Racial bias: Correcting the code of facial recognition

Video games company Electronic Arts says hackers managed to steal some of the source code to its popular football game FIFA 21, as well as the Frostbite engine underpinning several titles.

Sotheby's is auctioning "the ultimate NFT": the source code with which Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Due to the historical and unprecedented "relevance and cultural impact" of the item on sale, the auction house recognized it was impossible to put an estimate on it. The bid is already higher than than $2 million dollars, with days to go before the sale.

Global heating has arrived with a vengeance and will see Earth's average temperature reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels around 2030, a decade earlier than projected only three years ago, according to a landmark UN assessment.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, women's rights have been quashed. Women are being told what to wear, what to study and being segregated from men at universities. After a violent crackdown on female protesters, a demonstration has taken place in Kabul by women deemed supportive of the Taliban's ultra-hardline interpretation of Islam. Images of that rally have sparked considerable reaction on social media. FRANCE 24's Haxie Meyers-Belkin tells us more.

While the Taliban have said only that female students must observe hijab, without giving more details, women dressed in black robes at a pro-Taliban rally in Kabul September 11 raised fears that the Islamist group will reintroduce mandatory wearing of head-to-toe garments. This week we spoke to two Afghan women who told us more about the Taliban's dress code – and the women who are fighting against it in the streets and online with the hashtag #DoNotTouchMyClothes.

Moscow subway users have started buying tickets using facial recognition technology. Authorities claim queues at ticket counters will be greatly shortened with the system dubbed "Face Pay". This move, however, is already sparking controversy since facial recognition has been used in the past for repressive purposes. In this edition, we explore these technologies that are being deployed in smart cities around the world and whether this means the end of anonymity in public places.

From the construction industry to car manufacturing, steel is everywhere. It's the most commonly used metal, but also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In this edition of Down to Earth, we take a closer look at what can be done to clean up one of our dirtiest industries.

Scientist Izidine Pinto, co-author of the latest IPCC report, knows the especially grim consequences of climate change for Africa. He tells DW how the report is a “code red for humanity.”

India's government is renewing a plan to create a uniform legal system that would replace a patchwork of religious codes. However, there is concern the UCC will be used to further entrench policies favoring Hindus.

We take a look at how the press is covering the French, German and Italian leaders' visit to Kyiv. Meanwhile, French papers are largely divided over the country's upcoming legislative elections on Sunday. Also, Thailand gets closer to same-sex marriage legislation, while Saudi Arabia confiscates rainbow-coloured toys. Finally, the Washington Post debates whether QR code menus in restaurants should stay or go.

It’s a book that’s been described by one critic as helping them to understand the microaggressions that people of colour routinely face on a daily basis. It is a collection of short stories, centered around race, which although fictional have a real meaning and message.

The controversial criminal code includes laws against insulting the president and banning extramarital sex. Critics say the laws undermine freedoms in Indonesia.