Author: France 24

In the world of artificial intelligence, the focus used to be on training AI models. Now, increasingly, it’s on “inference” – the actual execution of the tasks we ask these systems to perform. David Gurlé is a French tech entrepreneur whose startup Antimatter aims to service the inference boom with energy solutions, mini data centres that fit inside a container and appropriate software – for only a fraction of the cost and time.

FRANCE 24 film critic Emma Jones reports from the red carpet at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in southern France.

Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers said on Friday, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.

It’s been a week marked by major geopolitical, legal and public health developments across several fronts. In Washington, the Trump administration has indicted 94-year-old former Cuban president Raúl Castro over alleged murder and conspiracy to kill US nationals, linked to the 1990s downing of two civilian aircraft — a move officials describe as long-delayed justice, but which critics see as part of a wider push on regime change. In Beijing, President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to meet Xi Jinping, with carefully staged ceremony and renewed pledges of “unyielding relations”, while Ukraine reported continued deep-strike drone operations inside Russian…

Roland Garros begins this weekend, as the world’s best players arrive in Paris for the 130th edition of the French Open. In the men’s draw, world number one Jannik Sinner returns after last year’s epic final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. In the women’s competition, Aryna Sabalenka arrives as the top-ranked player, while attention will also focus on Iga Swiatek — the Queen of Clay — and defending champion Coco Gauff.

It’s easy to lecture world leaders about how fuel subsidies ruin the environment and bleed state coffers dry, but try telling that to beleaguered Bolivians and cornered Kenyans, two of the many nations where the energy crisis has reached breaking point with citizens unable to keep up with prices at the pump. It’s not just in the Americas, Africa and Asia where the Iran war is destroying livelihoods and derailing fiscal roadmaps.

Monica Bellucci brings classic Cannes glamour back to the Croisette tonight as she premieres ‘The Birthday Party’, the latest Competition film from acclaimed French director Léa Mysius. Set in eerie isolated marshlands, the psychological thriller follows a family whose birthday celebration spirals into chaos as unsettling events begin to unfold. Bellucci plays a mysterious Italian painter living next door, alongside Hafsia Herzi and Bastien Bouillon. Mysius, known for ‘Ava and The Five Devils’, also co-wrote Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez’, making this one of the most anticipated late premieres of the festival. Elsewhere at Cannes, British director Clio Barnard impressed critics with…

Can border walls keep out pandemics? The World Health Organization is officially branding the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo a “public health emergency of international concern”. As the death toll from the rare strain climbs, so does the number of contact cases. Ituri province may seem remote on a map, but nowhere’s very far in a globalised world.

Aston Villa won the Europa League with a dominant 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the final. The English side controlled the match from start to finish. Freiburg showed resistance in spells but were ultimately overwhelmed by Villa’s intensity and tempo. Aston Villa secured their first continental trophy in 44 years. After his previous triumphs with Sevilla and Villarreal, Villa manager Unai Emery claimed the fifth Europa League title of his career.

French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu announced new support measures to cushion the impact of the energy crisis caused by the war in Iran.  The €710 million package includes extending existing support schemes for sectors such as fishing, farming and construction, as well as a new bonus for taxi drivers to switch to electric cars.  But the prime minister ruled out blanket subsidies like fuel tax cuts as Paris struggles to bring its debt and deficit down.