Author: France 24

Small businesses worldwide are being targeted by scammers using fake Google Maps reviews to extort money. The fraudsters post one-star reviews – ever-more convincing thanks to AI – then demand payment to take them down. FRANCE 24 investigated one scheme targeting businesses in France and Spain.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, including best album, record and song. Next up with seven nods is pop superstar Lady Gaga, making a splashy comeback to touring with her album “Mayhem”.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed three people, including two brothers in a car on the slopes of Mount Hermon. The IDF said they were “terrorists” smuggling weapons. The EU called on all parties to respect a ceasefire reached in November 2024. 

It’s been a week that’s seen a remarkable political upset in New York, where 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani became the city’s youngest mayor in 130 years – and its first Muslim and immigrant leader in generations. The Democratic Socialist’s pledge to make New York more affordable galvanised young voters, though his call to tax the rich unsettled the party establishment. In Ukraine, fierce fighting continues for control of Pokrovsk, the fortress city key to Donetsk’s supply lines, as Russia claims to have encircled it and President Zelensky vows defiance on the front line. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum – after being…

Stuttering Aston Villa edged past Maccabi Tel Aviv (2-0) on a challenging evening on and off the pitch to strengthen their position in the Europa League.

James Watson, whose co-discovery of the twisted-ladder structure of DNA in 1953 helped spark a revolution in medicine, crimefighting, genealogy and ethics, has died, according to his former research lab. He was 97. 

This week, we’re heading to the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2025) for a conversation with Gaurav Sharma, an independent energy analyst also know on social media as the “Oilholic”. As temperatures are rising, so is energy demand. What does that mean for fossil fuels? And how will AI reshape the future of energy? We put these questions and more to our guest.

In this edition of Arts24, we meet award-winning actress Diane Kruger as she returns to French screens in HBO’s “Merteuil” or “The Seduction”, a bold reimagining of the novel “Dangerous Liaisons”. The German actress conquered Hollywood with “Troy” and “Inglorious Basterds”; now she returns to screens to explore a different kind of power, one that plays out in whispers, strategies and seduction in a candlelit 18th-century Paris. This new series sees Kruger play Madame De Rosemonde, a woman navigating the perilous games of patriarchy with cunning and elegance. The actress also tells us about returning to German cinema to explore…

With the COP30 climate summit under way in Brazil, we take you to the United Arab Emirates, one of the most arid countries in the world. There, the government has implemented a cloud-seeding programme to increase rainfall. While the UAE mainly uses seawater desalination to obtain water, it has also employed this cutting-edge technology as drought continues to worsen in the Middle East. It’s therefore a necessity, but also a soft power tool for the Gulf monarchy, which plans to become a global leader in access to “blue gold” and will host the next UN Water Conference in 2026. FRANCE…

Les Gones are no longer undefeated. Olympique Lyonnais, with a largely revamped lineup, lost 2-0 to Sevilla on Thursday, suffering their first defeat of the season in the Europa League. However, their goal of finishing in the top eight remains within reach.