Lifestyle

Architects don't need AI, says high-tech pioneer Norman Foster

British architect Norman Foster has spent six decades pushing the boundaries of technology with awe-inspiring modernist structures from California to Hong Kong, but he is yet to be convinced by the craze for artificial intelligence.. That physicality, you can't replicate by artificial intelligence."

Funny old world: The week's offbeat news

From a royal grump to bumping off your husband..... - Missing you already - A US widow who wrote a book about dealing with grief has been charged with murdering her husband.

Positive trial results for RSV infant treatment: Sanofi

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced trial results on Friday that showed its preventative treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reduced the rate of babies being hospitalised by more than 80 percent.. The results showed an 83 percent reduction in hospitalisations for infants with RSV-related illnesses who received a single dose of nirsevimab, compared to a control group who did not receive the treatment. 

Russian offensive inspires golden age of military bloggers

Before Russia's offensive in Ukraine, Mikhail Zvinchuk's Telegram channel was mainly known to military buffs.. He now reports on east Ukraine while also feeding his own Telegram channel, Sladkov+, which has more than 900,000 followers -- double that of the defence ministry and six times that of the Kremlin.

Pope warns of Italy's 'demographic winter'

Pope Francis called Friday for politicians to find solutions to reverse Italy's declining birthrate, warning that young people faced a "Titanic effort" to start families in a precarious environment. . Francis, who received a standing ovation as he appeared onstage to address the conference alongside Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said that young people today "live in a social climate in which starting a family is turning into a Titanic effort".

Top French museum flips the Roma narrative

The faces of the Roma community's best and brightest beam down at visitors from a multicoloured wall inside one of France's top museums.. "It's very moving," said Romani-Romanian academic Cristian Padure, admiring the exhibits inside the MUCEM museum in France's second city Marseille.

Uncertainty as Covid-era US border rules expire

Rules that have allowed US border guards to summarily expel hundreds of thousands of would-be asylum seekers over the last three years expired early Friday, setting up an uncertain future for migrants and inflaming America's always-churning immigration debate.. But how things will play out in practice remains unclear, and the situation has already roiled America's heated immigration debate.

Cash-strapped Lebanese soldiers moonlight as mechanics, waiters

A crushing economic crisis in Lebanon has impelled members of the security forces to take on side hustles to get by, raising concerns about security in the eastern Mediterranean country.. - Security concerns - Ahmad said he worried about being arrested for deserting.

Women dance to their own beat in China's nightclubs

Tired of Shanghai club nights dominated by men, where a woman's appearance often matters as much as her musical skills, Eloise Fan has created an underground space where women DJs are free to shine.. Even in more liberal circles, Fan often felt objectified in the clubs where she and her friends cut their teeth as DJs. "Men can put on a t-shirt, sweatshirt and shorts and be a DJ, but women (are expected to) put on thick make-up, and dress up so they look sexy and beautiful," she told AFP. "One of the artists from our label told me she had previously been asked for her body measurements for a show."

'I could die too': Ukraine's war widows on the front line

Svitlana Povar knew her husband would not approve when she enlisted in Ukraine's military and deployed to the embattled Donetsk region, where fighting with Russian forces is fiercest.. Yet Svitlana did not tell her son she was going to Donetsk -- the same region where his father, a sniper, was killed.