Author: France 24

Alexander Zverev advanced to his fourth successive French Open semi-final with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur on Wednesday. Source link

Israel said it would soon decide whether to launch an offensive in Lebanon, where it has clashed with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah for months. Steven A. Cook, a Senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations tells FRANCE24’s Monte Francis that Hezbollah’s large stores of rockets, missiles and precision munitions pose a bigger threat to the general Israeli public than the actions of Hamas on October 7th. Source link

Israel’s military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as international talks to secure a truce and hostage release deal resumed. Source link

After delays and over $1.4 billion dollars of cost overruns, Boeing has finally launched its first crewed spacecraft to orbit. The CST-100 Starliner capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying veteran NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams. After being hit with a series of safety scandals in its commercial jetliner business, Boeing is hoping to catch up with its rival SpaceX that’s been shuttling astronauts to and from the ISS since 2020.  Source link

As commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings take place in Normandy, film critic Lisa Nesselson tells us about her favorite D-Day classics – from star-studded extravaganza “The Longest Day” to Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”. Plus, Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard star in “Memory”, a harsh tale about what happens when suppressed memories meet early-onset dementia. Finally, Lisa tells us about Roman Polanski’s latest film “Palace Hotel”, which she was surprised to enjoy after it was eviscerated by other critics. Source link

Mohammad Hammud, in his late 70s, was at home with his wife in a south Lebanon border village when Israeli bombing hit. This time, the attack was different. Source link

As hundreds of thousands of people flock to the French region of Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, local businesses there are capitalising on tourists’ passion for World War II history. FRANCE 24’s Leo McGuinn and our colleagues from France 2 report on this business of souvenir sales and historical re-enactments. Also in this edition, we look at the UK’s fiscal debate and at one think tank’s warning of a looming £33 billion deficit. Source link

Mourners can now speak to an AI version of the dead. But will that help with grief? Selina Sykes reports. FRANCE 24’s Monte Francis speaks to Tomasz Hollanek, Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge about the benefits, risks and future developments of AI clones. Source link

Novak Djokovic’s worst fears materialised as a knee injury forced him out of the French Open on Tuesday, while women’s reigning champion Iga Swiatek surged into the semi-finals with another ruthless display. Source link

Heavy fighting rocked Gaza on Tuesday after G7 and Arab powers urged both Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden. Meanwhile Slovenia became on Tuesday the latest EU nation to recognise Palestine as an independent state in a parliament vote. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments.  Source link