Author: France 24

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the country’s president on Sunday for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, arguing that the criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for Israel. Under Israeli law, however, the president does not have the power to pardon someone who is not a convicted criminal, FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky said, noting that no verdict has yet been rendered on Netanyahu, who is actively seeking to prevent his trial from reaching its conclusion.

Stunned 1-0 by Monaco on Saturday at the Stade Louis-II, Paris Saint-Germain suffered their second league defeat of the season on Matchday 14. Marseille, held 2-2 in dramatic fashion by Toulouse, squandered the chance to climb back to the top of Ligue 1.

With the launch of ChatGPT three years ago to the day, it looked like America had won the next major technology race before it had even started. But the landscape has shifted dramatically. China is overtaking the United States in open-source models, Europe is walking back its regulatory ambitions, and the internet is drowning in AI-generated rubbish.

British playwright Tom Stoppard, a dramatist who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love”, has died at the age of 88. Famed for his dazzling wit and depth, Stoppard was credited with reshaping modern theatre, combining intellectual subjects with comedy. 

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will take no further steps in indirect talks with Turkey as long as its founder Abdullah Ocalan remains imprisoned, said a senior commander. Since talks began last year, the PKK has complied with several peace process steps as Turkey prepares a legal framework for the group’s political integration.

Just three days after their spectacular Champions League win over Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain return to Ligue 1 action on Saturday with a tricky trip to Monaco. Unbeaten in the league for over two months, the Parisians aim to tighten their grip on top spot.

LinkedIn, the social media platform with which professionals connect and network, has found itself in hot water after a surprising experiment revealed signs of bias against women. Also competition is woven into nearly every part of our lives; but do we really need it at work or even in our daily routines? Annette Young talks to author, Ruchika Malhotra, whose latest book is entitled “Uncompete: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success”. Plus the countdown is on for French female astronaut, Sophie Adenot, who will be heading to the International Space Station in the coming months.

With audiences dwindling and streaming on the rise, Paris’s iconic arthouse cinemas are racing to reinvent themselves or risk closing for good. One cinema in the Champs-Elysées area has adopted a “modular” economic model, enabling screening rooms to be rapidly transformed into reception spaces.

Israeli lawmakers on Monday are set to debate a new draft law on conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews amid fierce political battles between religious parties critical for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s survival and critics who denounce the new proposed exemptions as a “fraud” and “conscription on paper only”.

Lyon surged to the top of the Europa League on Matchday 5 after a dominant 6–0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday in Serbia, a victory powered by a hat-trick from captain Corentin Tolisso.