The World This Week

It’s been a week of international disbelief at Russia's insistence in linking Ukraine to the Moscow concert hall shooting, despite all evidence pointing to the Islamic State group. We look at Putin's motive and also the threat posed by IS-K in Europe.

It was also a week where the French principle of secularism became a flashpoint again. A headteacher resigned after receiving death threats for ordering pupils to remove their headscarves. The government is suing a pupil for falsely alleging the teacher assaulted her. We assess President Emmanuel Macron's so-called ruthless approach to extremism.

Finally, it was a quiet week for royal trolls and conspiracy theorists, in light of the announcement that Catherine, Princess of Wales has cancer. King Charles III, who is also undergoing treatment, delivered a pre-recorded Easter message praising friendship in a time of need. We ask whether it's the job of the mainstream media to report on social media storms and teacup conspiracies at all.

It’s been a good week for the world’s most powerful woman. EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen moves a step closer to another five years in office as she announced her candidacy for a second term.

Israel-Hamas war: No end in sight 

A week of raised hopes for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, which came to nothing and saw increasing US frustration with Israel.

France enshrines abortion rights in constitution 

It’s been an historic week here in France. The country became the first in the world to explictly include the right to abortion in its constitution. President Macron wants his European neighbours to follow suit

Gavin Lee is joined by our panel of guests to discuss the news that made headlines this week. 

Produced by Luis Miguel Cabrera, Alessandro Xenos, Guillaume Gougeon and Laura Burloux. 

Is there no end in sight to war in Gaza? The week began with a flurry of diplomacy to seal a truce before Ramadan, but that has now gone quiet, what with more than 100 civilians killed after a scramble surrounding an aid convoy delivery in Gaza City.

Final act of resistance: Thousands turn out for Navalny's funeral. His funeral turned into a protest. Thousands turned out to a small church on the outskirts of Moscow to pay their final respects to Alexei Navalny, two weeks after the Kremlin critic's sudden death in an Arctic prison colony.

Fifteen years and counting: The World This Week then and now. The camera can be oh so cruel. It is there to remind us that actually, 15 years is a long time. From the financial crisis to the Arab Spring, Brexit and the rise of populism, Covid and superpower tensions, global warming and the dawn of the digital age, this studio on Fridays has been the place where the Paris press corps took stock.

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

"My memory is fine." With those words, US President Joe Biden dismissed his critics after succession of gaffes. The US presidential election campaign is only starting, the vote's not until November, and for the oldest incumbent in history, it's been a bad week.

A matter of months? Gaza truce deal far from done

At that Thursday press conference, Joe Biden did not just lose his patience with the special prosecutor. After four months of war, Israeli forces are now pounding Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah and Israel's prime minister is pouring cold water on hopes of a truce deal any time soon, despite US, Qatar and Egyptian mediators being hard at it.

Beacon of democracy? Uproar in Senegal as president extends his stay 

For decades now, it has been hailed as a rare beacon of democracy in a neighbourhood peppered by coups and corruption, but it is not a good luck when gendarmes in Senegal clear parliament of opposition MPs so that presidential elections scheduled for later this month can be delayed until December.

And the winner is...Taylor Swift overshadows build-up to Super Bowl

And the winner is...Taylor Swift, of course. On Sunday, she became the first artist to win Best Album for a fourth time at the Grammies in Los Angeles. That was before tour dates in Japan and ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where her boyfriend Travis Kelce is the star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

After nearly four months of war in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis and the mounting civilian death toll have triggered growing international calls for a ceasefire. Amid intense diplomacy, a deal is taking shape. The first truce, in November of last year, lasted just seven days; this one could endure for one or two months and free many or all of the remaining 100 or more Israeli hostages in stages.

Biden ups pressure on Israel: US sanctions West Bank settlers over violence

It’s one of the Biden Administration's strongest critiques of Israel since the war in Gaza began, but it does not directly address the war. The US president has approved sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Inevitable spillover? US blames Iranian-backed militia for deadly attack on soldiers

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base to honour three American service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan. Washington has blamed an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq for that attack, and the Pentagon warned that multi-tiered action is coming.

Clear signal to Moscow? Ukraine's Zelensky welcomes EU's €50 billion aid package

While aid in the US for Ukraine has stalled in Congress, more help is on the way from Europe. All 27 EU leaders have agreed on a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine. This money is not for the frontline, but for the Ukrainian government to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, Hungary's PM Viktor Orban reiterated that peace talks should start between Ukraine and Russia, since each day that goes by tilts in favour of Moscow.

France farmers lift blockade: Protesters head home as anger spreads elsewhere in Europe

The effects of the war in Ukraine are one of the major grievances of European farmers. Here in France, farmers are upset over cheaper cereals and poultry from Ukraine, as well as low wages and what they deem excessive regulation. But the two largest unions agreed to lift their blockades of key roads after winning a number of concessions from the French government.

Protests – be they roadblocks, lane closures or demonstrations – have affected more than 150 locations around France for the past week, with motorways around major cities including Paris and Lyon affected. It was the first major crisis for France's new PM Gabriel Attal. Among the concessions he offered: an annual €150 million for livestock farmers and a ban on food imports treated with a pesticide already banned in France.

Cleared of all charges: India releases pigeon accused of spying for China

Finally, a suspected Chinese spy in India has been cleared of all charges and released after spending eight months in detention. Its identity has not been released. That's because it's a pigeon, whose ordeal began in May when it was captured in Mumbai with two rings tied to its legs, carrying a message that was said to look like it was in Chinese. It is not the first time a bird has come under police suspicion in India.

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati, Imen Mellaz and Guillaume Gougeon.

It is the beginning, not the end for South Africa's complaint before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The court found that Israel must prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid in, but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

Macron in India: France guest of honour at 75th Republic Day

Happy 75th birthday to India. Like the French, they love a military parade for Republic Day. And just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was guest of honour on Bastille Day, a French contingent was invited to march in New Delhi while their commander-in-chief watched from the review stand.

Farmers on the brink: What's driving Europe-wide protests?

Emmanuel Macron will return to France to a farmers' revolt. Tractors are converging on Paris this Friday ahead of the government's announcement of a farm bill to streamline paperwork and in scenes reminiscent of Wednesday in Warsaw or last week in Berlin, French agriculture workers are fuming mad.

Hits and misses: Oscar nominations serve up snubs and surprises

Nothing is more subjective than awards season. In Los Angeles, the nominations are out for the Oscars (Academy Awards). A few short years after a boycott campaign against the under-representation of women by the Oscars, this time, a record three movies directed by women are up for best picture. But elsewhere, there was a notable absent.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

Did the map of the Middle East suddenly just get bigger? On Tuesday, Iran hit points in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria and – all the way over on its eastern border – separatist militants in Balochistan province. It was payback for recent attacks targeting police in its own Sistan and Baluchestan province. Hitting nuclear-armed Pakistan came as the neighbouring countries were carrying out joint naval exercises. 

How about never? Netanyahu rejects US-backed Saudi peace plan

The plan is straightforward: Gulf states rebuild Gaza and Israel signs onto Saudi Arabia's decades-old roadmap for lasting peace with the Palestinians. The Americans are on board. One party, though, still needs convincing: Israel.

China's baby bust: Population drops for second year in row

China's troubles may only just be starting: for the second year running, the population is declining with two million fewer people: that's double the drop of 2022. Despite the lifting in 2016 of the country's one-child policy, the birth rate seems stuck, fuelling that favorite question: will the country grow old before it grows rich?

For whom the bell rings? Macron's education minister apologises over private school row 

French politics junkies call her AOC: sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who last week was also promoted to education minister when her predecessor Gabriel Attal became prime minister. There were doubting Thomases who wondered if she could handle both portfolios in a year when Paris hosts the Olympics. Then, within 48 hours of her nomination, she hit the political third rail when, on a visit with Attal to a public school northwest of the capital, Oudéa-Castéra was asked why she took her child out of a Paris Latin Quarter public primary school to put him in an exclusive private Catholic school.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati, Peter Hutt-Sierra and Imen Mellaz.

The attacks on commercial shipping off Yemen had gone on for nearly two months. Now comes the response: an international coalition led by the US and the UK have hit 60 targets in 16 locations, according to the Pentagon. At least people have been five killed in Iran-aligned Houthi rebel strongholds.

Israel's war on Gaza is having its day in court. South Africa, a fellow member of the 1948 Genocide Convention, is lodging the charge that with more than 23,000 killed since the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas, Israel's campaign aims to bring about the" total destruction" of Gaza's population. 

Remember when Emmanuel Macron ran for president at 39? Now, in his term-limited second mandate, without a majority in parliament, and with polling stuck in the doldrums, he's appointed France's youngest-ever prime minister. Gabriel Attal is taking the reins from the technocratic Elisabeth Borne, who in her 20 months on the job, dutifully pushed through unpopular pension and immigration reforms.

When a popular anti-corruption crusader was assassinated in Ecuador on the presidential campaign trail, few outside the Americas noticed. Now, the whole world's paying attention after massive weekend jailbreaks that included the brief takeover of a private television station. Dozens of prison guards are still held hostage. The crisis was sparked by plans to move the leader of the Los Choneras drug gang, Adolfo Macias, to a high-security facility. Better known as Fito, he has not been seen since the weekend.

Thankfully no one was hurt, but after tragedies that befell earlier models of the 777, Boeing's got explaining to do about the fuselage door that flew off an Alaska Airways flight shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

It's dirty, it's crowded, there's always a strike, the waiters are rude…and it's the place to go in 2024. We bring you a special edition of The World This Week, as the French capital gets set to host the Olympics for the first time in exactly 100 years. Why is it that for better or worse, old stereotypes stick about the City of Light?

With Olympic events designed to showcase the grandeur of Paris's historical sights, we ask how the 2,000-year-old city is evolving today. Is the world’s top tourist destination thriving…or losing its soul? 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

Read moreCould Emily afford to rent in Paris? An author's guide to surviving gentrification

As 2023 draws to a close, our panel of guests look back on the stories that made the news: the Israel-Hamas war, Russia's continued war in Ukraine, Africa coups and elections, the Turkey-Syria earthquake and much more.

Produced by Charles Wente, Guillaume Gougeon and Juliette Brown.