AI giant Anthropic said in a statement released Friday that it had disabled its most advanced AI models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the US government ordered it to suspend access to the models for foreign nationals, citing unspecified national security concerns.
Peru's leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez on Friday proposed a recount to his conservative rival Keiko Fujimori, citing alleged irregularities after votes coming in from abroad were tallied. Counting that continues at a sluggish pace has Fujimori ahead by a razor-thin margin.
The leader of the Tren de Aragua gang Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, for whom the US government had offered a reward of up to $5 million, was killed during a joint operation with the United States in southern Venezuela, the two countries announced on Friday.
An Iran-linked hacker group called Handala claimed to have breached FBI drones and threatened to target the 2026 World Cup, monitoring group SITE said Friday.
Not a day goes past without headlines revealing the far-reaching global impact of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. In a special edition, we examine what lessons can be learned from the Epstein files and other similar scenarios; what they reveal about power, accountability and the systems which allowed the late paedophile's crimes to continue for so long.
PRESS REVIEW – Friday, June 12: Papers discuss Mexico's "statement" World Cup win over South Africa and detail Raul Jimenez's triumph. Also: young women in New York choose to live with nuns to save on rent. Finally, for the first time, scientists have mapped the enormous scale of subterranean fungi networks.
The fan zones are open, the stadiums are ready and the biggest World Cup in history is officially underway in the US, Mexico and Canada. Seven matchs are planned in Houston, Texas. The host city expects to attract around half a million visitors and an economic windfall of $1.5 billion. Yet some hotels remain half empty and many fans complain that soaring ticket prices have made the tournament unaffordable. FRANCE 24's Pierrick Leurent and Wassim Cornet report.
US President Donald Trump will celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday with a characteristically unique event: a $60 million UFC match will see bare-knuckle fighters battle it out in a mesh-framed cage on the White House's famed South Lawn. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the event as "a gift to the American people".
DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said Thursday he hopes his side can deliver a strong World Cup showing after arriving in the US following an imposed quarantine period linked to the Ebola outbreak. The team, making their first appearance at the tournament since 1974, have relocated preparations abroad but aim to bring some emotional relief to supporters back home.
Mexican and South African fans flocked to the Azteca stadium in #Mexico City ahead of the opening game of the #WorldCup. This comes amid #protests around the city, as #teachers and families of those missing in the #drug war hope to draw international attention to their demands.
🇫🇷 ⚽ France's national team has arrived in Boston for the World Cup, where players were welcomed by fans outside their hotel. France will play its opening match against Senegal on June 16 in New Jersey.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday said he made a “grave error in judgment” by meeting Jeffrey Epstein but denied any wrongdoing, as he faced hours of questioning before the US House Oversight Committee about his ties to the disgraced financier. Gates said he should never have met Epstein and had no indication of ongoing criminal conduct.
The US Congress on Tuesday passed a $70 billion funding bill for President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, sending the measure to the White House after months of partisan debate. The legislation allocates $38 billion for ICE, $26 billion for Border Patrol and $5 billion for contingency costs through fiscal 2029.
Thousands of demonstrators blocked a major avenue leading to Mexico City's Azteca Stadium on Tuesday, days before the 2026 World Cup opens at the venue, as teacher-led protests disrupted the capital. The demonstration, organised by a dissident faction of the CNTE teachers' union, followed a week of unrest that President Claudia Sheinbaum described as a "provocation".
The United States expects to complete construction of President Donald Trump's long-promised southern border wall by late 2027, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said on Tuesday. Speaking at an event in Washington, Scott said the reinforced barrier would extend along most of the US-Mexico border, with limited exceptions where officials deemed it unnecessary.
Award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan has been dropped from officiating at the World Cup after being barred from entering the United States. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Alexander Cooley, Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, explains that "we're seeing the Trump's administration adherence to hard-line immigration laws clash against the reality of what you need to stage a truly global event".
Traditionally, international sports competitions are seen as a way of overlooking division and differences, and disregarding geopolitics tension - which is the reason why North Korea competes in the Olympics for example. But this year's World Cup is proving an exception. Residents of countries placed on a US travel restriction list are finding their attendance at the World Cup is not garanteed. FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani explains.
A Somali referee has been prevented from officiating at the World Cup after he was refused entry into the US. This comes as many fans having bought tickets for the competitions have also seen their visa demands refused, and Iran's football federation claims its ticket allocation was withdrawn days before kickoff. FRANCE 24's Angela Diffley looks at the impact of the US's travel restrictions and war in Iran on the competition.
Turning to Bolivia now, where conservative President Rodrigo Paz has moved closer to enacting a state of emergency that would allow the military to intervene in demonstrations. For weeks, protesters have constructed roadblocks and taken to the streets demanding the government to tackle Bolivia's worst economic crisis in decades. Some are urging Paz to step down. The unrest has driven up food and fuel prices, and resulted in a lack of basic goods.