The Latest Breaking News from Radio France Internationale

France's armed forces will launch phase two of their flagship Orion 26 military exercises in Saint-Nazaire, on the country's west coast, on Sunday. As war rages in Ukraine, more than 10,000 military personnel are preparing for high-intensity warfare in drills designed to ready France to defend European territory from a…

Famine is spreading in Sudan's western Darfur region, UN-backed experts have warned, as a grinding war between the army and paramilitary forces has left millions hungry, displaced and cut off from aid.

The Six Nations kicks off this evening with a rare Thursday night fixture to avoid clashing with Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony, as France host Ireland in Paris. In other changes, this year's tournament will run for six weeks rather than seven.

Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has deployed an army batallion to the western state of Kwara after gunmen killed at least 162 people in one of the country's deadliest attacks in recent months.

Amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Moscow and Abu Dhabi, in an interview on TV channel France 2 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his European partners – as well as United States President Donald Trump – to put more pressure on Russia to end the four-year war.

Screening for lung cancer could become as routine in France as checks for breast or colon cancer, according to Health Minister Stéphanie Rist, who says the country is preparing to roll out a pilot programme to screen thousands of at-risk individuals from next month.

The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, in central France, is the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 500 films screened during a week-long event. Its African Perspectives section this year tackles themes from social media to colonial archives.

As European environment ministers gather for a two-day summit in Cyprus, France has called for the bloc to take a more aggressive stance when it comes to defending global climate goals.

The crown of French Empress Eugenie, which was abandoned by fleeing thieves who staged a brazen robbery at the Louvre last year, is nearly intact and will be fully restored, the museum said Wednesday.

The United States has sent a small team of troops to Nigeria, the general in charge of the US command for Africa said on Tuesday, the first acknowledgment of American forces on the ground since Washington struck by air on Christmas Day.

Sudan’s war has been marked by mass killings, famine and the deliberate blocking of aid as rival forces carried out war crimes across the country, Human Rights Watch said, while the United Nations warned the conflict has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.