Author: DW

“They say everyone has something unique about them. Something that sets them apart. In my case it’s quite obvious what that thing is.” This is how the short film “Air Head” begins. The special thing about the protagonist is that instead of a head, a yellow balloon grows out of his neck. The film itself is also something special: It is entirely generated by artificial intelligence. Sora turns text prompts to video The video clips were generated using the as-yet-unreleased text-to-video generativeAI tool Sora. The technology comes from the company OpenAI, which is also behind the chatbot ChatGPT. Sora works very simply. You describe the…

Burkina Faso has suspended several more international news organizations for their coverage of a Human Rights Watch report that accuses the army of killing civilians in its battle against Islamist armed groups. The latest media to be suspended include DW, TV5 Monde and Le Monde, both French media, as well as UK outlet, The Guardian. The move follows the temporary suspension of the BBC and US broadcaster Voice of America last week. “We are not really surprised about the latest escalation because it follows a pattern of repression and hostility against the media generally, and in particular foreign media,” said Muheed Saeed,…

Movie star Gerard Depardieu will be tried in October for alleged sexual assaults against two women in 2021, the Paris prosecutor said Monday. The announcement came after police questioned the 75-year-old for much of the day. His lawyer Christian Saint-Palais told reporters that the actor had been released without charge. The public prosecutor said in a statement the actor would face trial over the assaults allegedly committed in September 2021 on the set of the film “The Green Shutters.” Depardieu has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Cinema mainstay, no stranger to controversy Depardieu has faced several sexual misconduct allegations in recent years and…

The Duchess of Edinburgh has become the first member of the Royal Family to visit Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.Sophie’s trip was to “demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war”, said Buckingham Palace. The palace also said it was a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.The duchess, 59, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the first lady Olena Zelenska. Image: Sophie visited a memorial in Bucha Image: The duchess met an Orthodox priest in Bucha Sophie, who is a full-time working member of the Royal Family,…

The world seems to have largely got over COVID-19 — and is now making preparations for how to cope with any future pandemic. A global agreement on pandemics is designed to improve communication between countries. Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) are currently negotiating the draft accord. Many scientists are convinced that there will be another pandemic. Flu, a new coronavirus or a pox virus are among the potential candidates. “Bird flu would be uncomfortable,” said Emanuel Wyler, a molecular biologist from Berlin’s Max Delbrück Center. “Pox would be a small nightmare. ” But measles or multi-resistant bacteria are…

When journalist Toni Ferrera recently traveled around Gran Canaria, the reporter got to know Juan, a 53-year-old man who has been living in a makeshift corrugated iron shack for many years because he can’t afford an apartment on the island. He works as a pool lifeguard at a hotel complex but only earns €1,000 ($1,070) a month. “His story symbolizes what is going on in the Canary Islands,” Ferrera told DW, who has been covering regional issues for years. Ferrera points out that even though “tourism creates a lot of jobs,” what kind of jobs are they, if they don’t even pay…

DW: Mister President, how do you intend to intensify relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Germany? Felix Tshisekedi: Meetings like this one already achieve this in the first place, because shortly I’m about to meet with the Chancellor and I’ll be extending an invitation for him to also come to the Democratic Republic of Congo. This would be a great first for Germany. And the second way is by presenting the investment opportunities and the assets my country holds in answer to the questions the world is currently asking itself, for example on global warming, on energy transition. I think with this,…

Various French and international media cited police sources on Monday as saying that police in Paris had detained and were questioning movie star Gerard Depardieu. Investigators made no official mention of the celebrity’s name and later said they would wait until it was clear whether a more formal investigation was taking shape. But Depardieu’s lawyers at least indirectly acknowledged the information fairly soon after it had spread at scale. “No need to ask me any questions,” lawyer Christian Saint-Palais said. “You know very well that a lawyer cannot speak at this stage of the procedure, and personally I regret that other…

Growing tourism numbers are placing popular destinations under extra pressure – due to various factors including environmental and residential concerns.Here are some locations limiting tourists – or which could be about to take action. Venice, ItalyA controversial scheme has been introduced for day trippers in Venice in an attempt to reduce the number of tourists.Signs inform visitors there is a new €5 fee (£4.28) to be paid as part of a trial phase during peak periods of the summer. Around 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the charge through the process of downloading a QR…

When journalist Toni Ferrera recently traveled around Gran Canaria, the reporter got to know Juan, a 53-year-old man who has been living in a makeshift corrugated iron shack for many years because he can’t afford an apartment on the island. He works as a pool lifeguard at a hotel complex but only earns €1,000 ($1070) a month. “His story symbolizes what is going on in the Canary Islands,” Ferrera told DW, who has been covering regional issues for years. Ferrera points out that even though “tourism creates a lot of jobs,” what kind of jobs are they, if they don’t even pay…