said triggered air raid sirens in parts of the southern Golan Heights, a territory Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981. Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said in a statement released by his office that "we view the president of Syria as directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel." "A full response will follow shortly," he added. Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, led the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. 06:19 Israeli media said Tuesday's projectiles were the first fired from Syria into Israeli territory since Assad's fall. Following his overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria. Israel says the strikes aim to stop advanced weapons reaching Syria's new authorities, whom it considers jihadists. In a statement on Sunday, Israel's military said its troops were continuing "defensive operations in southern Syria" to "dismantle terrorist infrastructure and protect the residents of the Golan Heights". Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
At least 27 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid distribution near Rafah
10:10 03/06/2025 French consumer group sues Nestlé and French ministers amid bottled water scandal France 03/06/2025 The only stable factor in Wilders' government was political instability, researcher says Europe 03/06/2025 Israeli forces 'control vast majority of Gaza, making it inaccessible to Gazans' Middle East 03/06/2025 'There's a logic behind humanitarian assistance and the UN's 408 distribution points across Gaza' 03/06/2025 Ukraine: Crimea bridge closed after underwater explosion 03/06/2025 Health officials say Israeli fire kills at least 27 near Gaza aid point Middle East 03/06/2025 Tunisian man killed in France: Suspect had history of posting racist content 03/06/2025 France: Prosecutors open a terror investigation after a Tunisian man was killed 03/06/2025 Bikes outnumber cars in central Paris — but not everyone's happy about it.
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
At least five killed in attack on aid convoy in Sudan, UN says
At least five people have been killed and several others wounded in an attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region on Tuesday, the United Nations has said, with the warring parties in the northeast African nation trading blame for the attack. The attack on the 15-truck convoy carrying desperately needed food and nutrition supplies happened on Monday night near the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-controlled town of Koma in North Dafur province. It was trying to reach besieged el-Fasher city, according to a joint statement from the World Food Programme and UNICEF. Both agencies called for an investigation into the attack. "This was the first UN humanitarian convoy that was going to make it to el-Fasher in over one year," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at in New York. Monday night's attack burned many trucks and damaged the aid they were carrying, the statement said. It didn't say who was responsible for the attack. The WFP and UNICEF said they were negotiating to complete the trip to el-Fasher from the eastern city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which serves as an interim seat for the country's military-allied government. "It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the vulnerable children and families they were intended to," the statement said. Dujarric said all those killed and injured were Sudanese contractors working for the WFP and UNICEF. "They were 80 kilometres from el-Fasher, after having travelled 1,800 kilometres for days in incredibly difficult terrain, incredibly dangerous terrain," he said. "They were parked on the side of the road waiting for clearances and they were attacked." "It was an air attack, most likely drones. But we don't know who the perpetrators were." The RSF said in a statement the convoy was hit by a military aircraft in a "pre-planned attack." Footage shared by the RSF showed burned vehicles carrying what appeared to be flour bags. The military-led government, however, rejected the accusation and said in a statement that aid trucks were 'treacherously attacked by assault drones operated by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.' The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher tracked the fighting in and around the city and blamed the paramilitaries for the attack, saying the RSF statement aimed to "mislead public opinion and evade accountability." The UN demanded a halt to attacks on humanitarian personnel, facilities and vehicles. El-Fasher, more than 800 kilometres southwest of the capital Khartoum, is one of the last strongholds of the Sudanese military in Darfur. The region has been under RSF siege since May 2024. Sudan was plunged into a war more than two years ago, when tensions between the army and its rival paramilitary RSF exploded with street battles in the capital of Khartoum that quickly spread across the country. The war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including over four million who crossed into neighbouring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine. The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the UN and international rights groups. Kai-Uwe Steck, a key figure in a massive tax fraud scheme that plagued Germany until 2012, has been convicted for his role in the scandal. Steck, who has cooperated with the authorities in recent years, received a suspended jail sentence of one year and 10 months, far less than the three years and eight months demanded by the prosecution. The former lawyer was also ordered to repay €24 million, €11 million of which has already been returned. As a "central figure" in the fraud scheme Steck contributed to losses of more than €428 million to the German tax authorities, according to the presiding judge in the case at Bonn Regional Court. The 53-year-old was a tax lawyer who worked alongside Hanno Berger, the so-called "mastermind" of the scandal that became known in Germany as "Cum-Ex". Like Berger, Steck was accused of designing and implementing complex share transactions that allowed multiple parties to claim illegitimate tax refunds on dividend payments. Despite the significant role he played in the scandal between 2007 and 2011, Steck's cooperation with authorities and his role as a whistleblower in the case meant he avoided a stricter sentence. His former colleague Berger was convicted to eight years in prison in 2022. The "Cum-Ex" scandal — considered to be the biggest tax fraud case in German history — prompted an avalanche of lawsuits and cast a shadow on politicians, including former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Scholz was accused of protecting a local bank — during his time as the mayor of Hamburg — that was found guilty of participating in the scheme. The former German leader has always denied any wrongdoing, with prosecutors deciding to drop the case against him due to insufficient evidence. German authorities have so far recovered approximately €3.4 billion through several convictions and court cases. However, tens of billions of euros are still missing. Other investigations into the remaining lost funds are ongoing.
