Health

Charles Pellegrin is pleased to welcome Hannah Storey, Head of Children and Young People’s Digital Rights at Amnesty International. Digital spaces can provide even young people with community, self-expression, education and opportunities for activism. The deeper problem, she warns, lies in the architecture of the platforms themselves: the algorithms, infinite scrolling and other engagement mechanisms that can repeatedly amplify harmful material, stir up negative emotions and incite troubling behaviours - all to bolster a business model built around attention, emotions, addition, data and advertising.  ]

At least 30 people have now been confirmed dead in a blaze that engulfed a bar in northern Bangkok in the early hours of Monday morning. 27 victims have been formally identified, with authorities still working to confirm the identities of the remaining three. Meanwhile, forensic investigators are seeking to establish the cause of the blaze, with the bar agreeing to comply with an investigation into alleged negligence. Story by Camille Corcoran. ]

France on Wednesday moved closer to joining the ranks of countries that guarantee the right to assisted dying, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron. Macron had promised an assisted dying law when he was re-elected for a second term in 2022, in a change seen as one of the most important social reforms since France allowed same-sex marriage in 2012. If the country's highest constitutional authority approves the legislation, France will join the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada in legalising assisted dying. ]

French lawmakers on July 15 adopted a bill ​that will create a legal right to assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses, capping an intense ethical and political debate. The law would enable patients suffering from incurable and life-threatening illnesses to request lethal medication under strict medical supervision. The text will now be presented to the constitutional court, which has up to a month to approve it. ]

France recorded at least 5,700 more deaths than usual during a historic heatwave last month, the public health agency said Wednesday, sharply increasing its estimates of the feared toll from record-shattering temperatures. FRANCE 24's James Vasina reports. ]

The number of deaths in the current Ebola epidemic in the DRC has now topped 1,000, and the number of confirmed cases is around 2500. Experts are calling for more funding to help tackle the crisis as it becomes the fastest spreading outbreak ever recorded. ]

The lengthy absence of Cameroon's long-serving President Paul Biya, who has been in Switzerland since early June, has reignited debate about government inaction, in a country where many crave change. Biya has made frequent trips to Geneva over the years and has faced waves of speculation and rumours regarding his health. FRANCE 24's Indira Ayuk tells us more from Yaoundé. ]