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Storms battered eastern Romania on Saturday, flooding several neighbourhoods, where emergency workers found four people dead in a search and rescue mission. The stormy weather comes as several central European nations anticipate severe flooding to hit the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary over the weekend.
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More than a week after US-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank, mourners gathered in her hometown of Didim in western Turkey on Saturday for her funeral service. Eygi's death has sparked international condemnation and calls for an independent inquiry. The Israeli military said the 26-year-old volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement was "unintentionally" hit while its forces were responding to a "violent riot", and that it was looking into the case.
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Ugandans gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya less than a month after her return from the Paris Games. The 33-year-old succumbed to her injuries last week, sparking outrage over gender-based violence in East Africa and worldwide.
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Russia and Ukraine successfully exchanged 103 prisoners of war each on Saturday in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Despite ongoing hostilities, the two nations have managed several POW swaps throughout the conflict, with this latest exchange following a similar deal made just three weeks ago.
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Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Yemen's Houthi rebels would pay "a heavy price" after the group claimed responsibility for a rare missile attack launched from Lebanon on Israel's Upper Galilee region and the annexed Golan Heights. The attack, which caused no casualties, spurred a rush to shelters throughout central Israel and was praised by Hamas, which said "Israel will not enjoy security" until it ceases its operations in the Gaza Strip.
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Upon his return from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region on Friday, Pope Francis denounced US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as being "against life", citing their respective positions on immigration and abortion rights. The 87-year-old pontiff connected with believers across the region, from Papua New Guinea to Singapore, and addressed various global issues during his journey.
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Paris bids farewell to the 2024 Olympics with a grand parade on the Champs-Élysées on Saturday celebrating athletes and volunteers, followed by a concert featuring artists from this summer's ceremonies. Romain Pissenem, the creative mind behind the Paralympic closing ceremony, spoke to FRANCE 24 about the unifying spirit of the Games.
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French teachers are quitting in record numbers, overwhelmed by low pay, crowded classrooms and increasing demands. Despite successive reforms by previous governments, staffing shortages persist. And leaving the profession is often a difficult process. With the announcement of a new education minister just around the corner, will France’s public education crisis finally ease up?
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US President Joe Biden will use the rest of his term in office "to put Ukraine in the best possible position to prevail" against Russia, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Saturday during a speech given remotely to a forum in Kyiv. Sullivan also said Biden will be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in late September at the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss aid to Ukraine.
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US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer postponed a decision on allowing Ukraine to use long-range Western-supplied missiles to strike inside Russia following a meeting at the White House on Friday. The two leaders plan to revisit the issue at the upcoming UN General Assembly amid growing concerns about the conflict's escalation and Moscow's warnings that such moves could provoke a war with NATO.