World Cup fever

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.

After a White supremacist killed 10 Black residents of Buffalo, New York, various op-ed pieces in major American newspapers show that both Republicans and Democrats are accused of exploiting racial violence for political gain. We also take a look at Democratic candidate John Fetterman's landslide victory in a Senate primary election in Pennsylvania. We end with a public service announcement on the dangers of popping champagne (or prosecco) after shaking the bottle!

Japan's GDP fell at an annualised rate of 1 percent in the first three months of this year as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus hampered consumer spending. Rising commodity prices also weighed on businesses in the world's third-largest economy. Plus, as unemployment remains stable in France at 7.3 percent, a steelworks factory in the northern city of Dunkirk is offering a cash bonus to employees to encourage them to recruit family members.

A renounced Al Jazeera journalist was killed last week during an Israeli raid in the West Bank. Shireen Abu Akhleh was wearing a flak jacket with the word "press" clearly marked. Israelis and Palestinians have traded blame over who fired the fatal shot, while Israel has opened an investigation into heavy-handed police tactics used during Abu Akleh's funeral procession, which almost caused her coffin to fall to the ground. We get analysis with Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a UN Security Council briefing, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the streets in Iraq could "boil over" if political leaders were unable to end a political stalemate that has gripped the country for over seven months.

As the 75th Cannes Film Festival gets underway, FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear brings us a glimpse of what its opening ceremony will involve, including a Palme d’Honneur for Forest Whitaker. We also take a look at the composition of this year’s jury, with French actor Vincent Lindon shepherding an artistic team who'll assess the features competing for the Palme d’Or. Plus we get a preview of the opening film "Final Cut", in which director Michel Hazanavicius declares his love for genre movies in a lighthearted French parody of a zombie horror slasher.