Political reactions following Emmanuel Macron’s consultations, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, business life… All the news for this Saturday, August 24, 2024.
> The main news of the day
9:45 a.m. – Gaza: Hamas delegation on its way to Cairo
A Hamas official told AFP that a delegation from the Palestinian Islamist movement was on its way to Cairo, where negotiations are being held for a truce in Gaza, but did not participate in them.
“The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to be briefed on the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations (…). This does not mean that Hamas is participating in these negotiations,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
9:19 a.m. – An electro concert will close the Paralympic Games
The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, on September 8 at the Stade de France, will take the form of a large electro concert bringing together 24 artists and DJs including Jean-Michel Jarre, its organizers announced yesterday. The festivities will begin with the parade of 4,400 athletes, the passing of the baton to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games before the concert, indicated the Cojop (Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games).
Like the other three ceremonies, this one was created by Thomas Jolly, artistic director, and Victor Le Masne, music director.
8:30 a.m. – Orange warning for thunderstorms in 24 departments
Twenty-four departments on a South-West/North-East diagonal will be on orange storm alert from the afternoon, Météo-France indicated in its 6 a.m. bulletin. The Loire, the Rhône, the Ain, the Jura and the Doubs are added to the 19 other departments announced in orange yesterday by the forecaster.
The “strongly stormy summer situation (…) requires particular vigilance since there is a high probability of strong gusts of wind (from the Massif Central to the Grand-Est in particular) and high intensity and accumulation of precipitation (Occitanie in particular).”
8:21 a.m. – Three dead and five seriously injured in knife attack in Germany
The manhunt for the perpetrator of a knife attack that took place last night during a community festival in Solingen (western Germany) continues this morning. “The victims and witnesses are currently being questioned,” police in the neighboring city of Düsseldorf said in a statement released early.
On the social network X, investigators have called on the public to provide any information, including photos and videos, that could lead to the arrest of the fugitive suspect. A “major operation” is underway to try to find him, a spokeswoman for the Düsseldorf police told AFP. “The attacker stabbed people at random with a knife,” Alexander Kresta, a spokesman for the Wuppertal police, told the tabloid “Bild”.
After the attack, which took place during celebrations marking the 650th anniversary of the city in North Rhine-Westphalia, the area was “largely cordoned off”, according to Düsseldorf police.
8:19 a.m. – Private funeral this afternoon for Alain Delon
Tributes to Alain Delon, in front of the entrance to his property in Douchy, in Loiret.Patrick Gely/SIPA
After a life in the spotlight, it is in privacy that Alain Delon’s family and friends will bid him farewell in the private chapel of his property in Douchy (Loiret), at the end of a ceremony celebrated by former bishop Jean-Michel Di Falco. The funeral of the sacred monster of French cinema will be held from 4 p.m., his three children Anthony, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien told AFP. Around fifty people, close friends of the Delon clan, are invited and expected from 2 p.m.
Mobile phones should be taken away from all those present at the funeral, for reasons of privacy. At the request of the family, the prefecture has also banned flights over the property for the entire weekend.
8:15 a.m. – North Korea raises its tone (again) on nuclear issues
North Korea has vowed to further strengthen its nuclear capabilities, responding to media reports that the United States has revised its own nuclear strategic plan. Pyongyang “will strengthen its strategic strength by all means to control and eliminate all kinds of security challenges that may arise from Washington’s revised plan,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The New York Times reported this week that a U.S. plan approved in March by President Joe Biden aimed to prepare for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea. The highly classified plan, the newspaper said, shifts Washington’s deterrence strategy for the first time to focus on China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry “expresses deep concern over the behavior of the United States, bitterly denounces and rejects it,” the KCNA agency stressed. It added that Pyongyang would continue building a nuclear force to firmly defend its sovereignty.
8:03 a.m. – US presidential election: Robert Kennedy Jr., now a supporter of Donald Trump
Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Junior announced yesterday at a press conference that he was “suspending” his campaign, without giving it up completely, and that he would now support the Republican candidate.
“We believe in (Kamala) Harris and (Tim) Walz. Our brother’s decision today to support Trump is a betrayal of the values our father and our family hold dear. It’s a sad end to a sad story,” his family said in a statement.
8:00 a.m. – Paralympics: the flame lit at midday in England
Four days before the launch of the Paris Paralympic Games, the flame will be lit in Stoke Mandeville, where the idea of organising these competitions was born after the Second World War. The ceremony will be held in the presence of Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris-2024 Organising Committee, and Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee. Two British Paralympic athletes will launch the ceremony: Helene Raynsford, the first Paralympic champion in para-rowing (2008), and Gregor Ewan, who has competed in the Games three times in the wheelchair curling discipline.
