Author: staff
NEW DELHI—United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called upon the world to keep the development of artificial intelligence open to all. “The future of AI can not be decided by a couple of countries, or left to the whims of a few billionaires,” Guterres said Thursday at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The annual global artificial intelligence summit is taking place for the first time in a country of the Global South, a group of emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, after previous summits in the U.K., South Korea and France. “AI must belong to…
The EPSO AD5 competition that leads to administrator-level posts at the European institutions, is back after seven years. IT failures, the pandemic, a cancelled competition that had to be rerun at a cost of about €300,000, and criticism from the European Ombudsman over an outdated and opaque testing system all contributed. EPSO’s leadership has admitted the institution’s reputation has suffered. During this pause, private coaching companies continued to support candidates preparing. Firms like EU Training and ORSEU Concours continued to offer courses, webinars, practice exams, and one-on-one coaching. Now that the AD5 exam is back, candidates are turning to their…
Members of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called for the Gaza ceasefire deal to become permanent and berated Israeli efforts to expand control in the occupied West Bank as a threat to prospects of a two-state solution. The security council’s meeting came on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s first Board of Peace gathering to discuss the future of the Palestinian territories. The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Indonesia also attended the Security Council’s monthly Mideast meeting after many Arab and Islamic countries requested last week that it discuss Gaza and the…
Many Europeans who do not own their home are not optimistic about buying one. Across 23 countries, almost half say they will never be able to purchase a home or are not interested in doing so, according to the RE/MAX European Housing Trend Report 2025. The picture varies widely from country to country. Where is the share of people most pessimistic about buying a home highest, and why? The survey, conducted in August 2025 asked a simple question: “When, if ever, do you think you will be able to purchase a property?” Three in ten think they will never buy…
By Theo Farrant & AFP Published on 19/02/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Thousands of French supermarkets are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect shoplifting, analysing customer movements in real time to flag suspicious behaviour. The technology has reportedly cut losses for many supermarkets, but it also raises questions about privacy and transparency. The software works by analysing real-time footage from in-store cameras. When the algorithm detects suspicious gestures or behaviour, like putting an item into a bag or repeated touching of products without scanning, it sends a short video clip to store staff. “So we get an alert; it might be a simple…
The EU is taking a careful seat at Donald Trump’s first meeting of the Board of Peace — sending Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, but not signing up to the initiative. What does that say about Brussels’ strategy toward Washington? POLITICO has also obtained a letter from nine EU countries urging the European Commission to explore the possibility of an EU fund to support cross-border abortion access — a move that could reopen one of Europe’s most sensitive debates. Finally, the Commission wants to accelerate trade deals by giving their English versions a head start — allowing political approval to move…
Donald Trump setzt zum nächsten Bruch mit der Weltordnung an. Sein Friedensrat versteht sich als Gegenentwurf zu den Vereinten Nationen und kommt heute erstmals zusammen. Der Rat wird von Trump selbst geführt, Mitglieder sollen hohe Beiträge leisten. Gordon Repinski und Hans von der Burchard besprechen, wieso sich Deutschland und viele Länder der EU raushalten wollen und doch nicht richtig raushalten können. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview widerspricht die Grünen-Parteichefin Franziska Brantner klar der These, der Friedensrat sei eine neue UNO. Sie spricht von einem Projekt, das die Vereinten Nationen umgeht, warnt vor einem fragilen Frieden im Gazastreifen und einer katastrophalen Lage in der…
National unity Both Poroshenko and Zelenskyy stayed at the same hotel during the Munich Security Conference last week — but their paths didn’t cross. “I have only spoken with him three times the past seven years,” Poroshenko said. The last time was more than a year ago and “we discussed his so-called victory plan and I told him not to worry and that we would back it as he’s the commander-in-chief. Unfortunately, that was last time we spoke,” he said. Poroshenko and Zelenskyy harbor deep animosity toward each other and traded fierce barbs during the 2019 election campaign. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy…
Those who say yes believe Zemmour, who regularly praises Knafo’s talent when asked about her publicly, recognizes the dynamic and is perfectly happy to return to the world of the acerbic intelligentsia. An acquaintance who sees them on vacation in the south of France said it was telling to watch Zemmour ambling down the street, pushing their child in a stroller, while Knafo was three meters ahead with a phone glued to her ear. Those who believe the reverse say he would be humiliated, pointing to his 2006 essay “The First Sex” and noting that he has repeatedly belittled the…
“He’s being diplomatic, saying it’s a fantastic organization,” said the official, granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. “He very smartly divided the political from the organizational, saying, ‘Let’s leave politics out of this, let’s focus on the real world [and] stop wasting our resources on scenarios that are zero percent likely.” Europe shrugs A steady line of European energy ministers pushed back against Wright’s pressure on Wednesday, dismissing his calls to abandon the phase-out of fossil fuels and insisting they would continue building renewables. Austria’s energy secretary told POLITICO Europe would not be “blackmailed” by the U.S. on clean energy…