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St. Helena: "The world's most remote EV charging point"

The tiny British overseas territory of Saint Helena, where Napoleon was sent into exile, is now the proud owner of the world's most remote EV charging point. The South Atlantic island currently only has four electric cars, but is hoping to go all-electr

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Understanding social media changes and how to protect children

Many of the social media platforms used by our children and young people are undergoing big changes. Last week, Meta announced it will no longer have fact-checkers for Facebook and Instagram in the US, while TikTok faces either a US ban or being sold. We

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Spain floats 100 percent tax for non-EU real estate buyers

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced a plan to tax non-residents from outside the EU up to 100 percent for real estate purchases, this as Spain faces a housing crisis. Also in this edition: TikTok denies reports that Chinese officials are e

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Monday, january 13, 2025

Biden administration announces new rules to govern AI's global spread

As it embarks on its final week, the Biden administration has announced sweeping new rules to control the export of US-made advanced AI chips. The new curbs are not just aimed at China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, but at most of the world – with the ex

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California wildfires could be most expensive in US history

The wildfires that have devastated the Los Angeles area are projected to carry an economic cost of up to $150 billion, with residents navigating an increasingly difficult insurance market as firms shy away from the risk of frequent natural disasters. We

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Friday, january 10, 2025

From Trump to AI & climate change: What does 2025 have in store for the world economy?

The re-election of Donald Trump as US president has generated a climate of uncertainty over US economic policy for 2025, with Trump and his team vowing to increase tariffs on most imported goods. How will Trump's return impact the global economy? From th

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Thursday, january 9, 2025

Deflation fears rise in China as consumer prices slow down for four straight months

Consumer prices in China grew barely 0.1% in December compared to a year before, marking the fourth consecutive month that price increases have slowed down. This raises the threat of a deflationary spiral which would further damage the country's economy.

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Wednesday, january 8, 2025

Social media platforms are in 'race to the bottom', campaigner says as Meta ends fact-checking

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday announced changes to content moderation on Facebook and Instagram that have been long sought by conservatives. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Henry Peck, Senior Campaigner on Digital Threats at Global Witness. He

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Trump 2.0 tariffs loom large over 2025 CES in Las Vegas

Tech companies showing off their latest innovations at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, one of the world's biggest industry events, are gearing up for a new era of protectionism under a second Trump presidency. With more than a third of the world's consumer electr

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Tuesday, january 7, 2025

Meta to drop fact-checking and switch to X-style 'community notes'

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has abruptly announced it will get rid of independent fact-checkers in the US and replace them with a "community notes" system like the one used on X. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there had been too much accidental

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Meta scraps fact-checking: What are 'community notes' and what could this mean?

Social media giant Meta – home to Facebook, Instagram and Threads – is scrapping its independent fact-checking programme, instead pivoting to a "community notes" style closer to Elon Musk's X. This means that users on the platform will themselves do the

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Pentagon says Chinese tech firms Tencent, CATL affiliated with Beijing's military

The US Department of Defense has added Chinese social media giant Tencent and battery leader CATL to a list of firms it says work with the Chinese military. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: Nippon Steel vows to keep trying to acquire US Steel

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Monday, january 6, 2025

Nippon Steel, US Steel sue Biden administration over blocked merger deal

US Steel and Nippon Steel have filed lawsuits in Washington in a bid to overturn last week's decision by the Biden administration to block their planned merger. In a scathing statement, the steelmakers accused the outgoing president of making the move fo

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French government launches budget talks over growing deficit

France's new ministers for finance and public accounts are meeting with top MPs to kick off talks aimed at getting a 2025 budget passed, this as concern grows over the country's ballooning deficit and debt. Also, New York City rolls out America's first-e

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Saturday, december 21, 2024

France's most powerful nuclear reactor comes on stream after 12-year delay

The Flamanville 3 EPR nuclear reactor, France's most powerful to date, finally began providing electricity to French homes on Saturday after a plethora of technical setbacks led to a 12-year delay and a four-fold increase in the project's overall cost.

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Thursday, december 19, 2024

Amazon workers strike days ahead of Christmas

With just days to go before Christmas, thousands of Amazon workers across the US have walked off the job. Also in this edition: European stocks fell on the Fed’s inflation outlook, while US stocks rebounded after being rattled on Wednesday. Meanwhile the

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Future of mining: Head of industry giant BHP speaks to FRANCE 24

The mining industry plays a key role in the world’s energy transition, providing the critical minerals and metals needed for new, green technology. It’s also facing pressure to reduce its own carbon footprint, and protect the communities affected by its

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US faces possible government shutdown after Trump rejects stopgap bill

US President-elect Donald Trump has upended bipartisan efforts to avert a government shutdown, after he rejected a stopgap bill and pressed Republican lawmakers to either renegotiate it or risk their political careers. The new bill would have kept federa

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Wednesday, december 18, 2024

US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for third time this year

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the third time this year, to 4.25-4.5 percent. But the central bank indicated it would likely slow the pace of its rate cuts in the coming year, as prices remain high. Rodney Sullivan, from the University

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Willow: Has Google cracked a key challenge in quantum computing?

In this Science segment, we take a closer look at Google's announcement that it has cracked a key challenge in quantum computing, with a new chip capable of almost unfathomable speeds. Dubbed Willow, the chip performed a standard test in under five minut

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Nissan, Honda hold merger talks that could create world's third-largest carmaker

Japanese carmakers Nissan and Honda have confirmed talks aimed at deepening their cooperation as they struggle to compete with Chinese EV startups. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: Italy's Unicredit raises its stake in German lender Commerzba

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Tuesday, december 17, 2024

Trump and SoftBank CEO announce $100 billion investment plan in US

US President-elect Donald Trump appeared jointly with Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Japan's SoftBank, announcing the group's plan to invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years. Son said Trump's election victory had boosted his confiden

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Monday, december 16, 2024

UK becomes first European nation to join CPTPP trading bloc

The UK has officially become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), joining 11 existing members including Australia, Japan and Canada. The CPTPP rose from the ashes of the TPP, which was signed in 2

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Friday, december 13, 2024

'My identity was stolen by Iranian hackers', FRANCE 24 journalist says

Iran may look increasingly isolated on the international stage, but cybersecurity companies say its extensive network of hackers is working hard to pursue the government’s strategic interests. One person who’s being used as a pawn in a massive cyber camp

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Bracing for impact: AI to transform music industry

Artificial intelligence could transform the future of sound. The market for generative AI in the music industry is taking off, with both huge opportunities and substantial risks for creative professions. A study by Goldmedia consulting and research group

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Thursday, december 12, 2024

Trump rings opening bell at NYSE after being named Time's Person of the Year

Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, a first for the US president-elect, after he was named "Person of the Year " by Time magazine. Plus, the European Central Bank cut interest rates again as the focus shifts from fighting i

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Australia to get social media platforms to support news industry

Australia's labour government unveiled a new scheme this Thursday that would tax social media platforms if they fail to agree to compensate local media publishers. The plan is meant to provide support to an industry that has lost hundreds of jobs and see

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Wednesday, december 11, 2024

French lawmakers consider emergency financing law

French lawmakers are considering emergency financing laws to avoid a potential shutdown of government services. The budget which ex-PM Michel Barnier attempted to force through parliament was a key factor in the no-confidence vote that toppled his govern

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Google launches latest AI model, Gemini 2.0, marking ‘a new agentic era’

Google on Wednesday unveiled Gemini 2.0, a new artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to tackle more conceptual work and thinking done by humans amid fierce competition from the world's leading tech companies.

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Business uncertainty reaches new highs as France waits for a new PM

A survey on the outlook of French businesses released by the Bank of France shows that the country's industrial and construction sectors have reached levels of uncertainty last seen during the 2022 energy crunch. This comes as Emmanuel Macron is expected

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Tuesday, december 10, 2024

China launches antitrust probe into AI chipmaker Nvidia

China's antitrust authorities announced the opening of an investigation into Nvidia over a possible breach of a deal struck back in 2020. The move is part of a wider US-China confrontation regarding chip technology which can power artificial intelligence

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Monday, december 9, 2024

After over a decade of war, a look at what's left of the Syrian economy

As Syrian rebels topple the government of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, we take stock of what over a decade of fighting has done to the country's economy. Syria's GDP has been decimated by the conflict's human and material toll, while the Syrian pound has

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Friday, december 6, 2024

Plastic Planet: UN talks fail to curb production

The world produces some 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. About half of all plastic is designed to be single use, that is, thrown away after being used just once. Hopes for a global treaty to tackle plastic production and waste faded at the

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Forget me bot: Mystery behind the names causing ChatGPT to crash

What’s in a name? When it comes to AI, a name can mean a huge data protection headache. This week, the internet was fascinated by a list of people that the AI chatbot ChatGPT refuses to talk about. And it’s changing the debate around your “right to be fo

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Thursday, december 5, 2024

With the government down, what will happen to France's budget?

French President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at the far left and the far right for uniting an "anti-Republican front" to bring down the government after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted by a vote of no-confidence. He promised to name a new prime m

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Currency and bond markets price in fall of France's government

As France's National Assembly voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government, we look at how markets have responded to the news. Chief among investor concerns are what this latest chapter in French political life will mean for the country's gro

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Tuesday, december 3, 2024

US-China chip war heats up as Beijing bans export of key minerals

A day after the US government announced new export restrictions hitting China's chip industry, Beijing retaliated with a ban on the sale of key minerals like gallium and germanium to the United States. Plus, after its bizarre rebranding campaign was met

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Vietnamese real estate tycoon to raise $9 billion or face death penalty

An Ho Chi Minh City court upheld a death sentence for Vietnamese real estate magnate Truong My Lan after convicting her for embezzlement and bribery in the country's biggest financial fraud case. The 68-year-old still has the right to request a review of

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Monday, december 2, 2024

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigns amid plummeting vehicle sales

The board of the world's fourth largest automaker, Stellantis, said that its CEO Carlos Tavares had stepped down from his position on Sunday. The group, which owns brands such as Jeep, Chrysler and Peugeot, had experienced a sharp fall in sales this year

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Sunday, december 1, 2024

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigns as auto giant suffers slump in sales

Stellantis Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares resigned abruptly on Sunday, two months after a profit warning at the maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot cars that has lost around 40% of its value this year.

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Friday, november 29, 2024

How to carry out a visual detox: Ways to sharpen our visual critical thinking

With the advent of social media, our brains are receiving a constant stream of images. So how can we undergo a visual detox? Annette Young speaks to Marine Tanguy who has written a book on how to do just that. Also as we face a global epidemic of domesti

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Thursday, november 28, 2024

Putin says there's no need to panic over Russia's plummeting ruble

Russian President Vladimir Putin says there's no need to panic over the country's plummeting currency, despite the ruble weakening to its lowest level in over two years. Plus, Australia has passed a law banning social media for under-16s. Voters in Irela

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Bittersweet business: How the global cocoa industry is changing

The cocoa industry in Haiti is one of the few bright spots in an economy that's suffocating amid gang violence and political instability. Exports of fermented cocoa to Europe are having a significant impact for small Haitian producers, and helping to cre

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LVMH boss to testify in trial of former French spy chief Squarcini

Bernard Arnault, France's richest man and the billionaire head of luxury group LVMH, is set to take the witness stand in a Paris court in the trial of Bernard Squarcini, the former head of France's domestic intelligence agency. Squarcini is accused of us

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Wednesday, november 27, 2024

French borrowing costs spike amid political turbulence

Another looming political crisis is battering France's reputation on global markets. Borrowing costs spiked as investors looked to a possible vote of no confidence over the government's budget proposal. That led the spread between French and German bond

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As ceasefire takes effect, Lebanon's economy is shattered by war

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by the US and France, went into effect this Wednesday, paving the way for the more than 1.2 million Lebanese citizens displaced by war to return home. More than a year of cross-border fighting had c

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Tuesday, november 26, 2024

Trump vows steep tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China over drug trafficking, migration

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will slap a 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada unless they stop the flow of illegal drugs and migrants into the United States. Separately, he also vowed to impos

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Monday, november 25, 2024

'Glicked' dominates US box office

"Wicked" and "Gladiator II" dominated the US box office over the weekend, with "Wicked" expected to rake in $114 million. But first, Huawei's launch of its first flagship phone on Tuesday shows it's ready to cut ties with Western-backed systems. Plus, wi

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Friday, november 22, 2024

US prosecutors have demanded the breakup of Google. What happens next?

The chips are down. In the biggest antitrust trial of this century, US federal prosecutors have filed their demands for Google, including for the tech giant to sell its ubiquitous Chrome browser. It comes after the judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that G

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Thursday, november 21, 2024

Kenya scraps airport, power deals with Adani after US fraud indictment

Kenya's president has announced the cancellation of two major infrastructure deals with India's Adani Group, after US prosecutors charged its founder Gautam Adani and his associates with fraud over a $250 million corruption scheme. The scandal has wiped

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One year of Milei's Argentina: Is 'shock therapy' working?

It's been just over a year since Argentina elected Javier Milei as president. The political outsider had brandished a chainsaw as a symbol of his plans to cut government spending. So is Milei's "shock therapy" working? FRANCE 24's Kate Moody speaks to Ju

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History's biggest break-up: US federal prosecutors say Google must sell Chrome

In the antitrust trial of the century, the US Justice Department has filed for tech giant Alphabet to separate from its Chrome browser, which is used by around 3.5 billion people globally. It's also asked the District of Colombia judge to rule that if Go

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Wednesday, november 20, 2024

SpaceX's sixth Starship test flight: Soft splashdown but no booster catch

In this Science segment, we look at SpaceX's latest test flight of its Starship megarocket. The flight went well and achieved several milestones, but the team did not manage to repeat last month's incredible manoeuvre, when the massive Super Heavy booste

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With tariffs in mind, Donald Trump picks Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce. The businessman and long-time friend of Trump's is slated to lead the incoming administration's efforts to implement wide-ranging tariffs

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Tuesday, november 19, 2024

Trump names China hawk Howard Lutnick as US commerce secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive and co-chair of Trump's transition team, to be the next US commerce secretary. The billionaire has been a key economic adviser to Trump and a keen advocate of using tariff

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EU-Mercosur trade deal: Governments divided over ratification

The EU-Mercosur trade deal faces divisions among governments over ratification. Meanwhile, Toyota has unveiled its latest hydrogen hybrid model, and Spirit Airlines, the largest budget carrier in the US, has filed for bankruptcy amid over $1 billion in d

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Donald Trump appoints TV star Sean Duffy as transport secretary

Sean Duffy, a former lumberjack athlete, MTV star, attorney, Fox News regular, and US Representative for Wisconsin, has been appointed as the next Transportation Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump. If confirmed, Duffy will oversee rail, cars, truc

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Monday, november 18, 2024

Why French farmers oppose the EU-Mercosur free trade deal

As French farmers take to the streets to oppose a potential free trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc in South America, we take a closer look at what the agreement entails and why the French agricultural sector and government

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Friday, november 15, 2024

'Drill, baby, drill': What Trump's election victory means for climate change

Nations have gathered in Azerbaijan for COP29, under the shadow cast by the re-election of climate change denier Donald Trump, who has pledged to row back on the United States' carbon-cutting commitments. As the planet logs its hottest year on record, Ch

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Mark Zuckerberg releases filthy song to celebrate anniversary

Tech giant Meta is feeling the heat, no matter how relaxed its leader Mark Zuckerberg might appear. Despite the waves of bad news buffeting his company, CEO Zuckerberg is surfing ahead with a new relaxed persona. We tell you more in this edition of Tech

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