Features

BERLIN — The Berlin film festival, Europe’s first major cinema showcase of the year, opens on Thursday with a focus on the fight for freedom in Ukraine and Iran and the starriest line-up since the pandemic.

The 73rd Berlinale, traditionally the most politically minded of the big three European festivals, will coincide with the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion.

The event will screen nine new movies, primarily documentaries, about Ukrainian life in wartime, including Sean Penn’s “Superpower”, shot by the two-time Oscar winner in Kyiv last February.

Iran’s embattled independent filmmakers will also take centre stage with a series of premieres and panel discussions looking at the country, which has been rocked by rights protests since September.

Artistic director Carlo Chatrian said the 11-day festival was “standing shoulder to shoulder with those who fight to express their ideas”.

He promised films that “tell the story of the world with all its wounds as well as its heartbreaking beauty”.

French-Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani (“Paterson”) will serve on the jury for the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes headed by Hollywood star Kristen Stewart, at 32 the youngest president in the festival’s history.

Nineteen films from around the world will vie for the main awards, including “Manodrome” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Adrien Brody, billed as a thriller about masculinity in crisis.

The European bureau chief of The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Roxborough, told AFP that after several editions marred by the coronavirus outbreak, the Berlinale was back with “big star power” and “gala red carpet bonanzas”.

Three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg is due in the German capital to collect an honourary Golden Bear for his life’s work, spotlighted in a retrospective.

British actor Helen Mirren will premiere the keenly awaited “Golda” in which she stars as Israel’s only female prime minister, Golda Meir.

And Vicky Krieps, the acclaimed Luxembourg-born actor who made her breakthrough opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “Phantom Thread”, will unveil her turn as renowned Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann in a biopic by veteran German director Margarethe von Trotta.

Von Trotta “will be adding to her list of phenomenal feminist figures of the last two centuries”, after acclaimed dramas about icons such as philosopher Hannah Arendt and revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg, Roxborough said.

The Berlinale has a stronger track record than Cannes or Venice for including female directors, who make up about 40 per cent of participants at this year’s Berlinale.

The opening night film will be Rebecca Miller’s “She Came to Me”, a romantic comedy about a composer fighting writer’s block, starring Peter Dinklage of “Game of Thrones”, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei.

John Malkovich will present “Seneca — On the Creation of Earthquakes”, a surreal take on the mentor of the tyrant Nero in Ancient Rome. 

And “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker” — a look at the travails of the German tennis champion by award-winning US documentarian Alex Gibney — will make its debut. 

Roxborough noted that the Berlinale has a reputation for “finding new voices” and launching up-and-coming talents.

Berlin “is the place for discoveries because the selection committees are quite good at finding stuff overlooked by other festivals”, he said.

Roxborough said he was looking forward to new movies by Brandon Cronenberg — son of horror king David — and Korean-Canadian director Celine Song, who caused a sensation at last month’s Sundance film festival with her semi-autobiographical drama “Past Lives”. 

And he predicted that animated fantasy feature “Suzume” by Makoto Shinkai — already a blockbuster in Japan — could be “the biggest film to come out of Berlin this year” amid a global boom in Japanese anime. 

LOS ANGELES — Tom Cruise lived up to his billing as the “last true movie star” as nearly 200 of this year’s Oscar nominees gathered to celebrate — and size up their competition — at the Academy’s boozy annual luncheon on Monday.

In a room packed with A-listers such as Steven Spielberg and Cate Blanchett, there was no doubt Cruise remained the biggest draw, with a crowd of wellwishers from Hollywood moguls to Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai lining up to greet him throughout the event.

Cruise is nominated this year as a producer of “Top Gun: Maverick”, in which he also starred. The film is considered a growing frontrunner for the best picture Oscar — Hollywood’s most prestigious prize.

“It’s been incredible... I just want to get people into theatres,” Cruise told AFP.

“But this is lovely”, he admitted, motioning to the Beverly Hills ballroom, packed with Oscar nominees and Academy voters, and kitted out with giant golden statuettes and open champagne bars.

The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12. 

Academy voters this year handed out various nominations for box office smash hits such as “Maverick”, “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — raising hopes that Oscars TV audiences will pick back up.

“The awards gods have smiled on us — there’s nothing we can do about that,” joked Glenn Weiss, who is returning to produce next month’s Oscars telecast ceremony.

During her luncheon speech, Academy president Janet Yang also reiterated her wish to leave behind the “unprecedented” controversy of last year, when Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock live on the Oscars stage before being banned.

“What happened on stage was totally unacceptable. And the response from our organisation was inadequate,” she said.

Smith was allowed to remain at the Oscars and accept his best actor prize after striking Rock, and was only later banned from attending the Academy Awards for a decade.

The Academy “must actively compassionately and decisively” in times of crisis, said Yang, to applause.

After lunch, the names of all 182 attending nominees, plus directors representing their countries in the international feature film category, were read out, and the nominees posed for the traditional, giant-sized “class photo”.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” a quirky sci-fi with a predominantly Asian cast which is many pundits’ tip for best picture winner, earned the most nominations this year with 11, and its cast received many of the loudest cheers on Monday.

“We paid them a lot of money to do that!” joked best actress nominee Michelle Yeoh, describing the indie film’s giant success as “a dream come true”.

Colin Farrell and Austin Butler, best actor nominees and stars of best picture rivals “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Elvis”, also drew raucous cheers from the luncheon crowd.

‘American dream’

Notable by her absence Monday was Andrea Riseborough, who controversially earned a coveted best actress nomination after an intense, last-minute social media campaign mounted by prominent celebrities.

But among the nominees present was Kazuo Ishiguro, nominated for writing the screenplay of British drama “Living,” some five years after he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm.

“This is very different... This is like some version of the American dream. So many people dream about being here,” he said.

“The Oscars are more like an election — there’s a lot more campaigning” than for other famous awards, he added.

His fellow Nobel prizewinner, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, attended as an executive producer of “Stranger at the Gate”, a short documentary about a US Marine veteran who plotted to blow up a mosque in his hometown.

“It’s surreal”, she told AFP after meeting Cruise. “I’ve seen him on the screen and now I’m seeing him in person.”

The smallest of Mercedes-Benz’s traditional rear-drive saloons, the C-Class has consistently well translated the German manufacturer’s luxury hallmarks in a compact package. Ever one of the brand’s best cars, the latest Mercedes junior executive, in the form of the fifth generation C-Class, circa 2021, is no different.

For better or worse, the latest C-Class’s downsized engine options and extensive electronic gadgetry and electrification may be a sign of the times, but it remains as refined, comfortable and understatedly sporty as ever.

Slightly larger and lower, the latest all-new C-Class is evolutionary in tone and design. With a similarly arcing and tapered profile as its predecessor, the new C-Class, however, adopts a somewhat less aggressive presentation with less defined side creases and a less angular bumper design. 

Channelling Mercedes-Benz’s latest corporate design ethos as defined by the flagship S-Class luxury saloon, the C-Class has a hungrier look yet more conservative look, with a broad downward angled grille, more prominent bonnet character lines and high-set front and rear lights.

Dramatic and downsized

With slim, squinting and inwardly slanted headlights lending a certain sense of drama, the C-Class is aesthetically best with the sportier and beefier AMG appearance package. 

However, under the bonnet, the C-Class is powered exclusively by a choice of mild starter/generator or full plug-in hybrid four-cylinder engines. 

Included in this downsizing are even the AMG “proper” models, with the brand’s prodigious M139 2-litre engine a welcome addition in the entry-level C43 high performance variant for its lighter, expectedly more nimble driving characteristics.

Perhaps less welcome is the use of the M139 in conjunction with a full hybrid system for the range-topping AMG C63 model, in lieu of predecessors’ glorious naturally-aspirated and twin-turbo V8 engines. 

Lower down the range, and more pertinent to the majority of Mercedes drivers, the second to entry-level C200 model is a significant improvement on its immediate predecessor. Powered by the same downsized turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine first introduced as part of a 2018 model-wide revision, the latest generation C200 is more powerful.

Fluent and frugal

Gaining 20BHP and 15lb/ft torque over the outgoing C200, the latest model develops 201BHP at 5,800-6,100rpm and 221lb/ft at 1,800-4,000rpm, in addition to an upgraded 20BHP and 147lb/ft mild hybrid system. 

Primarily concerned with running electric and ancillary systems, and improving efficiency, the mild hybrid system can subtly chime in to assist the combustion engine as needed and for more fluent, robust and versatile delivery. 

The C200’s combustion engine’s turbo meanwhile also seem to spool up faster and more fluently.

Propelling its 1,650kg mass through 0-100km/h in brisk 7.3-seconds, onto a 246km/h top speed, and returning fuel efficiency as low as a claimed 6.2l/100km combined, the C200 benefits from a broad range of 9-speed automatic gear ratios to maximise its output for responsiveness, versatility, economy and refinement. 

Flexible in mid-range and eager to redline, the C200 consistently and confidently pulls hard on steep inclines and when overtaking. Its biggest enhancement is its improved fluency, with reduced off-boost lag and more linear low-end delivery.

Sporty sensibility

A keen compact saloon with classic front engine and rear drive balance and sporting characteristics, the C200 can be a fun and engaging drive through sprawling switchbacks. 

Eager into corners and with quick direct steering and good body control throughout, the C200 trades off a crisp and responsive turn-in for a more drift-eager rear. Keeping tail slides firmly under check with an ever-vigilant stability control system, the C200 loosens its electronic grip and allows more driving freedom from electronic intervention in Sport+ driving mode.

Building a better driving rapport and sense of rhythm for snaking lanes and hill climbs in Sport+ mode with its more liberal electronic controls, more vocal soundtrack and heavier steering resistance, the C200 has plenty of potential for on-throttle adjustment and tightening of cornering lines. 

But with safety foremost in mind, said stability controls cannot be completely disengaged to fully explore such capabilities as its balanced chassis and drifty rear characteristics would suggest. Greater mechanical grip and less electronic intervention might serve the C200 better.

Uncluttered refinement

The C-Class is offered with optional rear axle steering, promising enhanced agility, stability and manoeuvrability, and is included in an Engineering Package with adaptive suspension for improved ride and handling. That said, the driven C200’s standard single rate suspension provides a good combination of body control and ride compliance over most road imperfections. 

While slightly firmer damping would be welcome over sudden dips, the C200 AMG Line version’s staggered low profile tyres proved comfortable if slightly firm over sudden, jagged potholes and bumps.

Smooth, stable and settled on motorways, the C200’s refined cabin is meanwhile upmarket and classy in design, and airy and inviting in ambiance, using good quality materials and tastefully uncluttered layouts including trendy tablet style infotainment and digital instrument screens. 

It features a thick sporty steering wheel, extensive modern convenience and safety feature, good visibility and a supportive and comfortable driving position. 

Rear seating is good for most passengers, but not quite generous for tall and large occupants, while nominally spacious 455-litre luggage volume is reduced by an above-floor mounted spare tyre.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 1.5-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders, 
• Electric motor: 48V starter/generator
• Bore x stroke: 80 x 73.7mm
• Compression ratio: 10.5:1
• Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, direct injection
• Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
• Petrol engine power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 201 (204) [150] @5,800-6,100rpm
• Electric motor, power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 20 (20) [15]
• Petrol engine torque, lb/ft (Nm): 221 (300) @1,800-4,000rpm
• Electric motor, torque, lb/ft (Nm): 147 (200)
• 0-100km/h: 7.3-seconds
• Top speed: 246km
• Fuel consumption, combined: 6.2-6.6 litres/100km 
• CO2 emissions, combined: 141-150g/km
• Fuel capacity: 50-litres
• Length: 4,751mm
• Width: 1,820mm
• Height: 1,438mm
• Wheelbase: 2,865mm
• Track, F/R: 1,582/1,594mm
• Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.24
• Overhang, F/R: 800/1,086mm
• Headroom, F/R: 1,041/952mm
• Legroom, F/R: 1,059/914mm
• Shoulder room, F/R: 1,430/1,411mm
• Luggage volume (without spare tyre): 455-litres
• Payload: 615kg
• Kerb weight: 1,650kg
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Turning Circle: 11.07-meters
• Suspension: Four-link/multi-link
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, regenerative braking /
• Tyres, F/R: 225/40R19/255/35R19

By Dr Tareq Rasheed
International Consultant and Trainer

Failure has always been considered one of the highest fears for most people as it is considered an obstacle towards success. Even for some managers, fear to proceed with a certain decision is related to the fear of failure. But successful people believe that failure is one of the most important pillars in their success in life.

So, what is failure? Failure is giving up, not continuing in our journey in life; failure is staying in our comfort zone and widening this zone as we grow. For those people who succeed in life, they all consider failure as lessons learnt and use it to proceed further. 

TEFCAS: the formula to success

TEFCAS is a message for successful persons and it basically means to “never let up“ by following this formula to success: 

• T: Trial — most things in life start off as a trial, yet we have to move forward

• E: Event — a trial will turn into an event with a certain result

• F: Feedback — an event will give you feedback about a certain result

• C: Check — feedback will allow you to check the result according to specified criteria or objectives. If the trial does not lead to the expected result, then we need to adjust

• A: Adjust — by making the required adjustments and learning from the lessons of this trial

Start again with a new T E F C A, no matter how many times we do adjust. In the end, we will achieve success

• S: Success — by reviewing the lives of famous successful people, you will find that they applied this formula several times before achieving success

However, there are some recommendations to take into consideration while applying the TEFCAS formula: 

• Each trial should be different from the previous one; do not try twice in the same manner and approach it believing that you will succeed this time

• Just believe in yourself and let your inner voice guide you. Do not listen to those who would discourage you after failure

• Perfection is only for God; just proceed forward based on the results you get from each trial

• One of the obstacles in this formula is the fear of taking a decision to proceed; review and be courageous making the decision to proceed forward

• Surround yourself with good friends and family members who support your progress

Life is too short, therefore always think of this motto: “Do not fear failure, but rather fear fear.” 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

LOS ANGELES/MEXICO CITY — You know him as a cute, cuddly bear, but Winnie the Pooh is about to receive a terrifying makeover as the knife-wielding villain of a blood-drenched new slasher film — no joke.

Pooh’s shocking reinvention — which hits US theatres next Wednesday and has already provoked death threats from enraged fans — could break box office records and test the limits of intellectual property law.

“Look, this is mental,” said Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the 31-year-old director of “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey”. 

“I’ve had petitions to stop it. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had people saying they called the police,” he told AFP.

While Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore’s family-friendly big-screen adventures have been licensed to Disney for decades, the copyright on the first A.A. Milne books recently expired — and Frake-Waterfield’s tiny British indie studio pounced on the opportunity.

The first images of “Blood and Honey”, in which a sinister, human-sized Pooh and Piglet hovered menacingly behind a young woman relaxing in a hot tub, quickly went viral last year.

Now the live-action film — made on a shoestring budget of less than $250,000 — is set for a major global theatrical release.

It is already out in Mexico, where it has made nearly $1 million in two weeks, and some industry analysts are tipping it to become one of the most profitable films of all time.

Frake-Waterfield originally hoped his film “might do a mini theatrical run in certain areas”.

He now believes it could achieve the highest “budget-to-box office ratio” since “Paranormal Activity”, the $15,000 film that launched a near $1 billion franchise over a decade ago.

“I really believed in the idea. Other people didn’t... and now it’s doing all right,” he joked.

‘Un-family friendly’

Under US law, copyrights expire 95 years after a work is first published. The first “Winnie-the-Pooh” book came out in 1926.

However, there are caveats, especially when a character evolves over time.

Distinctive traits that were added to Pooh in later books or Disney films, such as his red shirt or fondness for playing the game Poohsticks, have not yet entered the public domain.

Similarly, Pooh’s friend Tigger did not appear until later books, and so could not appear in “Blood and Honey”.

And then there is the issue of trademark.

Copyrights prevent the unlicensed copying of the creative work itself, for example books, films and characters. They expire after a set time.

Trademarks guard the source of a work, preventing anyone else from making a product that could mislead consumers into thinking it came from the original author. They can be renewed indefinitely.

“You can’t suggest that somehow it’s sponsored by or affiliated or associated with Disney in any way, because Disney still does have robust trademark protection,” said copyright lawyer Aaron J. Moss.

In this instance, the absurdity of making a Pooh horror movie helps the film’s producers.

“Simply because it is so un-family friendly, and isn’t anything that [viewers] would expect Disney to have anything to do with, that would make any potential trademark claim much more difficult to assert,” he said.

Frake-Waterfield said there was never any desire to skirt as close to Disney’s Pooh as legally possible.

“It’s literally the opposite. I want to go as far away from them as possible,” he said.

“I want Winnie the Pooh to be big and menacing and scary and intimidating and horrifying. I don’t want him to be small and cuddly and cute.”

‘Million’ dollar offer

In the film, Pooh and Piglet have been left infuriated, abandoned and feral by the departure of Christopher Robin — now a young adult — and go on a murderous rampage. 

An AFP reporter at a screening in Mexico City this week said many audience members appeared to be leaving the theatre disappointed, with Jonathan Ortiz, 32, describing the film as “very bad”.

But neither the plot nor critical response are likely to matter much.

Hype around the movie is so substantial that Frake-Waterfield is already preparing a sequel — as well as horror movies based on “Bambi” and “Peter Pan” books.

“One person literally yesterday was like, ‘Do you want a million to make a film? Just tell me the concept and we will just go ahead with it,’” he said.

“That’s really hard to get. It’s hard to get funding for any film, but people are starting to really try and engage.”

PARIS — Experts have warned that the recent detection of bird flu in mammals including foxes, otters, minks, seals and even grizzly bears is concerning but emphasised that the virus would have to significantly mutate to spread between humans.

Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, with North and South America also experiencing severe outbreaks.

This has led to the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry worldwide, many with the H5N1 strain. The global outbreak is also responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of wild birds.

Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Imperial College London, told AFP that it constitutes a “panzootic” — a pandemic among animals, in this case birds.

“We are not fully sure why it’s happening now but we think this might be driven by a slightly different strain of H5N1 which is spreading very effectively in wild, migratory birds,” Peacock said.

It is rare that bird flu jumps over into mammals — and rarer still that humans catch the potentially deadly virus. 

The UK Health Security Agency said that a fox had recently tested positive for H5N1. 

It joins eight foxes and otters which tested positive in the UK last year, all of which had a PB2 mutation. 

Peacock said that this mutation “allows the virus to replicate better in mammalian cells”. 

But further mutations would be “required for the virus to cause a flu pandemic” in humans, he added.

France announced last week that a cat had been put down after testing positive for H5N1.

And last month, the US state of Montana’s parks service said three grizzly bears with bird flu had been euthanised.

All of these mammals were suspected to have eaten infected birds.

Paul Wigley, a professor of animal microbial ecosystems at the UK’s Bristol University, said that while “there is no transmission within mammalian populations, the risk to humans remains low”.

‘Potential to cause pandemic’?

However two recent larger scale infections have raised concerns that bird flu has the potential to spread between mammals.

One was an outbreak of H5N1 with the PB2 mutation at a Spanish farm in October that led to the culling of more than 50,000 minks.

Research published in the journal Eurosurveillance last month said its findings “indicate that an onward transmission of the virus to other minks may have taken place in the affected farm”.

Transmission between the minks has not been confirmed, with further research ongoing.

The mass death of some 2,500 endangered seals found along Russia’s Caspian Sea coast last month has also raised concern.

A researcher at Russia’s Dagestan State University, Alimurad Gadzhiyev, said last week that early samples from the seals “tested positive for bird flu”, adding that they were still studying whether the virus caused the die-off.

Peacock warned there have been mixed reports from Russia about the seals, which could have contracted the virus by eating infected seabirds.

But if the seals did give bird flu to each other it “would be yet another very concerning development”, he added.

“The mink outbreaks, the increased number of infections of scavenger mammals and the potential seal outbreak would all point to this virus having the potential to cause a pandemic in humans”, he said.

‘Mixing point’

David Heymann, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, urged caution.

More bird flu cases could be being detected in mammals because countries have ramped up testing, he said.

“This may have been going on for years and nothing has really occurred,” he told AFP.

But it was always concerning when a flu virus enters mammals “because they’re often the mixing point of influenza viruses, or they create an environment where mutations can occur and then can become adapted in humans”, he added.

Even if that did occur, he said there were excellent surveillance systems in Europe and North America, and that H5N1 has been heavily researched since it first emerged in China and Hong Kong in 1996.

If H5N1 did mutate into a strain that could circulate among humans, the current seasonal flu vaccine could be fairly easily updated to include it, he said.

The UK Health Security Agency said “there is no evidence of sustained human to human transmission” of bird flu.

Over the last two decades, there have been 868 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans with 457 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation. There were four confirmed cases and one death last year.

Last month, Ecuador reported South America’s first case of the A(H5) bird flu virus in a human — a nine-year-old girl who was in contact with backyard poultry.

The experts called for continued surveillance of avian influenza in wild birds, poultry and mammals, in order for humans to limit their exposure.

PARIS — A new generation of AI chatbots has unleashed a titanic battle between Microsoft and Google for the eyeballs of billions of web users, and the dollars they bring.

Microsoft has gone all-in with a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, the firm behind the world’s most buzzy bot ChatGPT, hoping to revolutionise its unloved Bing search engine.

Google has owned the search market for two decades and is not ceding any ground — it hit back this week with an in-house bot of its own, called Bard.

And the AI gold rush is not limited to Silicon Valley search giants, Chinese firm Baidu announcing its own bot this week.

But what exactly is the fight about? 

Big tech firms have spent years ripping unimaginable amounts of data from the Internet and churning it into so-called large language models that they use to train algorithms.

This is how voice recognition tools like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant work.

Google and Facebook owner Meta have poured their efforts into tools that can translate hundreds of languages, screen for harmful content, or target users with personalised ads.

Yet, the fundamentals of search have remained largely unchanged.

You punch a few words into Google and it spits back a mix of useful links and often less useful ads.

But if AI has its way, these familiar pages of blue links could soon be just another dusty corner of internet history.

‘Relegated to history’

“A tool like ChatGPT can create search engines that give a structured answer to questions instead of simply a list of documents like Google does at the moment,” said Thierry Poibeau of French research institute CNRS.

What that means in practice is that future search engines will not produce lists of links — instead they will give the user coherent and full answers using multiple sources.

Neeva, a search engine that markets itself as privacy friendly, is already pushing this kind of experience.

Neeva founder Sridhar Ramaswamy, a former Google executive, told AFP that smaller companies were much better placed to innovate.

“We use large language models to look at all of the pages that are going to result for a query and show you a summary, and then show you a very rich visual experience,” he said.

Like many analysts, Ramaswamy was highly critical of his former firm’s obsession with ads, which he claimed was ruining the experience of users.

Industry analyst Rob Enderle said Google’s search business risked being torpedoed by innovations in AI.

“Google still largely lives off the fact their search engine is the most widely used,” he said.

But these changes could “relegate them to history”. 

However, there is still a long way to go before AI chatbots successfully wed themselves to search engines.

Racist bots

“Tools like chatGPT provide the illusion of an all-knowing being answering your questions, but that’s not true,” said Claude de Loupy of French AI text firm Syllabs.

Social media is overflowing with comical examples of ChatGPT’s failings, not least its lack of ability in basic maths.

It has also been accused of bias after it refused to generate a poem praising Donald Trump but was more than happy to pen a paean to his successor as US president, Joe Biden.

There are questions about the sources the bots are trained on, the people who are employed in often terrible conditions to program them, copyright issues around pictures and the ultimate question of how firms will monetise their new toys.

However, OpenAI has largely managed to clear up one vital aspect that has plagued such bots — it is very difficult to get ChatGPT to say offensive things.

Microsoft got burnt in 2016 when its teenage AI chatbot Tay was immediately jumped on by Twitter users who got it to spout racist comments.

Meta was similarly embarrassed last year when it launched an AI tool called Galactica.

It was intended to help academics to write papers but had to be withdrawn after it invented citations and could be asked to write racist tracts.

LOS ANGELES — Pop queen Beyonce on Sunday reigned supreme at the Grammys, breaking the all-time record for wins with her 32nd prize and fourth of the night — but the Album of the Year prize that’s long eluded her slipped from her fingers once again, going instead to Brit Harry Styles.

All of the top contenders including Adele, Taylor Swift and Lizzo went home with an award — but it was surprise after surprise in the top four categories.

Beyonce entered the ceremony with the most chances at Grammy gold with nine, following the release of “Renaissance”, her rich, sprawling ode to club music.

She clinched the all-time Grammy record by winning the prize for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for her smash “Renaissance”, thus surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who had 31 awards.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional. And I’m trying to just receive this night,” Queen Bey said, wearing a shimmering, curve-hugging gown, her hair in mermaid waves as her peers witnessed the history-making moment.

Beyonce thanked her family, and paid special tribute to the queer community, who she credited with inventing the genre she celebrated in her historically layered record that pays homage to pioneers of funk, soul, rap, house and disco.

But while her album was considered a likely candidate for best album, it was Styles who snagged that prestigious award.

“On nights like tonight, it’s obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as bests in music,” said Styles.

His win over Queen Bey was sure to draw obvious comparisons to 2017, when Adele swept the top prizes at the glitzy music biz gala, shutting out Beyonce’s culture-shaking “Lemonade”.

The Grammys’ winningest artist still remains on the outside looking in at the top prizes: Beyonce has never won Album or Record of the Year, which this time around went to Lizzo for “About Damn Time”.

She only scored Song of the Year once, for 2008’s “Single Ladies”. This year, folk, rock and blues singer Bonnie Raitt scooped up that honor.

Beyonce was nevertheless the top winner on Sunday with her four gramophones.

Both folk rocker Brandi Carlile and rapper Kendrick Lamar ended the night with three awards each.

Adele, one of the night’s heavyweights, took home just one award in the pop categories, while Taylor Swift was shut out once again from Song of the Year, a songwriting award.

Swift did however win the Best Music Video prize for her short film based on the 10-minute version of her song “All Too Well”.

Puerto Rican reggaeton megastar Bad Bunny kicked off the show by bringing the audience to its feet with the first performance, before taking home the prize for Best Musica Urbana Album.

Bad Bunny, indisputably the world’s biggest commercial artist, nabbed the prize for his major drop “Un Verano Sin Ti”, which was also an Album of the Year contender.

“Thank you to all the Latinos across the entire world,” he said in Spanish. “We will keep elevating this genre to the next level.”

Actor Viola Davis became the latest showbiz heavyweight to earn a coveted EGOT — winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — by taking the Grammy for best audio book, narration and storytelling for her memoir “Finding Me”.

The star-studded 65th annual gala, hosted once again by comedian Trevor Noah, also featured performances from Styles, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, as well as an exuberant tribute to hip-hop music featuring a constellation of stars.

After several Grammy years with clear Best New Artist favourites — winners like Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion and Billie Eilish — American jazz singer Samara Joy scooped up the prize over an eclectic field.

The category has grown increasingly reflective of the internet age’s impact on popular music, and many of the nominees — including Brazil’s Anitta, Eurovision rockers Maneskin and rapper Latto — have all found viral fame on TikTok.

“I can’t even believe — I’ve been watching you all on TV for, like, so long,’ the Bronx-born artist told the audience, after earlier taking home the prize for Best Jazz Vocal Album. 

“To be here by just being who I was born as, I’m so thankful.”

Some of her competitors for Best New Artist still had a good night: Wet Leg swept the alternative music categories, Muni Long took home the award for Best R&B Performance, and Molly Tuttle won for Best Bluegrass Album.

A late coming competitor to the Tesla Model S ubiquitous to the sporting coupe-like low-roof EV executive saloon segment, the Audi E-Tron GT Quattro is one of the most convincing and desirable current generation electric cars. 

A more agreeable affair to drive than most EVs – as viewed from an avowedly petrol-headed perspective – the E-Tron GT is, however, not without some of the same foibles of most EVs, but drives with a more ‘normal’ fluency and sense of directness than many others electric cars.

Sporting style

An extension of Audi’s EV technology first showcased with the E-Tron SUV circa 2018, the E-Tron GT Quattro was launched in 2021, as the sportiest application of such tech so far. The E-Tron GT’s body style owes more to the low-slung A7 saloon-coupe. 

Low, wide and long with beefy wheel-arches hinting at the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s iconic 1980s Quattro, the E-Ton GT’s slim scowling headlights, aggressively wide-bodied, road-hugging stance, rakishly arcing roofline and even its rear light signature, however, channel the mid-engine Audi R8 in character.

An attractive and more viscerally aggressive design than class competitors like the athletic Model S or the decidedly less sporty looking Mercedes-Benz EQE, the E-Tron GT’s design would have looked still better were it a shorter two-door coupe, rather than coupe-like four-door. 

That said, the GT’s layout follows a now familiar and similar formula as its competitors, with it heavy batteries positioned under the floor for a low within-wheelbase centre of gravity, with two front and rear electric motors providing all-wheel-drive.

Progressive, prodigious

Operating with front-wheel-drive bias in “efficiency” mode, rear-wheel bias in “dynamic” mode, and the most energy-conserving combination in “comfort” mode, the E-Tron GT’s motors develop 235BHP and 429BHP at the front and rear, respectively. 

Able to quickly and electronically alter power distribution front and rear, as necessary, to effectively put power down for sure-footed traction and road-holding, the GT’s normal combined output is 469BHP and 464lb/ft torque, which allows for swift 4.6-second 0-100km/h acceleration and a capped 245km/h top speed.

Able to increase power output to 523BHP for short 2.5-second bursts, the E-Tron GT rockets through 0-100km/h in 4.1-seconds. 

Launching with plenty of thrust to pin one back into the well-contoured and supportive driver’s seat and not entirely convincing synthesised “engine” sounds, the GT’s immediacy and generous torque output from standstill, are similar to other powerful EVs. 

However, what is un-typical is that the GT has a near equal power to torque ratio, and so feels more rapidly progressive, rather than immediate and overpowering, especially when powering out corners.

Firm fluency

Though brief, a test drive did also demonstrate the E-Tron GT’s progressive accelerator input modulation, which made it feel more controllable, fluent and adjustable than some overpowered EVs. 

The GT’s use of a two-speed — rather than most EV’s single-speed — automatic gearbox also provided better driving fluency and longer-legged consistency as it accumulates speed. 

The GT’s adjustable force regenerative brakes allow for more coasting, gliding, and a sense of fluent normalcy, rather than being awkward, unintuitive, intrusive and aggressively immediate upon accelerator lift off.

With ample driver assistance and management systems, and weighing a whopping 2,276kg, the E-Tron GT driving experience seemed more direct and better masked its mass than expected. Firm riding but not jarring or outright uncomfortable over common bumps and imperfections, it drives with a grounded and centred, if heavy, feel. 

Tidy turning in and well controlled through corners, the GT is sportier and more engaging than similar vehicles, but nevertheless clinical and not as viscerally engaging as lighter, more analogue combustion engine alternatives.

Stylish sophistication

Powered by a 83.7kWh battery pack, the E-Tron GT’s claimed driving range is between 458-501km, but as with all EVs, such figures will see drop depending on driving condition, style, topography and other factors. 

Harnessing some of it power through kinetic regenerative braking, the GT’s 80 per cent charging time can be as quick as 22.5-minutes under ideal condition, using a high capacity 270kW DC charger, where available. However, more common charging options include 2-hour 50kW DC charging and 8.5-hour 11kW AC charging.

Sporty, stylish and sophisticated, the E-Tron GT Quattro’s low slung cabin ha a hunkered down ambiance. 

Design is elegant and upmarket, if slightly busy, yet user-friendly with its extensive comfort, convenience and infotainment features. 

Front seating is spacious, comfortable, supportive and well adjustable. Forward visibility is decent, while cameras and sensors supplement rear, over-shoulder and close proximity views. 

Rear door access and headroom are less generous for taller, larger occupants with wide, high front seat backs blocking visibility. Its 405-litre boot is meanwhile decent in space, if not especially generous.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: Front- & rear-mounted electric motors

Gearbox: 2-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive

Combined power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 469 (476) [350]

Combined, boost mode power, BHP(PS) [kW]: 523 (530) [390]*

Front motor power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 235 (238) [175]

Rear motor power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 429 (435) [320]

Power-to-weight: 230BHP/tonne**

Combined torque lb/ft (Nm): 464 (630)

Torque-to-weight: 281Nm/tonne**

0-100km/h: 4.1-seconds*

Top speed: 245km/h (electronically governed)

Driving range, WLTP: 458-501km 

Fast charging: 22-min, 30-sec @270kW, DC***

Other charging: 2-hrs, @50kW, DC charging***

Home Charging: 8-hrs, 30-min @11kW, AC***

Battery: Lithium-ion

Battery capacity, net (gross) 83.7kWh (93.4kWh)

Wheelbase: 2,900mm

Track, F/R: 1,710/1,694mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.24

Loading height: 681mm

Cargo volume, minimum: 405-litres

Unladen/Kerb weight: 2,276kg/2,351kg

Steering: Electric-assisted speed sensitive rack & pinion

Steering ratio: 15.4:1

Turning circle: 11.6-metres

Suspension: Double wishbone/multi-link

Brake: Ventilated discs, kinetic regenerative braking

Tyres, F/R: 225/55R19/275/45R19

*During temporary 2.5-second boost mode

**Unladen weight

***To 80 per cent