One of Europe's largest tech conferences kicks off in Paris this Wednesday. Startups will meet investors, and guest speakers including Elon Musk will discuss the role of artificial intelligence at the VivaTech event. On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron announced extra investment in AI in France. Meanwhile, the EU has given its final green light to the AI Act, the first of its kind.

A group of NGOs have filed a criminal complaint in Paris, asking a court to open a trial against TotalEnergies' top management as well as major shareholders for the climate damage they have caused. The filing comes on the same day the French energy giant announced a new €6 billion project to develop two deepwater oil fields off the coast of Angola. Plus, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologises to Scarlett Johansson after the actress complained about ChatGPT's voice sounding "eerily" similar to hers. 

Global markets appear unfazed after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash. Any political instability could deal a blow to Iran's economy, which is already struggling with US sanctions, soaring inflation and high unemployment, but many analysts believe the impact of the tragedy will be limited. Plus, it's World Bee Day, and some honey producers in France are facing a crisis after a particularly wet spring. 

Beijing sanctions three American defence companies as Taiwan's new president takes office. China is also launching an anti-dumping investigation into imported EU, US, Japan and Taiwan chemicals amid a growing trade spat. The country's struggling property market gets a government lifeline, but investors remain unconvinced that it will be enough.

France has declared a state of emergency in its overseas territory of New Caledonia. Violence over a planned constitutional reform is threatening its already struggling economy. Plus, Boeing may face the criminal prosecution it had avoided back in 2021, with the US Justice Department accusing the planemaker of violating the terms of the deferred prosecution deal. 

The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Tuesday her office is concerned with the possibility of seeing Chinese electric cars enter the US market via Mexico. This comes as the Biden administration is looking to shield its auto industry from Chinese competitors as makes its EV transition. Also, Google launches new AI features on its search engine but faces protests over its ties with Israel.

US President Joe Biden has announced a raft of new tariffs on some 18 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, including quadrupling the border tax on electric cars. The White House says the measures are carefully targeted at strategic sectors to protect American companies from unfair trade practices.  Beijing has strongly criticised the move. Plus, a new version of ChatGPT is out ...  and it's more human than ever. And Google is also revamping its search engine with artificial intelligence.