Author: France 24

The EU has ordered Meta to grant rival AI chatbots free access to its WhatsApp platform within five working days, while it completes its antitrust investigation into the company. Meta says it will appeal, accusing the EU of ‘regulatory overreach’. Meanwhile, Brussels hit back at Apple after the iPhone maker blamed the EU’s Digital Marketing Act for its decision to delay the rollout of its new Siri AI in Europe. 

One hundred years after his death, Antoni Gaudí remains one of the world’s most influential architects and the creator of Barcelona’s most iconic landmarks. In this special edition of arts24, Eve Jackson travels to the Catalan capital to explore the extraordinary legacy of the visionary behind the Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló. Through exclusive access, interviews with the architects continuing his unfinished masterpiece and a journey through the buildings that shaped modern Barcelona, discover why Gaudí’s imagination still captivates millions a century later. 

France on Tuesday banned Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entry, slamming the far-right politician’s calls for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, new settlements in the area and the “recolonisation” of Gaza. Smotrich was among dozens of Israelis who were slapped with sanctions by France, Britain, Canada, ​Australia, New Zealand and Norway.

M​edical personnel were rushing on Monday to the frontlines of a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with cases also confirmed in Uganda. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks with Muhammad Munir, professor in virology at Lancaster University. He says that “the scale of the outbreak is way bigger than what we’re having now and that is the reason the WHO decided on a public health emergency of international concern”.

Les Bleus won 3-1 in their final match ahead of the World Cup. Michael Olise scored a hat-trick, the first of his career.

A California court ruled on Monday that Elon Musk has waited too long to file a lawsuit against OpenAI’s leadership accusing them of misleading the public about their plans to transform the once charity into a for-profit entity. Also in the business news this Tuesday, Standard Chartered cuts thousands of jobs as it accelerates adoption of AI and fires its CEO in South Korea over an insensitive promotional campaign.

US citizen Nick Hinman moved to London six years ago, where he nurtured his music project Fast Money Music – a name partly inspired by New York band Suicide’s track of the same name. He popped by the arts24 studio to tell Marjorie Hache about his influences and working with band members from Klaxons and The 1975. They also take a look at new releases by Olivia Rodrigo, Fatoumata Diawara and Vince Staples. 

Iran and Israel say they’ve now halted attacks, after their first exchange of fire since a ceasefire in April. US President Donald Trump told them to stop fighting, as Israel reported 30 missiles from Israel and Israel struck back. Among ordinary Israelis, it stoked of a return to full-blown war.

Annette Young is pleased to welcome Laura Slimani, Director of Projects at the Women’s Foundation, a French NGO which has been very much focused on ending violence against women and girls. The killing of 11-year-old Lyhanna has ignited a wave of public anger across France, prompting demonstrations in more than 200 cities and renewed scrutiny of how the justice system handles violence against women and children. In this interview, Ms. Slimani argues that the tragedy is not simply the result of an individual failure but rather it “reveals a much broader dysfunction in the entire French justice system: she says…

The cruiseship hit by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus has finally docked in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. It will be disinfected and the crew will go into quarantine. It will then be setting sail for Iceland, where it is to start another trip on May 29. FRANCE 24’s Fernande Van Tets tells us ore from Amsterdam