Author: France 24

Israel on Saturday announced the full takeover of a key corridor in southern Gaza, pushing deeper into Palestinian territory as Hamas leaders headed to Cairo for talks they hope will lead to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, the Belgian-Moroccan dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Geneva’s Grand Theatre, speaks to Dheepthika Laurent about his works “Boléro” and “Ihsane”. The latter explores his complicated relationship with his late father and is a reference to a homophobic killing in 2012. Through his work, Cherkaoui has explored double culture, queer identity and removing gender boundaries. He also talks about choreographing for others: Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “Apeshit” video clip that was filmed in the Louvre museum and the “Like a Prayer” dance for Madonna’s Celebration Tour last year.

Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool Football Club on Friday. The 32-year-old, who ranks as Liverpool’s third highest goalscorer of all time, has been instrumental in catapulting the club towards a record-equalling 20th English top-tier title this season. 

One concern around artificial intelligence is its voracious appetite for energy. Electricity demand for data centres specialised in AI will quadruple in the next five years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. But as for claims that AI is accelerating climate change through carbon emissions, the report calls them “overstated”.

As tension mounts between the US and Iran, an “indirect” meeting between envoys from Washington and Tehran is taking place in Oman on Saturday. It’s a rare diplomatic exchange between two countries that have been locked in a kind of cold war for almost half a century – and one that will unfold in the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats of military force against the Islamic Republic.

China has raised its tariffs on US goods to 125 percent in a further escalation of a trade war that threatens to bring exports to a halt between the world’s two biggest economies. In a sign of investors’ worries about the health of the US economy under President Trump’s erratic stewardship, the dollar fell to a three-year low against the euro and by 1.3 percent against the yen. Trump sent global financial markets into a tailspin by announcing historic tariffs on America’s trading partners on April 2, including a 10-percent baseline for all goods coming into the United States. After…

Our film critic Ben Croll takes Dheepthika Laurent through the films in competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival next month. He also talks about Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission Impossible” film, which will premiere at the festival; Wes Anderson’s latest feature and Robert de Niro, who will receive an honorary award. In other news: we take you through the storied history of the Grand Rex cinema, which was recently voted the most beautiful in the world. Plus: Paris’s Fondation Louis Vuitton hosts the biggest retrospective ever dedicated to British icon David Hockney.

Retired France international Sébastien Chabal has said he cannot remember “a single second of a rugby match” he played in, becoming the latest former player to speak out about the sport’s potential consequences on health.

Hosts Lyon stole a 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday after two massive errors by under-fire Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, including a fumble deep into extra-time.

US stocks fell Thursday after a historic rally on Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on most tariffs. Bonds yields meanwhile cooled after the announcement. Wednesday’s boost has left some Democrats asking who benefitted from the market jump and have called for a probe into possible insider trading.