- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
Hollywood pushback on writers strike is obscene: Sean Penn
Actor Sean Penn gave his full support to the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood on Friday, saying it was a "human obscenity" that studios were not taking seriously concerns over artificial intelligence.
Penn was speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, the day after the premier of his new film, "Black Flies", an ultra-gritty movie about New York paramedics.
Asked about the writers' strike that has upended Hollywood productions, he said: "It is the industry that's been upending the writers and the actors and directors for a very, very long time. My full support in this situation is with the writers guild of course.
"There are a lot of new concepts that are being tossed about, including the use of AI (to write scripts). It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be any pushback on that from the producers."
The strike kicked off on May 3 after negotiations broke down between the Writers Guild of America and major US studios, with writers demanding better compensation after the disruption caused by streaming and fears over the increasing use of AI.
"The first thing we should do in this conversation is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the Bankers Guild," Penn said.
The 62-year-old star has long been an outspoken activist on many issues and runs a disaster relief organisation which helped oversee a huge testing and vaccination programme during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He and young star Tye Sheridan ("Ready Player One") spent many hours riding along with New York paramedics for the no holds barred look at their profession.
"We're talking to medics who are working double, triple shifts... just to put some cash back and they're simply not paid enough," said Sheridan.
"They're our guardian angels and we don't put enough emphasis around their jobs and their mental health, and the film is very confrontational with that," he added.
Asked about the state of the US health system, Penn said it was "a racket".
"We saw it every night -- you collect bodies to bring in and you hear the ching-ching of insurance and money changing hands for everybody but those they're taking it from," he said.
Director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire joked that Penn got so much training that "you don't have to call 911 in New York any more: if you have a problem, you just call Sean".
A.Mykhailo--CPN