Author: France 24

The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday. The move comes as the US economy deals with sticky inflation, slowing jobs figures and a lack of official data because of the government shutdown. Stock markets reacted favourably to the news initially, but were then weighed down by concerns related to the tech sector. Also in this edition: Donald Trump signals his support for a change of ownership at CNN. Plus, we bring you some data on Venezuela’s oil industry. 

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado receives her Nobel Peace Prize, AI is named Person of the Year 2025 by Time magazine, and another massive protest in Bulgaria leads to the fall of the government. FRANCE 24 looks back at the week’s most striking images.

Syria’s interior ministry said Sunday the gunman who killed three Americans in the central Palmyra region the previous day was a member of the security forces who was to have been fired for extremism. Two US troops and a civilian interpreter died in what the Syrian government described as a “terrorist attack” on Saturday, while Washington said it had been carried out by an Islamic State group (IS) militant who was then killed.

A week on from his controversial public criticism of manager Arne Slot and his club, Mohamed Salah is set to be reinstated into the Liverpool squad,  according to media reports in England. The Egyptian, who was dropped from the squad entirely for the Champions League match against Inter Milan, was due to meet with Slot ahead of the Reds’ match game Brighton on Saturday.

They buy, hoard and sell the Earth’s resources. In this episode, journalist Javier Blas helps us shed some light on the shadowy realm of billionaire commodity traders. He co-wrote with Jack Farchy “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources”, about the power concentrated in the hands of a small number of commodity trading houses.

Walt Disney and OpenAI agreed a three-year licensing deal on Thursday allowing users to generate short videos featuring Disney characters with artificial intelligence. It is the first time a major studio has permitted such broad generative-AI use of its protected characters, from Mickey Mouse to Marvel heroes and Star Wars icons. France24 correspondent Wassim Cornet reports the latest from Los Angeles.

In the United Arab Emirates, the government has imposed quotas for hiring Emirati citizens across the private sector, with the aim of having them make up 10 percent of the workforce by 2026. So how are companies complying with these new rules and how can they change the habits of a population long accustomed to generous subsidies and low-stress government jobs? FRANCE 24’s Sophie Guignon and Amélie Zaccour report. 

Lyon lived up to their billing as group leaders on Thursday, defeating Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 on Matchday 6 of the Europa League. The win moves OL closer to sealing direct qualification for the round of 16.

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, December 12: A US defence news website reports on leaks from the National Security Strategy, which reveal how the Trump administration is trying to pull four EU nations away from the bloc. Also: World Darts champion Luke Littler begins his campaign to defend his title. Plus: French video game “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” wins big at the Games Awards and becomes a symbol of French success. 

Bossa Nova rhythms, trap, rap and reggaeton all go into Bianca Costa’s musical palette, and the results have got her tens of millions of streams. As the artist releases her first full-length album, “Gringa”, she joins us to talk about making peace with her Brazilian and French identity, singing in two languages and drawing on very diverse musical traditions. We also talk about the strong female artists like Diam’s, Sia and Chaka Khan who’ve inspired Bianca and crossed her professional path, and we discuss the juxtaposition of religious values and sensuality which marked her formative years.