Author: Lucas Bennett

Andrius Blaževičius’ “How to Divorce During the War” has been selected as Lithuania’s entry for the Oscars. More to follow.

Music streaming giant Spotify will soon introduce an AI Persona badge on profiles of artists that have been flagged, or self-identified, as not human. “True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI,” the company said, unveiling the new badge set to roll out in mid-September. “Spotify’s programming is focused on elevating music from authentic artists building careers in music,” it…

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have returned with a new song, “Kill for the Steel.” The track follows the band’s recent singles “Level 5” and “Alien Metal”, both of which find the Melbourne chameleons leaning into a darker, industrial techno sound. “Kill for the Steel” continues that trend with pounding rhythms, heavy low-end, and a processed electronic vocal that says, “We don’t wish death upon you / We don’t wish any bad luck or any ill will / But we will kill for the steel.” Get King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Tickets Here All three songs are set…

An Israeli attack on southern Lebanon wounded two people on Tuesday and damaged an ambulance, the Lebanese health ministry said, condemning the “continued targeting” of rescuers.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a vehicle in the southern city of Nabatieh, with the health ministry reporting two wounded.The ministry said the Israeli military struck again when rescuers from the Risala Scouts Association, linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, came to the scene, damaging the ambulance.”The ministry reiterates its condemnation of the enemy’s continued targeting of rescue teams, which constitutes an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law and all international…

Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill, Presence, Rosemead) has boarded Reset, a sci-fi dramedy from writer-directors Celine Tien and Jerry Hsu, as executive producer. Following its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the short is now being developed as a feature film. Liu has signed on to executive produce both the feature and short film from production company SPL Max. The short film, set in a near future, stars Olivia Liang (The CW’s Kung Fu) and Sam Song Li (Netflix’s The Brothers Sun). In a society where citizens are physically reset to six years old at the age…

Rosario Dawson has revealed that she shot a scene in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, only for it to be cut from the final movie. The actor played Claire Temple, a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) TV series, beginning with the first season of Daredevil, before appearing in Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders. Temple is a nurse who treats injured heroes who can’t go to the hospital. Brand New Day sees Tom Holland’s Spider-Man team up with Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher, another character who first appeared on the small screen. At a recent comic-con…

The best player on Earth right now, arguably, is Barcelona’s right-winger. It’s arguable, too, that Arsenal’s, Chelsea’s, Manchester City’s, Manchester United’s and – up until this summer – Liverpool’s right-winger is better than their left.Scroll through the most valuable players in the world on Transfermarkt, and on the right, you’ll be spoiled for choice: Lamine Yamal heading up the list ahead of Michael Olise, Desire Doue, Bukayo Saka, and new Real Madrid man, Yan Diomande. Transfermarkt actually values the top 10 right-wingers in the world right now to be a full £200 million more valuable than the top 10 on…

Soaring temperatures and droughts across the UK and Europe are set to drive prices higher, food and drink producers have warned. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said “fruit, vegetable and grain supply” are being hit by recent heatwaves, with these crop shortages then set to feed into supermarket prices.Economists from the trade group suggested that this will put upward pressure on food inflation going into 2027. The supply of a number of UK-grown fruit and vegetables has already come under pressure, such as broccoli and cherries, PA understands. Meanwhile, poor grain harvests are driving the cost of animal feed…

The price of oil continued to climb on Tuesday, reaching $90 a barrel for the first time in two weeks as the stalemate over the Iran war hardens and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz dwindles.President Trump said on social media on Monday that he had told his aides to demand compensation from Iran “for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.”The statement seemed to be a response to a set of demands that Iran made on Monday, claiming the strait would remain closed until the United States…

Israel has a food-aid network. A very big one. But until now, nobody really knew how big, how widespread or how well it was working. A new peer-reviewed study has mapped the system for the first time. Researchers identified 2,289 active nonprofit organisations involved in food aid across Israel, with reported annual turnover of 6.18 billion shekels and more than 28,000 employees and 170,000 volunteers among organisations that provided financial data. What they found is less a neatly organised safety net and more a sprawling patchwork of charities, food banks and local organisations. And that raises a much bigger question:…