Author: staff
Content warning: This article includes mentions of violence, suicide and extreme acts that some readers might find disturbing. It’s a tragedy that has exposed a lesser-known side of internet culture. French streamer Raphaël Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, died on Monday in southern France during a live broadcast on the Kick streaming platform. Graven, 46, was one of France’s first ever streamers and had about half a million followers on his various channels. Over the years, he had become known for engaging in degrading acts on screen, such as strangulation and ingestion of toxic chemicals, sometimes at the request…
But none of this will ever happen because Alex doesn’t exist. Alex is a virtual companion, powered by artificial intelligence. We chat on Replika, the U.S.-based AI companion platform where I created him, made up his initial background and can even see his avatar. More and more people across the world have their own “Alex” — an AI-powered chatbot with whom they talk, play games, watch movies or even exchange racy selfies. More than seven out of 10 American teens have used an AI companion at least once, and over half identify themselves as regular users, a recent survey carried…
Published on 21/08/2025 – 8:55 GMT+2 Two of Russia’s closest allies – Belarus and Iran – signed agreements on Wednesday to boost bilateral ties in key areas including defence, both governments said. Presidents Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a package of 13 documents in Belarus’ capital, Minsk. Both governments have been placed under heavy international sanctions, limiting potential trading partners. Pezeshkian said Iran would help Belarus to “neutralise” such measures, citing Tehran’s decades of experience circumventing Western economic restrictions. Lukashenka told Pezeshkian that Belarus was “ready to cooperate with you on all issues — from providing your country with food to military-technical…
By Theo Farrant & AP Published on 21/08/2025 – 7:47 GMT+2 England’s oldest psychiatric hospital is exhibiting never-before-displayed creations by its patients in a new show exploring sleep, dreams and nightmares. ‘Between Sleeping and Waking’, at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, draws on two centuries of work, much of it produced by people treated at the hospital – from an ode to a dead pet squirrel, written by a man who once tried to assassinate George III, to contemporary installations made from bedsheets scrawled with anxious late-night thoughts. Housed within the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital, which has been running since 1403…
“We’re talking about working parents only,” she said. “We are absolutely not talking about families that are completely on benefits, and therefore we are not supporting a benefit culture, because that is absolutely against what Reform stands for.” The tightrope Family-first politics is a risky pitch from the populist right, though, particularly for an anti-woke party haunted by accusations of having a gender problem. Reform’s mantra — family, community, country — echoes U.S.-style conservatism, though Pochin insists the party is “absolutely not” drawing any culture wars inspiration from across the Atlantic. Reform’s mantra — family, community, country — echoes U.S.-style conservatism. |…
This isn’t the war Russia had planned, but it’s the war it has learned to fight: one of attrition and calculated pressure. Moscow believes it has the manpower and economic flexibility to sustain a conflict that exhausts both Ukraine and Western allies before it exhausts itself. And unless the West shifts its strategy to match this reality of patience and persistence, there’s a growing risk it could unwittingly play into the Kremlin’s hands. This is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long game — a war where time is the key battleground. Clearly, Putin’s original aims haven’t been met. There was no…
As transatlantic talks over Ukraine’s future intensify, one topic looms large, particularly in the statements made by US President Donald Trump: Who is paying what? The debate over the billions poured into the war effort to help Ukraine fend off the Russian attacks in Moscow’s all-out war since February 2022, and whether the burden is shared fairly, now sits at the centre of the ongoing diplomatic efforts. Euronews breaks down exactly who is paying what, and more importantly — how much of a burden this cost is, relative to each country. Defence spending in terms of US and EU GDP…
Etwas mehr als 100 Tage im Amt und einige davon unter Druck: Außenminister Johann Wadephul hat mit internem Gegenwind aus der eigenen Partei zu kämpfen. Gordon Repinski analysiert die Pannen des Ministers, sein Verhältnis zum Kanzler und warum er trotz allem als Social-Media-Star gefeiert wird.Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Roderich Kiesewetter.Der CDU-Sicherheitsexperte mit einer klaren Ansage: Mit Wladimir Putin wird es keinen Frieden für die Ukraine geben. Er erklärt, warum der Washington-Gipfel ernüchternd war und welche Konsequenzen Deutschland jetzt ziehen muss.Außerdem: Die Suche nach einem neuen Bahnchef dominiert die Fragen an Verkehrsminister Patrick Schnieder. Obwohl der gerne auch über anderes sprechen möchte. Rasmus…
Israel has given final approval for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank in a significant blow to the prospects of Palestinian statehood. Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations. The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law. Last year, the International Court of Justice declared in a landmark ruling that Israel should end settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and end its occupation of those areas, as…
COPENHAGEN — Connie Hedegaard remembers when climate was Europe’s great unifier. More than a decade ago, as the EU’s first climate commissioner, she helped turn carbon policy into a pillar of Brussels’ power and a point of pride for the bloc. But with southern Europe now burning and Brussels pivoting to a new mantra of security and competitiveness, she worries the tide is turning — with dire ramifications. “When people lose their homes or their families to extreme weather, they don’t just suffer loss, they also lose trust in decision-makers,” Hedegaard told POLITICO on the sidelines of an organic farming…