Author: staff

With the lightning-fast deployment of artificial intelligence and the immense technological leaps in robotics, images of weapon-wielding humanoid robots are no longer merely a figment of the public imagination. But as the visionary technology races ahead, so does the lingering unease. The US-based company Foundation Future Industries, which builds humanoids for commercial and military use, has already tested its Phantom robots in Ukraine. The company CEO says he expects to begin testing weaponisation use cases for its robots “as early as next year,” following the Ukrainian pilot programs. “I think we have this psychological reaction, which is like the Terminator,…

Published on 16/07/2026 – 8:36 GMT+2 Beloved actor Sam Neill died on Monday in Sydney, leaving behind a cinematic legacy that ranges from blockbuster epics (Jurassic Park) to arthouse treasures (Possession, The Piano). Now, Neill’s agent Philip Grenz has revealed the cause of the New Zealand actor’s “sudden and unexpected” death at the age of 78. Grenz has stated that Neill died from pneumonia and that he will be honoured at a private family memorial at his New Zealand farm at a later date. “Sam passed away from pneumonia,” Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and…

LONDON — The U.K.’s online safety regulator Ofcom on Thursday opened an investigation into TikTok over whether the platform has complied with its duties under the Online Safety Act to protect children from harmful content. The watchdog’s probe will cover concerns raised in its two reports on children’s experiences online and age assurance that age inference models used by TikTok, which guess users’ ages based on their activity, are not highly effective and may have failed to correctly identify child users. Under the OSA, platforms must use “highly effective” age assurance to make sure they’re not exposing children to harmful…

Food inflation has been slowing in the eurozone, despite expectations that higher energy and fertiliser costs following the Iran war would push prices higher. However, economists at Oxford Economics and Deutsche Bank expect food price inflation to pick up again next year as higher commodity prices feed through the food supply chain and this summer’s extreme weather damages crops across Europe. Economists say food prices typically respond with a delay because higher energy and fertiliser costs are first absorbed by farmers before being passed on to processors, wholesalers and eventually supermarkets. Oxford Economics expects eurozone food inflation to rise to…

Die CDU-Wirtschaftsministerin verärgert das eigene Haus mit millionenschweren Ausschreibungen für externe Berater. Tom Schmidtgen berichtet, warum sie damit nicht nur bei der Reform des Emissionshandels ungehemmt im Revier von Umweltminister Carsten Schneider (SPD) wildert. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview kritisiert der Grünen-Politiker Michael Kellner den Berater-Luxus der Ministerin scharf. Der Ex-Staatssekretär im Energie- und Wirtschaftsministerium unter Robert Habeck und jetzige energiepolitische Sprecher seiner Fraktion wirft Reiche vor, fähige Beamte im Haus zwangsversetzt und das Ministerium regelrecht heruntergewirtschaftet zu haben. Kanzler Friedrich Merz verabschiedet sich derweil mit demonstrativer Zuversicht in die politische Sommerpause. Bei seiner Pressekonferenz gab er sich staatsmännisch und wich Szenarien zu…

Published on 16/07/2026 – 5:45 GMT+2 The US military claims to have ended its latest wave of strikes on Iran early Thursday, striking targets further north and around Tehran for the first time in this latest round of violence. American forces also say they have hit a ship they accuses of trying to break their naval blockade on Iran. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic retaliated by launching missiles and drones at Bahrain and Kuwait. Iranian state media reported that American strikes struck around Tehran, Qeshm Island and the southern port city of Chabahar, as well as, the northern Semnan province which…

Published on 16/07/2026 – 6:30 GMT+2 Simonetta Vespucci, the face of the Italian Renaissance as Sandro Botticelli’s muse, may actually have died at just 23 from complications of a tumour rather than tuberculosis. This is the conclusion of a recent study (source in Italian), which challenges the widespread view that the young woman, who died in 1476, succumbed to tuberculosis, a common and deadly disease at the time. An international team of scholars from Queen Mary University of London, the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome and the University of California had already put forward a different explanation back in 2019.…

The European Parliament’s 719 lawmakers are about to head off on their six-week summer break. But that doesn’t mean an end to the political headaches.   That’s because as soon as they return on Aug. 31, lawmakers will dive straight back into backroom negotiations ahead of Parliament’s big midterm reshuffle. Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart discuss the scheming already happening behind the scenes. Next: Europe wants to restrict children’s use of social media — much like Australia. But does the implementation of Canberra’s ban serve as a warning or a trailblazer? Zoya speaks with the Aussie eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to learn more. And finally,…

Published on 16/07/2026 – 6:28 GMT+2 Argentina reaches the World Cup final after beating England 2-1 in Atlanta on Wednesday. Once again Argentina made its comeback near the end of the game as going into the 85th minute England was still leading 1-0. Argentina’s goals was scored by Enzo Fernandez at the 85th minute of the game, while Lautaro Martinez’s goal followed in overtime at 90+2th minute. “I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him that I was going to come on and I was going to win it,”…

The most pressing contest is in the Greens, who must replace co-chair Bas Eickhout following his resignation in May. Names circulating include Danish MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Belgium’s Sara Matthieu and Parliament Vice-President Nicolae Ștefănuță, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Greens’ decision to hold an early election in October has prompted the Socialists and Renew to consider doing the same, the three people said. Early votes would allow their leaders to enter the top-jobs negotiations with fresh mandates. The Left is the other group where a contest could emerge. Under an agreement struck at the start of…