Author: staff
By Pascale Davies with AP Published on 19/05/2026 – 14:55 GMT+2 More than a billion people follow it — and according to its believers, it is all-knowing. But it isn’t a religion, it’s artificial intelligence. The use of the technology, though, is becoming a concern for many, with AI psychosis, cybersecurity, and the vast amounts of energy it needs to function. Pope Leo XIV is one of those voicing their worries, and in the first major text of his papacy, he will address the impact of AI on humanity. Pope Leo will present a document, known as an encyclical, at the Vatican on…
While Hayer fell short of backing Metsola, her comments signal the liberals are taking a different stance than the Socialists, whose leader Iratxe García said they have a deal that gives her group the right to name Metsola’s successor. Manfred Weber, the head of Metsola’s European People’s Party, has publicly cast doubt on whether the EPP would comply with such a deal, while MEPs say Metsola is already campaigning behind the scenes. Renew wants any presidential candidate to keep the EPP tied to the political center — despite the president representing political lawmakers of all stripes — after the center-right…
A viral X post claiming that Eurovision’s 2026 contest was secretly “fixed” in Finland’s favour spread widely in the days leading up to this year’s final in Vienna. The post, which initially circulated on TikTok, amassed more than 1 million views and presented itself as testimony from a Eurovision “security guard.” “I can freely say through a secret account that the winner is picked,” the viral post said, alleging that Finland had offered organisers of the competition around €16 million to secure victory. However, this claim later unravelled during the final itself when Finland — tipped as a favourite to…
Published on 19/05/2026 – 13:31 GMT+2 Sony announced another rise in PlayStation Plus subscription prices on Monday, triggering frustration among users and renewing the debate over the cost of gaming services. The increase comes only weeks after the company raised prices for the PlayStation 5 console in Europe and other international markets, citing inflation and changing economic conditions. Under the revised pricing, a one-month PlayStation Plus Essential subscription in the US will rise to $10.99, while the same tier will cost €9.99 in Europe and £7.99 in the UK. Three-month subscriptions are also increasing in price across those regions. According…
Brussels is eyeing the move now that Viktor Orbán is out of office, as Hungary’s former prime minister had consistently blocked any such extension, and used the process to his own gain. Several diplomats from Northern European countries raised the prospect of an extension in last week’s meeting, three of the diplomats said. EU capitals will continue discussions this week and next, ahead of the next General Affairs Council on May 26. Sanctions require unanimous support from the EU bloc, meaning that a single veto would undo the existing 20 packages of measures designed to cripple the Russian war economy and…
Published on 19/05/2026 – 11:55 GMT+2•Updated 11:56 Malaysia is seeking more than $251 million (€216 million) in compensation from a Norwegian company over a scrapped deal to supply a missile system for new warships, the defence minister said on Tuesday. Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government had sent a notice to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace demanding compensation for both “direct and indirect costs” over Norway’s decision to revoke export approvals for the missile system, sparking a diplomatic row. Oslo’s foreign ministry has confirmed “that certain licences related to the export of specific defence technology to Malaysia have been revoked.” This…
Iran staged a mass wedding ceremony in Tehran that used military vehicles as bridal cars, with brides and grooms driven through streets decorated with balloons and flowers as crowds cheered. The event brought together more than 100 couples at Imam Hussein Square, part of a larger government-backed ceremony involving around 1,000 couples across the city. Alongside the celebrations, the convoy carried political symbolism, with portraits of Iran’s leaders displayed on the vehicles and a lilac missile visible near the stage. The mix of wedding ritual, patriotic imagery and public ceremony gave the event both a social and political dimension.
Published on 19/05/2026 – 12:07 GMT+2 Denmark’s former monarch, 86-year-old Queen Margrethe, has been released from hospital after undergoing an angioplasty procedure last week, the palace said on Tuesday. “Her Majesty Queen Margrethe was discharged from Rigshospitalet today and is returning to Fredensborg Palace,” it said in a new statement on Tuesday. “In the coming period, Her Majesty will need rest,” it said, adding that a planned theatre engagement on May 23 had been cancelled. The queen underwent “a balloon dilation of a coronary artery” at Copenhagen’s main Rigshospitalet hospital, the palace said in a statement on 15 May. The…
A fast-growing brush fire in Southern California has prompted evacuation orders and damaged at least one home. The blaze was reported shortly after 10am on Monday and had spread to more than 180 acres before midday. Fire crews were deployed quickly as winds pushed the flames through dry hillsides. Firefighters focused on preventing the blaze from moving downhill towards suburban Thousand Oaks, where some residents were also told to leave as a precaution. The fire remains active in an area of Southern California known for dry vegetation and shifting winds, conditions that can turn small ignitions into fast-moving emergencies.
The emerging AI industry has created a labour market unlike anything Silicon Valley has seen since the dot-com boom, except this time, there are perhaps only a few hundred people currently capable of building frontier AI systems at scale. OpenAI, Meta, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, xAI, Safe Superintelligence and a new and growing number of AI start-ups are all competing to attract an incredibly small pool of highly skilled talent. As a result, in the last two years, reports have emerged of nine-figure compensation discussions, massive equity grants and recruiting campaigns personally led by CEOs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Sam…