The Duchess of Sussex is to narrate a Disney film that documents the journey of a family of elephants across the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, which is to launch three days after she and Prince Harry “step back” from being senior royals.
Meghan is to voice the Disneynature documentary Elephant, which would be available on Disney+ from Friday next week and is her first major acting role since becoming a royal.
A trailer says that the film is to follow “one family’s extraordinary 1,000-mile journey across Africa on an adventure that will change their lives.”
Photo: AFP
IGER SANCTION
At the London premiere of Disney’s remake of The Lion King in summer last year, Prince Harry was overheard speaking with then-Disney CEO Bob Iger about the idea of his wife doing voiceovers.
In 2017, the royal couple traveled to Botswana, which, along with South Africa and Namibia, is one of the three countries which contain parts of the Kalahari Desert, to help Elephants Without Borders equip a bull elephant with a satellite collar.
‘MORBIDLY PERFECT’
The timing of the launch of the Disney+ online streaming service, which also announced that Natalie Portman would narrate a film called Dolphin Reef, has been described as “almost morbidly perfect,” coming just as the UK enters a period of lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19, which would keep millions indoors and in search of entertainment.
Offering 450 films from Disney’s back catalogue and more than 200 TV series, Disney+ launched with slower speeds in the UK to reduce congestion on broadband networks as millions stay home and stream over Wi-Fi.
In France, the streaming service complied with a request from the government to delay its launch until April 7 because of concerns over broadband infrastructure.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
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