Player tells Tiger to 'get a chauffeur'

The European Union will not be able to compete in the global artificial intelligence race by hurting companies in other countries, US envoy to the EU Andrew Puzder told AFP on Thursday.

The EU will next month unveil plans to boost Europe's tech sector and cut what it describes as an overreliance on foreign firms, especially US tech giants.

The measures will cover the cloud, AI and semiconductor sectors. Many European companies and governments rely on US cloud providers, dominated by Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

"Europe will not be able to pull itself into the AI economy by bringing other people down," Puzder said in an interview at the US mission to the EU in Brussels when asked about the plans.

A major buzzword in Europe today is competitivity and how the EU can better compete against Chinese and American rivals, but Puzder questioned whether the EU was focused more on boosting itself or on hampering foreign rivals.

"Is it making Europe more competitive or making other people less competitive? One is a good plan. The other is a bad plan," Puzder said.

He said the United States "would love Europe to partner with us as we face off against China in this AI race" but took aim at the EU's moves against US tech.

"To partner with us, they have to have access to the data centres and the hardware stack -- and you got to stop punishing the companies that are trying to bring those things to you," Puzder said.

The EU has fined US companies billions of euros for violations of digital competition and online content rules in recent years.

It has been one of the biggest points of contention between Brussels and Washington, but Puzder struck a conciliatory tone after last week's announcement of a "dialogue" between the EU and United States.

The EU last week said the two sides would tackle tensions over digital issues through talks, which Puzder echoed, though he said the process had not yet started.

"I would like us to stop talking at each other and start speaking with each other," he said.

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Donald Trump's ambassador to the EU denied in an AFP interview Thursday that the US leader or his vice president were "meddling" in Hungary's election by endorsing nationalist incumbent Viktor Orban.

Speaking two days after JD Vance travelled to Budapest to stump with Orban, US envoy Andrew Puzder noted that both Trump and his vice president had "been very vocal on their support" for the Hungarian prime minister.

Trump last month pledged his "complete and total" support for Orban's bid to secure a fifth term on Sunday.

But the ambassador pushed back at the charge that the visit by Vance -- who railed against Brussels "bureaucrats" he accused of pushing for Orban's ouster -- amounted to interference.

"I do not believe that what the vice president or the president did was meddling in the Hungarian election," Puzder said, adding of Vance: "I think he was careful not to be coercive, or make economic threats, or do the kinds of things that could be coercive."

The EU leader with the closest ties to both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orban faces an unprecedented challenge to his 16-year rule in Sunday's vote.

His conservative rival Peter Magyar -- well ahead in the polls with three days to go -- warned ahead of Vance's visit against any US attempt to tip the scales, while also pushing back at the narrative casting him as the candidate of Brussels.

"No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections," he wrote on X Tuesday, adding: "Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels."

- 'A good ally' -

Trump's administration has embraced as part of its national security strategy the promotion of hard-right forces in Europe -- casting migration and "woke" values as a "civilisational" threat to the Old Continent.

Pressed on why Washington has swung in so hard behind Orban when his conservative challenger Magyar espouses many of the same policy positions -- particularly on Ukraine -- Puzder suggested it came down to a tougher line on migration and "family values."

"I think on immigration, he's been very consistent that his position is much closer to the president's," he said of Orban.

Ultimately, Puzder said, Trump "feels that prime minister Orban is a good ally."

Orban's warm relationship with the United States -- whose top diplomat Marco Rubio also visited in February to boost his reelection bid -- stands in stark contrast to his fraught relations with EU partners.

Since coming to power, the Hungarian nationalist has increasingly locked horns with Brussels, which accuses him of quashing dissent and eroding the rule of law, and has frozen billions of euros in funding.

The closest ally in the bloc to Putin's Russia, Orban has defied consensus on Ukraine, stymying sanctions and blocking billions of euros in aid for Kyiv's war effort.

Raising the stakes in the run-up to Sunday's vote, the European Commission demanded an explanation from Hungary Thursday over media reports it had been feeding Moscow "direct-line" access to strategic EU information.

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The Middle East conflict is exacerbating tensions over the humanitarian supply of medicines in Africa, a sector already severely impacted by funding cuts, with nonprofits warning of emptying shelves.

Rising fuel costs and the logistical difficulty of transport through the Strait of Hormuz are affecting the delivery of medication to crisis and conflict zones in Africa, where the situation is already dire following US aid cuts.

"By the end of April, some of our medicine stocks will be depleted," Rodrigue Alitanou, director of operations for medical NGO Alima, told AFP from his office in Dakar.

Alima, which operates in 13 African countries, is sounding the alarm.

"If this goes on for a month and a half, two months, the warnings we are sounding will transform into direct impacts on the continuity of our activities," he said.

Africa imports more than 70 percent of medication and more than 90 percent of pharmaceutical ingredients.

Alitanou is concerned about rising import costs due to soaring fuel prices.

"An extra $2,000 in costs means 200 fewer children suffering from malnutrition will receive treatment," he said.

"We're already seeing it in Sudan, we're already seeing it in the DRC and it's starting to become apparent in most countries," he added.

- Mideast hub -

Situated at the crossroads between Asia, the world's leading producer of medicines, and Africa, the Middle East serves as the primary gateway for supplying the African continent.

Several humanitarian supply centres in Dubai's humanitarian free zone have seen their operations disrupted, affecting logistics transport to Africa.

In Dubai, the World Health Organization's (WHO) logistics hub, which supplies medicines to more than 150 countries worldwide, had to cancel shipments at the start of the conflict due to the closure of airspace and revise routes for delivering supplies.

"Supply lead times are lengthening because we cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz and have to go via the Cape of Good Hope, particularly with cargo ships, so it is more expensive and adds 15 days to a month to the supply chain," said Damien Dubois, purchasing and inventory officer at MSF Supply, a supply centre within Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

A spokeswoman for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria told AFP it had observed "delays and cost increases" although the organisation had not yet identified any shortages.

Anne Senequier, co-director of the Global Health Observatory at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), said that "at present we are not talking about a shortage of medicines due to the conflict, we are talking about an additional strain on an already fragile situation, with the risk of shortages emerging in certain vulnerable regions".

Those interviewed by AFP remain cautious regarding the ceasefire agreed Tuesday between the United States and Iran, with strikes continuing Wednesday in the Gulf and maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz still disrupted.

For Alitanou "this ceasefire is a first step, but it is not enough. Conflicts are ongoing in the Gulf states and continue to undermine our operations".

Agathe Lamouret, shipments coordinator at MSF Supply, said she believes "it's going to remain very unstable, especially as we don't know what will happen" after the two-week truce.

For his part, Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman, said that "it will take several weeks to overcome the disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz".

- 'Just-in-time' basis -

Africa, which is heavily reliant on imports, is particularly vulnerable to geopolitical upheavals, said Ines Alaoui, head of international health policy at France-based Coalition Plus, an organisation uniting international HIV health groups.

"On the African continent we operate on a just-in-time basis. We don't produce or stockpile more than is necessary," she said.

The organisations within Coalition Plus were already bearing the brunt of US aid cuts, with shortages of preventive medicines and antiretrovirals observed on the ground.

The new crisis is "further eroding healthcare", Alaoui said, adding "we fear that people living with HIV will have to stop their treatment".

For Senequier of IRIS, "the risk is that certain vulnerable groups will turn to counterfeit medicines, which will put their health at risk".

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Jihadists in northeast Nigeria killed 18 troops including a brigadier general in an assault on a military base, local government and intelligence sources told AFP on Thursday, the second killing of a high-ranking officer in five months.

Violence is surging across the country's mostly Muslim north, with at least 90 people killed by gunmen in several remote villages, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local, humanitarian and church sources.

Africa's most populous country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram's 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

In an overnight attack, unidentified jihadists overran a military base and torched vehicles in Benisheikh, about 75 kilometres from Borno state capital Maiduguri, an intelligence source told AFP.

"Unfortunately, the brigade commander, Brigadier General O.O. Braimah, lost his life," Kaga Local Government Chairman Zannah Lawan Ajimi told AFP in a phone interview. 

Two intelligence sources confirmed Braimah's death to AFP.

His death follows the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by ISWAP in November. He was the highest-ranking military official to die in the long-running conflict since 2021.

"They overran the brigade," one of the intelligence sources said, giving the death toll as "at least" 18.

The second intelligence source said that "the terrorists killed several troops" and "burnt vehicles and buildings before they withdrew," without giving a toll.

Nigeria's military said that "insurgents attempted to breach the defensive perimeter of the military installation" but were "decisively engaged and forced to retreat in disarray".

The statement, from Major General Michael Onoja, a Defence Headquarters spokesman, said that the attack "resulted in the loss of a few brave and gallant soldiers", without disclosing a toll or who was killed.

- Rising jihadist violence -

Researchers have warned of an uptick of violence since 2025.

Borno capital Maiduguri has seen two suicide bombings since December -- the type of bloody, urban attacks reminiscent of the insurgency's peak a decade ago.

On Wednesday, the US State Department said in a notice it was authorising "non-emergency US government employees" to leave Abuja "due to the deteriorating security situation".

While the insurgency is concentrated in the northeastern countryside, jihadists from Nigeria and the neighbouring Sahel have made inroads western Nigeria, where organised crime gangs known as "bandits" have been raiding villages and extorting farmers and artisanal miners for years.

The spate of attacks that have left 90 dead this week included an assault in Kebbi state that police blamed a local jihadist group known as Mahmuda, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Kebbi sits on Nigeria's border with Benin and Niger and since 2025 has been targeted by a rising number of jihadist attacks.

Conflict monitor ACLED says there has been a surge in violence in the area carried out by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

In nearby Kwara state, in October, fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM claimed an attack after years of researchers warning that the jihadist conflict ravaging the Sahel risked spreading south towards coastal west African states.

In December, the United States, with Nigerian assistance, bombed northwest Sokoto state, targeting Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) fighters usually found in neighbouring Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso.

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China's top diplomat told his North Korean counterpart on Thursday that Beijing was willing to step up exchanges and cooperation, Chinese state media reported, following their meeting in Pyongyang.

The two-day official visit by Wang Yi to the diplomatically isolated nuclear state -- his first since 2019 -- comes shortly after the neighbours resumed transport links that had been halted since the the Covid-19 pandemic.

China is North Korea's top trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support.

During talks with North Korea's foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, Wang hailed the countries' "traditional friendship forged in blood", according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

"China is willing to work with North Korea to... enhance dialogue and practical cooperation at all levels and across various fields, (and) deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges," Wang told Choe, Xinhua reported.

Wang also said that the September meeting in Beijing between top leaders Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un provided "important strategic guidance for the next stage of development" in ties between the countries.

The foreign ministers "also exchanged in-depth views on current international and regional issues", Xinhua said, without elaborating.

Earlier Thursday, photos showed Choe greeting Wang on his arrival at Pyongyang's airport, walking with him on a red carpet before an enthusiastic crowd waving North Korean and Chinese flags.

While China has fully reopened its borders since the pandemic, North Korea has proceeded at a much slower pace.

Recent weeks have seen signs of a tentative reopening, though tourist visas to North Korea are still not being issued.

Prior to the pandemic, Chinese tourists made up the bulk of foreign visitors to North Korea, numbering roughly 350,000 in 2019 and providing a huge revenue stream for Pyongyang, according to specialist website NK News.

Air China restarted direct flights between the two capitals last week, ending a six-year pause initiated by the pandemic.

Last month, daily passenger rail services between Beijing and Pyongyang resumed.

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The International Monetary Fund expects to have to provide up to $50 billion in immediate financial assistance to countries affected by the Middle East war, its managing director said on Thursday, with the crisis likely to have lasting economic effects.

"Given the spillovers of the Middle East war, we expect near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to rise to somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, with the lower bound prevailing if the ceasefire holds," Kristalina Georgieva said, according to prepared remarks shared with AFP.

She added that food insecurity due to transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the war was expected to affect at least 45 million people.

"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," she said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold on Thursday.

The IMF chief was kicking off the annual Spring Meetings co-hosted by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, which bring together top economic policymakers from around the world. 

The US-Israel war on Iran, launched on February 28, has engulfed the Middle East in violence, snarled supply chains and sent oil prices surging after Tehran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran and Washington have traded accusations of violations of the ceasefire terms, with talks aimed at a more durable peace slated for Saturday. 

The IMF will pare its global growth forecast for 2026 based on the impact of the crisis, with spiraling energy costs hitting some vulnerable economies harder than others.

Georgieva said that even in the Fund's "most hopeful scenario," infrastructure damage, supply disruptions and a loss of market confidence among other "scarring effects" meant growth would be less than expected.

She highlighted the "asymmetric" effects of the crisis, hitting low-income energy importers with limited fiscal space much harder than others.

"Spare a thought for the Pacific Island nations at the end of a long supply chain, wondering if fuel will still reach them in the wake of such a severe disruption," she said. 

- Middle East economies hit -

On Wednesday, the World Bank said the Middle East -- which has seen retaliatory Iranian strikes hit countries across the Gulf and Israeli attacks in Lebanon -- saw "a serious and immediate economic toll" from the war.

Excluding Iran, overall regional economic growth was expected to slow to just 1.8 percent in 2026, from four percent the year before -- a downgrade of 2.4 percentage points from before the war, the Bank said.

The IMF is also expected to revise global headline inflation upwards due to the oil price and supply chain shocks associated with the war.

On Wednesday, the heads of the IMF, World Bank and World Food Programme (WFP) met in Washington to discuss the economic and food security impacts of the war.

"Sharp increases in oil, gas, and fertilizer prices, together with transport bottlenecks, will inevitably lead to rising food prices and food insecurity," said a joint statement on the meeting.

The IMF and World Bank have also formed a coordination group to address the energy market impacts of the war. A top-level meeting of that body will take place on Monday. 

As part of the meetings the IMF will also release its annual Fiscal Monitor report, which is expected to flag rising government debt as countries tackle repeated economic shocks. 

- Food security -

In a new report this week, the IMF detailed the economic costs of war, estimating that output in countries where fighting takes place drops by three percent at the outset, "and continues falling for years."

An earlier report on the Iran war said "all roads lead to higher prices and slower growth," and highlighted the impact of a severely disrupted fertilizer supply chain on food security.

"Low-income countries are especially at risk of food insecurity; some may need more external support -- even as such assistance has been declining," the report said.

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Golf legend Gary Player, speaking at the Masters on Thursday, called on Tiger Woods to "get a chauffeur" after his DUI arrest last month.

Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and 90-year-old South African Player struck the ceremonial opening tee shots at Augusta National.

Woods, a 15-time major winner, pleaded not guilty after being arrested following a car crash near his home in Florida.

Police found him with two prescription painkiller pills.

"Just (wishing you) whatever you need to help you and get back, because I think golf needs him and we'd love to have him back," said Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 majors, when asked if he had a message for Woods.

Taking a break from golf, 50-year-old Woods has gone to Europe for treatment for his health and well-being, changing plans to at least appear this week in Augusta.

Asked about his advice for Woods, Player said he needs to avoid getting behind a steering wheel due to his need for painkillers.

"Think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time," Player said of Woods. "Many operations on his leg and his back, so he's in pain.

"Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation. Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don't think he should drive a car.

"When you're taking that medicine, it's dangerous when you're driving a car... I think all he's got to do is just not drive a car and get a chauffeur."

Player, like the Masters and PGA Tour, supported Woods in his fight to recover.

"My heart goes out for him," said Player. "There's nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. 

"You can't think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he's such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game."

Defending champion Rory McIlroy is going for a rare Masters repeat, a back-to-back feat managed only by Woods, Nicklaus and Nick Faldo.

"Rory has got the monkey off his back and I think he has a very good chance to repeat," Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus, 86, won six of his record 18 major titles at the Masters while Player captured three of his nine majors at Augusta National and Watson, 76, took two Masters titles and five British Opens among his eight major wins.

Nicklaus captured his last major title 40 years ago at Augusta at age 46.

"It was a nice way to finish a career," Nicklaus said. "I couldn't have been more thrilled."

- Life ban for LIV jump -

Watson said he would issue life bans to former PGA Tour players who jumped to Saudi-backed LIV Golf rather than welcome back five-time major winner Brooks Koepka as the tour has or 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed, who seeks a comeback.

"I thought the LIV players, when they left, were supposed to be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that's what I would do," Watson said.

"I'd say if you're finished with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back, and you must play the (developmental) Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it."

Watson said LIV defections hit PGA event sponsors deeply.

"When the players left, they violated the number one rule that we really had out here, which is to protect the sponsors," he said. "Sponsors need players. They need the names to be able to promote their tournaments.

"They chose to go for the money, which is fine, but to return to the tour, I thought, was a non-starter, but apparently it's not."

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Just before 5 am at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a Muslim worshipper prayed in tears. A few hours later, similar emotion overcame Christians and Jews as the city's holy sites reopened following the truce with Iran.

Jerusalem's Old City contains major holy sites for all three Abrahamic religions, which had been shuttered since the start of the war sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.

For the first time in 41 days, Muslim worshippers returned to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jews to the Western Wall and Christians to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

At Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site which was closed during most of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year, thousands of worshippers performed the ritual dawn prayer under a heavy police presence.

One man stood by the entrance of the Al-Qibli prayer hall, handing out paper tissues to worshippers overcome with emotion.

Suzan Allam, who came with her husband and daughter, told AFP the return to Al-Aqsa was like "a party".

Hamza al-Afghani, a young Palestinian, spoke of an "indescribable joy".

"Al-Aqsa mosque is Jerusalem's soul," another worshipper, who declined to share his name for security reasons, said.

Police began to disperse Muslim worshippers at 6:30 am in order to allow religious Jews to enter the compound, causing anger in the crowd.

Under long‑standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound -- which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples -- but they are not permitted to pray there.

Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded as some religious Jews increasingly break those rules to come and pray.

- 'A miracle' -

A stone's throw away from Al-Aqsa, the same religious fervour was present as Christians celebrated mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which encompasses the sites where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, entombed and later resurrected.

Tears streamed from the eyes of Uwde Sliman, a 40-year-old Ethiopian draped in a white shawl, as she came out of the church.

"I don't have any words", she said apologetically and with a smile.

"It's been one month, it's very, very, very hard, but thank God we have life... all Christians are happy today."

Imad Marcos was enthusiastic at the Church's opening, posing in front of the building first with sunglasses on and then off.

"I wasn't sure that it was going to be open. But when I came over, it was a miracle" said the US-Egyptian businessman, who makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from Miami every year.

"I might travel tomorrow, not today. Because I will have to enjoy here the whole day," he said.

Father Andrea, who officiated mass on Thursday, was not surprised by the few worshippers present "in these difficult times".

"Little by little, we hope they'll come back", he said.

- 'Like at home' -

At the Western Wall, dozens of Jewish worshippers prayed in the late morning.

"I'm so happy to be able to come back. Here I feel at home," Ayla, 19, said.

Yehuda Bandel, a 70-year-old retired teacher living in a suburb of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, felt the same joy.

Bandel came with his entire family to celebrate his grandson's upcoming bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ritual.

"It's the first time that he is wearing tefillin", Bandel said enthusiastically, referring to the small black leather boxes containing Torah scrolls.

Beyond the reopening of the holy sites in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have lifted most of the restrictions linked to the state of emergency.

This excludes the country's northern border area near Lebanon, where the war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continues.

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EU lawmakers on Thursday demanded a European Union-wide tax on the world's biggest tech companies and online gambling sites to help fund the 27-country bloc's next seven-year budget.

The EU is facing one of its biggest battles this year over the 2028-2034 budget, which the executive set at two trillion euros ($2.3 trillion).

Fierce negotiations are expected between the European Parliament and member states, especially over where to find extra money that governments are reluctant to chip in.

As they scramble to agree on the budget by the end of year, EU lawmakers proposed that some funding could come from a "digital levy".

"We believe that technological giants are making a lot of good business in Europe and also significant profits," said Siegfried Muresan, the EU lawmaker who will lead negotiations on behalf of parliament.

"It is therefore justifiable that they contribute in form of taxation to the budget of the European single market which enables them this business here," said Muresan, who belongs to the biggest conservative grouping, the EPP.

The parliament's budget committee is currently negotiating on their position and is expected to vote on the text on April 15 before a vote by all EU lawmakers later this month, Muresan said.

The centre-left socialists and democrats group has called for a tax on online gambling to finance an increase in spending, said socialist lawmaker Carla Tavares, who leads the budget talks with Muresan.

The European Commission wants to increase the budget to two trillion euros from the previous 2021-2027 budget, which was worth around 1.2 trillion euros.

Parliamentarians want more money for critical sectors including agriculture.

But they face a big hurdle since EU countries must approve any such measures unanimously.

The future budget also includes setting aside around 168 billion euros to repay the EU loan taken out during the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Cannes Film Festival unveiled its roster of films for this year's edition on Thursday packed with historical dramas, "gentleness" and even football, with the absence of major Hollywood studios set to dial down the American razzle-dazzle of previous editions.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux unveiled 21 films in competition for the main Palme d'Or prize, featuring former winners, newcomers and strong showings from Spain and Japan.

Frontrunners for the top prize will include Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda with AI-themed "Sheep in the Box", Cristian Mungiu from Romania with "Fjord", and Russian auteur Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose film "Minotaur" focuses on wealthy Russians confronted with conscription.

Spanish veteran and Cannes favourite Pedro Almodovar will appear for the seventh time with Spanish civil war drama "Amarga Navidad" ("Bitter Christmas"), while exiled Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi will represent Iran with "Histoires Paralleles" ("Parallel Tales").

Commenting on the selection for the festival, set for May 12 to 23 in the posh French Riviera resort city, Fremaux said many Western films were a form of escapism from the grim reality of current affairs, with a focus on "gentleness, songs, nature", while others were "bringing history into the present".

Introducing the French film "Quelques Mots d'Amour" ("A Few Love Words") by Rudi Rosenberg, he quipped: "You see? We all need some love and gentleness."

Around 2,500 films were submitted for selection in total, which Fremaux said underlined the vitality of the cinema industry, which is struggling with viewers switching to streaming and home entertainment.

- Hollywood -

Out of competition, there will be a surprising amount of football at the high temple of French cinema, with documentaries about legendary forward Eric Cantona and the England-Argentina 1986 World Cup match featuring a notorious handball from Diego Maradona.

American A-listers look set to be less prominent than in recent history at the 79th edition of Cannes, although Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart are set to star in the Paris-set "Full Phil" by French director Quentin Dupieux.

"The United States will be represented. The (Hollywood) studios a bit less," Fremaux said, while recalling the world premieres of "Top Gun: Maverick" and the last edition of "Mission: Impossible" in previous editions.

Tom Cruise arrived on the red carpet by helicopter in 2022 as eight French fighter jets flew overhead.

Some industry insiders have speculated that Hollywood majors are turning away from European festivals as platforms for film premieres, preferring their own social media-led launches as less risky options.

Plane-mad US movie legend John Travolta will bring some serious stardust to Cannes, however, when he presents his directorial debut, "Propeller One-Way Night Coach", about a young boy's journey in the "golden age of aviation".

Hollywood and Broadway legend Barbra Streisand will also be on Cannes' famed waterfront boulevard to receive the festival's Honorary Palme d'Or, as will New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, best known for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

American director Steven Soderbergh will present a documentary on John Lennon, titled "The Last Interview".

- Politics -

Last year's Cannes, like other European festivals in Berlin and Venice in previous years, was the scene of fierce wrangling about whether the industry and organisers should take a stronger stand on Israel's devastation of Gaza.

Hundreds of film figures, including "Schindler's List" actor Ralph Fiennes and Richard Gere, denounced "genocide" in the territory in an open letter released on the eve of the event.

The Berlin Film Festival in February found itself at the centre of a storm after jury president Wim Wenders, when asked about the German government's support for Israel, replied: "We cannot really enter the field of politics."

"People often say that Cannes is political when the films are political, when the filmmakers are political," Fremaux told AFP on Thursday, saying that in his view art was "very often political".

The festival itself needed to remain neutral and "does not take political positions", he added.

South Korean filmmaker Park Chan‑wook ("Oldboy" and "No Other Choice") will be head of the competition jury this year.

The 2025 edition gave the top prize to dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his wry thriller "It Was Just an Accident".

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