Global issues - World news, culture and opinion

US court upholds $83.3 million penalty on Trump for sexual assault defamation case

Donald Trump, whom a 2023 trial found had sexually assaulted author E. Jean Carroll, was ordered to pay $83.3 million in total damages for having defamed Carroll in 2022.

Published yesterday at 5:39 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Rosa Roisinblit, activist for Argentina's 'stolen' children, dies at 106

The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo campaign group announced Roisiblit's death on Saturday. The activist's pregnant daughter and son-in-law, both militants of the armed Peronist group Montoneros, were kidnapped in 1978, which led Roisinblit on a lifetime mission to help others find missing family members 'until the very end,' the group said.

Published on September 7, 2025, at 4:12 am (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

US agents arrest 475 in raid on Hyundai-LG plant

Hundreds of federal agents on Friday descended on a sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in Georgia and detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals.

Published on September 6, 2025, at 12:57 am (Paris), updated on September 6, 2025, at 10:29 am Le Monde with AP

News

European court faults France over sexual consent laws

Ruling on the case of a pharmacist who accused her boss of coercing her into an abusive relationship, the European Court of Human Rights found France's sexual consent laws insufficient and ordered damages to be paid.

Published on September 4, 2025, at 3:06 pm (Paris), updated on September 4, 2025, at 3:21 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Epstein survivors threaten to release their own list of other sexual predators involved

At a press conference outside the Capitol, ten women once again urged the Trump administration to release the entirety of the Epstein files.

Published on September 4, 2025, at 3:24 am (Paris), updated on September 4, 2025, at 11:40 am Piotr Smolar

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Epstein survivors implore Congress to disclose files and will list perpetrators; Trump calls the issue a 'hoax'

In a news conference on the Capitol lawn that drew hundreds of supporters and chants of 'release the files,' the women shared their stories and demanded that the Trump administration provide transparency and accountability.

Published on September 3, 2025, at 11:51 pm (Paris), updated on September 4, 2025, at 10:38 am Le Monde with AP

News

Trump announces 11 dead in US strike on drug-carrying boat from Venezuela

Trump said the 'kinetic strike' on 'narcoterrorists' occurred while Tren de Aragua gang members were on international waters. He posted a video of a speedboat filled with people before it exploded in a ball of flames.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 9:42 pm (Paris), updated on September 3, 2025, at 10:21 am Le Monde with AP and AFP

News

Gérard Depardieu ordered to stand trial for rape

Depardieu will face trial on charges of raping actor Charlotte Arnould, sources said Tuesday. The actor was given a suspended sentence in a sexual assault case earlier this year.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 2:13 pm (Paris), updated on September 3, 2025, at 7:42 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

New law in Burkina Faso bans homosexuality

Lawmakers in the country's unelected parliament have approved fines and prison sentences for persons convicted. Homosexuality is illegal in around 30 African countries, but not until now in Burkina Faso, whose military seized power three years ago.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 2:37 am (Paris), updated on September 2, 2025, at 10:17 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Chicago mayor defies Trump's immigration crackdown plan for the city

Mayor Brandon Johnson, on Saturday, directed all city departments to guard the constitutional rights of Chicago residents from Trump's crackdown. Chicago is home to a large immigrant population, and both the city and the state of Illinois have some of the country's strongest rules against cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

Published on August 31, 2025, at 12:17 am (Paris), updated on August 31, 2025, at 10:34 am Le Monde with AP

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France probes online platform suspected of spreading child pornography

Regulators have identified the website Bounty.chat, suspected of distributing child pornography and presenting itself as an 'alternative' to a similar site shut down last year.

Published on August 30, 2025, at 5:29 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

US judge blocks Trump administration from expanding rapid deportation process

Since January, the government has expanded the use of the 'expedited removal' procedure across the whole country and applied it to migrants who have been in the US for up to two years.

Published on August 30, 2025, at 12:21 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Trump moves to block $5 billion in foreign aid, raising risk of government shutdown

Democrats have warned that reversing congressionally-approved funding could derail budget talks, raising the likelihood of a federal shutdown ahead of the September 30 deadline.

Published on August 29, 2025, at 8:33 pm (Paris), updated on August 29, 2025, at 9:19 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Swiss court rejects Islamic scholar Ramadan's rape conviction appeal

After being acquitted in 2023, a Geneva appeals court last year found the 63-year-old former Oxford University professor 'guilty of rape and sexual coercion' of a woman in a Geneva hotel 17 years ago.

Published on August 28, 2025, at 12:48 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Brothers arrested over felling of memorial tree to French Jewish murder victim

French investigators said Wednesday that police had detained twin brothers suspected of having cut down an olive tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 8:48 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:06 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Moroccan court denies medical release to feminist accused of 'offending Islam'

Despite impending cancer surgery, Moroccan activist Ibtissame Lachgar will remain in prison as she awaits trial, following a court decision on Wednesday.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 8:36 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Libyan coast guards fire on Ocean Viking in international waters

The humanitarian vessel operated by the NGO SOS Méditerranée came under automatic gunfire from two masked Libyan coast guards for about 20 minutes on Sunday, August 24.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 1:42 am (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 2:44 pm Allan Kaval

News

US backs ambassador to France in antisemitism row

The US State Department said Monday it stood by the comments of Charles Kushner, the US ambassador to France, who was summoned after accusing France of not doing enough to combat a rise in antisemitism.

Published on August 25, 2025, at 7:35 pm (Paris), updated on August 25, 2025, at 8:43 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

US judge issues temporary halt on deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The 30-year-old Maryland construction worker and Salvadoran national became the face of President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador.

Published on August 25, 2025, at 3:23 pm (Paris), updated on September 2, 2025, at 2:36 pm Le Monde with AP

News

British government vows to speed up asylum claims as hotel protests spread

Faced with a record number of asylum applications and rising tensions, the United Kingdom is preparing to overhaul its appeals system to relieve the courts.

Published on August 24, 2025, at 3:02 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

French park manager charged for turning away Israeli kids

The manager of the park in the Pyrénées was charged with discrimination for turning away a group of 150 Israeli children earlier this week.

Published on August 24, 2025, at 9:57 am (Paris), updated on August 24, 2025, at 2:48 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed in US amid fierce immigration battle

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported and later jailed on human smuggling charges, was released Friday in Tennessee, becoming a flashpoint in the heated clash over former US President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies.

Published on August 23, 2025, at 12:39 am (Paris), updated on August 23, 2025, at 2:36 am Le Monde with AFP

News

US federal judge orders shutdown of Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center

The Florida-based facility, touted by Trump as a model for mass deportations, was ruled unlawful over environmental and rights concerns; Florida vows to appeal.

Published on August 22, 2025, at 8:31 am (Paris), updated on August 22, 2025, at 8:36 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Uganda announces deal to accept migrants deported from US

Uganda's government said Thursday it would accept migrants who do not qualify to remain in the United States, becoming the latest African state after Rwanda and South Sudan to announce agreements as part of the Trump administration's attempts to speed up deportations.

Published on August 21, 2025, at 12:46 pm (Paris), updated on August 21, 2025, at 1:04 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

US judge denies government request to release Epstein grand jury transcripts

District Judge Richard Berman noted that the government holds a trove of Epstein investigation materials it had promised in February to release to the public before an abrupt about-face: 'The Government's 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70-odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials.'

Published on August 20, 2025, at 9:50 pm (Paris), updated on August 21, 2025, at 7:44 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Federal judge denies Trump administration's request to end policy protecting immigrant children in custody

In arguing against the Trump administration's effort to end the Flores Settlement Agreement − which sets standards for how licensed shelters must provide basic necessities for migrant children in federal custody − legal advocates said the government was holding children beyond the maximum limit of 72 hours.

Published on August 16, 2025, at 4:52 am (Paris), updated on August 16, 2025, at 8:40 am Le Monde with AP

News

Deadly shooting breaks out near mosque in Sweden

According to local media reports, the shooting occurred as people were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers, with two people being shot, one of whom died. Police have said the incident was linked to organized crime.

Published on August 15, 2025, at 6:50 pm (Paris), updated on August 16, 2025, at 5:22 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Macron vows to punish 'hatred' after olive tree honoring Jewish victim is cut down

The olive tree was planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old who was kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006. The Paris police chief announced the launch of an investigation.

Published on August 15, 2025, at 1:59 pm (Paris), updated on August 15, 2025, at 5:18 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Italian authorities search for missing persons after deadly migrant shipwreck

After two boats sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, 60 survivors were rescued and 27 people were confirmed dead. Many of the boats' passengers, migrants trying to enter Europe, are still missing.

Published on August 14, 2025, at 12:54 pm (Paris), updated on August 14, 2025, at 1:02 pm Le Monde with AFP

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At least 26 migrants dead in shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa

A boat carrying around 95 people overturned in the Mediterranean on Wednesday. Around 60 survivors were transported to safety, with around 10 others still missing.

Published on August 13, 2025, at 5:02 pm (Paris), updated on August 13, 2025, at 7:59 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Mexico extradites 26 people accused of drug trafficking to the United States

Under pressure from Donald Trump to combat fentanyl, Mexico is speeding up the extradition of drug traffickers.

Published on August 13, 2025, at 8:03 am (Paris), updated on August 13, 2025, at 9:39 am Le Monde with AFP

Feature

'Here, you can dress however you want': Women-only parties make crowds feel freer

'Why Do We Party?' (2/6). A concept that has gained popularity since the #MeToo movement, women-only parties have spread throughout France, giving partygoers the chance to finally lower their guard and let loose.

Published on August 8, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris) Alice Raybaud

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UK says first migrants held under return deal with France

Under the arrangement between France and the UK, irregular migrants arriving on British shores can be detained and then returned to France if they are deemed ineligible for asylum.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 2:32 pm (Paris), updated on August 7, 2025, at 2:48 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Death toll in Yemen migrant shipwreck tops 90

The boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank on Sunday as it headed toward Abyan governorate in southern Yemen.

Published on August 5, 2025, at 11:19 pm (Paris), updated on August 6, 2025, at 9:37 am Le Monde with AFP

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France-UK migrant returns deal to take effect

The agreement seeks to curb record levels of irregular Channel crossings that are causing discontent in Britain and helping fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party.

Published on August 5, 2025, at 4:22 pm (Paris), updated on August 5, 2025, at 6:44 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

The UN says 68 Ethiopian migrants were killed when a boat capsized off Yemen's coast

The vessel had 154 Ethiopian migrants on board and sank in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday; 74 people remain missing, and only 12 survived the shipwreck. Hundreds of African migrants have died in recent months while trying to reach wealthy Gulf Arab countries.

Published on August 3, 2025, at 11:21 pm (Paris), updated on August 4, 2025, at 9:28 am Le Monde with AP

News

Gaza student leaves France over anti-Semitic posts row

The young woman had been due to join Sciences Po Lille in the fall, before posts calling for the killing of Jews were discovered on her social media accounts. She left for Qatar on Sunday.

Published on August 3, 2025, at 7:16 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Pope's 'Jubilee of Youth' with over a million attendees closes with Rome mass

Pope Leo held a final mass in Rome on Sunday, the culmination of a week-long youth pilgrimage that welcomed over a million Catholics from across the world. 'Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less,' he told the young people.

Published on August 3, 2025, at 11:02 am (Paris) Le Monde

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Pope Leo XIV welcomes hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to Rome for the Holy Year youth festival

The pope urged the young Catholics, hailing from nearly 150 countries, to value true friendship and to do good in the world: 'Friendship is a path to peace.' Though 500,000 attendees were initially expected, the final count could reach up to one million.

Published on August 2, 2025, at 10:33 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AP

News

US court upholds order blocking immigration agents' patrols in California

After 'roving patrols' led to indiscriminate detentions of citizens, a US appeals court rejected the federal government's appeal to overturn a July ban on the raids, over accusations of racial profiling and rights violations.

Published on August 2, 2025, at 7:14 pm (Paris), updated on August 2, 2025, at 7:19 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

Up to a million young Catholics in Rome for Pope Leo vigil

The 'Jubilee of Youth' – when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church's power – has brought thousands of young pilgrims from around the world to Rome this week. The night-time vigil on Saturday is the culmination of this week-long pilgrimage.

Published on August 2, 2025, at 10:32 am (Paris), updated on August 2, 2025, at 2:41 pm Le Monde with AFP

News

California and other liberal states sue Trump over transgender care ban

LGBTQ+ rights have become a divisive subject in the United States, where Trump rode a wave of public support for his crusade against so-called 'woke ideology.' In his first days in office, Trump declared the federal government would recognize only two genders – men and women – and has targeted transgender people in a slew of other orders.

Published on August 2, 2025, at 5:31 am (Paris), updated on August 2, 2025, at 10:17 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is moved to a minimum security prison in Texas

No reason was given for Maxwell's transfer, though the move follows a recent, highly unusual meeting between the Epstein accomplice and a top Justice Department official. The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein.

Published on August 1, 2025, at 10:12 pm (Paris), updated on August 2, 2025, at 10:03 am Le Monde with AFP

In Depth

Trial ordered for deadly 1982 attack on Paris Jewish restaurant

Two alleged members of a Palestinian militant group will stand trial in Paris over the attack that killed six in a restaurant in the city’s historic Marais district. Four other suspects remain under arrest warrants.

Published on August 1, 2025, at 9:19 pm (Paris), updated on August 1, 2025, at 9:26 pm Christophe Ayad

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French prosecutors seek trial for PSG's Achraf Hakimi over rape charge

Prosecutors on Friday asked that PSG's Moroccan international football player be tried in criminal court for allegedly raping a young woman in 2023.

Published on August 1, 2025, at 8:30 pm (Paris), updated on August 2, 2025, at 1:16 pm Le Monde with AFP

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France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy

Contraception products bought by USAID under Joe Biden and stocked in Belgium were reportedly set to be incinerated in France.

Published on August 1, 2025, at 5:08 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

US Justice Department seeks to interview Ghislaine Maxwell over Epstein case

The United States Department of Justice said it was seeking to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at a time when Donald Trump has come under fire over the case.

Published on July 22, 2025, at 5:45 pm (Paris), updated on July 22, 2025, at 5:50 pm Le Monde

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US ex-policeman sentenced to 33 months over fatal Breonna Taylor raid

Brett Hankison, who was convicted of using excessive force in a botched raid on Breonna Taylor's home, was sentenced to 33 months, despite a Justice Department recommendation that he not be sent to prison.

Published on July 22, 2025, at 11:22 am (Paris), updated on July 22, 2025, at 11:29 am Le Monde with AFP

News

Ecuador's biggest drug lord 'Fito' extradited to US

Adolfo Macias, a former taxi driver-turned-crime boss known as 'Fito,' was removed from custody on Sunday at a maximum security prison in Ecuador's southwest.

Published on July 21, 2025, at 5:22 am (Paris), updated on July 21, 2025, at 7:45 am Le Monde with AFP

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Germany announces the deportations of 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes

Germany's deportation operation, the second such one since the summer of 2024, comes at a time when the government is trying to display its determination to toughen its migration policy.

Published on July 18, 2025, at 1:46 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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US Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid

Brett Hankison is the only officer who fired his weapon the night Breonna Taylor was killed to have faced criminal charges. The Justice Department's request, if heeded, would mean that none of the police officers involved would face prison time.

Published on July 17, 2025, at 9:49 pm (Paris), updated on July 18, 2025, at 7:55 am Le Monde with AP

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ICE to access data of 79 million Americans under secret deal to accelerate immigration raids

ICE will be allowed to search the personal data, including addresses and ethnicity of all Medicaid enrollees, under a deal revealed Thursday, sparking fears of a new phase in Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Published on July 17, 2025, at 8:57 pm (Paris), updated on July 17, 2025, at 9:17 pm Le Monde with AP

Feature

'Soldiers found us and told us to undress': In Ethiopia, silence shrouds Tigray war's mass rapes

During the war in Tigray, in Ethiopia, 120,000 women were victims of rape. More than two and a half years since the end of the conflict, many survivors are still trying to overcome their trauma, with justice yet to be served.

Published on July 16, 2025, at 5:00 am (Paris), updated on July 16, 2025, at 7:24 pm Marlène Panara

News

Trump administration says it is ending deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles

In early June, the US president ordered the deployment of around 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to respond to a series of protests against immigration raids in and around Los Angeles.

Published on July 16, 2025, at 12:55 am (Paris), updated on July 16, 2025, at 8:11 am Le Monde with AP

News

Trump says any 'credible' Epstein files should be released

Some of Trump's loyal right-wing fan base have raised suspicions about a potential cover-up of the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein's crimes to protect rich and powerful figures. The Justice Department and FBI said in a memo earlier this month that there is no evidence that the financier kept a 'client list' or was blackmailing powerful figures.

Published on July 15, 2025, at 11:52 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Top French court rules major porn sites must check users' ages

Major pornographic websites Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube must verify the ages of their users in France, the country's top administrative court ruled, in a decision on a legal battle that has been ongoing since March.

Published on July 15, 2025, at 5:43 pm (Paris), updated on July 15, 2025, at 5:47 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Macron declares July 12 annual Dreyfus commemoration day

The French president declared on Saturday that from now on, there would be a commemoration ceremony every year for Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain wrongly convicted of treason in 1894 amid an anti-Semitic press campaign.

Published on July 12, 2025, at 2:30 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

News

Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate ICE arrests in California

Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week, accusing Trump’s administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security said the allegations are 'disgusting and categorically false.'

Published on July 12, 2025, at 4:34 am (Paris), updated on July 12, 2025, at 10:44 am Le Monde with AP

News

Ecuador's top drug lord 'Fito' agrees to US extradition

On Friday, Adolfo Macias, aka 'Fito,' took part in a court hearing via video link from a high-security prison in Guayaquil. After months of pursuit, Macias was recaptured last month in a massive military and police operation. He was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta.

Published on July 12, 2025, at 2:13 am (Paris), updated on July 12, 2025, at 10:52 am Le Monde with AFP

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Belgium's migration minister advocates for 'the strictest policy ever implemented'

Anneleen Van Bossuyt has taken a hard line on migration and integration policy, while distancing herself from Vlaams Belang, the powerful far-right party in Flanders.

Published on July 12, 2025, at 12:58 am (Paris), updated on July 12, 2025, at 11:06 am Jean-Pierre Stroobants