AI-powered meet-up apps fight ‘epidemic of’ loneliness
San Francisco, United States -- On a summer evening in San Francisco, JT Mason went to dinner with five complete...
Arts & Culture
Bird call contest boosts conservation awareness in Hong Kong’s concrete jungle
The competition brought nearly 100 people together, including a contestant who mimicked the critically endangered yellow-crested cockatoo.
Arts & Culture
Business
Airbus and Tata to build helicopter assembly line in India
Paris, France - Airbus will build a helicopter assembly line in India with Indian conglomerate Tata, the European aircraft manufacturer said Friday....
- Airbus said the facility -- which will take two years to set up -- would be the first such operation to be run by a private group in India.
- Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said making the helicopter in India would "unlock the true potential of the helicopter market in the country".
Geostrategy
Education campaigners alarmed as homeschooling rises in England
LONDON, UK - Education campaigners demanded government action on Friday after new figures revealed that the number of children in England...
- Nearly a quarter of parents involved said they were keeping children at home primarily as a "lifestyle choice" or for "philosophical or preferential reasons".
- These were the most commonly given main reasons, ahead of mental health factors (eight percent) and general dissatisfaction with the school (six percent).
Geostrategy
‘New era for India’: Modi inaugurates temple built over razed mosque
"Breaking the shackles of slavery, the country should rise, taking lessons from the past," Modi said, speaking outside the temple...
- "January 22, 2024 is not merely a date in the calendar but heralds the advent of a new era", PM Modi said.
- The Temple has been built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries before it was torn down in 1992 by Hindu zealots incited by members of his party.
Arts & Culture
AI and death: Sundance films grapple with our digital afterlife
Park City, United States -- Artificial intelligence promises to make death "optional," as the technology learns to perfectly emulate our personalities,...
- The filmmakers found themselves empathizing with the customers after hearing their tragic stories of bereavement.
- Western society is terrible at dealing with grief, they said, and technology can appear to fill the gap left by religion for many.
Arts & Culture
Money weighs on would-be Chinese parents as population falls
Long alarmed by falling fertility, the government has relaxed its decades-long one-child policy in recent years to allow three children...
- Childbirth in China usually comes after a wallet-draining process of buying a home, finding a spouse, and paying for a lavish wedding
- The average cost in 2019 of raising a child in China from birth to age 18 was 485,000 yuan ($68,000), a Beijing-based report said
Geostrategy
Sudan war threatens UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Regional Network for Cultural Rights said it "strongly condemns the incursion by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)", the paramilitary...
- The Cultural Rights group said the incident, which took place on Sunday, marked the second time since December that fighting had broken out at the religious sites
- State authorities reported "an incursion by the RSF, repulsed by the air force", claiming that "calm has returned" without mentioning whether the sites suffered any damage
Arts & Culture
Epstein case: Social media frenzy over released papers
The release of Epstein-related court documents has ignited a social media frenzy, sparking intense scrutiny and various reactions about high-profile...
- The release of Epstein-related court documents has ignited a social media frenzy, sparking intense scrutiny and various reactions about high-profile individuals' involvement.
- The scandal has shown how social media can transform public discourse and activism, allowing for the expression of outrage, demands for justice, and alternative narratives.
Business
Elie Saab to showcase Riyadh Season Fall Collection 2025
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Renowned fashion designer Elie Saab will unveil the Riyadh Season Fall Collection 2025 after signing an...
- Elie Saab and General Entertainment Authority CEO Faisal Bafarat signed an MoU in London.
- The Authority said the MoU will create a one-of-a-kind experience that intertwines fashion and entertainment during the upcoming Riyadh Season.
Geostrategy
Gaza couple celebrate wedding amid war and destruction
Rafah, Palestinian Territories - Surrounded by family and friends, clapping and cheering, Gaza woman Afnan Jibril beams a brilliant smile on...
- Afnan, 17, donning a crown of flowers and pristine white dress, and her partner Mustafa Shamlakh, 26, want to make the most of their chance to celebrate.
- Relatives were gathered on Friday for the wartime wedding in a tiny room at an abandoned school building in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Arts & Culture
Boots, Banksy, piano: Elton John puts items up for auction
New York, United States - Music icon Elton John has put a variety of personal items up for auction at Christie's...
- Most of the items come from John's former home in Atlanta, a condo on Peachtree Road that was recently sold, the auction house said Thursday
- Beginning on February 21, Christie's is organizing a series of eight sales, both in person and online, for the collection of the 76-year-old's belongings
AI-powered meet-up apps fight ‘epidemic of’ loneliness
San Francisco, United States -- On a summer evening in San Francisco, JT Mason went to dinner with five complete...
Arts & Culture
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$20 million rare blue diamond goes on show in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates -- A rare blue diamond valued at $20 million went on pre-auction display on Tuesday...
Business
Hard-hitting drama ‘Adolescence’ to be shown in UK schools
London, United Kingdom - The Netflix drama "Adolescence", which has sparked widespread debate about the toxic and misogynistic influences young...
Arts & Culture
Saudi marks Eid al-Fitr today, other Mideast states on Monday
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday from Sunday but other Middle...
Arts & Culture
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Arts & Culture
‘My entire life’: Saudi tailor keeps robe-making craft alive
Hofuf, Saudi Arabia - Saudi tailor Habib Mohammed's shop once made ornate, hand-woven cloaks for royals, a time-honoured craft he...
- He makes "bisht", a long gown which for centuries has been a status symbol, worn by kings and princes -- and ordinary men -- and could take a week of meticulous work to create
- Now, with cheap Chinese-made robes taking a bite out of his business, 60-year-old tailor is struggling to make a profit, and his only son wouldn't take over the beleaguered shop
Arts & Culture
Israel releases Palestinian Oscar winner after West Bank detention
Jerusalem, Undefined - Israeli police on Tuesday released Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, detained a day earlier for "hurling rocks"...
- Basel Adra, who worked with Ballal on the Oscar-winning documentary film "No Other Land", posted on X a photo of him from a hospital after his release
- The best documentary at this year's Academy Awards follows Adra and Abraham, telling the story of forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops
Arts & Culture
Palestinian behind Oscar-winning documentary arrested by Israeli army
Jerusalem, Undefined - The Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land" was attacked by settlers and arrested by...
- The incident took place in the southern West Bank village of Susiya, according to the anti-occupation NGO Center for Jewish Nonviolence
- "No Other Land", which was directed by Israeli-Palestinian activists, won best documentary at this year's Academy Awards