Author: France 24

Favourites Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz made a strong start at the French Open with straight-sets wins in the first round, while world No. 4 Taylor Fritz is already out.

Emmanuel Macron announced business deals worth €9 billion in Vietnam, the first leg of his week-long tour of Southeast Asia, as Europe tries to boost ties with the free-market communist state.  But first, European stocks rallied and the euro hit a one-month high against the US dollar after Donald Trump walked back from his threat of new, 50% tariffs on EU imports, giving until July 9th to reach a trade deal. It’s unclear how the two sides can iron out fundamental differences during that window.

As Israeli nationalists and religious Jews prepared for a rally Monday to mark Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israel’s 1967 capture of east Jerusalem, some chanted “Death to Arabs” while marching through Muslim neighborhoods. Protesters, including an Israeli member of parliament, also reportedly stormed a compound belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

In this edition of our arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with Adrien Rozé and Clément Savoye from French pop rock band Kids Return. Despite being born and raised in Paris, they could be mistaken for being from the UK or the US, their musical references being the likes of Oasis and The Strokes. They’ve just dropped their second album “1997”, a nod to their year of birth but also two musical movements that started that year – French Touch and Britpop. Kids Return have just finished a North American tour, performing in locations such as the Red Rocks…

Aryna Sabalenka and Lorenzo Musetti sailed into the second round of the French Open on Sunday with straight-sets wins, as fans at Roland-Garros also paid tribute to Rafael Nadal during a ceremony marking the retired champion’s legacy on the court.

US tech giant Google said during its developers’ conference on Tuesday that it was rolling out a new AI feature that could potentially transform the way people make internet queries. The firm relies heavily on its search business for its revenue and wants to make sure it can compete with AI startups, notably OpenAI and its flagship product, ChatGPT. Also, Japan’s agriculture minister resigns after making a joke about being gifted rice.

Rescuers in Gaza said at least 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday, taking the war’s overall death toll to 53,939, according to the Gaza health ministry. 

Arts Editor Eve Jackson and film critic Emma Jones take us through the winners of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d’Or-winning “It Was Just an Accident” by Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi. It was a powerful and symbolic moment for Panahi, who returned to Cannes after a 22-year absence caused by repeated prison terms and travel bans. His film about prisoners confronting their jailer echoes his own fight for artistic freedom.

Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for their Champions League final showdown with Inter Milan by winning the French Cup on Saturday as Bradley Barcola netting twice in a comfortable 3-0 win against Reims.

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives in Washington on Wednesday appeared closer to finding common ground on new tax bill which will enact sweeping tax cuts. That news has jolted US bond and stock markets on the assumption that it could add trillions of dollars to the national debt and affect the government’s creditworthiness. Also, Nvidia CEO calls US semiconductor export controls a failure.