Author: staff
Comedy, drama, artistic masterpieces — this week’s lineup has it all (with some dream pop thrown in). Highlights include the release of Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as American TV host Chris Hansen, and the 10th album release from French band M83. Elsewhere, new exhibitions in London and France explore obsolete tech and ancient fragments, while Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson bring us some comic relief with new Apple TV+ show Brothers. Keep scrolling to find out more. Exhibitions and events Jenkin Van Zyl: ‘Enclosure’ When: 24 september – 29 november 2026 Where: Somerset House (London, UK) British artist Jenkin Van…
Can the Liberal Democrats withstand the political turbulence around them? As delegates gather in Brighton for their party conference, Sam Coates gauges the pressure on Sir Ed Davey’s party as it faces a squeeze from the Greens and the Andy Burnham bounce. Elsewhere, the prime minister prepares to go to New York for the UN General Assembly, the duo look ahead to his first meeting with Donald Trump – can they find any common ground? Plus, Anne McElvoy – who’s in Germany – reports on a disastrous set of regional elections for Friedrich Merz – but is he in a…
The EU is done relying on tech companies to police themselves. Children online are very vulnerable to predatory algorithms, cyberbullying, and privacy exploitation. Nearly 60% of European youth are suffering emotional and psychosocial issues due to digital platforms. The new EU regulations will shift the legal burden onto platforms to actively block, filter, and modify their interfaces based on a child’s age. The proposed EU Kids Act plans to establish an age limit of 15, preventing younger children from opening social media accounts. Children under 3 will be banned entirely from these platforms, while those aged 3 to 12 may…
Puzzle enthusiasts raced to finish a jigsaw none of them had seen before in the final of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid, Spain, on Sunday. A Dutch biology student came first. The event drew around 1,700 people from 70 countries, all working against the clock. The organiser said the final puzzle is kept secret and goes on sale on the day it is used. The winner described ‘pure adrenaline and chaos’, her hands shaking as she waited for the applause. A volunteer said rivals compete hard but also cheer each other on. The organiser added that this is…
For children and adults, enthusiasts or simply the curious. At Europe’s largest exhibition of LEGO models, there’s room for everyone. The only limits are those set by the imagination. The numbers speak for themselves: two thousand square metres packed with models built from the famous colourful bricks. More than 15 million bricks have been used to build over 120 models, including four “super-models”. According to Lukas Siwiec, who is in charge of the exhibition, these are structures “made from more than half a million LEGO bricks” and are therefore far more imposing than the rest. One of them is a…
Costa told POLITICO that the EU wants to develop “the closest possible” relationship with Ottawa. When asked to define “associate membership,” Costa said: “This concept means basically that we want to do more and act as much as possible with Canada,” adding that “there is just this small problem that geographically they [Canada] are not a European country” and cannot apply for EU membership. The EU and Canada signed a landmark trade agreement in 2016. CETA, as it was known, took effect the following year but wasn’t ratified by 10 EU countries, including France, Italy and Belgium. Costa said the…
Published on 21/09/2026 – 8:15 GMT+2 The EU is doubling down on online safety to address rising youth health issues linked to addictive platform design and excessive screen time. The Commission’s new EU Kids Act bans children under 13 from accessing social media, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Adolescents aged 13 to 15 can set up restricted accounts under parental supervision, and 15- to 18-year-olds can only access “safe by design” versions of social media. Social media, AI chatbots, video games, video-sharing platforms and app stores must be age-appropriate and discourage compulsive use. Recommender algorithms can no longer suggest content…
Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party won a large majority in the country’s parliamentary elections, marked by cyberattacks and a barrage of Ukrainian drone strikes, according to results published by state media early on Monday. The election, held to elect members in all seats of the lower house State Duma, is the first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. No party opposed to the war was allowed to run, with Russia’s Supreme Court removing the anti-war Yabloko party off the ballot weeks before the vote. Voting also took place in Ukrainian territories occupied and annexed by…
A fossilised tooth of a prehistoric relative of a modern elephant has been found in northern California that scientists say provides a valuable window to the Ice Age. The tooth belonged to a Pacific mastodon that lived in North America. Geomorphologist Brigid Lynch spotted it while working on a habitat restoration project in a creek in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco. The tooth was partly submerged in the water and stood out from the surrounding rocks. “It was just sitting there in the middle of the creek, halfway in, half out of water,” Lynch said. At first, however,…
Ein historisches Debakel erschüttert die CDU: Erstmals in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik verpasst die Partei den Einzug in einen Landtag. Parteichef und Kanzler Friedrich Merz versucht mit einem schnellen Machtwort, seine Ämter zu sichern. Rasmus Buchsteiner und Rixa Fürsen analysieren, wie tragfähig dieser Befreiungsschlag wirklich ist und ob der Union die Zerreißprobe droht. Auch die SPD steht nach den herben Rückschlägen in Berlin und dem Dämpfer in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern unter massivem Druck. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview fordert die saarländische Ministerpräsidentin und stellvertretende SPD-Bundesvorsitzende Anke Rehlinger einen inhaltlichen Kurswechsel der Bundesregierung. Sie macht deutlich, warum es jetzt echte Reformen statt Streichlisten braucht, um das…