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ChatGPT adds shopping help, intensifying Google rivalry

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance.

Lost to history: Myanmar heritage falls victim to quake

When a massive earthquake hit Myanmar last month, centuries of sacred history tumbled down -- towering Buddha idols, sky-scraping stupas and the pure-white pagoda where 83-year-old Khin Sein has prayed for most of her life.

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Satirical US outlet The Onion buys conspiracy site Infowars

Satirical news outlet The Onion said Thursday it had acquired Infowars, a conspiracy-laden website whose owner made money by running stories that called one of America's most notorious school shootings a hoax.

US director Haynes to lead Berlinale 2025 jury

US writer and director Todd Haynes will in February head up the jury at Berlin's international film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase of the year, organisers said Thursday.

Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum

Russian authorities ordered the closure from Thursday of Moscow's award-winning Gulag History Museum, dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression.

Uganda TikToker convicted for insulting president

A Ugandan court has convicted a 21-year-old content creator for calling for the public flogging of President Yoweri Museveni on video-sharing platform TikTok, a state prosecutor said on Thursday.

Dating apps move to friend zone in search of profits

Burnt-out love-seekers are shunning dating apps in their millions, but the apps are trying to woo them back with a counter offer: If you don't want a lover, perhaps you just need a friend?

'Interior Chinatown' satirizes Asian roles in Hollywood... and beyond screen

A "meta" detective series in which a struggling Asian waiter becomes the unlikely hero of a police procedural-style criminal conspiracy, "Interior Chinatown" satirizes Hollywood's stereotypical treatment of minorities -- while also nodding to the progress the industry has belatedly made.

Sculptor Gormley hopes art can be bridge to China despite curbs

Renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley has told AFP of his concern over the "uglier sides" of China's state control but says artistic engagement with the historic and cultural powerhouse is crucial.

US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court

Some of Britain's most notorious cases have been tried at London's Old Bailey, including those attracting the death penalty until the punishment was abolished in the 1960s.

UK's The Guardian stops posting on 'toxic media platform' X

Britain's The Guardian newspaper announced Wednesday it would no longer post content from its official accounts on Elon Musk's X, branding it a "toxic media platform" home to "often disturbing content".

Istanbul's historic baths keep hammam tradition alive

For centuries, hammams were central to Ottoman society, and while they fell out of use in Turkey with the advent of running water, many are being restored to revive an ancient ritual bathing tradition.

Electrician finds frescoes behind false ceiling in Rome

Rosy-cheeked cherubs surrounded by blues, reds and golds have lost none of their brilliance in 17th-century frescoes discovered behind a false ceiling at the Villa Farnesina palace in Rome.

Top Africa orchestra began with brake cables for strings

When Armand Diangienda founded the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra -- one of the most famous in Africa -- in 1994, they had so few instruments that musicians had to share.

UK writer Samantha Harvey wins 2024 Booker with space novel

British writer Samantha Harvey won the prestigious Booker Prize on Tuesday for her science fiction novel following six astronauts as they orbit Earth over 24 hours.

Free Facebook in EU with less targeted ads

Under pressure by EU regulators, Meta said Tuesday it was offering non-paying users of its Facebook and Instagram services in the bloc the ability to do so with less targeted ads, as well as cutting its subscription rates.

Painter Frank Auerbach, contemporary of Freud and Bacon, dies at 93

Frank Auerbach, who fled Nazi Germany as a child and became one of Britain's leading 20th-century artists alongside Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, has died in London aged 93, his gallery announced on Tuesday.

The women behind Zimbabwe's striking hut painting art

The golden rays of the afternoon sun enhance the bold, hand-painted patterns on the mud walls of a round, thatched hut in Peggy Masuku's village of Matobo in southwestern Zimbabwe.

'Anti-war' comedy directed by Malkovich riles Bulgarian nationalists

A 19th-century play directed by US actor John Malkovich has enraged nationalists in Bulgaria who call it an insult to the country -- a claim the Hollywood star rejected as stirred up by the far right.

Peru's Juan Diego Florez looks to create a musical legacy

In 2003, four years before his death, acclaimed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was asked who would be his successor.

Lineker to leave Match of the Day: BBC News

Former England football captain Gary Lineker is set to leave his role presenting the BBC's flagship Match of the Day highlights show at the end of the season, BBC News reported on Monday.

Election fraud claims go silent after Trump win

Right up to Election Day, Donald Trump and his backers were issuing unfounded warnings of voter fraud. But once his decisive victory took shape, the flood of misinformation slowed to a trickle.

Misinformation fears mount over second Trump term

Donald Trump's election victory paves the way for a fresh wave of misinformation, not only around politics but also on vaccines and climate, with his expected cabinet picks ready to challenge the scientific community.

Olympics star Kim takes break from shooting for family

Olympic shooting star Kim Ye-ji is temporarily putting down her gun to spend time with family, her agency told AFP Sunday, saying she was exhausted from competition and the huge public attention her nonchalant cool has generated.

Female artists set to dominate MTV Europe Music Awards

Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish are among the female artists tipped to dominate the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Manchester, northwest England, on Sunday.

Rome's Trevi Fountain unveils tourist catwalk during cleaning

A suspended walkway providing tourists an up-close view of Rome's Trevi Fountain was unveiled Saturday, a temporary addition while the famous "La Dolce Vita" site undergoes a cleaning.

Beyonce leads Grammy nods after trailblazing country album

Beyonce and her groundbreaking "Cowboy Carter" album earned a leading 11 nominations for the Grammy Awards, the music industry's showcase gala, where she will face off against Taylor Swift and a new class of pop hitmakers.

Japanese organ builder 'honoured' to restore voice of Notre Dame

Itaru Sekiguchi first heard the Great Organ of the Paris Notre Dame cathedral when he was 10. The "infernal sound" changed his life forever.

Cafe in Libya champions recycling and sustainability

In Libya's capital, a cafe's sleek exterior gives little hint of the vibrant space inside, built entirely from recycled materials to promote sustainability in a country recovering from years of war.

First artwork by humanoid robot sells for $1.3m

A portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing became the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching $1,320,000 on Thursday.

Australia moves to ban children under 16 from social media

Australia will move to pass new laws banning children under 16 from social media, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, vowing to crack down on tech giants failing to protect vulnerable users.

Ottawa to shut TikTok's Canada operations, says app can still be used

Ottawa said Wednesday it is shutting TikTok's operations in Canada following a security review, but Canadians will still be allowed to use the popular video sharing app.

Brazil must act on probe into UK journalist's murder: media watchdog

Brazil must bring to justice all those behind the 2022 double murder of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders urged on Wednesday.

German band in global 'mystery song' hunt stunned by late success

For the last 17 years a worldwide army of online sleuths obsessively tried to figure out the title of what has been dubbed "the most mysterious song on the internet".

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