Author: France 24

New romantic comedy “Materialists” dives into the world of high-end dating in Manhattan, where luxury, status and desire blur the lines of love. Dakota Johnson stars as a professional matchmaker, caught between Pedro Pascal’s millionaire dreamboat and Chris Evans as her idealistic ex. Oscar-nominated director Celine Song describes the film as a “Victorian romance for 2025”, showing how dating today can feel like a game of social value and transactions. Eve Jackson meets Celine in Paris – and hits the streets – to ask: is love still about connection, or has it become a carefully calculated deal?

PSG crushed Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to set up a European clash against Bayern Munich on Saturday in the Club World Cup quarter-finals. The German side advanced with a 4-2 win over Brazil’s Flamengo.

The Trump administration’s cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides 40 percent of humanitarian funding worldwide, could lead to 14 million deaths, a study in the Lancet found, potentially “halting — and even reversing — two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations”.

A marathon vote is underway in the Senate over Trump’s megabill, with Republicans divided over how much to cut welfare programmes to extend tax breaks. Meanwhile the UK-US trade deal has come into effect, but there’s still no news on aluminium and steel. Plus, China’s largest coffee chain is escalating its race against Starbucks.

The BBC said Monday it should have pulled a livestream of rap duo Bob Vylan’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival over “antisemitic” chants against Israeli troops. The British broadcaster has come under heavy criticism for broadcasting the rap punk duo’s performance Saturday, when rapper Bobby Vylan led crowds attending the U.K.’s largest summer music festival in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF,” the Israel Defense Forces. 

In this edition of our arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with Franco-Egyptian-Iranian singer KUKII about her new EP “Rare Baby”. The artist been part of France’s avant-garde music scene for more than a decade, using the stage name Lafawndah. A recent trip to Cairo was more than just a homecoming; it was a transformative experience and the creation of a new musical identity – that of KUKII. “Rare Baby” is inspired by music from North Africa and the Middle East, mixed with her trademark blend of emboldened pop. The EP also feels like a battle cry or manifesto, and…

Paris Saint-Germain easily eliminated Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, outclassing the Herons 4-0 in the round of 16 at the Club World Cup on Sunday. Miami hoped Messi’s magic could help them dominate his former club but the European Champions dominated from the start. 

Eurostar services between the UK and the EU have been restored following a chaotic day of delays and cancellations, with dozens of TGV high-speed trains in northern France also affected. The major disruption was caused by the theft of more than 600 metres of railway cable near the city of Lille. Plus, the World Economic Forum dubbed the “Summer Davos” is underway in China, with trade tensions and conflicts casting a huge shadow over the event. 

Hundreds of Iranians have fled to Turkey over the past weeks during the war with Israel, seeking safety in the neighbouring country. FRANCE 24 met with Iranians who were forced to leave their homes behind.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, one of the most powerful people in the fashion world, said on Thursday she will be looking for a new head of editorial content at American Vogue as she steps down from the role after nearly 40 years.