France 24·Saturday, January 17, 2026

France 24 - Saturday, January 17, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Live: Iran death toll tops 3,000, yet another rights group says

More than 3,000 people have been killed in the anti-government protests in Iran, yet another rights group, the US-based rights group HRANA, reported on Saturday, noting that the authorities’ brutal crackdown largely appeared to have quelled the unrest. After more than 200 hours of an internet blackout, a monitoring group said it had noted "a very slight rise" connectivity, but that there was no sign of a significant return. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments.

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Does Trump need to ‘own’ Greenland to build his Golden Dome missile shield?

US President Donald Trump has described ownership of Greenland as “vital” to his planned missile defence shield, doubling down on the claim that the sprawling Danish territory is critical to US national security. But experts say Trump's costly Golden Dome can be built without seizing the world’s largest island.

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Iran: An uprising and a massacre, The Greenland narrative, Preventing WWIII

It’s been a week marked by brutality, brinkmanship and political theatre. In Iran, a third week of protests spiralled into a nationwide uprising as the regime shut down the internet and phone lines. Graphic accounts of a violent crackdown emerged via Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, with human rights groups reporting thousands killed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in what they describe as an unprecedented massacre — even as President Trump urged protesters on, before appearing to shift his tone

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Iran's protests wane amid crackdown as US backs off intervention threats

The Iranian authorities' crackdown on nationwide protests has largely quieted the movement for now, residents said, as US President Donand Trump appears to have backed down from his threats of attacking Iran's leadership. Trump claimed on Friday that Iran had called off mass executions, while state media said that protesters were still being arrested.

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Uganda: preliminary results begin to emerge

In tonight's edition, in Uganda, the preliminary results of the presidential election are beginning to emerge, indicating that President Museveni holds a substantial lead. Also in South Africa, a major multinational naval exercise has wrapped up in Cape Town. And finally, the Africa Cup of Nations is down to its final showdown.

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Syria's Sharaa declares Kurdish a 'national language' following clashes

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday declared Kurdish one of the country's national languages in the wake of recent clashes between the army and Kurdish forces in Aleppo. Kurds in north Syria have declined to integrate into the State calling instead for a decentralised federal system, which Damascus rejects.

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CIA chief meets Venezuela's interim leader to discuss 'potential opportunities'

The head of the CIA travelled to Venezuela and met the country's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez for about two hours, a US official said Friday. The visit from the senior US official was called a "trust-building measure" in the wake of the shock ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

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'An occupying force': Minneapolis caught up in Trump’s anti-immigration surge

Masked agents from multiple agencies have turned Minneapolis into a testing ground for the Trump administration’s most aggressive anti-immigration strategy yet. A multi-billion surge in federal funding has turbo-charged an operation built on escalation, confusion and spectacle, with ICE-led interventions turning deadly.

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'Victims of a slaughter: Iranian people have been rising up for decades against the Islamic regime'

Mark Owen welcomes Aida Tavakoli, co-founder of We Are Iranian Students, who offers a window into the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Iran under a blanket of state-imposed darkness. Her voice, urgent and unwavering, challenges the international community, including the UN Security Council, to rise up and take action in the face of "crimes against humanity." Ms. Tavakoli’s testimony underscores the deepening fracture between global democratic ideals and geopolitical pragmatism, raising uncomfort

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‘Soft-power diplomacy’: Denmark hosts US delegation amid Trump's Arctic threats

Denmark’s leaders are trying their hand at “soft-power diplomacy” as they host a US delegation in Copenhagen, Danish journalist Trine Villemann told FRANCE 24. Eleven US lawmakers are visiting the city on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland, emphasising that President Donald Trump’s designs on the Arctic island do not have the backing of the American people.

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