AI safety: No, China will not hit the brakes
AI will trigger massive surge in e-waste, environmental body warns
21.09.2026, DPA
AI's potential environmental toll is being greatly underestimated, according to a waste tracking organization warning that there could be enough discarded computer equipment by 2050 to circle the Earth six times in shipping containers stacked end-to-end.
In what it described as a "first-of-its-kind" analysis, the Basel Action Network (BAN) said that up to 617 million tonnes of electronics could end up "retired" by mid-century, 60 times more than previous estimates that focused on a more narrow range of hardware.
To equipment such as servers and graphics processing units, the non-profit environmental group added categories including networking equipment, power distribution, data storage and cooling, in addition to personal devices such as smartphones and computers using AI.
Not only will the discarded equipment create an enormous storage or disposal conundrum, it is likely to also be dangerous due to the presence of pollutants that take decades to break down, if at all, and have been linked to numerous diseases.
"Much of the new AI waste is likely to be contaminated with PFAs, the so-called 'forever chemicals' which regulators are rapidly seeking to ban due to their persistence and toxicity in the human body and in the environment," BAN warned.
"AI may feel weightless, but every model depends on an enormous amount of highly specialized, cutting-edge hardware," said BAN founder Jim Puckett.
"To date the environmental debate around AI has focused on electricity, carbon and water while largely overlooking what happens to the hardware itself," Puckett said, warning of a "tsunami" to add to what is an already colossal amount of e-waste.
In 2024, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said that around 62 million tonnes were discarded the previous year, enough to circle the Earth in 40-tonne trucks packed full and parked bumper-to-bumper, an 80% increase compared to 2010.
In 2023, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum (WEEE) estimated that around $10 billion worth of potentially reusable electronics and batteries are being thrown away each year.
22.09.2026, DPA
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has offered talks on possible reforms at world football's governing body amid mounting criticism of his leadership, according to a letter seen by dpa.
In the letter to the heads of FIFA's 211 member associations and members of the FIFA Council, Infantino proposed an independent external review of FIFA's governance and consultations on strengthening its decision-making processes, including the role of the president.
"First, I will ask the Council whether it wishes to commission an independent external review of FIFA's current governance framework for major strategic initiatives and recommend potential improvements," Infantino wrote.
"Second, I will propose that the Council establish a direct, structured and time-limited consultation with confederations, Member Associations and relevant stakeholders on how FIFA's decision-making can be further strengthened."
The discussions would include how FIFA institutions could be involved earlier in major projects and what role the president should play in future decision-making.
Infantino, 56, came under fire recently over eventually scrapped plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions such as the World Cup to private investors.
At the same time, Infantino made clear that he intends to continue leading FIFA.
There was no suggestion that he would abandon a bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027, as critics led by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin have demanded.
"I remain fully committed to leading FIFA and confident in what we can achieve together," Infantino wrote.
"Our responsibility is larger than any individual proposal or disagreement. It is to protect FIFA’s independence, strengthen its institutions and ensure that football’s progress benefits the whole game, everywhere in the world."
Proposals received before the FIFA Council meeting on October 15 could already be considered there.
UEFA and CONCACAF have taken a hard line against Infantino in recent weeks, although they have yet to put forward a challenger for the FIFA presidency.
The dispute escalated in late August with the threat of legal action in Switzerland over the World Cup investment plans.
Infantino struck a conciliatory tone towards his critics in the letter.
"No association's treatment will depend on its position on any proposal or institutional matter," he wrote.
"Every Member Association is entitled to be heard. Agreement is not a condition for dialogue, and disagreement should never prevent mutual respect."
21.09.2026, DPA
The US state of California is introducing its own day of remembrance for the recently deceased US singer Dolly Parton.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sunday, stipulating that Dolly Parton Day will be observed annually on September 25 from now on.
The date was chosen because of a play on words relating to Parton's famous song "Nine to Five" - written in figures, the date reads as "9-2-5."
"With this bill, we are not just establishing a day to celebrate Dolly Parton, we are creating an annual reminder to us, every year, to live the way she did - joyfully, graciously, and with a whole lot of heart," said Newsom in the announcement.
The law honours Parton as a singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist.
Parton, who died aged 80, was a country music icon. According to the Californian government, she sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Parton was also known for her charitable work, with her Imagination Library foundation distributing more than 300 million books to children worldwide.
The country music legend, whose hits include "Jolene", "Nine to Five", and "I Will Always Love You", died on August 25 in Nashville.
22.09.2026, DPA
Personal belongings of the late French film icon Brigitte Bardot fetched nearly €1 million ($1.15 million) at auction in Paris on Monday.
More than 280 items from Bardot's estate sold for a total of €953,531 including fees, auction house Millon said. Every item found a buyer.
The auction at the Hôtel Drouot lasted almost nine hours. Around 15,000 people had visited the auction house in the six days beforehand to view the personal possessions of the actress, who died in 2025.
The items included personal mementoes from Bardot's properties in Saint-Tropez - La Madrague and La Garrigue - as well as from her Paris flat.
Among those sold were an Olivetti typewriter on which Bardot wrote the second volume of her memoirs, Repetto ballet shoes, portraits, soft toys and numerous small everyday objects.
Estimated prices had ranged from €20 to €10,000, with most items valued at less than €100. The proceeds will go to the Fondation Brigitte Bardot and her only son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier.
Bardot, who rose to international fame with films such as "And God Created Woman," died on December 28, 2025, at the age of 91. She retired from acting in the mid-1970s and devoted herself to animal welfare, founding the Fondation Brigitte Bardot in 1986.
20.09.2026, DPA
Spanish queer drama "La Bola Negra" ("The Black Ball"), directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, has won the People's Choice Award award at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.
This was announced by the festival's director, Cameron Bailey, at an awards ceremony on Sunday. The winning film interweaves the stories of three men living in different eras in Spain, all of whom face social oppression because of their homosexuality.
The runner-up was Peter Farrelly's "I Play Rocky," which chronicles actor Sylvester Stallone's difficult journey to the first "Rocky" film.
Third place went to "Being Heumann" by Siân Heder, the Oscar-winning writer and director of "CODA." The biopic about US disability rights activist Judy Heumann opened the festival.
Simon Stone's "Elsinore," starring Andrew Scott in the lead role, won the International People's Choice Award.
"Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been" by Barry Avrich was named Best Documentary. The documentary chronicles the eventful career of the long-underappreciated singer Darlene Love.
Over the past 11 days, the Toronto International Film Festival screened 294 films from 72 countries.
Unlike at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin or Venice, the winning films in Toronto are not selected by a jury. Instead, the audience vote for their favourite films.
21.09.2026, DPA
The entertainment group Paramount has cleared a major hurdle in its takeover of Hollywood rival Warner Brothers.
Paramount reached an agreement on Monday with several US states that had sought to block the deal, worth more than $110 billion dollars, through legal action.
The agreement stipulates that the merged group will invest more money in the US and specifically in Hollywood, said California's Attorney General Rob Bonta.
A new editorial oversight board has been agreed for the news channel CNN and Paramount's broadcaster CBS News, designed to safeguard their independence.
Paramount's commitment that the studios will release a combined total of 30 films a year in cinemas, at least for the first two years following the merger, has been reaffirmed, according to Bonta.
The financial news service Bloomberg reported that the screenwriters' union is also dropping its lawsuit against the Warner takeover following an agreement with Paramount. Among other things, the studio has agreed to contribute $17.5 million to a healthcare fund for the writers.
The states led by California argued in their antitrust lawsuit that the concentration of economic power at Paramount would harm Hollywood and the cinema business.
US media reported that Paramount had threatened to begin the process of moving out of California from October onwards if no agreement is reached.
Paramount was taken over just over a year ago by the family of tech billionaire Larry Ellison.
The Warner group also owns the news channel CNN, whose fate has received particular attention in debates surrounding the takeover. CNN often reports critically on US President Donald Trump. Larry Ellison is known as a Trump supporter.
CLASS WAR
21.09.2026, dpa
Hanover, Germany (dpa) -German carmaker Volkswagen intends to step up the pace of its core brand's ongoing cost-cutting programme, brand chief Thomas Schäfer said at a staff meeting in Wolfsburg on Monday.
"We have absolutely no time to lose and will therefore significantly ramp up our performance programme once again," Schäfer said, as employees in the German car industry held protests nationwide to call on management to secure jobs.
The Volkswagen Group, Europe's largest carmaker, recently warned that a further 50,000 jobs could be cut worldwide, around half of which would hit Germany.
At the core VW brand, an agreement was reached at the end of 2024 to reduce overcapacity at German sites, lower labour costs and bring development costs down to a competitive level.
Schäfer said around 16,300 redundancies have been finalized in Germany, with a total of just under 28,800 agreed upon by 2030, close to the target of 35,000. He called the developments "good progress," but warned that the measures are insufficient.
Daniela Cavallo, the chair of the Volkswagen works council, expects the cost-cutting efforts to become even more severe.
"At the workplace level, the company's cost-cutting frenzy will hit us from all sides in the coming weeks. Even more so than is already the case, I fear," said Cavallo, according to reports from participants at the works council meeting.
A storm is gathering, she said. "And it won't be a minor one."
She questioned whether the group's planned large-scale job cuts can be implemented in a socially responsible manner.
This would not be achieved through partial retirement schemes and voluntary redundancy agreements alone, she said, warning against redundancies.
An employment protection scheme at VW is reportedly valid until the end of 2030. It is said to be non-terminable.
Cavallo conceded that things could not continue as they are, admitting that the bulk of the company's profitability is gone as Europe's automotive industry undergoes a massive restructuring.
"Manufacturers with a long history will fall by the wayside. Others will have to merge. And yet others will have to form alliances they would never have considered in the past," she said.
The question is not whether new burdens will fall on employees, but simply how to distribute them fairly and prevent the situation from becoming unfairly disadvantageous to the workforce.
The Volkswagen Group recently revised down its profit forecast, citing write-downs running into the billions at subsidiary Porsche, problems in China and higher demand for electric cars - which are less profitable than comparable combustion-engine models.
According to Martin Sander, head of brand sales, electric cars are in high demand, particularly in Germany and Europe - among others due to high fuel prices, improved charging infrastructure and affordable entry-level models.
At the same time, demand for combustion-engine cars is declining. This marks an important turning point.
"We are responding flexibly to this changed market situation and adjusting our production programmes at the plants accordingly," said Sander.
Sources told dpa that planned extra shifts are being cancelled at the main plant in Wolfsburg, where the Tiguan and Golf combustion-engine models are built.
In plants geared towards electric mobility, such as Emden, production is to be ramped up.
Earlier on Monday, the powerful IG Metall union said around 175,000 employees took part in rallies at 280 locations, including in key automotive hubs like Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt and Munich.
"Just like here at Volkswagen, workers in the automotive and supply industries are gathering all over the country today to show employers and politicians that they've had enough," IG Metall head Christiane Benner said at a rally at VW headquarters in Wolfsburg.
"Things are going up in flames everywhere at the moment," she added.
Media representatives were denied access to the site during the protest, as ordered by management last week, according to the Volkswagen works council and IG Metall.
Germany's carmakers have long been under pressure due to increasing Chinese competition, while also struggling with high energy prices, US tariffs and waning demand at home.
Beyond Volkswagen, brands like Mercedes and BMW, as well as key suppliers, including Bosch, are also planning to reduce tens of thousands of jobs.
The trade union leader said that workers expect executives to take responsibility for Germany as an automotive nation, for employees and for jobs.
Benner called on politicians to provide reliable conditions for investment, affordable energy and support to boost production in the EU.
21.09.2026, DPA
The chief production officer at German carmaker Mercedes warned on Monday that two of the company's plants in Germany will have to be shut down if costs are not reduced.
Michael Schiebe made the comments at a staff meeting in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, a company spokesman confirmed.
"It is our clear aim to retain all our German sites," Schiebe said, according to the spokesman. "To achieve this, we must agree on measures acceptable to all in order to reduce costs in Germany. If we do not succeed in this, we will have to close one German body shop and one German powertrain plant."
Body shops are plants where cars are assembled. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz has these plants in Sindelfingen, as well as in Rastatt and Bremen.
Powertrain plants are facilities where components for the cars are manufactured. These are located in Untertürkheim, Affalterbach, Berlin, Hamburg, Kamenz, Kölleda and Arnstadt.
The comments came as tens of thousands of car industry workers protested across Germany on Monday, calling on major brands including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to secure jobs and provide a perspective for the future.
The powerful IG Metall union said around 175,000 employees took part in rallies at 280 locations, including in key automotive hubs like Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt and Munich.
Mercedes-Benz has tightened its cost-cutting measures and announced a "productivity drive for Germany."
In doing so, the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer also sparked a public debate on labour costs. In a letter to employees in Germany, the executive board proposed that staff work more for the same pay.
