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Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated on Sept. 30, 2026, to reflect additional NASA activities. NASA will participate in the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Antalya, Türkiye, from Monday, Oct. 5, to Friday, Oct. 9, highlighting America’s leadership in human exploration to the Moon and Mars, advancing responsible exploration under the Artemis Accords, world-changing […]
OpenAI will not release its newest artificial intelligence model, known as Astra 6.1, after internal testing by the ChatGPT-maker revealed it did not meet safety standards, the company confirmed Monday. Concerns about AI safety have escalated in recent months after models developed by OpenAI and rival lab Anthropic were involved in security incidents during testing.
A 10-year-old child and two women died Monday on the treacherous migration route across the English Channel from France, apparently trampled to death on a boat packed with more than 100 people, French authorities said. The so-called “taxi boat" ran into difficulty off the northern French coast, with its passengers asking for help, authorities said. Such inflatable boats attempt the dangerous crossing after picking up people from the beaches of northern France, where they wade into the sea to clamber aboard. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin tells us more.
Ethiopia's military and allied militiamen captured a strategic town in the conflict-hit region of Tigray, a pro-government militia said on Monday, turning the tables after an opposition offensive launched from the region last week. The fighting in Tigray and the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar marks the collapse of a fragile, four-year-old peace deal that ended one of Africa's deadliest recent conflicts and raises the prospect of a broader war. FRANCE 24's Tom Canetti reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Monday he had filed a defamation lawsuit against investigative website Mediapart over a report alleging he made antisemitic remarks in private messages over a decade ago, saying the story was an effort to "destabilise" campaigning ahead of next year's election. The 31-year-old leads the far-right National Rally party which is seeking to clear its racist image. The party's candidate, Marine Le Pen, is leading polls for the April presidential election. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports.
British police said Monday five men arrested near an airbase used by the United States were released on bail, as Washington asserted a "foreign actor" was involved in the suspected bomb plot. US President Donald Trump, speaking in Washington, said he was "surprised that they released them". The release of the five came as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced an emergency meeting of top officials to ensure they have "the full picture". FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert tells us more.
The UK's Northern Ireland minister Monday admitted that talks to overcome a dispute about a contentious pro-British Protestant parade through a mainly Catholic area had so far failed to resolve one of the region's worst crises in decades. Thousands of people occupied a road in Portadown, southwest of Belfast, on Sunday to prevent the parade by 35 members of the Orange Order taking place.
Protesters angered by Spain's chronic housing crisis and the eviction of a pensioner camped in central Madrid for a third night on Monday, maintaining pressure on the government ahead of a key cabinet meeting. In Barcelona, which has seen several demonstrations in recent years linking housing costs to overtourism, around 2,000 protesters gathered on Monday night to demand ambitious measures during a visit by Sanchez. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid, Spain.
A Madrid pensioner whose eviction sparked nationwide protests that have piled pressure on the government to resolve Spain's housing crisis can return home after a deal with the property's owners, her lawyer said on Monday. Unaffordable housing has been a running sore for years in Spain, but the outcry over last Wednesday's eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal thrust the crisis to the forefront of the political debate. Demonstrators have set up roughly 100 tents in Madrid's emblematic Puerta del Sol square since Saturday night, while tens of thousands of people have protested across the c
A French investigative website on Monday alleged that far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella made anti-Semitic comments in writing in 2013, but the close ally of presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen dismissed the claims as fake. According to the report by Mediapart, Bardella wrote, among other comments, in a chat: "The Jew has to dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them; a Zionist is necessarily a Jew, and fundamentally so."
French firefighters went on strike on Monday to demand additional resources and staff, after the country experienced its worst wildfires in decades this summer. They're also expected to join public sector workers in Tuesday's nationwide protest, and could continue to strike until October to put pressure on the government before it approves the 2027 budget.
Michael Olise's magnificent late strike gave France a 1-0 victory in Belgium in the UEFA Nations League on Monday as Zinedine Zidane made it two wins out of two since being named coach. The win follows a 1-0 success away to Turkey last Friday in Zidane's first game at the helm after succeeding Didier Deschamps as coach following the World Cup.
US President Donald Trump said Monday he was “surprised” British police released on bail five men arrested on suspicion of a plot to attack a UK airbase. Trump added the case “might be” linked to Iran, since the base has been used by US bombers to target Iran since March.
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.
OpenAI will not release its latest artificial intelligence model, Astra 6.1, after internal tests found it fell short of safety standards, the maker of ChatGPT confirmed on Monday. The decision came ahead of a meeting of AI leaders at the White House Tuesday convened by US President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson amid mounting controversy over the risks posed by rogue AI.
Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday threatened to sue the UK over the Sea Lion oil project near the disputed Falkland Islands. Argentina claims sovereignty over the British-administered territory, where a 1982 war killed 255 British and 649 Argentine troops. Developers Navitas and Rockhopper say they hold valid British-issued exploration licences.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon traded barbs on Monday over high school students blockading classes to demand more resources. The students cite teacher shortages, deteriorating schools and heavy schedules. The dispute comes ahead of next spring’s presidential election and mounting pressure over France’s finances.
US prosecutors reopened an investigation on Monday into an alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University after the woman involved accused the school of failing to punish those responsible adequately. In a lawsuit, she said seven Chi Phi fraternity members had drugged her with ketamine and assaulted her.
An 87-year-old Madrid pensioner whose eviction became a rallying point for Spain’s housing protests will be able to return home after reaching a deal with the property’s owners, her lawyer said Monday. The agreement comes as demonstrations across the country pile pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government to address soaring rents, a shortage of affordable homes and weak tenant protections.
British police said Monday five men arrested near an airbase used by the United States were released on bail, as officers probed whether a "foreign state" could be involved in a suspected bomb plot. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Yan Saint-Pierre, CEO of Modern Security Consulting Group, explains that many of the hybrid warfare cases seen recently "involve local nationals, this is not about exporting terror" adding that foreign actors aim to have "as many layers as possible to complicate any investigation and accurate denounciation of culprits".
