Author: staff
Nicola Pietrangeli, the Italian tennis champion of the 1950s and 1960s, has died at the age of 92. The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation announced Pietrangeli’s passing on Monday, without providing a cause of death. The federation noted that Pietrangeli is the only Italian player who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Rafael Nadal, who was often awarded the Italian Open trophy by Pietrangeli when he won the Rome tournament a record 10 times, posted in Italian on X: “I just heard the sad news about the passing of an Italian and world tennis great. My sincerest…
Published on 01/12/2025 – 16:08 GMT+1 Germany’s most influential family business association has shifted its stance on the decision to invite members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to one of its flagship political events. The Family Business Association (Der Familienunternehmer) said on Sunday that the move was a mistake, following a wave of criticism from members and the withdrawal of several companies. “The opposite of what we intended has happened,” president Marie-Christine Ostermann said in a statement published after an internal committee meeting. “We invited AfD members of parliament to our parliamentary evening so they could hear…
By Jakub Dutkiewicz Published on 01/12/2025 – 11:21 GMT+1 Visitors to the Italian capital can now visit and tread a hidden walkway in the Colosseum used by Roman emperors to safely and discreetly travel to the pulvinar, their reserved honour box directly above the arena. The passage, constructed somewhere between 90 A.D. and 98 A.D., allowed emperor’s to get to their seats without having to use the main entrances, the vomitoria, through which the masses would spew forth into the Colosseum. This vaulted walkway was discovered in the 1810s and once featured lavish decorations, marble panels and stucco ornaments depicting scenes…
“I think at the very least it’s necessary for Filip Turek to explain absolutely thoroughly and responsibly everything that’s going on around him, because otherwise it creates the impression that he really isn’t a suitable person for any ministerial position,” Pavel added. Pavel stopped short of confirming whether he would use the constitutional veto to block Turek’s appointment. In an earlier statement, Pavel said that he would refuse nominees advocating for Czechia’s withdrawal from NATO or the EU, noting that protecting democratic institutions remains another crucial criterion for him. Pavel will this week hold one-to-one discussions with the proposed ministers…
Ajax’s league match against Groningen was abandoned on Sunday after supporters set off fireworks and flares at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Referee Bas Nijhuis halted play within minutes, and a second attempt to resume the game also failed as fireworks continued. The match was officially abandoned at 0-0. Ajax issued a statement calling the incidents “utterly outrageous” and said the safety of spectators and players had been put at risk. The fixture will now be played on Tuesday without fans, according to the club.
Published on 01/12/2025 – 14:18 GMT+1 Researchers in Italy have discovered that writing harmful prompts in poetic form can reliably bypass the safety mechanisms of some of the world’s most advanced AI chatbots. The study, conducted by Icaro Lab, an initiative of ethical AI company DexAI, tested 20 poems written in English and Italian. Each ended with an explicit request for harmful content, including hate speech, sexual content, instructions for suicide and self-harm, and guidance on creating dangerous materials such as weapons and explosives. The poems, which researchers chose not to release, noting that they could be easily replicated, were…
The WHO wants pharma companies to consider tiered pricing (lower prices in lower-income countries) and voluntary licensing of patents and technology to allow other producers around the word to manufacture GLP-1s, to help expand access to these drugs. Jeremy Farrar, an assistant director general at the WHO, told POLITICO the guidelines would also give an “amber and green light” to generic drugmakers to produce cheaper versions of GLP-1s when the patents expire. Francesca Celletti, a senior adviser on obesity at the WHO, told POLITICO “decisive action” was needed to expand access to GLP-1s, citing the example of antiretroviral HIV drugs…
Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent has taken centre stage in Eurasia’s rapidly evolving higher-education landscape, hosting the inaugural QS Eurasia Forum 2025. It was a gathering that signalled Central Asia’s growing ambition to shape global academic trends, rather than simply follow them. Organised by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the body behind one of the world’s most influential university rankings, the event brought together more than 300 leaders from universities, government and industry across Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The forum underscored a message repeated throughout the day: Central Asia is no longer a peripheral player in global education — it is…
Among the dead were 55 workers on Total’s project, according to a house-to-house survey carried out by POLITICO. A Mozambican military unit operating out of the gatehouse of the site massacred at least 97 civilians in summer 2021, POLITICO reported last year. British financial backing, in the form of taxpayer loans and guarantees for U.K. exporters and banks supporting the project, had been on hold after TotalEnergies invoked force majeure — a contract clause that allows firms to suspend obligations in the event of a disaster — after the security situation deteriorated in the region. Referring to the massacre of civilians, the…
France is one of the few European countries where poverty rates have increased over the past decade. According to the latest Eurostat data, Paris has reported an almost 2% increase since 2014 in the number of people experiencing “difficulties” or “great difficulties” in making ends meet, as the statistics institute puts it. Aside from France, over the past ten years poverty rates have risen only in northern Europe: Denmark (+2.4%), Finland (2%), Sweden (2.8%) and, outside the EU, Norway (+4.7%). Which EU countries have reduced poverty rates the most? At the same time, many Eastern and Southern European nations have…