Max Walden

5 days ago | abc.net.au | Max Walden |Gillian Aeria

Video of a Chinese paraglider widely published by news media outlets around the world was at least partly manipulated by generative artificial intelligence tools, experts said. Remarkable footage of 55-year-old paraglider Peng Yujiang, face encrusted with ice after purportedly being sucked into the upper atmosphere, was widely covered by Chinese and international media outlets last week including the ABC. The video had been sourced from Chinese state media outlet CCTV via Reuters.

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Max Walden

Afghanistan has everything a tourist could want: stunning landscapes, delicious cuisine and unmatched hospitality. A land of rich history, invaded by empires but never conquered, left scattered with ornate mosques and ancient Buddhist sites. And it's also a place some say has become safer — less violent — than before the Taliban seized power again in 2021. Australian tour guide Paris Hailwood is one of them.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Max Walden

Months after her release from a Jakarta prison cell, Jessica Wongso has appeared on prime-time Australian television to deny being close friends with the woman she was convicted of plotting to murder. Wongso, a permanent resident of Australia, was found guilty of the premeditated murder of former friend Mirna Salihin by putting cyanide into an iced coffee she had ordered for Ms Salihin.

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Max Walden

The history of pho is a nation in a bowl; the very story of Vietnam itself. "Traditionally Vietnamese don't eat beef."That's according to Vu Hong Lien, the author of Rice and Baguette — A History of Vietnamese Food. "When the French came to settle in Vietnam in the middle of the 19th century, they brought with them a lot of new things," she said. "One of them was raising herds of cows."French colonisation famously led to the creation of the banh mi.

4 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Max Walden

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was returning from Hong Kong to Manila when he was arrested on charges of crimes against humanity. The true purpose of the trip, while officially a "private vacation", had been to front a political rally for migrant workers. Along with his daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, Mr Duterte had sought to whip up support for allied senatorial candidates in the Philippines' high-stakes May 12 midterm elections.