Author: France 24

Erling Haaland’s relentless scoring, Arsenal’s flawless Champions League march and Unai Simon’s heroics headlined a dramatic night of European football on Wednesday. Manchester City edged a faltering Real Madrid to deepen the pressure on Xabi Alonso, Arsenal cruised to a sixth straight victory with a pair of wonder goals in Brugge, and Athletic Bilbao held holders PSG thanks to a stunning goalkeeping display.

The US Federal Reserve has lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, to a range of 3.5% – 3.75%, but signalled there will be fewer cuts going forward amid a cooling labour market and persistently high inflation. The vote was not unanimous, with two calling for keeping rates unchanged, and Trump ally Stephen Miran wanting a larger cut.  Also in the segment, the United Arab Emirates is turning towards AI as part of a strategy at ensuring its future in a post-fossil-fuels world. 

Critic Manon Kerjean takes us through the week’s French film releases, starting with an assured début from Alice Vial. “You Found Me” deals with medical emergencies, mortality and a medium who helps souls leave our earthly realm, managing to balance its heavy subject matter with a gentle tone. We also discuss “Love Me Tender”, Anna Cazenave Cambet’s adaptation of a novel by author Constance Debré, in which a mother is left fighting for the right to raise her child. Motherhood is also a theme in Jérôme Bonnell’s film “The Condition”, which explores the power dynamics in a bourgeois home in…

A doctor who spent over 700 days working in hospitals in Gaza during Israel’s war there has spoken to FRANCE 24 about the horrors he witnessed, and his hopes for a real ceasefire in the future. Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb is deputy medical coordinator for MSF’s operations and left Gaza back in September. He told us how medical staff had to do operations on the floor without anaesthetic, while at the same time trying to survive in a war zone. He spoke to us in Perspective.

Liverpool clinched a 1-0 win at Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday despite the absence of unsettled forward Mohamed Salah. Chelsea fell to Atalanta, while Barcelona defeated Eintracht Frankfurt in a mixed night for Europe’s heavyweights.

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, December 9: The bidding war has begun after Paramount launched a $108 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, days after shareholders accepted a Netflix deal. Who will prevail? Also: we learn about the growing Japanese community in India. Plus: YouTube launches the first ever AI reality TV series: a “Hunger Games”-style fight to the death.

The author and journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner has been awarded the Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine for her novel “Long Island Compromise” and its translation by Diniz Galhos. Brodesser-Akner tells us about the kidnapping that kicks off this sprawling family saga, and its repercussions through younger generations. We also discuss the pivotal role of wealth and privilege in American society, and why the aspirational lifestyles peddled by the rich and famous prompt such heated debate, after Brodesser-Akner’s profile of Gwyneth Paltrow in the New York Times Magazine went viral.

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Tuesday threatened to delay the start of phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement until more pressure is put on Israel to cease deadly strikes, open the key Allenby border crossing and allow more aid into the beleaguered territory.

McLaren driver Lando Norris held his nerve but could not hold back the tears after clinching his first Formula 1 title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

Paramount Skydance on Monday launched a hostile bid worth $108.4 billion for Warner Bros Discovery, hoping to outbid Netflix just days after the streaming giant reached a $72 billion takeover deal with the storied Hollywood studios.