French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has tried to calm both student protesters and jittery bond markets. In an address to the nation, Lecornu stressed that the education ministry had not seen any cuts in last week's budget proposal, but insisted the government must cut its public deficit to 5%. There are growing concerns about France's spending and debt, with the IMF urging the country to "get your house in order." Lecornu also confirmed the release of 10 million barrels of diesel fuel. 

After shrinking briefly in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel's GDP is predicted to grow by 4 percent this year. The country's tech sector – specifically its defence startups – has played a big part in this performance but challenges, notably demographic ones, are on the horizon. Meanwhile, the destruction caused by Israel's war in Gaza has reduced GDP per capita in the Palestinian enclave by 83 percent and reconstruction plans there have yet to begin.

Protests have been gripping France, with students demanding better learning conditions and more equal opportunities. The education ministry is among the few ministries that have been granted an increase in next year's draft budget, but critics say it still doesn't catch up with inflation. We take a closer look. Plus, OpenAI has apologised to Australia over its handling of government website hacks by a rogue AI agent in June. 

In August, US employment in roles most exposed to AI for people aged between 22 and 25 shrank by 4.4 percent year-on-year. This means there's been a contraction every single month since October 2023, about a year after ChatGPT was first released. The high impact of AI on younger workers is one of the key trends emerging from the Canaries Dashboard, a project led by the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and ADP Research. We spoke to ADP Research's Chief Economist Nela Richardson in our Business segment.

The euro has stumbled to a 17-month low against the US dollar on concerns about France's ability to bring its public finances in order. The currency has dropped nearly 7 percent from its peak in late January. Meanwhile, global oil prices have fallen despite ongoing tensions around the Arabian Peninsula, after the G7 agreed to release up to 100 million barrels from strategic reserves and oil flows from the Persian Gulf returned to pre-war levels. 

US President Donald Trump has named his National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton as America's "Super Intelligence" czar, as fears over AI grow. Also, oil markets react to Houthi attacks as well as export data, and France's fiscal woes drive the euro to a 17-month low. 

Artificial intelligence insiders are quitting their jobs, saying the technology could mean the end of humanity. Pope Leo, on his recent visit to France, warned of a "paradise of machines". And The New York Times reported this week that one of AI firm Anthropic's co-founders spent months lobbying religious thinkers on the possibility that AI could be conscious.

In the debate about how best to regulate artificial intelligence, what about its role in development and aid? Warnings about the potential for exacerbating inequality are rife – but the World Bank argues that the technology could be harnessed for good.

The French government is seeking €54 billion in savings in its 2027 budget proposal, as it faces pressure over its ballooning public debt. But it's likely to face opposition, especially on proposals that would cap pension increases. Meanwhile, protests by high school students over resources and conditions in classrooms have spread across the country, with the budget likely to further inflame tensions. 

US President Donald Trump discussed AI development with dozens of tech bosses at the White House on Tuesday. Ahead of his "super intelligence" luncheon, Trump launched a new AI-powered website for government services, vowing not to stifle the technology's growth. He also said he didn't want to work with Chinese President Xi Jinping on AI oversight. Plus, dozens of dogs are rescued from a breeding farm in South Korea as the country prepares for a complete phaseout of the dog meat industry. 

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the tech executives gathered at the White House to discuss regulating AI had signed a "morally binding" commitment to build adequate safeguards on the fast-moving technology. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Harrison Rolfes, Senior Research Analyst at PitchBook, says that the push for safeguards "prevents open-source models from taking over the competition as well as new incumbents from coming in with a new frontier model", explaining that the measures "build a moat" around US AI firms.

The French ​government will sell a record amount of bonds to investors next year as it faces a surge in Covid-era debt due for redemption and needing to be refinanced, the public debt management ​office ‌said on Tuesday amid mounting concern about France's surging public deficit and borrowing rates. 

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has decided to cancel the release of its latest agentic model Astra 6.1 because it did not meet safety standards. Rival AI firm Anthropic, meanwhile, is dedicating a large majority of its IPO prospectus to laying out the risk factors associated with AI, according to Reuters. Also in this edition: Russia adds another layer of secrecy to its energy sector and NASA reboots Boeing's struggling Starliner rocket programme.

Trade unions in France have called on public sector workers – from train drivers to teachers, health workers and police officers – to stop work and protest at the government's plan to freeze the public sector's pay index, just days before the government is set to unveil its draft budget for 2027. Plus, as Paris Fashion Week kicks off, we speak with an expert on what the struggling luxury sector needs to do towards a more sustainable future. 

You'll no doubt have seen the coverage of singer Céline Dion's return from illness and her Paris residency. But here's a different angle: the audio technology keeping her stage quiet, and the artificial intelligence isolating her voice from the noise of a 30,000-seat stadium.

As trade ties with the US continue to fray, Canada is seeking a new role and new partners in the increasingly fragmented global economy. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been courting more foreign investment as well as closer ties with the European Union and Asian economies. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump have been holding talks in the Oval Office at the White House. Trump gave the visiting leader of Communist China a personal tour of several of his favourite White House features. He took him aboard the Marine One helicopter, presented the new granite landing pad he had built for it, and pointed out the massive adjacent construction site where a ballroom will eventually stand. 

Flights between Iran and the United Arab Emirates have been suspended, following tighter US sanctions on Iran's aviation industry. The move effectively cuts Tehran off from Dubai, one of the region's most important commercial hubs. There are also huge backups near Iran's border with Turkey, as overland shipping routes struggle to fill the gaps. Also in this edition: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping hail strong ties between the US and China as they discuss AI, trade and energy. 

It's their AI world and we're just living in it. If that's the feeling of those who suffer from AI anxiety, it may worsen watching the Chinese president's first state visit to Washington in nine years. If there's one issue that the planet's biggest superpowers agree on, it's that now is not the time for global regulation of artificial intelligence. As they sit down to a White House state dinner just hours after news that OpenAI had hacked the Australian government, we ask who will call to task the US tech titans at the table.

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, September 24: The Spanish press express outrage after the forced eviction of an elderly woman from her Madrid residence. Unrest in the Tigray region sparks fears of a new war between rebels and Ethiopia's central government. Australian authorities reveal that the national health insurance system Medicare was hacked by an AI agent. Finally, we look at Britain's rudest-sounding street names!