Cristiano Ronaldo extends contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr until 2027
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, the club announced Thursday, following...
Arts & Culture
Warner Brothers Discovery will split company to build streaming
The move, which reallocates assets such as HBO Max and CNN, is the latest reflection of how streaming is remaking...
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Italian paper prints fully-AI edition, but not to ‘kill’ journalism
Rome, Italy -- In a world first, an Italian newspaper is printing a fully AI-generated edition for a month in...
- Il Foglio, a daily broadsheet with an irreverent touch and a circulation of about 29,000, says it is the first newspaper in the world to print entire editions created through AI.
- The newspaper's 20-odd journalists ask a version of ChatGPT to write a story on a specific subject in a specific tone, and it produces a text using information scraped off internet
Arts & Culture
Jet skis in the desert: winter lake creates Saudi watersports oasis
Az Zulfī, Saudi Arabia -- The ear-splitting roar of his jet ski fills the air as Hamza al-Hamm thunders past,...
- Zulfi's lake, more than 200 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, appears every winter, giving desert-dwellers the chance to take part in a sport usually associated with seaside resorts.
- When it forms, the lake offers a welcome respite in a country where intense heat limits outdoor activities for much of the year.
Arts & Culture
Wild AI, a royal letter and big hugs – a week in Trumpworld
Washington, United States - President Donald Trump closed out a packed week at the White House after hosting a string...
- Last week, Trump branded elected Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" -- but things change fast in this administration
- "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that," Trump responded with a slight grin when asked if his opinion had evolved
Arts & Culture
Second edition of Saudi art biennale seeks to modernize Islamic tradition
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Under a vast canopy of tents in the Saudi city of Jeddah, religious artefacts are on display...
- Arts Biennale features as its centrepiece segments of the "kiswa", the black cloth embroidered with gold and silver that covers the Kaaba
- Under his "Vision 2030", Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to transform the kingdom's image
World Economic Forum
Art and culture retain power to humanize the Intelligent Age, says WEF’s Fowler
Davos, Switzerland -- In an age where artificial intelligence is reshaping our lives, the World Economic Forum's Arts and Culture...
- I see talent emerging in the MENA region, UAE especially. Saudi Arabia is extremely exciting at the moment with the focus they're placing on culture, Fowler said.
- The UAE is extremely forward-thinking. They absolutely have a finger on the pulse when it comes to technology and how technology can be integrated into everyday life.
World Economic Forum
Maori-led AI initiative can revolutionize language preservation, says Peter-Lucas Jones
Davos, Switzerland -- Peter-Lucas Jones, a Kaitaia native, who has been listed in the prestigious Time100 AI 2024 List, was...
- Peter-Lucas Jones, a Time100 AI 2024 List honoree, discussed AI's role in preserving the Te Reo Maori language at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- His team at Te Hiku Media developed Te Reo Maori natural language processing tools and an automatic speech recognition model.
Arts & Culture
Palestinian pottery sees revival in war-ravaged Gaza
Deir el-Balah, Palestinian Territories - Traditional clay pottery is seeing a resurgence in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians are forced to...
- Traditional clay pottery sees a resurgence in Gaza as war-ravaged residents turn to old ways amid shortages of crockery and basic goods
- Potter Jafar Atallah works tirelessly to meet soaring demand, crafting 100 clay pieces daily in a makeshift workshop under Gaza's harsh conditions
Arts & Culture
Portraits of pain: smuggled Palestinian art shows trauma of Gaza
Smuggled art pieces from Gaza are on display in an exhibition in Amman showcasing pain, suffering and a strong resolve...
- The paintings document the brutality of war and massacres… carrying pain and sorrow and also a strong resolve and determination
- The exhibition in Jordan features 79 artworks crafted from improvised materials including medicine wrappers
Arts & Culture
‘Amazing’ AI de-ages Tom Hanks in new film ‘Here’
Los Angeles, United States - Tom Hanks has praised the "amazing" use of artificial intelligence to de-age him "in real time"...
- Hanks portrays his character from an idealistic teen, through various stages of youth and middle age, to a frail, elderly man
- But rather than just relying on makeup, filmmakers teamed up with AI studio Metaphysic on a tool called Metaphysic Live, to rejuvenate and "age up" the actors
Arts & Culture
Five charged over ketamine death of ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry
Los Angeles, United States - Five people who allegedly supplied ketamine to "Friends" star Matthew Perry in a bid to exploit...
- The actor died at his luxury Los Angeles home last year, sparking an outpouring of grief from fans around the world
- An autopsy found the cause of his death was "the acute effects of ketamine," a controlled drug the recovering addict was taking as part of supervised therapy
Cristiano Ronaldo extends contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr until 2027
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, the club announced Thursday, following...
Arts & Culture
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In Cairo, the little indie cinema that could
Arts & Culture
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Hajj pilgrimage to begin on June 4: Saudi state media
Arts & Culture
AI talking trees feature at Chelsea Flower Show
Arts & Culture
‘Gentle giants’: World’s strongest men defy stereotypes
Arts & Culture
Filmmaker Panahi cheered on return to Iran after Cannes triumph
Paris, France - Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was given a hero's welcome by supporters on his return to Tehran on...
Arts & Culture
AI talking trees feature at Chelsea Flower Show
London, United Kingdom -- Talking trees powered by AI, drought-resistant crops and sweet potatoes sprouting among flowers -- the prestigious...
Arts & Culture
‘Gentle giants’: World’s strongest men defy stereotypes
Sacramento, United States -- Eddie Williams is a schoolteacher from Monday to Friday and a wedding singer on weekends. In...
Arts & Culture
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Arts & Culture
Cardinals elect a new pope to lead Catholic Church
Cardinals chose a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on Thursday, sending up white smoke from the...
- Crowds of people rushed towards the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, which has been fitted out with red curtains for the first address to the world by the 267th pope.
- The new pontiff, who succeeds Argentine reformer Pope Francis, will be introduced in Latin with his chosen papal name and address the world for the first time.
Arts & Culture
Joseph Nye, influential political scientist, who coined ‘soft power,’ dies at 88
Washington, United States - Joseph Nye, a versatile and influential political scientist and US policymaker who coined the term "soft...
- The neo-liberal thinker studied topics as varied as arms control and pan-Africanism but became best known for developing the term "soft power" in the late 1980s
- As opposed to hard power, such as weapons and economic sanctions, soft power includes values and culture that can win over others
Arts & Culture
Trump says ordering ‘100% tariff’ on all movies produced abroad
Washington, United States - President Donald Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the...
- The announcement comes as the White House is coming under mounting criticism over its aggressive trade policies that have seen Trump impose sweeping tariffs on other countries
- Trump's post comes after China, which has taken the brunt of the US president's combative trade policies with 145% tariffs on many goods, said it would reduce import of US films