Author: France 24

Elon Musk’s xAI says its Grok AI chatbot will be restricted from generating sexualised images of real people after it was used to create pictures of women and children in varying states of undress. Also in this edition: France’s traditional Epiphany cake gets subsidised for Celiac disease sufferers.

This week, Valérie Fayolle meets Pascal Obispo. His melodies have left their mark on the French musical landscape and he’s well known as an author, composer and performer. Now we meet his alter-ego, the painter! Pascal takes us to the Ange Basso gallery in Paris’s 6th arrondissement, where his artwork is on currently on show. We also discover Julie Depardieu’s one-woman show, “La Misérable” at the Marigny studio. Depardieu plays Juliette Drouet, the woman who was Victor Hugo’s mistress for almost 50 years. 

Syrian government forces entered two northern towns Saturday morning after the command of Kurdish-led fighters said it would evacuate the area in an apparent move to avoid conflict. Two soldiers were killed and others wounded in a clash as they entered the town of Maskana, state media reported. Meanwhile, troops made their way into the town of Deir Hafer.

It’s been a week marked by brutality, brinkmanship and political theatre. In Iran, a third week of protests spiralled into a nationwide uprising as the regime shut down the internet and phone lines. Graphic accounts of a violent crackdown emerged via Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, with human rights groups reporting thousands killed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in what they describe as an unprecedented massacre — even as President Trump urged protesters on, before appearing to shift his tone. Meanwhile, urgent diplomacy unfolded in the Arctic, as Denmark and Greenland pushed back against renewed US pressure to annex Greenland. President Trump…

Following their disappointing exits from the Coupe de France in round 16, both Paris Saint-Germain and Lille are eager to bounce back in the Ligue 1. When asked about any doubts he might have about his team, PSG coach Luis Enrique insisted he has complete confidence in his players.

Most women around the world have a time in their lives where they think a lot about pregnancy: either how not to become pregnant, or perhaps how to do so. But around one in six people have experienced infertility at some point in their lives. That’s the case of author and journalist Line Rifai, who tells us about her struggle to fall pregnant in her 30s. She has written a book in French entitled “Ménopause (très) précoce” or ‘”A very early menopause.”

A qualified majority of EU countries have finally approved the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, over 25 years after talks between the two blocs started. Opposition is still fierce, especially from the European agricultural sector. Charles Pellegrin talks to Maria Concepcion Latorre, a professor of applied economics at Universidad Complutense in Madrid, who argues the benefits of the pact outweigh the disadvantages.

A new year, new seasons and no shortage of must-see television: January’s TV series show on arts24 dives into the biggest returns and boldest new chapters on the small screen, guided by arts24 TV critic Dheepthika Laurent and presented by Eve Jackson. We kick off in Paris with the world premiere of “Bridgerton” season four. This new chapter centres on Benedict Bridgerton, the family’s free-spirited second son, played by Luke Thompson, whose Cinderella-inspired romance with Sophie – portrayed by Australian actress Yerin Ha – opens up the “downstairs” world for the first time.

It was feared 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani would be sentenced to death, a first since the start of the protests in Iran. But on January 15, Iranian authorities said that, if convicted, he would not be given a death sentence. FRANCE 24’s spoke to one of Erfan’s relatives, who calls for his liberation.

Morocco booked their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final after a dramatic penalty shootout saw them overcome Nigeria 4-2, following a goalless draw in a tense semi-final in Rabat.