8 healthy babies born after IVF using DNA from 3 people
17/07/2025
Trump allocates arms for Ukraine, threatens Russia with tariffs if no truce in 50 days
RUSSIA
17/07/2025
New ceasefire holds in Syria's Sweida
Middle East
17/07/2025
France ends military presence in Senegal
Africa
17/07/2025
Brazil: Whales make waves in Rio de Janeiro
Americas
17/07/2025
Russia says captured villages in three separate Ukrainian regions
RUSSIA
17/07/2025
Lebanese Abdallah held since 1984 for US, Israeli diplomat murders
Middle East
17/07/2025
New ceasefire agreement holds in Syria's Sweida
Middle East
17/07/2025
Ukraine launches major drone attack on Russian bombers
RUSSIA
17/07/2025
Lebanese militant Abdallah to be free after 40 years in prison
Middle East
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LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
French hostages in Iran are at mercy of regime's bargaining
It was close to noon in Tehran on June 23 when Cécile Kohler heard the first explosion. The sound of a second, then a third, soon followed. The walls of the tiny cell in Evin prison, where the literature teacher has been locked up for three years, shook. Just a few meters away, in the men's section, Jacques Paris, her 72-year-old partner who was arrested with her in May 2022, grew frantic as fellow inmates were wounded by shrapnel and shards of glass. Chaos and panic ensued. The guards gathered the political prisoners from Section 209, tied them together in pairs, and transferred them to Tehran-Bozorg penitentiary in the south of the capital, as Israeli bombs continued to rain down on the city. "I thought I was going to die," Kohler later told the chargé d'affaires at the French embassy in Iran during a consular visit granted a week later on July 1. Since the Israeli strikes, their actual place of detention is unknown. Terrified by the attacks, the 40-year-old woman was barely sleeping. "Every night, she hears explosions," her sister Noémie Kohler said by phone. Are they phantom noises or real gunfire? The family lives in anxiety and uncertainty. After three years in detention, Kohler and Paris were indicted in late June by a revolutionary court for "espionage on behalf of Mossad [Israeli intelligence services]," "plotting to overthrow the government" and "corruption on earth" – charges that carry the death penalty. Is there any hope for release? "We no longer believe in it," sighed Noémie Kohler. The couple has now been joined by Lennart Monterlos, an 18-year-old French-German cyclist, arrested "for an offense," according to Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghtchi in an interview with Le Monde on July 10, without providing further details. A fourth French citizen has recently been arrested in Iran, Le Monde has learned, though neither the Iranian authorities nor Paris has disclosed any information
LeMonde
11 hours ago
- LeMonde
Le Monde - retour à la une How the Russian and Ukrainian front lines are shifting
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the front lines of the war have never stopped shifting. These transformations have first and foremost been geographical, with advances, retreats and the stabilization of specific areas. They have also been morphological and technological. The front has hardened significantly: individual positions have gradually become entrenched, resulting in a complex network of trenches, bunkers, anti-tank ditches and minefields. However, this kind of positional warfare is not a return to the past: It is even undergoing a technological revolution. Drones – whether used for reconnaissance, bombing or as kamikaze units – have become omnipresent, transforming the tactics, tempo and organization of the battlefield. World War in Ukraine By Victoria Denys, Emmanuel Grynszpan, Flavie Holzinger, Xemartin Laborde, Riccardo Pravettoni and Victor Simonnet This illustration is not intended to faithfully recreate the full complexity of the Ukrainian front line, which varies between locations and is constantly changing. Instead, it provides a general overview, helping readers to understand the diversity of equipment, situations and operating methods used on the front. THE RUSSIAN SIDE The reign of drones and the 'kill zone' The presence of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield has continued to intensify and become more complex. Drones are the key weapon in this war, and they have redefined how forces defend, attack, monitor and target their enemies. On both sides of the front, 90% of casualties have been caused by drone strikes. New types of drones have appeared, with specialized uses: hunting other drones, carrying out ultra-precise strikes against enemy artillery (artillery being the most difficult piece of equipment for the Russian defense industry to produce), etc. The two main uses of attack drones are to rush directly at their target (i.e. FPV drones) or to bomb them using onboard munitions. Artificial intelligence already enables them to conduct autonomous "swarm" attacks and helps identify targets. The range of attack drones has continually increased, and now reaches several dozen kilometers. "Mother drones," which carry multiple smaller drones, have begun to appear, and they can double or triple their operational range. This has expanded the "kill zone," the stretch of territory in which any movement is immediately spotted and struck, on both sides of the front, making assaults, defense and logistics increasingly difficult for dozens of kilometers. Leaving or reaching a position, resupplying, or even evacuating the wounded has become extremely dangerous. Military experts have predicted that the "kill zone" will continue to expand, eventually reaching 100 kilometers in width. The 'kill zone' New arsenal: Widespread robotization Ukrainian forces, on the defensive, have been subjected to barrages of FPV drones. Russia's widespread use of fiber optic cable drones has rendered radio jamming devices ineffective, as they are designed to neutralize radio-controlled drones. To protect themselves from these cable-equipped drones, which transmit high quality images, they have had to set up netting, and, as a last resort, use shotguns to shoot down the loitering munitions. As a result, fortifications, artillery and trenches have been systematically covered with camouflage netting. To reduce losses incurred during troop movements, Ukrainian forces have very rapidly developed ground drones to address their logistical challenges. These drones can resupply positions and evacuate the wounded. They can also be used offensively, to lay mines or even to carry out kamikaze strikes against enemy positions. THE UKRAINIAN SIDE A Russian countermeasure: using off-road motorcycles to attack through the 'kill zone' Nicknamed the 21st century "dragoons," in reference to historical military units that traveled on horseback but fought on foot, Russian infantry have, since the autumn of 2024, refined a new assault tactic: rapidly advancing on Ukrainian positions using off-road motorcycles. This has come as a countermeasure to the widespread use of drones by Ukrainian defenders. Over the past two years, drones have destroyed much of Russia's fleet of armored vehicles, which were previously their army's preferred means of transporting infantry for assaults. Drones have made approaching defensive positions extremely dangerous: No matter if the maneuver is mechanized or not, and regardless of how thick a vehicle's armor is, they threaten any kind of movement across the battlefield. Russian forces have found that the speed and maneuverability of off-road motorcycles make them harder to hit than slow, large targets, such as armored vehicles. They also give Ukrainian defenders less time to react to assaults once they are detected. The typical structure of a motorcycle assault group consists of six to eight motorcycles, with one or two soldiers per vehicle. Once they are within firing range of the targeted Ukrainian position, the riders dismount from their bikes to begin the actual attack, often striking from two or three flanks at once. Sources: ISW; Reuters; Le Monde Texts and research: Emmanuel Grynszpan and Flavie Holzinger Illustration: Victoria Denys Cartography: Xemartin Laborde Web development: Victor Simonnet Coordination: Riccardo Pravettoni English version: Zorro Maplestone
Euronews
12 hours ago
- Euronews
Syria's leader urges Bedouin tribes to commit to ceasefire
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Bedouin tribes to "fully commit" to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze militias. The ceasefire was agreed on by Syria and Israel, and was announced earlier on Saturday by US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack. It comes after Israeli forces carried out several attacks against Syria, including in the capital, Damascus, in what it called 'military interventions' to protect the Druze minority. It also comes on the heels of renewed clashes between Druze armed groups and Bedouin clans, in what Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa warned he'll send troops back in to quell the fighting that has so far displaced tens of thousands of people. Barrack announced the truce in a post on X, formerly Twitter, noting that the US-led peace initiative is supported by multiple countries in the region. 'Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa supported by the USA, [State Secretary Marco] Rubio have agreed to a ceasefire embraced by Türkiye, Jordan and its neighbours,' wrote Barrack. Though he did no disclose any details of the arrangement, Barrack called on all parties to disengage and seek peace. 'We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours.' Clashes began on Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Syria's southern Sweida province. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins' side against the Druze. Israel intervened in defence of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even striking the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military. The week-long fighting has killed hundreds of people. Some locals speaking to media outlets say Syrian government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians, looted their homes and burned them down in the wake of the clashes. On Wednesday, al-Sharaa's government reached a truce with Druze groups, mediate by Washington, Turkey and other Arab countries, and began withdrawing their troops from the Sweida province. Druze groups were tasked, according to the details of the deal revealed by the Syrian interim president on Thursday, to oversee internal security as government forces pulled out. By late Thursday however, clashes were flaring up again between Bedouin and Druze groups. State media reported that Druze militias had carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a new wave of displacements. The governor of the neighbouring Daraa province said in a statement that more than 1,000 families were displaced to his province as a result of 'attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups'. Al-Sharaa said special forces will be deployed to Sweida to 'break up clashes and resolve the conflict on the ground'. The UN estimated that some 80,000 people were displaced since clashes erupted on Sunday. It also added that essential services, including water and electricity had collapsed in Sweida, as well as major disruptions to telecom and health facilities.
