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"Don't blame people for disappointing you, blame yourself for expecting too much from them".✌️© Pressok

Lacking health workers, Germany taps robots for elder care

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) (AFP) – The white-coloured humanoid "Garmi" does not look much different from a typical robot -- it stands on a platform with wheels and is equipped with a black screen on which two blue circles acting as eyes are attached. But retired German doctor Guenter Steinebach, 78, said: "For me, this robot is a …

How AI ‘revolution’ is shaking up journalism

Paris (AFP) – Journalists had fun last year asking the shiny new AI chatbot ChatGPT to write their columns, most concluding that the bot was not good enough to take their jobs. Yet. But many commentators believe journalism is on the cusp of a revolution where mastery of algorithms and AI tools that generate content will …

Milan fall at Udinese despite Ibrahimovic’s goal record

Milan (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest goalscorer in the history of Serie A on Saturday but couldn't stop AC Milan from falling to a 3-1 defeat at Udinese. Ibrahimovic, 41, was in Milan's starting line-up for the first time since January last year and smashed home a penalty at the second attempt in first-half …

Griezmann-inspired Atletico crush sinking Valencia

Barcelona (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann pulled the strings for Atletico Madrid as they shredded Ruben Baraja's helpless Valencia 3-0 in La Liga on Saturday. The French forward opened the scoring for the hosts at the Metropolitano and continued his own superb form with another fine display at the heart of Diego Simeone's side. Atletico Madrid's French …

Conte slams ‘selfish’ Spurs players after Southampton draw

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte tore into his "selfish" players, saying they "didn't want to play under pressure" after they squandered a chance to go third in the Premier League with a 3-3 draw Saturday away to bottom-of-the-table Southampton. Spurs were on course to secure an important win in their quest …

Cambodia celebrates return of ‘priceless’ stolen Angkor jewellery

Phnom Penh (AFP) – Cambodian leader Hun Sen unveiled a collection of stolen Angkor crown jewellery on Friday which was recently returned to the kingdom after decades in Britain, pleading for other long-lost treasures to be handed back. Gold crowns, necklaces and amulets were among the trove of treasures from the Angkor period, which ran from …

Vieira sacked by Crystal Palace after winless run

London (AFP) – Crystal Palace sacked manager Patrick Vieira on Friday after a miserable run of one win in 14 Premier League games pulled them into a relegation battle. The London club, without a win in 2023 under the former Arsenal and France midfielder, are 12th in the table but are just three points above the …

Israeli ‘handmaids’ march against government’s judiciary overhaul

It's become an ominous fixture of the mass anti-government protests roiling Israel: a coil of women in crimson robes and white caps, walking heads bowed and hands clasped. They are dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, “The Handmaid's Tale,” and the eponymous TV series. The  women, growing in numbers as the demonstrations against …

Alcaraz to face Sinner in Indian Wells semi-finals

Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz edged Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to book a semi-final meeting with Jannik Sinner at the WTA and ATP Masters 1000 at Indian Wells. Alcaraz posted his first win over the 10th-ranked Canadian in four career meetings to keep his bid to regain the world number …

Barca can virtually clinch Liga title in decisive Clasico

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez and his Barcelona side can take a decisive step towards winning La Liga on Sunday -- where a Clasico victory over Real Madrid would send them 12 points clear of the champions. The Catalans have not won the Spanish title since Ernesto Valverde was at the helm in 2019 and expanding …

France’s music hotspots, boosted by Brad Pitt

Paris (AFP) – They are little corners of French paradise that draw British and American rockstars to record their masterpieces -- with a little help from Brad Pitt. France has long had its share of famous music studios that have attracted not just local talent, but foreign bands hoping some of the country's artistic heritage will …

Kim Jong Un and daughter oversee North Korea’s ICBM launch

Seoul (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter, personally oversaw the recent test-firing of the country's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media images showed Friday. The launch on Thursday -- Pyongyang's second ICBM test this year -- involved a Hwasong-17 missile, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, adding that …

Rap battle: young Tunisians fight stigma with the arts

Daouar Hicher (Tunisia) (AFP) – "We're sick of being seen as thugs," said Mohamed Ali Ayari, a rapper from a down-at-heel Tunis district, where jobless youth are finding a voice through music, cinema and photography. The Tunisian capital's working-class districts have suffered from decades of state neglect and poor services, and residents say the stigma attached …

Libya’s boxers recover from Kadhafi-era knockout

Tripoli (AFP) – Omar Zlitni holds a decades-old, black-and-white photo of himself as a boxer in his prime, posing in shorts and a training vest before Libya's then-dictator, Moamer Kadhafi, banned his beloved sport. Boxing was "in his blood", said the 63-year-old Tripoli resident who proudly keeps the image as his phone's wallpaper. Libya's late dictator …

Grey area: chilling past of world’s biggest brain collection

Odense (Denmark) (AFP) – Countless shelves line the walls of a basement at Denmark's University of Odense, holding what is thought to be the world's largest collection of brains. There are 9,479 of the organs, all removed from the corpses of mental health patients over the course of four decades until the 1980s. There are 9,479 …