Author: France 24

US e-commerce giant Amazon has expanded its “Prime Day” promotional event this year to four days, in a bid to give shoppers “more time to shop and save”. US President Donald Trump’s global trade war has increased the threat of higher prices for US shoppers. While forecasts show another record year for sales, other indicators are highlighting cautious consumer sentiment. Also in this edition: Trump’s 50 percent tariff threat on all copper imports could hurt global producers like Zambia.

Gaza rescuers said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point. The latest bloodshed came as Hamas and Israel each accused the other of sabotaging attempts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal at indirect talks in Doha.

Bad Bunny’s marathon show in San Juan late Friday was a night of palpable emotion for the reggaeton megastar whose latest artistic endeavor brings him back to his roots. Bad Bunny’s most recent tracks underscore injustices in the US Caribbean island territory, but the evening was one of celebration: a lens on Puerto Rico that focuses on its resistance, pride and joy.

 Iga Swiatek destroyed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0, ending a ludicrously lop-sided final in 57 minutes. The 24-year-old eighth seed was merciless as she took brutal advantage of Grand Slam final debutant Anisimova’s leg-sapping nerves in front of a stunned Centre Court. 

Elon Musk has unveiled the latest version of his AI chatbot Grok, integrated into his platform X, in the hope that it will rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The move came just 24 hours after Grok went on a racist, anti-Semitic rant, replying to users by frequently praising Adolf Hitler and making posts referring to sexual violence. What happened, and what could be next for Grok? Vedika Bahl explains in Truth or Fake.

The family of a US-Palestinian man beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank called for a US State Department investigation into the killing on Saturday. Saif al-Din Kamil Abdul Karim Musalat was attacked on Friday in the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian health ministry. 

It’s been a grim, record-breaking week for Ukraine, with Russia unleashing an unprecedented wave of missiles and drones, including decoys to overwhelm air defences. Amid the chaos, Trump seemed equally thrown—confused by Putin, then reversing course to reinstate military aid to Kyiv after pausing it just last week. Washington is now dangling sanctions as the carrot turns to stick in ceasefire efforts. Meanwhile, it’s been pageantry over politics as the Macrons embarked on a three-day state visit to the UK. Kicking off with cocktails at Windsor Castle—“The Entente”, a symbolic mix of British gin and French pastis—the visit marked a…

This week, Paris des Arts is in Vienna, where musical tradition flirts with modernity. We meet some of the city’s most vibrant figures, such as the visionary conductor Laurence Equilbey. She’s at the helm of the Insula Orchestra, who are performing for the first time at the Musikverein’s legendary “Golden Hall”.  Her chamber choir “Accentus” and the “Insula Orchestra” are taking on Robert Schumann’s “Paradise and the Peri”. 

Back in April, Kenyan authorities launched an investigation into a major kidney-trafficking ring. Wealthy international patients have been travelling to the East African country to obtain life-saving organs, while vulnerable local donors are exploited to sustain this lucrative trade. Despite government crackdowns, the network continues to operate, raising urgent ethical and legal questions. FRANCE 24’s Olivia Bizot and Clément Di Roma report. 

The European Commission wants AI companies to stop using pirated data and allow creators to withhold their copyrighted material. This comes amid the rise of a massive global workforce of remote workers from poor countries, who provide bespoke data via third party brokers. We take a closer look in this edition of Tech 24.